It’s crazy to think we’re already in the 14th week of the MLB season, but here we are. The injury bug has calmed down since earlier this season when it felt like every big named player went down with something. At this point we all should have a feel for the players on our teams for the long haul, and the few pieces you’re having mixed feelings about. There are a bunch of players listed below that could help your team and could replace some of the options you’re not satisfied with!

10-team leagues

Joc Pederson, LAD OF (38% ownership), FAAB Bid - $ 18 – Quietly, Joc Pederson is raking in June. He’s hit five homers in 15 games and put together a slash line of .319/.467/.745. Those that are good at math will note that’s an out of this world 1.211 OPS. His ISO for the month is .426 and his wOBA is .489. Pederson’s unique ability to lay off tough pitches and hit the ball out of any park makes him extremely valuable, even if his season average sits at just .237. He’s hitting line drives over 20-percent of the time and making hard contact 35-percent of the time in June. It’s time to own him in all formats if you don’t already.

Jon Gray, COL SP (48% ownership), FAAB Bid - $15 – So look, we know Gray is risky, but the upside is tremendous. We saw that upside in 2016 when he made 29 starts and struck out 185 opponents in 168 innings. Last year’s 4.61 ERA was also very unlucky as he notched a 3.60 FIP, which impressive seeing how half of his starts took place at Coors Field. Gray’s ability to miss bats alone makes him an elite add at this point in the fantasy season.

 

12-team leagues

Jhoulys Chacin, SD SP (11% ownership), FAAB Bid - $13 – After his fifth straight quality start on Tuesday, people are taking notice that Chacin’s halfway decent. In 33 June innings, Chacin has posted a 3.00 ERA and has struck out 27 batters. His opponents slash line in June is .220/.295/.393. We also love guys who get groundballs, which Chacin has done at a 52.8-percent clip on the year. He’s on a roll and has the luxury of pitching in San Diego more often than not. Definitely pick him up if he’s available.

Michael Taylor, WAS OF (22% ownership), FAAB Bid - $10 – It seems as if Taylor has finally put everything together at the plate as he’s been on fire of late. If you’ve looked close enough you might even see the flames. Just over the past two weeks, Taylor’s hit .366 with five homers and has even swiped three bags. His June OPS is .957 while posting a .393 wOBA. He’s also making a boatload of hard contact; 37.9-percent of the time to be exact. He has hit the ball hard all year, but they’re finally starting to find some green grass.

Franklin Barreto, OAK SS (17% ownership), FAAB Bid – $10 – The Athletics number one prospect has burst onto the scene and is definitely here to stay. We do wonder what will happen when Marcus Sieman returns, but it’s more than likely one of the two simply move to another infield spot. After homering in his first professional game, Barreto has calmly hit .308 since the call up. He has a lot of upside and is especially valuable in leagues with a middle infield spot.

Tyler Austin, NYY 1B (2% ownership), FAAB Bid - $8 – The Yankees front office came out and said Austin is their starting first basemen going forward, so that’s great news.  Before being called up to the Majors, Austin belted four homers and slugged .560 in 27 games at Triple-A. He packs a lot of power and has really solid homerun upside going forward. He is also going to see some starts in the outfield, which would further his upside once he becomes multi-position eligible.

 

15-team leagues

Austin Slater, SF OF (1% ownership), FAAB Bid - $6-7 – People cowering the waiver wire are simply overlooking most Giants’ position players right now because of how bad the team is but don’t overlook this guy any longer. Before being called up to the Majors, Slater was hitting .322 at Triple-A. He’s seemingly always been more of a contact guy than someone who hits for power seeing as his career-high in homers at any level is 13. That said, he’s hitting .300 over his first 21 games and will continue to draw starts if he keeps reaching base. He’s a solid option in NL-only formats, as well as leagues with a focus on batting average.

Seth Lugo, NYM SP, RP (19% ownership), FAAB Bid - $5-7 – The Mets as a team are a complete dumpster fire but Lugo has been a nice surprise for them. It’s only been 19.1 innings and three starts but he’s only allowing 27-percent hard contact and inducing grounders at a nice 40-percent clip. Lugo doesn’t miss many bats as he’s posted a 6.05 K/9 thus far in 2017, which is why we only suggest adding him in deeper formatted leagues.

Martin Maldonado, LAA C (7% ownership), FAAB Bid - $4 – Although we prefer Maldonado in matchups against left-handed pitching, Maldonado has come into his own at the dish against both handedness’s. Maldonado has posted a gaudy .407 wOBA versus lefties, but six of his eight bombs have come against righties. Catcher is always such a weak position if you don’t own the likes of guys like Sanchez and Posey you’ve probably gone through a few different players at the position. Maldonado can solve that problem.

 

*ownership percentages courtesy of Yahoo

** FAAB bids based on $100 budget