Fantasy Baseball: 10 week six waiver wire targets to not ignore

Five weeks are gone in MLB’s fantasy baseball season. There will be more hot streaks and slumps that come and go. Through it all, winning your daily or weekly match-ups is all about staying on top of the guys who are heating up and trying to ride that wave.

There are still a number of players out there who can add value to your team if you have a household name like Carlos Gomez, Troy Tulowitzki or Albert Pujols struggling right now.

Whether you’re looking for power, stolen bases, wins or strikeouts, there’s plenty of wealth to go around. For your sake, hopefully you’re in a league no bigger than 10-12 teams, so there is more depth on the waiver wire or free agency. That, and not a lot of the other managers in your league are keeners when it comes to the latest league transactions.

Here are your top pick-ups for the week ahead, baseball fans.

*All statistics are courtesy of Yahoo Sports

Next: Starting Pitcher

2. J.A. Happ – TOR

Ownership: 51 percent

What do J.A. Happ and the previous player on this list have in common? Aside from playing for two offensively gifted AL East teams that provide them with ample run support, Happ and Wright are in an elite class of only three pitchers to have recorded a quality start in every one of their outings thus far on the season. The third is Detroit’s Jordan Zimmermann.

Related Story: Is Jays' Happ for real in 2016?

Happ is 4-0 with a 2.50 ERA. His strikeouts are down from last year, but if your league uses quality starts or wins as a statistical category, you can’t go wrong picking Happ up.

Not only is he spinning quality stuff right now, but he has the ninth most run support of any starting pitcher in the league, meaning he will be in line for lots more wins with the Blue Jays, should his high efficiency levels continue through May.

Another Blue Jay who might be worth a look as well is Aaron Sanchez, who is 2-1 with a 2.82 ERA so far. He is owned in only 76 percent of leagues and has 34 K’s in 38.1 IP, having logged five QS.

Next: Starting Pitcher

3. Colby Lewis – TEX

Ownership: 16 percent

Colby Lewis‘ ownership levels are drastically low considering the year he is having so far. While many managers are keen to own Cole Hamels and stash Yu Darvish somewhere on their bench or disabled list slot, Lewis is worth a roster spot.

At 2-0 through six starts, his 3.32 ERA is well below his career norm of 4.76. Lewis’ 5.34 FIP is concerning, however all but one of his starts was a quality ones and he has pitched six or more innings in every one of his outings. He has 27 strikeouts over 38 innings and is ranked 24th on the list of pitchers getting the most run support with an average of five runs per start.

The veteran has been susceptible to the long ball this season having surrendered eight home runs already, but he’s been around this league long enough and fought through enough adversity that you can’t help but admire his perseverant ways.

Monday’s matchup against the first place White Sox should be a good test. If Lewis can work around the lineup with relative ease, look for his ownership levels to rise over the next seven days. Especially since he will be a two start pitcher this week, as he’s slated to face the Jays over the weekend.

Next: Starting Pitcher

4. Aaron Nola – PHI

Ownership: 77 percent

This just in — the Philadelphia Phillies have a number of pitchers worth owning on fantasy baseball rosters. Sure, Vincent Velasquez got off to a white hot start and is still the arm most worth owning out of the rotation, but don’t sleep on Aaron Nola.

A former top prospect, Nola has made a rather seamless transition to the pros from the minors. In 2015 he went 6-2 with a 3.59 ERA across 13 starts. Since then, the 22-year-old right-hander has upped his K/9 from 7.9 to 9.9 this season, while posting a 2.93 ERA and an even nicer looking 2.38 FIP.

Nola has a big time arm and his strikeout levels should rise more as he continues to perfect his craft. He has four plus-pitches, including a fastball that touches 95 mph on the radar gun. If Nola has been scooped up in your league, try grabbing his teammate Jerad Eickhoff (44 percent owned). His ceiling isn’t as high as Nola’s is, but he has recorded four QS in six attempts and has a tidy K/9 of 8.4

Next: Infielder

5. 2B Brandon Phillips – CIN

Ownership: 59 percent

If you owned Dee Gordon and are still looking for a suitable replacement, what are you waiting for? Veteran Brandon Phillips has always been a consistent and reliable player at second base.

The 34-year-old Red has seen his power numbers decline some with age, but so far in 2016, he has six home runs and 16 RBI. The dinger totals rank third at his position in the league and Phillips continues to hit for average. A career .274 hitter, he’s batting .286/.313/.533 right now. His .846 OPS ranks sixth amongst all second baseman.

Phillips’ three stolen bases this season are an added bonus, all things considered. Whether you’re looking to replace Gordon or are just in need of a more productive second baseman because you have an under performing player starting right now, Phillips is a great option. If he is rostered, try looking at D.J. LeMahieu (81 percent) or Logan Forsythe (73 percent) to supply your second base needs.

Next: Infielder

6. 1B Chris Carter – MIL

Ownership: 71 percent

It’s looking as though the big man is starting to turn his career around. The 6-foot-4, 245 pound first baseman has done well by moving over to the National League and playing on a team that does not have a lot of pressure to win right away.

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Chris Carter is the No. 21 overall ranked player in fantasy baseball right now, yet he is not on 29 percent of rosters. He is the 19th overall ranked position player, one spot ahead of the previous player on this list.

Carter has 10 home runs and 22 RBI through five weeks of action. Even more encouraging are his ratio numbers. His slash line of .280/.344/.654 is miles ahead of where it was at this time last year (.152/.257/.283). Also, he is not leading the league in strikeouts, despite having done so in 2013 with 212. Carter’s home run totals rank him third in all of MLB, while his OPS of .998 ranks 13th. He has hit six homers over his last eight games.

Manager Craig Counsell might not be winning a lot of games for the Brewers right now, but he certainly knows how to utilize and get the most out of Carter’s play. Credit too should go to hitting coach Darnell Coles. If you’re upset about not picking up someone like Mark Trumbo (93 percent owned) early on who is eligible at first base, don’t fret — go get Carter or a guy like Wil Myers (79% owned, 29th overall).

Next: Infielder

7. 3B Nick Castellanos – DET

Ownership: 73 percent

As if this position wasn’t stacked enough with young stars like AL MVP Josh Donaldson, Baltimore’s Manny Machado and Colorado’s Nolan Arenado… you can now add breakout candidate Nick Castellanos to the list.

The fifth ranked third baseman in the league, Castellanos is hitting a  whopping .375 through 104 at-bats. Shockingly, that’s good for second at the position, with Miami’s Martin Prado currently at .396 through 101 at-bats. In a powerful Tigers lineup, the 24-year-old who mans the hot corner leads the AL in batting average and his club in RBI (24) and total bases (62).

With so much ridiculous talent at the position, it’s forgivable to not have Castellanos on your roster at the moment. Even if you own a Donaldson or a Machado, he still has massive keeper potential and could be valuable trade bait to use if you’re looking to strengthen your squad in other areas. Castellanos was a top rated prospect from 2011-14 and a career .303 hitter in the minors. Stop procrastinating and give the young slugger a home already.

Next: Outfielder

8. CF Odubel Herrera – PHI

Ownership: 65 percent

Another Philadelphia player to make this list, Odubel Herrera is also a top 25 ranked bat right now. He’s turning into a fine leadoff hitter for the surprisingly upstart Phillies.

Herrera showed a lot of promise in 2015 with a .297-64-8-41-16 line through 147 games played. The 24-year-old Venezuelan is hitting .324 right nor for his squad. It’s an interesting stat, because manager Pete Mackanin has been shuffling his lineups around so much that only five Phillies qualify for such stats based on a per at-bat basis.

All that said, Herrera leads his club with 32 games played and is second with 111 at-bats, so there is a lot of confidence within the organization about the abilities of their young center fielder. He already has three home runs this season and ranks ninth in the league with 20 runs scored through five weeks.

Next: Outfielder

9. RF Nick Markakis – ATL

Ownership: 21 percent

Do the Atlanta Braves suck? Yes. Is there a lot of talent in their starting lineup? No. Are there some players worth owning on their roster? Yes. Outfielder Nick Markakis is definitely one of them.

Sure, Markakis is yet to hit a home run in 109 at-bats, but few Braves players are doing that this season. Despite no round trippers, he has 12 more RBI than anyone else on the team. The fact Markakis has 20 on the season is a testament to his patience at the plate.

He’s slashing a sturdy .294/.395/.394 and hitting .481 with RISP. How can you ignore that last number? Markakis has only twice hit more than 20 home runs in his career and those numbers date back to the 2007 and 2008 seasons. He is however a master of finding the gap and hitting doubles. Since entering the league in 2006, only four active players have hit more career doubles than Markakis’ 365.  He’s third right now in the NL and remains a doubles machine at age 32. He’s also struck out only 18 times on the year.

Next: Outfielder

10. RF Steven Souza Jr. – TBR

Ownership: 55 percent

At a position where right fielder’s like Bryce Harper, Giancarlo Stanton and Matt Kemp routinely rake, you can put Steven Souza Jr’s name on the bubble for such a class. His seven home runs rank fourth in MLB at his position and his .277/.327/.534 line is nothing to scoff at, either.

Souza’s 14 RBI are lacking given the number of times he’s gone yard and the fact he’s second on the Rays with 51 total bases, but there are some silver linings. His .375 BAbip could mean his average will spike throughout the course of the season even though his strikeout totals are quite high. He’s hitting .250 with RISP, so that’s not terrible either.

With two long balls in his last four games and  a batting average of .385 over the last week, Souza appears to be heating up in the month of May.

Next: MLB Awards Watch: Top 5 AL ROY candidates through April

If you’re not convinced, you could look elsewhere. Colby Rasmus‘ (67 percent) batting average is dipping again, but he’s still been a reliable source of run production with at least one RBI (six total) in each of his last four games. Of course, Wil Myers is again a smart play with OF/RF eligibility, as well. Last but not least is Joc Pederson (80 percent), who is having another strong first half. He leads the Dodgers with six taters and an OPS of .941. He typically doesn’t get starts against left-handed pithing, though.