10-Team Leagues
Keston Hiura 2B MIL; FAAB Bid: 12% - Typically I have awful timing with prospect call ups, and I know Hiura was called up earlier in the year. But this year I feel like I’ve published the MLB Waiver Wire article and hours later news broke that a prospect was getting called up. But at least this past Wednesday I mentioned Hiura as a stash because Travis Shaw was doing terrible, Hiura was crushing it in the minors, and his fantasy ownership was dropping so you could get him for cheap. Well now you can’t get him as cheap so you better fork over the coin. He displayed some good power earlier this month before getting demoted, but now that he’s back up in the majors I expect him to pick up right where he left off especially with Travis Shaw being sent to Triple-A and Hernán Pérez being DFA’d.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. 2B, SS, OF TOR; FAAB Bid: 8% - Gurriel is scorching hot right now. He’s legitimately one of the hottest hitters in the league. He’s recorded multiple hits in six straight games. Since June 9th he’s hitting .378 with an OPS of 1.243 with ten home runs, 17 runs scored, and 20 RBI. He’s currently rooted into the three-hole right now and with good reason. His bat is on fire especially after two home runs Friday night against the Royals. Get him wherever you can and plug him into any of the spots he’s eligible.
Zac Gallen/Jordan Yamamoto SP MIA; FAAB Bid: 6% for Gallen and 2-3% for Yamamoto – I’m a bigger fan of Gallen next week because he’s the better pitcher and he has two starts against the Nationals and the Braves. I still want to see more from Yamamoto, which I’ll get after his matchup today against Philly. I love Gallen’s upside and his long-term big league prospects. I don’t expect much run support ever for Miami so the wins will be rare even though Yamamoto has a win in each of his three starts. Sometimes you get lucky, I suppose.
James McCann C CHW; FAAB Bid: 6-7% - McCann’s on a pretty nice tear for a catcher right now. On Friday night he hit his fifth home run in his last ten games. He’s now hitting .327 with a .915 OPS. He’s locked into the cleanup spot right now and is seeing the ball really well. The catcher position is difficult to fill in fantasy baseball. It can be one of those positions you stream based on the hot hitter and right now that hitter is James McCann so jump on him now while the ownership is spiking.
12-Team Leagues
Brendan McKay 1B, SP TB; FAAB Bid: 15% - This addition applies for shallower leagues as well, but currently he’s widely available in 12-team leagues. Depending on the site you play on you may have to add him once as a first baseman and then again as a starting pitcher. For what it’s worth, it sounds like they’ll use him exclusively as a pitcher. The Rays bullpen and rotation are in need of help as it sounds like Tyler Glasnow may not throw for a few weeks. He has a great repertoire of pitches and he can command his pitchers very well. He’s definitely the kind of pitcher than can make an impact right now, but be warned that he’s likely on a pitch count. UPDATE: McKay looked great in his debut against Texas. He only worked six innings, but gave up just one hit and recorded three strikeouts.
Liam Hendriks RP OAK; FAAB Bid: 10% - Depending on how desperate you might be for saves, Hendriks should be owned in all formats. He has a pair of saves since last Saturday and he flaunts some significant strikeout potential (10.96 K/9). Another clean facet to his game is that he’s allowed just one home run in 44.1 innings of work this year. That’s what you like to see out of your ninth inning, high leverage arms.
Logan Allen SP SD; FAAB Bid: 6-8% - Since his debut, and making a quick buck off John Cena, Allen has logged a pair of wins in 13 innings of work with a 1.38 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. He’s a two-start pitcher next week against the Giants at home and then the Dodgers on the road. The second start may be a little risky, but no guts, no glory. I’d use him for both appearances next week.
Ramón Laureano OF OAK; FAAB Bid: 5% - Laureano went deep on Thursday night which gives him five home runs since June 12th. He touts an OPS of .932 in that span and is a solid threat on the base path to swipe some bags. In the event you are currently without Yordan Alvarez , the oft-banged up Giancarlo Stanton , or Marcell Ozuna then Laureano can fill a spot on the roster and provide some depth for your offense as well.
15-Team Leagues
Kyle Tucker OF HOU; FAAB Bid: 0-1% - I’m not wild about this waiver addition, but I understand why some folks in deeper leagues are picking him up. Yordan Alvarez is day-to-day with a sore left knee and it’s possible the Astros shut him down for a couple weeks, but I’m not completely buying that. But as insurance I get why deep league owners are flocking to the waiver wire to add Tucker. Tucker had a forgettable debut in 2018 with Houston, but he’s been crushing it at Triple-A to the tune of 23 home runs, 59 RBI, 56 runs scored, 18 stolen bases and a .940 OPS. He’s really only worth an add in deeper leagues as I don’t believe Alvarez will be out too long unless it’s revealed that his knee injury is worse.
Dominic Smith 1B, OF NYM; FAAB Bid: 2-4% - Assuming he continues to find regular playing time, Smith is worth picking up especially in OBP or OPS leagues. He hit a home run in three straight games Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday and quietly sports a 1.007 OPS on the season. He’s got a hit in five straight games with six runs scored in that span. If he can continue to make regular appearances in the Mets lineup there’s some deep league appeal here. Unfortunately for the Mets, Smith can’t do much to improve their bullpen woes.
Brandon Workman RP BOS; FAAB Bid: 4-5% - I know the Red Sox bullpen is an absolute atrocity, but with the latest meltdown on Wednesday I’m gaining more optimism for Brandon Workman . Matt Barnes blew another save on Wednesday, his sixth blown save of the year. He carries a 4.19 ERA on the year and while his 15.99 K/9 is outstanding, he isn’t getting the job done. Workman, on the other hand, has been pretty decent. He notched his third save of the season on Tuesday and has a very nice 12.89 K/9 of his own. He’s allowed just one home run in 37 innings of work and I’m a firm believer the Red Sox will give him more opportunities in the ninth inning. But I’m also aware that Dave Dombrowski knows he needs to fix the bullpen. Whether or not that means trading for a different player they may hand the ball off to in the ninth inning is tough to gauge as of right now. So live in the moment and give Workman some work, man.