We have made it through another week of action and have some stats to give us an idea of some players’ production. At this point of the season, it is all about playing the hot hand and great matchups in the coming weeks. The season is still young, so there will be a few players to track due to injuries, increased playing time, streaming starting pitchers and some new closers.
Each week, I will highlight a few players to target in your weekly Free Agent Acquisition Budget (FAAB) process, but know there are many others available and – more importantly – others that may be better suited for your teams. If you have any questions, please ask me on Twitter.
- Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Assistant
- Fantasy Baseball Trade Tools
- Weekly Fantasy Baseball Content
- MLB Prop Bet Cheat Sheet
(Player percentages courtesy of Yahoo! | Recommend players are rostered in no more than 60% of leagues)
Hitters
Rostered: 49%
Suggested Bid: 17%
TJ Friedl returned from the IL this week and to the leadoff spot in two of the first three games. Friedl had three hits in the first three games with a stolen base. Last season, Friedl hit .279 with 18 home runs and 27 stolen bases. The power may fluctuate as Friedl benefited by pulling most of his home runs, but the speed is legit. Friedl should continue to play daily and lead off versus RHP. He could easily steal 20+ bases for the rest of the season with double-digit home runs. Friedl should not be on the waiver wire in most formats.
Rostered: 34%
Suggested Bid: 21%
Max Kepler returned from the IL on April 22 and has been a monster at the plate. He has hit safely in 15 of 16 games for a .434 average. That is unsustainable, but the eight doubles and three home runs could linger this season. He could also benefit from the run production on a Twins team that’s scoring many runs. Since his return, Kepler is barreling the ball 10.4% of the time with a 44% hard-hit rate. This week, Kepler should be a priority, even more so over Friedl if you do not need speed.
Rostered: 20%
Suggested Bid: 11%
Jonny DeLuca returned from the IL last Friday and was my priority add last Sunday. He should also be a focus if he’s still available in your leagues. Since returning, DeLuca has hit safely in four of six games with a home run, 10 RBI and two stolen bases. Playing time was the initial concern with DeLuca, but he’s playing daily, even taking time away from Jose Siri in CF. Don’t sleep on DeLuca this week when placing your bids.
Pitchers
Rostered: 38%
Suggested Bid: 9%
Zack Littell has allowed three earned runs or less in six of seven starts this season, showing that he is putting together a quality season. He has a 3.00 ERA on the season, with a 2.94 xFIP and 3.13 SIERA, showing that he isn’t getting lucky. Besides strong ratios, Littell brings plenty of strikeout appeal. He has 42 strikeouts in 39 innings this year for a 22.6% K-BB. Littell seems to be flying under the radar, but he could be a better weekly option than most sketchy two-start options.
Rostered: 27%
Suggested Bid: 8%
Sean Manaea has allowed three earned runs or less in six of seven starts, as he’s quietly putting together a nice season. Unlike Littell, Manaea may be getting away with some luck. He has a 3.31 ERA, but a 4.98 xFIP and 4.91 SIERA suggest some potential struggles ahead for Manaea. His 7.9% K-BB is not excellent, but an 11% SwStr leaves some strikeout upside from start to finish. I know it’s not a ringing endorsement, but he has a nice two-step next week versus the Phillies and Marlins. I have Manaea rostered in many leagues, and I’ll be starting him next week; you may want to stream him, too.
Rostered: 21%
Suggested Bid: 14%
Frankie Montas returned from the IL this past week and was very effective in his return. Montas threw six innings in Great American Small Park against the Diamondbacks, allowing one earned run and striking out seven. He only allowed a 25% hard-hit rate while forcing a 10.2% SwStr. His velocity was backed up, and Montas looks good going forward. He’s a good SP3 on most fantasy teams and should be rostered in over 21% of leagues.
Closers
Rostered: 28%
Suggested Bid: 16%
Trevor Megill returned from the concussion IL and quickly regained closing duties. He has allowed one run over eight outings, with eight strikeouts and a 1.04 ERA. More importantly, Megill has saves in three of his last four outings, as he’s locked into the later innings. Megill may pitch in some high-leverage spots in the eighth. However, more often than not, he’ll be locked into the ninth for the Brew Crew.
Rostered: 22%
Suggested Bid: 11%
After going 10 outings without a save, Michael Kopech has picked up saves in each of his last two outings, giving him four on the season. Kopech brings his outstanding 31.7% strikeout rate and 15.9% SwStr, but his 12.2% walk rate will always make things interesting. Also, the White Sox are a bad baseball team, which will limit his saves upside. Kopech will get saves from time to time and rack up many strikeouts, but he’ll also put a dent into your ratios. Rostering the Texas native depends on your team’s construction and needs.
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