Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: Top 10 Pickups for MLB Week 2
A new week, another batch of waiver-wire additions just the way you like 'em: hot and fresh out of the oven.
Some players mentioned last week—including Micah Johnson, Daniel Norris, Carlos Martinez, Drew Pomeranz, Jake Lamb, Archie Bradley and Devon Travis—are already owned in many leagues, but they remain quality pickups if they're available.
In the interest of keeping the names new, though, let's avoid any repeats. Here are the top 10 waiver-wire pickups for Week 2.
Just Missed
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Ubaldo Jimenez, SP, Baltimore Orioles (1.3 Percent Owned)
Derek Norris, C, San Diego Padres (26.8 Percent Owned)
Joe Kelly, SP, Boston Red Sox (2.2 Percent Owned)
Kevin Kiermaier, OF, Tampa Bay Rays (11.1 Percent Owned)
Brandon Morrow, SP/RP, San Diego Padres (1.4 Percent Owned)
Jeurys Familia, RP, New York Mets (12.1 Percent Owned)
Joel Peralta, RP, Los Angeles Dodgers (6.3 Percent Owned)
Dustin Ackley, OF, Seattle Mariners (5.2 Percent Owned)
Jed Lowrie, SS, Houston Astros (17.6 Percent Owned)
Adam Lind, 1B, Milwaukee Brewers (41.7 Percent Owned)
Brad Miller, SS, Seattle Mariners (1.9 Percent Owned)
Stephen Vogt, 1B, Oakland Athletics (10.9 Percent Owned)
Jose Iglesias, SS, Detroit Tigers (42.7 Percent Owned)
Mark Canha, 1B, Oakland Athletics (7.2 Percent Owned)
No. 10: Travis Snider, OF, Baltimore Orioles (11.2 Percent Owned)
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Because he has been so mediocre in parts of eight seasons in the majors since debuting late in 2008, it's easy to forget two not insignificant factors when it comes to Travis Snider.
One, he once was a top-10 prospect in the entire sport, as the minor league page of his Baseball-Reference.com player page reminds. And two, he's still only 27 years old.
Throw in that he now gets to play in a much more hitter-friendly stadium in Camden Yards as opposed to Pittsburgh's PNC Park—not to mention the whole change-of-scenery possibility—and Snider becomes even a little more appealing as a potential late-bloomer breakout candidate.
Under Buck Showalter, the Baltimore Orioles have displayed a propensity for squeezing as much as they can out of underrated, lesser-known or castoff players (think: Chris Davis, Steve Pearce, Bud Norris, Miguel Gonzalez), and Snider—who did have 13 homers and 38 RBI in about a half-season's worth of at-bats—could be next.
Having gone 7-for-18 (.389) so far, including his first homer Sunday, he's off to a good start.
No. 9: Alejandro De Aza, OF, Baltimore Orioles (8.4 Percent Owned)
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Remember that whole thing about the Baltimore Orioles and underrated, lesser-known and castoff players? Well, it also applies to Alejandro De Aza, picked up in a waiver trade last August from the Chicago White Sox.
In his 20 games with the O's last September, the 31-year-old hit .293 with 11 extra-base knocks (three homers), 11 runs and a pair of stolen bases. De Aza has been just as hot to open 2015.
Through five games, the lefty swinger has seven hits in 23 at-bats (.304) with six runs scored and two home runs.
Although he's been streaky and inconsistent both during the course of a season and from year to year, De Aza also has hit as many as 17 homers in a season (2013) and swiped as many as 26 bases (2012). He should reach double digits in at least one of the two categories, if not both.
That's a fine enough fifth outfielder, especially in leagues that contain 12 or more teams.
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No. 8: Anthony Gose, OF, Detroit Tigers (32.4 Percent Owned)
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Entering this season, Anthony Gose is one of those intriguing high-risk/high-reward types who certainly could hurt owners who invest too heavily and/or too long...but who also could pay off big time if it all clicks.
Although the former top prospect in the Toronto Blue Jays' system has been around for what feels like forever, Gose will play most of 2015 at age 24. His MLB slash line through 202 games prior to the start of this year was an ugly .234/.301/.332, and he had struck out nearly 28 percent of the time, which is way too much for a speed-oriented player.
Traded to the Detroit Tigers early this past offseason in exchange for second base prospect Devon Travis (who himself was in last week's waiver-wire column), the lefty hitting Gose has a chance to make some noise amid a deep and dynamic lineup as a part of what looks too be a center field platoon with Rajai Davis.
If Gose—who had a hot spring and has started 9-for-20 (.450) with a homer and steal apiece as well as six runs in just his first four games—can keep it up, he could earn enough playing time to get the lion's share of at-bats. Should that happen, Gose could be a startable fantasy outfielder who could approach 20-25 stolen bases and score some runs, especially if he keeps hitting leadoff, as he has so far.
No. 7: Mike Moustakas, 3B, Kansas City Royals (32.0 Percent Owned)
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This guy? Again?!
Admittedly, Mike Moustakas may well wind up being just another Justin Smoak, as a former high draft pick and top prospect turned major league dud—and perennial fantasy tease.
Then again, a player's pedigree sometimes possesses a powerful pull, and the 26-year-old was the second overall selection back in the 2007 draft. And as bad as Moustakas has been the past two years with a .223 average across 2013-14, he also has flashed enough pop—including 47 doubles, 27 homers and 96 RBI—to keep the hope alive (barely).
And remember, he did smack five long balls during the Kansas City Royals' run to the World Series last October.
This year, Moustakas started things out by hitting—get this—the first-ever opposite-field homer of his five-year career off Jeff Samardzija on Opening Day. He followed that up with a double off tough lefty Jose Quintana in the second game.
In other words, there are some signs that Moustakas, who is 7-for-21 (.333) with two homers and only three strikeouts, may finally be ready to start making good on his potential as a fringy fantasy starting corner infielder.
No. 6: Jimmy Nelson, SP, Milwaukee Brewers (1.1 Percent Owned)
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Jimmy Nelson flew under the radar as an older prospect who saw his first somewhat extended action in the majors in 2014. When it didn't go well, that made it easier for fantasy owners to forget all about him and move on from his 4.93 ERA and 1.48 WHIP in 69.1 frames.
But the 25-year-old Milwaukee Brewers right-hander, who was a second-rounder in 2010, has had a lot of success in the high minors, including a 1.46 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 9.2 K/9 in over 100 innings at Triple-A in 2014.
And at 6'6" and 245 pounds with the profile of a mid-rotation innings-eater, Nelson has the stuff to make him at worst a solid streaming starter. Now armed with a new spike curveball—which was killer on Saturday, as he whiffed an MLB career-high nine Pittsburgh Pirates in seven scoreless innings—Nelson could prove to be better than that.
Oh, and his next start? Just so happens to come against the very same Buccos on Friday.
No. 5: Shane Greene, SP, Detroit Tigers (12.2 Percent Owned)
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The Detroit Tigers' return in the three-team offseason trade that sent Didi Gregorius to the New York Yankees and prospects to the Arizona Diamondbacks, Shane Greene's first start with his new club was both effective and promising.
The 26-year-old right-hander allowed merely four hits and a walk over eight no-run innings while striking out five. Before you get too excited, the outing did come against the Minnesota Twins, who failed to score at all in either of their first two games and pushed across but one run through their first three.
But Greene showed he should once again be a viable fifth or sixth starter in 10-team formats. While he did surrender 81 hits in 78.1 frames as a starter for the Yankees as a rookie last year, that can be attributed to a .330 BABIP and helps explain his unsightly 1.40 WHIP compared to otherwise good numbers, including a 3.78 ERA and 9.3 K/9.
Now that Greene will have the Tigers' mighty bats behind him, he could rack up a strong win total as long as he can make it through six innings on a regular basis. He'll get his second turn Tuesday on the road against the Pittsburgh Pirates at pitcher-friendly PNC.
No. 4: Alex Rodriguez, 3B, New York Yankees (44.6 Percent Owned)
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Alex Rodriguez was included in the "Just Missed" section last week, and he isn't exactly a lesser-known speculative waiver-wire pickup. So apologies in advance if seeing him here—in the top five—is frustrating for you.
But by giving him the full-write-up treatment here, the point should be driven home: A-Rod is worth adding, because he still can hit.
Despite being 39 years old and having been suspended all of last season in the wake of the Biogensis investigation-slash-scandal, Rodriguez had a surprisingly super spring, especially offensively—which is all that matters in fantasy.
The embattled New York Yankees star has carried that over into the games that count, too, going 6-for-20 (.300) with a home run (off Toronto Blue Jays top prospect Daniel Norris) and six RBI, including four on Sunday Night Baseball against the Boston Red Sox.
Is Rodriguez going to play everyday and get 500-plus plate appearances? No, but the Yankees need offense and are finding ways to get him into the lineup so far, as he has played designated hitter and even registered a start at first base over the weekend, his first career game in the field at a position other than shortstop or third base—in his 21st season.
Owning A-Rod will require more roster maintenance than some owners might otherwise prefer—to make sure he's in the Yankees lineup, that is—but the bottom line for right now is he should be owned.
No. 3: Kendrys Morales, 1B, Kansas City Royals (8.2 Percent Owned)
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Maybe everyone wrote off Kendrys Morales too soon. Look, 2014 was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad year for the slugger after he rejected the Seattle Mariners' qualifying offer, which left him dangling as a free agent until after the draft—in June.
Without a normal offseason or spring training or even start of the regular season, the switch-hitter wasn't much of a "hitter" at all, batting just .218 with eight homers and 42 RBI in 98 games for the Minnesota Twins and the Mariners.
Things have started much better for Morales this year after he inked a two-year pact with the Kansas City Royals in mid-December. The 31-year-old has a hit in all six games and is at .400 overall (10-for-25) with seven runs, a homer and four RBI.
With the Royals lineup looking both deeper and more potent than last season, there's reason to believe Morales could have another 60-run, 20-homer, 70-RBI campaign in him with a solid average, much like he did in both 2012 and 2013. That'll play as a starting utility player or even corner infielder in most leagues.
No. 2: Miguel Castro, RP, Toronto Blue Jays (10.0 Percent Owned)
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Other little-owned relievers have taken over the ninth-inning duties recently, like the New York Mets' Jeurys Familia and Los Angeles Dodgers' Joel Peralta, both of whom were mentioned in the "Just Missed" portion of our programming. But the one big closer get of the week is Miguel Castro.
A spring training revelation, the hard-throwing Castro is just 20 years old, making him the second-youngest player in all of the major leagues in 2015. He also had never pitched above A-ball entering 2015, although he did post a 2.69 ERA, sub-1.00 WHIP and 8.7 K/9 in 2014.
The youth and inexperience present reasons for caution, but the stuff speaks for itself, which is why the Toronto Blue Jays chose to supplant high-strikeout lefty Brett Cecil with Castro before the season's first week was up.
Through his first four big league appearances, Castro has allowed but one hit (a single) and one walk while striking out a pair and notching as many saves. Fantasy owners, go get him if you need saves, because this could be a lengthy stay in the ninth inning.
No. 1: Trevor Bauer, SP, Cleveland Indians (44.2 Percent Owned)
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Pretty much ever since going third overall in 2011, Trevor Bauer has been either enigmatic or inconsistent—and often both at the same time—as a pro. But he has also shown strong stuff and enough flashes of brilliance that made him worth watching to see when he might put it all together.
It's still too early to say whether that's happened in 2015, but it could be happening.
In his first outing of the season, the 24-year-old Cleveland Indians right-hander completely flummoxed the whiff-prone Houston Astros, striking out a career-high 11—without allowing a single base hit. Alas, because he also walked five (hey, we told you he was enigmatic and inconsistent), Bauer had to be removed after the sixth inning with a pitch count of 111.
Expect a tougher challenge when he takes the mound against the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday, but the pedigree, talent and dedication to his craft are all there for Bauer to have a breakthrough campaign—and become a potential No. 3 starter in fantasy.
If he is somehow still available—and judging by the ownership percentages, he is—then grab him. All we ask is that you have a little patience, too, because there may be a blowup or two. Feel free to make him prove it to you a bit more while on your bench, but ultimately, should Bauer get locked in, you'll be glad you hung tight.
All ownership percentages courtesy of ESPN Fantasy Baseball. Players owned in more than 50 percent of leagues were not considered.
Statistics are accurate through Sunday, April 12, and courtesy of MLB.com, Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs unless otherwise noted.
Need more fantasy baseball help? Come pepper me with your questions on Twitter today at 11 a.m. ET @JayCat11
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