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 20
Note: We use Yahoo for player percentages and recommend players rostered in no more than 60% of leagues.
Hitters
Rostered: 55%
Suggested Bid: 17%
Masataka Yoshida has battled injuries and consistent production this season. That has changed since the All-Star break. Yoshida appears healthy, playing daily and hitting like a top-notch designated hitter should. Since the All-Star break, Yoshida is hitting .350 with two home runs. He’s barreling the ball 5.4% of the time, which could be better, but his 44.6% hard-hit rate is not bad. Yoshida is a great contact hitter with excellent plate discipline, as he’s striking out 8.3% of the time since the break. The Red Sox are one of baseball’s top offenses, and Yoshida is benefitting greatly of late.
Rostered: 51%
Suggested Bid: 11%
Josh Bell has been a man on a mission since the All-Star break. He’s hitting .299 with nine home runs and 15 RBI. Bell is barreling the ball 14.8% of the time with a 50% hard-hit rate. Besides hitting everything hard, Bell is showcasing good plate discipline by walking 13% of the time while striking out 16.9%. He was traded to the Diamondbacks at the deadline with Christian Walker on the injured list (IL), and Bell answered the call with four home runs in seven games. Bell is worth a 1B/CI spot while Walker is out with his oblique injury.
Rostered: 36%
Suggested Bid: 8%
Juan Yepez has been outstanding since the Nationals called him up on July 5. He’s hitting .325 with three home runs, 17 runs scored, 16 RBI and two stolen bases. Yepez is striking out less than 17% of the time to go with a .373 on-base percentage (OBP). Yepez is batting near the top of the Nats order, and he’s paying huge fantasy dividends for those who took chances on him when he was first called up. For those who haven’t taken the opportunity, stop waiting around.
Pitchers
Rostered: 46%
Suggested Bid: 11%
Colin Rea continues to produce solid outings for fantasy managers, and now the strikeouts are following along. Over his last four starts, Rea has allowed four earned runs over 23 innings pitched for a 1.57 ERA and 2.79 SIERA. Rea has struck out 30 over the four appearances for a 26.7% K-BB, which has been aided by an 11% SwStr. Rea has a nice two-step next week against the Dodgers and Guardians, making him a nice pick-up in fantasy.
Rostered: 31%
Suggested Bid: 6%
JP Sears has been a fantasy stud since the start of July. He has allowed three earned runs or fewer in five of six starts. Sears has allowed 11 earned runs over 36.1 innings pitched for a 2.72 ERA and 3.48 SIERA. He has 35 strikeouts with a 20.8% K-BB and 11.7% SwStr. Sears has even tossed in five wins in the six starts, which we all need late in the season. Sears faces the Giants next week and can be used as a weekly streamer most weeks.
Rostered: 18%
Suggested Bid: 9%
Paul Blackburn was traded from the A’s to the Mets and has been great in two starts with the Mets. He has thrown six innings in both starts while allowing one earned run with six strikeouts in each start. He has a 16% K-BB and 10.3% SwStr and will look to continue this success in a great two-step this week against the A’s and Marlins. Blackburn is one of the top streamers this week and he’ll be viable in the right matchups for the rest of the season.
Closers
Rostered: 54%
Suggested Bid: 12%
Chad Green is locked in as the Jays’ closer and should be rostered in all formats. Since July 1, Green has a 2-1 record with eight saves. He has allowed four earned runs over 18 innings with 18 strikeouts for a 17.4% K-BB. If you need saves Green should be a primary target this week.
Rostered: 43%
Suggested Bid: 8%
With Carlos Estevez traded to the Phillies and the Hunter Strickland closer experience hopefully over, the flame-throwing Ben Joyce should see his way into a handful of saves for the rest of the season. He picked up one save last week while also throwing the hardest pitch of the season. Joyce will end up in high-leverage situations, which will take away from save chances, but overall, he is the best reliever on the roster in Anaheim.
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