We have made it through another week of action and are now in the second half of the season. At this point, it is all about playing the hot hand and having great matchups in the coming weeks. We are nearly two-thirds of the way through the season, so there will be a few players to track due to injuries, increased playing time, streaming starting pitchers and some new closers.
I highlight a few players to target each week in your weekly free agent acquisition budget (FAAB) process and fantasy baseball waiver wire. 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 18
Note: We use Yahoo for player percentages and recommend players rostered in no more than 60% of leagues.
Hitters
Max Schuemann (2B, SS, OF – OAK)
Rostered: 52%
Suggested Bid: 7%
The A’s are one of the top offenses in baseball this July. Many are talking about Brent Rooker and Lawrence Butler, rightfully so, but many others are contributing in real life and for fantasy teams. Max Schuemann is a significant contributor with awesome positional flexibility. In July, Schuemann is hitting .375 with three home runs, 19 runs scored, 11 RBI and five stolen bases. He’s doing this while hitting at the bottom of the A’s lineup. There are many excellent MI options to bid on this week, and Schuemann is near the top of the list.
Tyler Fitzgerald (2B, SS, OF – SF)
Rostered: 42%
Suggested Bid: 11%
After a few not-so-productive cups of coffee with the Giants, Tyler Fitzgerald exploded on the plate this time. Fitzgerald took over the everyday SS role for the Giants on July 20 after they DFA’d Nick Ahmed. Over those seven games, Fitzgerald has hit safely in every game for a .500 batting average with six home runs and 11 RBI. The ball must look like a beach ball, as he’s barreling the ball 31.6% of the time with a 63.2% hard-hit rate. He’s even walking 17.2% of the time while lowering his strikeout rate to 17.2%. Fitzgerald won’t be this hot all season, but the power and speed he brings to the Giants make him extremely relevant to fantasy.
Rostered: 19%
Suggested Bid: 7%
After the Marlins DFA’d Tim Anderson, they called up Xavier Edwards, who has become the primary SS. Edwards has taken full advantage by hitting safely in 17 out of 20 games for a .380 batting average, 11 runs scored and six stolen bases. He doesn’t provide a ton of power, but his plate discipline, with a 13.1% walk rate and 14.3% strikeout rate, plays well. With the Marlins trading Jazz Chisholm, Edwards could move to the leadoff spot and potentially become a bigger factor in runs scored as well.
Pitchers
Rostered: 39%
Suggested Bid: 6%
Colin Rea has been sneaky good this season, even though the underlying metrics suggest Rea should be due for plenty of negative regression. Rea has avoided that over his last two starts, where he has allowed two earned runs over 10.2 innings pitched with 15 strikeouts. He has two starts this week versus the dwindling Braves’ offense and the Nationals. Rea is worth a stream this week if you want to build up some counting stats.
Rostered: 31%
Suggested Bid: 12%
The Marlins are finally doing it. They are re-calling Max Meyer from AAA. Meyer was solid to start the year and then was sent down to “monitor” his innings. In reality, it was a playing-time move by the Marlins. Now that they have gained that extra year of control, Meyer will re-join the team. He faces the Braves next week and the Reds the following week. Meyer should be added in all formats.
Simeon Woods Richardson (SP – MIN)
Rostered: 18%
Suggested Bid: 4%
Simeon Woods Richardson brings a solid floor to his starts and has been very good recently. He has allowed three earned runs or fewer in each of his last six starts, with 30 strikeouts in 33.1 innings pitched. He has a 3.24 ERA and 4.10 SIERA to go with a 15% K-BB over the six starts. Next week, he is scheduled for two starts. The first against the powerful Mets offense, but he finishes with a great matchup against the White Sox.
Closers
Rostered: 6%
Suggested Bid: 7%
With Mason Miller breaking a finger and heading to the injured list (IL), Lucas Erceg becomes a player on the roster for the next few weeks. Erceg pitched the eighth on Thursday against the heart of the Angels order and then picked up the save on Friday night. Erceg has three saves on the year with 12 holds and a 17.9% K-BB rate. He will be even more valuable if Miller is traded in the next few days.
Rostered: 6%
Suggested Bid: 12%
With the trade deadline looming and Carlos Estevez likely to be traded, it’s time to speculate on Ben Joyce. He’s the arm favored to take over closing duties in Anaheim when Estevez is traded. The flame-throwing Joyce has a 2.33 ERA over 19.1 innings pitched. Walks are an issue with Joyce, but his 29.1% K-BB rate in the minors could play well once he’s comfortable in the bigs.
Subscribe: YouTube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | iHeart | Castbox | Amazon Music | Podcast Addict | SoundCloud | TuneIn
