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. 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 17
Note: We use Yahoo for player percentages and recommend players rostered in no more than 60% of leagues.
Hitters
Rostered: 52%
Suggested Bid: 17%
Brooks Lee was called up when Royce Lewis returned to the injured list (IL). Lee has been a hitting machine. He entered Friday hitting safely in seven out of eight games for a .364 batting average. Lee has added some pop with two home runs and driven in nine while striking out less than 15% of the time. In 20 games at Triple-A, Lee was hitting .329 with seven home runs before he was promoted to the bigs. Lee has a great hit tool with solid positional flexibility. I added Lee everywhere last week. You should, too.
Rostered: 46%
Suggested Bid: 14%
If you can’t add Lee or don’t want to add Lee but still need MI or CI help, Colt Keith should be your guy. He started the season slow but has figured things out at the plate in his rookie season. Keith entered Friday, hitting safely in eight out of nine games with a .382 batting average. He has added four home runs with 12 runs scored and nine RBI with a 12.8% walk rate. Keith is locked into the second spot in the Tigers’ lineup as he continues to provide fantasy value in all five categories.
Rostered: 37%
Suggested Bid: 12%
Rece Hinds was called up a few games ago and has been a hitting machine. Entering Friday, Hinds has hit safely in all four games since his call-up for a .500 batting average with three doubles, a triple and two home runs. He has even stolen two bases. Hinds hit 13 home runs, stole 12 bases over 77 games at Triple-A and even added a grand slam on Friday night. Hinds will be a popular pick-up this week, and I am on board with that. Just know Hinds could be quite streaky.
Pitchers
Rostered: 45%
Suggested Bid: 6%
Sean Manaea has been on quite a run of late and has proven himself to be fantasy-viable in 12-team and deeper leagues. Entering Friday, Manaea has made five starts and allowed five earned runs over 28.2 innings pitched with 27 strikeouts. On Friday night, Manaea dominated again by allowing three runs over seven innings with nine strikeouts versus the Rockies. It’s time to start believing in Manaea.
Rostered: 45%
Suggested Bid: 4%
Tobias Myers struggled to start the season, but he seems like a brand-new pitcher after returning from the minors. Over his last seven starts since June 7, Myers has allowed three earned runs or fewer in six starts. Myers has a 1.79 ERA with 35 strikeouts over 45.1 innings pitched. Myers makes for a solid bench streamer going forward.
Rostered: 26%
Suggested Bid: 6%
There was a lot of hype surrounding Drew Thorpe when he was called up to make his MLB debut. He started slow, but Thorpe has appeared to figure things out over his last four starts. He has allowed five earned runs over his last 24.1 innings pitched with 15 strikeouts. Walks are still a bit of an issue, with eight in the four starts, but overall, Thorpe is showcasing some strong upside and should be streamed in the right matchups going forward.
Closers
Rostered: 57%
Suggested Bid: 8%
Jeff Hoffman continues to share closing duties with Jose Alvarado, but Hoffman has been getting the call a bit more of late. He has saves in four of his last five outings without allowing a run and striking out six over five innings. Hoffman now has nine saves on the season. With the Phillies’ success, he should collect his fair share of saves going forward.
Rostered: 9%
Suggested Bid: 8%
It’s been an up-and-down season for Jalen Beeks, but it appears he’s back in control of the Rockies’ closing duties. Beeks has recorded saves in three straight outings, and over his last five appearances, Beeks has allowed two runs with four strikeouts and a win to go with the three saves. Beeks has nine saves on the season and should get more as he continues to hold onto the Rockies’ closing role.
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