We have made it through another week of fantasy baseball action and have some stats to give us an idea of 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 and fantasy baseball waiver wire, but know there are many others available and, more importantly, others who may be better fits 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
Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire & FAAB Targets: Week 12
Note: We use Yahoo for player percentages and recommend players rostered in no more than 60% of leagues.
Hitters
Rostered: 45%
Suggested Bid: 22%
Ke’Bryan Hayes returned from the injured list (IL) on May 29 and has been swinging it well. Entering Friday, Hayes has hit safely in five of his last seven games for a .360 batting average. He has a home run and three stolen bases while walking 10% of the time. We saw Hayes have a monster second half last year. If he can stay healthy this year, we may see it again. Hayes should be a regular on most rosters at 3B while healthy.
Rostered: 43%
Suggested Bid: 14%
Alec Burleson has been a staple in the Cardinals’ offense in recent weeks. He entered Friday hitting safely in 16 of his last 20 games for a .298 average. The average is great, but Burleson flexed his muscles with five home runs and a .214 ISO. Burleson has even thrown in two stolen bases while only striking out 8% of the time. Burleson has been locked into the second spot and is a great outfielder to roster in 12-team and deeper leagues with some shallow league appeal.
Rostered: 39%
Suggested Bid: 16%
Nick Gonzales was called up on May 10 and has not looked back. He is hitting .315 with 10 extra-base hits, including four home runs. He has scored 13 runs while driving in 22 while hitting fifth or sixth most games. Gonzales is barreling the ball 11% of the time with a 44% hard-hit rate to go with a .213 ISO. Gonzales is locked into the second base position and should be rostered in all formats.
Pitchers
Rostered: 31%
Suggested Bid: 6%
Jake Irvin is having a great season. He has four straight quality starts, allowing only four earned runs over 24.1 innings with 26 strikeouts and five walks. They weren’t easy matchups either, as Irvin took on the Braves twice and then the Guardians and Twins. Irvin seems to have turned the corner in his career. He should be streamed in 12-team and deeper leagues, especially taking on the Tigers next week.
Rostered: 20%
Suggested Bid: 9%
Tylor Megill gave up four runs in his last start versus the Nats, but in his previous three starts, he was dominant, allowing three runs over 16 innings with 20 strikeouts. He is scheduled for a strong two-step next week versus the Marlins and Padres, making for a solid stream with plenty of appeals to keep on your roster going forward.
Rostered: 14%
Suggested Bid: 3%
JP Sears is having a nice season. Since May 3, he has allowed two earned runs or fewer in five of his seven starts. Sears only has 29 strikeouts over 40.1 innings but is coming off eight strikeouts versus the Mariners. More importantly, he has only allowed three home runs over the seven-game stretch. Sears faces the Padres and Twins next week, making for a nice two-start stream.
Closers
Rostered: 45%
Suggested Bid: 11%
With another elbow injury to Jordan Romano, Yimi Garcia has been the first option for the Jays at closer. Over his last five outings, Garcia has allowed three runs over five innings but has eight strikeouts, a win and two saves. Romano should be out for a month or more, which gives Garcia a great chance to collect plenty of saves if he can keep the job.
Rostered: 14%
Suggested Bid: 8%
Andres Munoz has been sidelined with a back injury. He’s currently day-to-day, but with back injuries lingering, he may miss more time than expected. With that being the case, Ryne Stanek may find his way into more saves. Stanek was already getting saves from time to time, but now the job may be his for some time. Stanek has four saves on the season; two have come in his last five appearances. If you need saves, Garcia is the main target, but Stanek is a nice secondary option.
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