10-team leagues

Chris Devenski , HOU RP (51% ownership), FAAB Bid - $19-20 - With Ken Giles not picking up a save since April 9th and Devenski picking up two since then, it’s leaves you to wonder what Giles’ role with the team truly is. It’s only a matter of time before Devenski takes over full-time. Over his last 6 ?’s innings, Devenski has two saves, a hold, a win, hasn’t allowed an earned run and has struck out eight batters. It’s about time he’s owned in all formats going forward. He does literally everything for the Astros.

César Hernández , PHI 2B (55% ownership), FAAB Bid - $14-15 - Steady. That’s the best descriptive word I can come up with for the Phillies second baseman. He’s been rock solid thus far in 2018 hitting .291 with 13 runs scored, two homers and four stolen bases. So in other words, he literally is doing everything for Philly. The best part is, the lineup behind him is vastly improved which has allowed him to score all of those runs. He’s easily a top-five player at his position in fantasy baseball right now and should be picked up in all leagues.

Albert Pujols , LAA 1B (61% ownership), FAAB Bid - $13-14 - It’s clear to me that Pujols still has it when healthy. He’s also benefiting from the stacked lineup he gets to hit in the middle of. Pitchers would much rather pitch to a near 40-year old than Mike Trout and Justin Upton who are both in the primes of their respective careers I’d assume. Pujols has been productive though, hitting .284 with three homers and 10 RBI. He’s also scored eight runs, which is nice to see because he’s had a big problem running the bases the last few seasons.

 

12-team leagues

Franchy Cordero , SD OF (14% ownership), FAAB Bid - $10 - Although Craig Mish has already written about him, we at Fantasy Alarm can’t stress it enough that you should pick this guy up. He’s already begun flashing the speed plus power upside as he’s swiped two bags over his last three games while hitting two bombs already. He hit 17 bombs at Triple-A last year and slugged .603 while posting a .972 OPS. With Wil Myers and Manuel Margot out, Cordero is going to get all the opportunity in the world to play everyday and you should grab him now before it’s too late.

Tucker Barnhart , CIN C (17% ownership), FAAB Bid - $6-8 - Barnhart has taken over the reigns as the starting catcher in Cincinnati and has not looked back. He’s hitting .302 on the year with two homers and four RBI. It’s hard to get this type of production from the catcher's position these days so take it and run! He’s an elite defender as well so that should help him stay on the field even when the oft-injured Devin Mesoraco comes back from injury.

Adam Ottavino , COL RP (49% ownership), FAAB Bid - $7 - It’s hard to go out and roster a guy that isn’t going to get you any save opportunities, but it’s hard to ignore someone that’s struck out 22 batters in just 10.2 innings. He has three wins and three holds to go along with all of those strikeouts as well, so he’s really been contributing across the board. Ottavino and his 0.84 ERA can help us balance out the ERA category during week’s our starters have pitched poorly. He’s an excellent pickup in almost all 12-team formats.

 

15-team leagues

Jarlin Garcia , MIA RP (7% ownership), FAAB Bid - $2-3 - Not many saw this coming, but Garcia has been pretty damn good for the Marlins so far this season. He’s made two starts and two relief appearances and has allowed just two runs over the 21 innings he’s pitched. In each of his two starts, he’s thrown at least five no-hit innings, which tied the record for the most no-hit innings in the modern day era. He’s never been someone with high strikeout upside, but he keeps the ball on the ground at a 50-percent clip which are the guys we should be targeting if they aren’t amassing a lot of strikeouts.

Adam Wainwright , STL SP (13% ownership), FAAB Bid - $4 - I’m not suggesting we will ever see the Adam Wainwright from earlier in this decade, but he has looked better over his last two starts. Waino has only allowed three earned runs over his last 12 innings while striking out nine. Maybe what’s impressed me the most about Wainwright through three starts is the 55.1-percent groundball rate he’s accrued, which would be the highest number of his career if the season ended today. The veteran could be a solid option in NL-only formats and even is a streaming candidate against the Mets over the weekend.

Sean Rodríguez , PIT 2B, SS, 3B, OF (0% ownership), FAAB Bid - $1 - This is a temporary pickup while Josh Harrison is out, but a solid one at that. Rodriguez has hit leadoff the few games without Harrison and that’s probably how it’s going to be for the intermediate future. Rodriguez went deep today for the second time over his last four starts. He’s four position eligible making him even more valuable.

*ownership percentages courtesy of Yahoo

** FAAB bids based on $100 budget