Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: Top 10 Pickups for Week 24
The dog days of summer mark the most important time of year for fantasy baseball managers.
At this stage of the MLB season, several squads are exploring the depths of their expanded rosters. While fantasy gamers compete for a championship, some real teams are playing out the year with players auditioning for 2016 gigs.
The NFL's return has sent several fantasy players instead searching their football waiver-wire pool. While breakout candidates present themselves early in the season, everyone has already ransacked baseball's waiver wire. In an active, competitive league, no more studs are waiting around.
Keep that in mind before feeling underwhelmed by this week's batch of free-agent recommendations. Rather than playing the long game, these adds center around hot hands and matchup plays who can provide short-term value.
These guys are all available in over half of Yahoo leagues, and only three are owned in more than a quarter of them. Few of them offer high upside, but every tick matters.
Honorable Mentions
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Mixed Leagues
Wilin Rosario, C/1B, Colorado Rockies
Billy Butler, 1B, Oakland Athletics
Jean Segura, SS, Milwaukee Brewers
Eugenio Suarez, SS, Cincinnati Reds
Anthony Gose, OF, Detroit Tigers
James Paxton, SP, Seattle Mariners
Kyle Barraclough, RP, Miami Marlins
AL-Only
Mikie Mahtook, OF, Tampa Bay Rays
Shawn O'Malley, OF, Seattle Mariners
Rich Hill, RP, Boston Red Sox
Felix Doubront, SP/RP, Oakland Athletics
NL-Only
Kelly Johnson, 1B/2B/3B/OF, New York Mets
Daniel Castro, 2B, Atlanta Braves
Adonis Garcia, 3B/OF, Atlanta Braves
Justin Ruggiano, OF, Los Angeles Dodgers
Tim Hudson, SP, San Francisco Giants
10. Wade Miley, SP, Boston Red Sox (10 Percent Owned)
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A week after touting Rick Porcello, Wade Miley gets some love in a Boston Red Sox rotation that is finally getting their act together. Yeah, yeah, Joe Kelly has won his last eight starts, but consider his absence a protest to eliminate the meaningless category.
Over their last six starts, Kelly has posted a 1.64 ERA to Miley's 3.56. The metrics, however, share a far different story. Due to an underwhelming 25 strikeouts and 16 walks, Kelly has posted a 3.69 fielding independent pitching (FIP) over that stretch. Miley, meanwhile, has accrued a 2.19 FIP with 36 strikeouts and five walks.
Those peripherals are finally paying off for the lefty, who has allowed five runs through 16 September innings. On the season, he leads a group of ground-ball orientated hurlers with a 48.5 percentage, which indicates plenty of weak contact.
One major caveat: He's currently scheduled to face the Toronto Blue Jays this week, so wait a week to add or use him if the current rotation holds up.
9. Logan Verrett, RP, New York Mets (7 Percent Owned)
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If a pitcher can help once, he's worth a look this late into a season. In a week without any obvious two-start pickups, let's settle for one outing from spot-starter Logan Verrett.
For the second time this year, the 25-year-old righty will take Matt Harvey's turn in the New York Mets rotation, as manager Terry Collins confirmed to ESPN.com's Adam Rubin. The last time Verrett made a temporary appearance, he allowed one run through eight masterful innings at Coors Field, striking out batters in a victory over the Colorado Rockies.
He'll get a much easier assignment this time, as the Mets face the Miami Marlins at Citi Field. Helpless without Giancarlo Stanton, Miami ranks No. 28 in weighted on-base average (wOBA) since the All-Star break with an MLB-low 31 home runs.
Verrett only has one MLB start to his name, but the matchup is too pretty to ignore, especially with the Mets offense demolishing everything in sight over the past seven weeks. With their National League East lead all the way up to 9.5 games, this probably won't be his last start of the season.
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8. Jedd Gyorko, 2B/SS, San Diego Padres (19 Percent Owned)
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Upon seeing Jedd Gyorko's name, several readers scoffed and said, "Nice try. I'm not falling for this again." A breakout pick heading into 2014, he instead hit .210 with 10 homers. Labeled a bounce-back candidate this season, he faltered for three months before finally heating up.
Along with belting 11 of his 14 homers during the second half, his .249 average is all owners ever wanted from the powerful middle infielder. He hasn't brandished any plate-discipline improvements to support his gains, but he's embracing his skills by pursuing pop.
Gyorko has pulled the ball with more regularity, upping his first half 37.3 pull percentage to 49.0. In the process, he has generated better contact with a 37.8 line-drive percentage.
Don't get giddy for a 30-homer campaign next season. More likely than not, this simply amounts to a flawed player catching fire. Yet, dating back to his 23-homer rookie campaign two years ago, the power is no fluke.
Now that he has gained shortstop eligibility, he's an enticing option for gamers needing homers down the stretch. Ride him this week, as the San Diego Padres leave Petco Park for Chase Field and Coors Field.
7. John Lamb, SP, Cincinnati Reds (2 Percent Owned)
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Desperate enough to target a rookie pitcher with a 5.18 ERA and 1.58 WHIP? Beneath those appalling numbers, John Lamb has also punched out 39 batters through 33 innings.
Strikeouts aren't everything, but they're pretty darn important for a hurler's fantasy success. If the 25-year-old lefty—acquired by the Cincinnati Reds in the Johnny Cueto deal—keeps generating whiffs, his results will reflect a solid 3.63 FIP.
A .398 batting average on balls in play (BABIP) has ruined Lamb's arrival. While he's doing himself no favors with a dismal 31.1 ground-ball percentage, he has also curtailed opponents to a 19.6 hard-hit percentage.
Finally receiving better fortune on batted balls his last time out, he tossed five scoreless innings despite surrendering six walks. Before panicking, he stepped into that start against the St. Louis Cardinals with seven walks dispersed over 28 innings. Not a control artist, but he hasn't looked Trevor Bauer wild.
He's certainly risky, but try finding another free-agent pitcher who can strike out over a better per inning.
6. Kevin Kiermaier, OF, Tampa Bay Rays (9 Percent Owned)
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Productive base-stealers are increasingly tough to locate these days. Only 42 players have swiped at least 15 bags, and 19 of them also have double-digit home runs.
Kevin Kiermaier isn't on that second list yet, but he's inching closer with eight long balls accompanying his 16 steals. Red-hot this summer, he's hitting .333 with three dingers and four steals over the last 30 days.
Scouts expected this year's version of Kiermaier rather than the one who produced 10 dingers and five steals last season. He's far from a fantasy star, especially since investors don't receive credit for his magnificent defense. Yet he offers enough across the board to matter in five-outfielder formats.
The 25-year-old won't sustain this torrid hitting, but he's a subdued source of stolen bases for anybody needing to gain ground. Unlike one-trick ponies like Jarrod Dyson, he won't hurt owners anywhere else.
5. Alex Colome, RP, Tampa Bay Rays (6 Percent Owned)
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In the right spot, a lethal middle relief pitcher offers great insurance for fantasy owners. Rather than wasting real estate on a resting starter, get some extra innings from Alex Colome, the latest converted starter to dominate out of the bullpen.
Since shifting to his new role, the 26-year-old righty has registered a 1.10 ERA, tallying 35 strikeouts and five walks through 32.2 frames. Opponents are slugging .239 against him as a reliever, claiming only one extra-base hit (a double) out of 124 batters faced.
Colome, who hasn't yielded an earned run since Aug. 1, has collected at least one strikeout in each of his last 19 appearances. At best a streamer-level starter, he's a major weapon in shorter stints. Don't expect any saves to materialize from this hot streak, but he'll add a few strikeouts while making a late contribution in ERA and WHIP.
4. Eduardo Escobar, 2B/3B/SS/OF, Minnesota Twins (32 Percent Owned)
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The precursor to Eduardo Escobar making the cut is familiar by now. Although excluded at first due to unexplainable, unsustainable success, he hasn't slowed down.
He probably will soon enough. Before crushing 10 homers this season, six since Aug. 20, the utilityman hit 32 career professional long balls stemming back to 2008.
Then again, his other numbers aren't are far off from last year. His .323 wOBA is a tad above 2014's .317 clip. Although neither quite represents a high-level hitter, he's batting .283/.340/.510 since the All-Star break. If his six dingers didn't open up enough eyes, take a gander at his 15 doubles, already more than the dozen he delivered before the Midsummer Classic.
Also helping his cause, he's eligible for second base, shortstop, third base and outfield in standard Yahoo leagues. All that eligibility gives gamers great flexibility when setting lineups. Is your starting second baseman sitting on Thursday? Slide over Escobar, whose Minnesota Twins play all seven days this week. Every minor detail matters at this stage.
3. Anthony DeSclafani, SP, Cincinnati Reds (21 Percent Owned)
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For most of the season, Anthony DeSclafani looked like nothing more than an another arm for deep-league players. Lately, however, something has clicked for the Cincinnati Reds rookie.
Over his last four starts, he has limited the damage to six runs over 26 innings. After posting middling strikeout numbers all year, the 25-year-old has notched 29 punchouts during that stretch while issuing four walks.
He's not J.A. Happ hot, but the fellow NL Central hurler is dealing outside of the playoff picture. Suddenly he sports a 3.67 ERA backed by a 3.69 FIP. In 11 starts since the All-Star break, he has submitted only a dozen free passes.
DeSclafani is scheduled to take the hill against the Milwaukee Brewers, who are capable of handling a righty behind Ryan Braun, Adam Lind and Khris Davis. Yet they're still a below-average offense, and the youngster shouldn't mind pitching away from Great American Ball Park.
2. Wil Myers, 1B/OF, San Diego Padres (40 Percent Owned)
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Remember when Wil Myers was baseball's best prospect? Still 24 years old, the twice-traded outfielder hasn't delivered any post-hype value with San Diego this season.
He also, however, has performed far better than last year's fiasco with the Tampa Bay Rays. He's hitting a respectable .265/.321/.436, but has only suited up for 44 games due to two lengthy injury absences.
A few days ago, this section would've read far differently. During a five-game hitting streak from Sept. 6-10, he went 7-for-20 with one long ball. He since has one hit and a walk in 11 plate appearances. Small sample sizes are small.
Like Gyorko, San Diego's schedule boosts his short-term appeal. Myers, who is receiving reps atop San Diego's batting order, will tee off inside two hitter's parks. Streaming is usually associated with pitchers, but Myers gets a weekend at Coors against Chad Bettis, Yohan Flande and Kyle Kendrick. Yes, please.
1. Mark Canha, 1B/OF, Oakland Athletics (29 Percent Owned)
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Mark Canha fits the Oakland Athletics prototype. An afterthought despite strong minor league numbers, he made his MLB debut at age 26, immediately delivering solid results.
For the most part, fantasy gamers are just starting to take notice. Splitting his time between first base and left field, he's hitting .255/.309/.441 with 15 home runs and seven steals. Viewed more as roster depth, he's making the case for bigger things with seven dingers over the past month, four during the past nine days.
Although a relative success story, Canha hasn't succeeded according to plan. Graduating from the minors with a 11.3 walk percentage, the rate has dipped to 6.5 against big league pitching. Originally anticipated to play a platoon role against lefties, he holds an .852 OPS against righties and .542 OPS off southpaws.
If Canha repairs those two supposed strengths, he'll remain a relevant contributor down the stretch and merit appeal in 2016 drafts.
Note: All advanced stats courtesy of FanGraphs unless otherwise noted.
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