We have made it through another week of action and entered the season’s final month. At this point of the season, it is all about playing the hot hand and great matchups in the coming weeks. This week, a handful of prospects were also called up, which will cause many to get waiver happy on the young players. Jasson Dominguez and Ronny Mauricio are the only prospects I want to add this week.
Each week, I will highlight a few players to target in your weekly FAAB process, but know there are many others available and, more importantly, others that may be better fitting for your teams. If you have any questions, please ask me on Twitter (@bdentrek).
Remember that we’ll be using Yahoo for player percentages, and we’ll keep our suggestion to players rostered in no more than 60% of leagues.
Hitters
Ke’Bryan Hayes (3B – PIT)
Rostered: 55%
Suggested Bid: 13%
Hayes has been dealing with a back injury throughout the season, but he returned at the start of August and has been balling out. In August, Hayes hit .320 with 13 extra-base hits, including six home runs. The power has improved as Hayes has lowered his ground ball rate by over 10% and has barreled the ball 10.3% with a 57.7% hard-hit rate. Hayes had an impressive .956 OPS with a 152 wRC+. If Hayes can stay healthy, he could be a significant fantasy asset in the season’s final month.
Luis Rengifo (2B, SS, 3B, OF – LAA)
Rostered: 45%
Suggested Bid: 6%
Rengifo has been a streak hitter throughout his career, and he is now riding an eight-game hitting streak into Friday’s action. Over the streak, Rengifo is hitting .516 with three home runs, six runs scored, and nine RBI. His plate discipline has been outstanding, as he walks 13.1% of the time while only striking out 10.8%. Rengifo provides great positional flexibility and should play daily with all the roster moves the Angels have made this past week.
Davis Schneider (2B, 3B – TOR)
Rostered: 35%
Suggested Bid: 22%
With Matt Chapman and Bo Bichette hitting the IL, Schneider is back playing daily for the Jays. He returned to the lineup on August 26 and has hit safely in all five games entering Friday. He has three doubles and three home runs, scoring seven and driving in eight. Even more impressively is Schneider’s plate discipline, as he walks 19% of the time while striking out 9.5%. He also has a 13.3% barrel rate and 46.7% hard-hit rate as he hits the top of the Jays order. Schneider should be one of the top pick-ups this week.
Pitchers
Brandon Pfaadt (SP – ARI)
Rostered: 12%
Suggested Bid: 6%
There were high expectations for Pfaadt as he entered the season, and the early chances with the DBacks did not pan out well. His latest return to the bigs has been much better, making Pfaadt a relevant add this week. Over his eight starts since returning to the DBacks, he has allowed three runs or less in six starts with 43 strikeouts over 45.1 innings pitched. Pfaadt has an intriguing two-step this week as he faces the Rockies at home and the Cubs in Wrigley.
Darius Vines (SP – ATL)
Rostered: 6%
Suggested Bid: 6%
Vines made his debut this past week in Colorado, and he was solid, allowing two runs over six innings while striking out five. In five AAA starts, Vines allowed nine runs over 28.1 innings for a 2.86 ERA. Vines also struck out 25 over those five starts, and those strikeout skills carried over in his debut. Assuming he sticks in the Braves rotation, Vines has two starts next week versus the Cardinals and the Pirates, which makes him an intriguing streamer.
Jesse Scholtens (SP – CWS)
Rostered: 3%
Suggested Bid: 2%
It has been an up-and-down season for Scholtens, but he is coming off of 5.1 strong innings versus the Orioles, where he allowed one run. Scholtens has made six starts for the White Sox and has a 4.73 ERA, 4.64 xFIP, and 17.6% strikeout rate. Scholtens is strictly a streamer, and he’s an interesting one this week as he makes two starts against the Royals and the Tigers. Scholtens is best left for deeper leagues unless you want to accumulate strikeouts and potentially a win or two this next week.
Closers
Trevor May (RP – OAK)
Rostered: 34%
Suggested Bid: 3%
May continues to get better as the season goes on, and in August, he collected five saves and two wins while not allowing a run in eight of nine appearances. The A’s may make it difficult to accumulate a lot of saves, but May has done quite well so far this season, and he should not be slept on much longer.
Jason Foley (RP – DET)
Rostered: 17%
Suggested Bid: 2%
Alex Lange continues to struggle in the closing role for the Tigers, which has allowed Foley to get a chance in the ninth occasionally. Since August 12, Foley has made eight appearances and collected three saves and two holds. Foley has six scoreless appearances out of the eight while striking out five and not allowing a walk. Foley could be a dark horse to lead the Tigers in saves in September.
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