Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: Top 10 Pickups for Week 26
One final week, one last batch of waiver-wire additions just the way you like 'em: hot and fresh out of the oven.
With the end of the fantasy baseball season here, this is a last-ditch rundown of the top waiver-wire pickups as you get set to finish up your lineup decisions and roster additions.
Some players mentioned last week—including Jose Quintana, Kevin Gausman, Rusney Castillo, Brandon McCarthy, Oswaldo Arcia, Avisail Garcia, David Freese and Alejandro De Aza—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 the final week.
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Shane Greene, SP/RP, New York Yankees (7.3 Percent Owned)
Vance Worley, SP, Pittsburgh Pirates (10.0 Percent Owned)
Dustin Ackley, 2B/OF, Seattle Mariners (42.8 Percent Owned)
Omar Infante, 2B, Kansas City Royals (20.5 Percent Owned)
Scott Feldman, SP, Houston Astros (4.3 Percent Owned)
Edward Mujica, RP, Boston Red Sox (46.9 Percent Owned)
Ken Giles, RP, Philadelphia Phillies (18.8 Percent Owned)
Alexi Amarista, 2B/3B/SS/OF, San Diego Padres (19.3 Percent Owned)
Rougned Odor, 2B, Texas Rangers (4.7 Percent Owned)
C. J. Cron, 1B, Los Angeles Angels (3.1 Percent Owned)
Ender Inciarte, OF, Arizona Diamondback (11.7 Percent Owned)
Jared Burton, RP, Minnesota Twins (6.0 Percent Owned)
Jake Smolinski, OF, Texas Rangers (4.2 Percent Owned)
Nick Franklin, 2B, Tampa Bay Rays (0.0 Percent Owned)
Ryan Rua, 1B/OF, Texas Rangers (1.3 Percent Owned)
No. 10: Wilmer Flores, 2B/3B/SS, New York Mets (33.0 Percent Owned)
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Does your fantasy lineup need a little last-minute help in the infield? Well, Wilmer Flores has that covered, whether you're looking for a second baseman, a third baseman or a shortstop.
That's right, the New York Mets rookie is eligible at all three spots in most formats, and that makes him a useful piece. Plus, the 23-year-old former prospect has a decent pedigree and has been hitting well recently for the first time as a major leaguer.
Although he went 0-for-5 on Sunday, Flores had a seven-game hitting streak going, during which he hit .393 with three homers and 10 RBI.
That might be as hot as Flores will be from here on out, but the versatility and ability are there. You could do worse if you're looking to add some offense for the final push.
No. 9: Logan Morrison, 1B, Seattle Mariners (3.5 Percent Owned)
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Formerly a top-notch prospect with the Miami Marlins, Logan Morrison never has made good on his potential.
While 2014 has been more of the same—he's hitting only .252 with 35 runs, nine homers and 33 RBI in just over 300 at-bats—the 27-year-old has shown enough recently to warrant a pickup.
Morrison is working on a seven-game hitting streak in which he's gone 9-for-22 (.409) with a homer, his third of September.
Considering the Seattle Mariners are going to be in a dogfight to try to reach October over the next week, expect Morrison to play. At this late a stage, that's half the battle. If he can put together a couple of nice games too, all the better.
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No. 8: Taijuan Walker, SP, Seattle Mariners (7.4 Percent Owned)
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After two bad losses to the Houston Astros over the weekend, the Mariners enter the final week of the regular season 1.5 games behind the Kansas City Royals for the second wild card in the AL—and needing to win as many games as they possibly can to get back to the playoffs for the first time since 2001.
Gambling on a desperate club can backfire, but it can also work if it brings out the best. That's the idea with Logan Morrison at No. 9 followed by rookie Taijuan Walker at No. 8, as he is due for another start Wednesday at Toronto.
The 22-year-old top prospect pitched Friday and did well enough (5.2 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 7:2 K:BB) to win the only game of the three versus the 'Stros. The M's are going to need the same kind of lift to stay in the race, and Walker has the goods to get it done.
No. 7: Jon Niese, SP, New York Mets (13.8 Percent Owned)
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Going back to another Mets player for a moment, Jon Niese is a safe, reliable starting pitcher option who can offer one more solid start this season.
The 27-year-old left-hander has allowed more than three earned runs just three times in 2014, and 21 of his 29 starts have been quality.
In his past three turns, Niese has given up just five earned runs while sporting a 19-to-2 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 21.0 innings. His next outing comes Friday against the Houston Astros, who have the second-most strikeouts in all of baseball.
You'll want to have Niese in your active rotation for that one.
No. 6: Edinson Volquez, SP, Pittsburgh Pirates (39.1 Percent Owned)
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Recommending the enigmatic Edinson Volquez as a pickup is never easy. His performance has tended to be all over the map, and he's liable to blow up at any point.
Thing is, the 31-year-old actually has been—dare I say it?—pretty darn stable, with a 2.41 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and 6.9 K/9 in the second half. And in those 12 post-break starts, Volquez has surrendered more than three earned runs just once, back on July 21, which was his first outing in this stretch.
After shutting out the Milwaukee Brewers over seven frames Saturday, Volquez gets to wrap up his 2014 regular season Thursday against the crumbling Atlanta Braves, who have the second-fewest runs scored and the fourth-most strikeouts in baseball. The Pittsburgh Pirates are jockeying for playoff position too, so there's something on the line here.
No. 5: Jason Hammel, SP, Oakland Athletics (43.0 Percent Owned)
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Despite missing his scheduled start over the weekend to be present for the birth of his child, Jason Hammel is lined up to get back on the mound Thursday against the terrible Texas Rangers, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.
The 32-year-old right-hander really struggled in his first seven turns after joining the Oakland Athletics from the Chicago Cubs in an early-July trade. His 6.75 ERA says so.
Since Aug. 26, however, Hammel has turned things around, allowing no more than three runs in any of his five outings and seven total in 29.2 frames—good for a 2.12 ERA. He's also given up just 18 hits against a 28-to-4 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
The A's acquired Hammel for the playoff push, and if he can overcome his initial issues and pitch one more big game to help them get there in the end despite the club's horrendous last few weeks, it'll have been worth it. Same goes for fantasy owners who relied on Hammel in the first half and then cut him, only to keep seeing his name on the waiver wire.
If that's the case, add, start and have a little faith.
No. 4: Kyle Hendricks, SP, Chicago Cubs (26.7 Percent Owned)
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Since debuting on July 10, Kyle Hendricks has shown he belongs in the bigs, even if he was never a highly regarded prospect.
The Chicago Cubs' 24-year-old righty has gone 7-2 with a 2.28 ERA and 1.08 WHIP in 12 starts. Sure, the 5.8 strikeouts-per-nine rate is low, but that's because Hendricks' stuff isn't all that impressive. And while his fielding independent pitching (FIP) of 3.22 is solid, it's nearly a full run north of his ERA.
The good news? The Cubs have decided to push Hendricks up from a Wednesday start to a Tuesday one, according to Tony Andracki of CSNChicago.com.
That means he'll get two turns in the final week rather than one. The matchups aren't ideal—the St. Louis Cardinals followed by the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday—but if you want to target a readily available two-start arm, Hendricks fits the bill.
No. 3: Juan Uribe, 3B, Los Angeles Dodgers (45.1 Percent Owned)
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Although he's the epitome of the unsexy fantasy add as a 35-year-old veteran of 14 MLB seasons, Juan Uribe is continuing with his productive-when-healthy schtick.
Uribe, who has battled through various ailments and injuries throughout 2014, has been on the field a lot in September, and he's made it count.
To wit, he's hitting .387 (24-for-62) this month while also scoring 11 runs, driving in 12 and knocking three homers in 17 games. And he's been consistent, with at least one hit in all but two games over that time.
With the Los Angeles Dodgers fighting to clinch the NL West and driving to overtake the Washington Nationals for the top seed in the NL, they're going to play Uribe as long as he can go. And if he can go, he'll hit.
No. 2: Jake Marisnick, OF, Houston Astros (5.3 Percent Owned)
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The beginning of Jake Marisnick's career with the Miami Marlins didn't go very well. Despite being a top prospect, he made his debut at 22 out of Double-A in July 2013 and went on to hit just .183/.231/.248 in 118 sporadic plate appearances last year.
Called back up this June, Marisnick didn't fare any better, slashing .167/.216/.167 in a mere 51 PAs before the Fish traded him to the Houston Astros at the July deadline.
Since joining his third organization in three years—he also was a part of the blockbuster deal that sent Jose Reyes, Josh Johnson and Mark Buehrle (among others) to the Toronto Blue Jays in November 2012—Marisnick has started to figure things out.
Now 23, the athletic, 6'4" righty hitter has managed 42 hits in his first 152 at-bats with the Astros, which works out to a respectable .276 average. With that have come three homers, including one in each of his last two games, and six stolen bases.
There are plenty of swing-and-miss and plate discipline problems to improve, but Marisnick has impressive raw tools, especially his speed and defense, which will afford him enough playing time to work on getting better with the bat. That might not happen overnight, but a 14-for-34 (.412) hot stretch over his past 10 games is a sign that Marisnick has it in him.
No. 1: Henderson Alvarez, SP, Miami Marlins (28.0 Percent Owned)
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Henderson Alvarez gets the top spot for a couple of reasons.
One, the 24-year-old has been underratedly good all year long, including an ERA of 2.82—top 20 in MLB—and a solid 1.24 WHIP. He's done that while fighting through bouts with arm and side soreness at times, by the way.
Two, Alvarez is in line to get two turns in the final week, which makes him extra useful. On Tuesday, he faces a cushy matchup in the Philadelphia Phillies, against whom he's allowed only seven earned runs over 33.1 innings across five starts in 2014.
Then, over the weekend, he'll take on the Washington Nationals, who have scored just one earned run against Alvarez in 17.2 innings over three starts this year. Plus, they are already playoff bound, so their lineup might be a mishmash of regulars and backups.
And even though he's everything but a strikeout pitcher (5.5 K/9), the fact that Alvarez should take the mound twice will help with that too. If you're looking for a starter to stream to finish strong, he's it.
All ownership percentages courtesy of ESPN Fantasy Baseball. Players owned in more than 50 percent of leagues were not considered. Statistics are accurate through of Sept. 22 and are courtesy of MLB.com, Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs, unless otherwise noted.
To talk baseball or fantasy baseball, check in with me on Twitter: @JayCat11.
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