Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 13

A.J. Reed, 1B, Houston Astros, 20.6%

Reed is the guy that everyone has been waiting on with the Astros. He’s a big (6’4, 275 pounds) masher of a hitter that will be playing 1B/DH for the Astros, and he should be a very good source of power. Last season, he hit 34 home runs between high-A and AA, and so far this season, he’d hit 11 home runs for his AAA team in what had been viewed as a “disappointing” power output. He’s got a monster left-handed swing, so he may end up being a guy that struggles some with left-handed pitching at the major league level, but there simply will not be another player to come to the major leagues from the minors this year that offers the power impact that Reed offers, so jump on board if you need a power boost and have the room on your roster!

Daniel Mengden, RHP, Oakland Athletics, 10.2%

Mengden was part of the midseason trade for Scott Kazmir last year that sent Kazmir from Oakland to the Houston Astros. While Mengden isn’t a guy who will lead your league in strikeouts or dominate things, but he pitches with excellent location and uses his defense well. So far, Mengden has made 3 starts, and while he’s lost all 3, he’s thrown 18 innings, so he’s getting deep into games so far, and he’s put up a 3.00 ERA and 1.28 WHIP. The encouraging part has been his 6/21 BB/K ratio as he’s been getting hitters to swing over his pitches. He may not work as a fantasy ace, but he’s a guy who should have a good shot at a job all season in a good home ballpark.

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