10-Team Leagues

Get ready for a bunch of pitchers to be featured in this section…

Dylan Cease SP CHW; FAAB Bid: 10-20% - Cease is a must add if you can get him at an affordable price. The good news is that the White Sox have confirmed he’s part of the rotation even after his big-league debut in Game One of Wednesday’s doubleheader. The slight bad news is that he had a rough June in Triple-A to the tune of an 8.31 ERA. However, this could be the case where most teams don’t know what to expect from a potential rookie phenom and Cease could look very strong early on. He should be added in all formats based on his pedigree so definitely grab him wherever you can.

Brendan McKay SP TB; FAAB Bid: 15-20% - Yeah I’m going to add a second starting pitching and another rookie. McKay cracked the waiver wire column last week and he rewarded you handsomely if you went out and streamed him. In six innings against the Rangers he allowed just one hit and struck out a trio of hitters. Unfortunately, he barely missed the early week series against Baltimore and will next face the Yankees on Independence Day. If you need something to hang your hat on, the start is going to come in the Trop so he gets a ballpark upgrade by avoiding Yankee Stadium.

Nathan Eovaldi SP/RP BOS; FAAB Bid: 12% - Eovaldi is set to be activated off the 60-day DL after the All-Star Break and it sounds as if the team is going to move him to the bullpen for relief work and it even appears as if he’ll be the closer upon his return. This is good news because the Boston bullpen has been TRASH all season long and they can’t seem to find a reliable closer. I was all for Brandon Workman getting some opportunities, but that doesn’t seem to be in the cards unfortunately. However, if Eovaldi is the ninth inning guy for Boston then he needs to be on your team. He may be a little rusty coming back from injury so temper expectations if there are struggles.

 

12-Team Leagues

Alex Verdugo OF LAD; FAAB Bid: 8-10% - Since the top section was riddled with pitching options I’ll dedicate some hitters to the 12-team section. Don’t forget if any of the above arms are available in your deeper league you should still go out and acquire them. Verdugo has been swinging a hot bad over the last two weeks. Since June 22nd he is 15-for-43 with a 1.144 OPS, four home runs, a pair of doubles, and nine runs scored. He might ride your bench for the most part if you have better options, but in a five-outfielder format he might get the call. At the very worst he should be rostered. He’s a pretty disciplined hitter who is striking out in less than ten-percent of his plate appearances.

Chris Taylor SS, OF LAD; FAAB Bid: 6-8% - Taylor made the waiver wire column not too long ago and he’s kept up the production for the most part. Dating back to June 18th he’s hitting .478 with a 1.410 OPS. He has three home runs, eight doubles, and a triple in that span to go with 15 RBI and ten runs scored so he can really help out in any categories league. He seems to bounce around the middle-to-bottom of the order which is somewhat frustrating. However, he’s producing wherever he hits and he offers some roster flexibility as well.

Kevin Newman 2B, SS PIT; FAAB Bid: 3-5% - Newman recently had his 17-game hitting streak snapped, but since June 11th he’s hitting .367 with a surprising .995 OPS. He exhibits some solid plate discipline as he doesn’t strike out all that often and he can steal a base here and there. He only has five swipes as of right now, but last year in Triple-A he stole 28 bags. He’s locked into the leadoff spot on most nights and is great for your fantasy team’s batting average. He’s like a slightly lesser version of Jeff McNeil .

 

15-Team Leagues

J.P. Crawford SS SEA; FAAB Bid: 3% - Since coming off the Injured List Crawford has strung together a nice stretch of games. Since June 14th he’s hitting .319 with a .936 OPS with two home runs, two triples, five doubles, 17 RBI, and ten runs scored. He’s settled comfortably into the two-hole and he’s returning solid value as of right now. He won’t cost you very much and he’s pretty useful in deep leagues with his recent power surge.

Scott Oberg RP COL; FAAB Bid: 1-2% - Wade Davis is constantly flirting with disaster as the closer for the Colorado Rockies. He has a 5.76 ERA on the season and since June 13th he’s allowed 12 earned runs over 8.1 innings of work. Oberg could possibly be the next in line for saves if Davis were to be removed from the job or get hurt. He touts a 1.90 ERA on the season, he averages over a strikeout per inning, and he isn’t walking people at the rate Davis is. It’s a longshot as of right now, but Oberg’s worth monitoring at the very least.

Eric Thames 1B, OF MIL; FAAB Bid: 2-4% - Don’t look now, but “Thames Watch” is on the cusp of becoming a thing again. Naturally I’m being a little optimistic, but over his last six games he’s 8-for-22 with three home runs, five RBI, and five runs scored. In that span he also has three doubles and a triple so seven of hit eight hits since last Thursday have gone for extra bases. He’s raised his season-long batting average to .273 and he now has a .932 OPS. If he can stay healthy and find playing time he could finish with 20-25 home runs and that kind of production is worth owning in a deeper league.