Fantasy Baseball: Week 4 waiver wire pickups by position
If you are off to a slow start in your fantasy baseball league(s), you probably have a high waiver priority. Last week’s fantasy baseball piece took a look at five names to make buy-low offers on to other managers in your league. There was a good chance owners of any of those five names were starting to become impatient, so you could have capitalized.
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Want further proof? Sure enough as predicted, Chris Archer got lit up in a start against the Rex Sox last week before bouncing back with a strong outing against the Orioles last night, picking up the win while spinning 6.2 scoreless inning, striking out 10 and picking up the win. Archer likely isn’t available on waivers in your league, but we have a list of promising starters who will be and are waiting to be claimed for a roster spot.
If you weren’t able to pull of a deal for a desired bat or arm, here are some of the more desired players at each position that will be worth picking up off waivers or free agency in your league. Almost 1/6 of the regular season is over and it’s slowly becoming apparent who might be for real as a breakout player in 2016 and who isn’t worth the roster spot.
**All fantasy stats courtesy of Yahoo Fantasy Baseball**
Next: Catcher
67% owned – Jarrod Saltalamacchia – DET
While Jarrod Saltalamacchia experienced his fair share of ups and downs in 2015, this year has been a complete turnaround so far.
The Detroit Tigers entered 2016 with plenty of depth in a back catching corps that once featured James McCann, Bryan Holaday and Salty. So much so, Holaday was traded to the Texas Rangers. McCann’s struggles have opened the door for Salty’s redemption season.
In a stacked lineup, the 31-year-old has taken the reigns and led the offense in a number of statistical categories in April. For $7.5MM, he’s looking to be quite the free agent steal for the Tigers right now. With six home runs, 15 RBI and a 1.116 OPS, Salty seems to be right at home playing in Comerica Park. Manager Brad Ausmus has even substituted him into games at first base just to get his hot bat some live action.
If Saltalamacchia is owned in your league, some secondary options to pursue are Francisco Cervelli (79% owned) or Carlos Ruiz (2%), who is quietly hitting .290 with two HRs.
Next: First Base
43% – Chris Carter – MIL
Sometimes, all it takes is a change of scenery for a player to get more comfortable with his surroundings and a consistent plate approach. Milwaukee’s hitting coach Darnell Coles seems to have connected with Chris Carter.
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Hitting .295/.361/.689 with five home runs and 15 RBI, fantasy owners can be optimistic about Carter putting his career .220 BA days behind him this year. The biggest telltale sign of this are his decreased strikeouts. His 27.8 percent mark is well down from his career average of 33.2. His BAbip of .333 is probably too good to last and he likely won’t be a .300 hitter come September, but few people remember this is the guy who finished second in home runs throughout all of MLB in 2014 with 37.
Miller Park favors hitters heavily and it feels like Carter is playing with less pressure on him since leaving Houston. His second half line from 2014 was .252-18-48. Expect something similar to that for the first and second halves of 2016 and for Carter to possibly surpass the 90 RBI mark for the first time in his career.
Other widely available first basemen worth taking a look at are Logan Forsythe (52% owned), Travis Shaw (48%) and Lucas Duda (70%).
Next: Second Base
75% – Josh Harrison – PIT
Josh Harrison is the starting second baseman for one of the best hitting team in baseball. The Pirates have a team batting average of .294, of which Harrison ranks third individually with a .329/.359/.425 line. He’s yet to leave the yard with a hit, but his 10 RBI and four stolen bases make up nicely for that.
This is a player who approached 20-20 numbers as a 26-year-old in 2014, an All-Star season for Harrison in which he hit 13 home runs and stole 18 bases. With Neil Walker and Pedro Alvarez no longer around, he’s sure to get full-time at-bats for the remainder of the season at his preferred position of second base, or even over at third.
If you’re looking to take a bigger gamble at the position, the Cardinals have a rookie by the name of Aledmys Diaz who is owned in only 64 percent of leagues but is currently tearing it up to the tune of a .480 average in 50 at-bats. Meanwhile, the guy Harrison replaced at second base in Pittsburgh is Walker (77%), who is quietly hitting .290-7-12 for the Mets as Daniel Murphy‘s (93%) replacement. Giants second baseman Joe Panik (54%) is worth a look as well.
Next: Third Base
28% – Eduardo Nunez – MIN
Third base is probably one of baseball’s deepest positions for fantasy purposes this season. Even if you’re sitting without a Manny Machado, Nolan Arenado, Josh Donaldson or Kris Bryant on your roster, there’s still plenty of guys you can plug and play. Eduardo Nunez is one of them.
Currently ranked seventh overall at the position, Nunez isn’t hitting for power, but his .432/.469/.523 line in 44 ABs is too good to go to waste. He’s a lot like Harrison in other categories, with eight RBI and four stolen bases to go with the high ratio statistics.
But again, if you figure Nunez is just a flavor of the week and won’t put together a strong 2016 overall, look elsewhere. Because there are other third basemen to own, such as Detroit’s Nick Castellanos (41% owned), Arizona’s Yasmany Tomas (44%) or Jake Lamb (31%) and the White Sox’s Brett Lawrie (39%).
Next: Shortstop
11% – Zack Cozart – CIN
Where players like Nunez and Diaz are also eligible at SS and should be on your radar, so too should Cincinnati’s Zack Cozart.
The now 30-year-old got off to a fashionable start in 2015 before slipping on first base in early June, resulting in torn tendons in his bicep and ligaments in his knee. Cozart is looking to rebound now and is doing a nice job of it, hitting .400 through his first 13 games with a home run and six doubles.
Long a position thin on offensive talent for fantasy baseball managers, guys like Carlos Correa, Corey Seager, Francisco Lindor, Xander Bogaerts and now Trevor Story are looking to buck that trend. If you’re desperate for help at the position, Cozart is worth snagging for the time being. He already has five multi-hit games this season.
Next: Outfield
80% – Colby Rasmus – HOU
A move away from the Rogers Centre in Toronto has revitalized the career of former top prospect Colby Rasmus. He’s destroying right-handed pitching in 2016 at a .288/.424/.731 clip with seven home runs and 17 of his 18 RBI coming off of them.
Rasmus is one of the most coveted outfield bats to own in leagues that probably did not draft him. According to Yahoo, for leagues that held a standard snaking platform, the Astros’ outfielder was selected in only 10 percent of drafts. He’s playing well above his career averages right now and at only 29, there’s no reason to think he hasn’t finally figured out how to play his brand of baseball to the best of his ability.
There’s decent depth to be had elsewhere though, so if you’re in the market for an outfielder, consider these names:
- Wil Myers – SDP – .316-10-4-9-2 (65%)
- Odubel Herrera – PHI – .286-11-2-9-4 (44%)
- Steven Souza Jr. – TBR – .291-8-5-11-1 (58%)
- Michael Conforto – NYM – .296-8-2-10-1 (72%)
Next: Starting Pitcher
41% – Rick Porcello – BOS
After a tough initial outing versus the Blue Jays to open the season, Rick Porcello has settled down substantially. He’s rattled off three straight quality starts en route to picking up his fourth win. Since his first start, he has lowered his ERA from 6.00 to 3.51.
Porcello’s strikeout numbers have improved vastly from his career norm as well. His 10.52 K/9 is miles ahead of his lifetime 5.9, with an outing against the Yankees on April 30 as next on Porcello’s “to do” list. He’s giving BoSox ace David Price a run for his money as the most efficient starter on the staff right now.
Here a few other pitchers who could be intriguing pick ups:
- Hector Santiago – LAA – 2-0, 2.70 ERA, 27 K (60%)
- J.A. Happ – TOR – 3-0, 2.42, 13 (42%)
- Jimmy Nelson – MIL – 3-1, 3.46, 19 (61%)
- Tanner Roark – WAS – 2-2, 2.63, 24 (37%)