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At this point in the fantasy season, particularly if you’re in a roto league, now is the time when you start to develop some tunnel vision with your needs. Frankly, you could make the argument that that’s what should’ve been your focus weeks ago.
In some cases, perhaps you’re right. But this is the time I’ve chosen to shift the format of Waiver Wired, and it’s my column and not yours, dammit.
Hopefully, you’re still fighting for money and/or bragging rights in your league and this is relevant to you. If not, my condolences.
MIXED LEAGUE PICKUPS
Power: Joey Meneses, Eduardo Escobar, Eric Haase, Seth Brown, David Villar, Albert Pujols, Aristides Aquino, Jack Suwinski, Nick Pratto
Between his oblique injury and the promotion of Brett Baty, it was looking like Escobar might get pushed aside. However, Baty is now out for the season with an injury of his own and Escobar has been one of the hottest hitters in baseball this month with a 1.230 OPS and five home runs.
Haase followed up a 5-for-5 game last week with a two-homer contest and he’s now sporting a 1.077 OPS across his last 14 tilts. Even while mixing in a bad August, Haase has a .831 OPS with 10 long balls over 230 plate appearances since the beginning of June.
Villar wasn’t a heralded prospect, but he socked 27 home runs with a 1.022 OPS this year at Triple-A Sacramento and has added another five bombs with the Giants, including four over his last 10 games. The Giants love to mix and match in their lineup, but skipper Gabe Kapler has basically guaranteed that Villar will play regularly down the stretch.
Aquino has fallen off the map and at one point off the Reds’ 40-man roster since his historic power month back in August of 2019. “The Punisher” is playing regularly for Cincinnati again of late, though, and has popped four dingers this month.
Speed: Jon Berti, Nico Hoerner, Bubba Thompson, Elvis Andrus, Jose Siri, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Nate Eaton
Berti being rostered in barely over half of Yahoo leagues seems silly to me. Yes, the stolen bases pace has slowed since his groin injury, but he swiped a pair of bags Monday, giving him six pilfers in his last 23 tilts. Plus, he boasts eligibility at three of the weakest positions.
Since he was promoted to the majors on August 4, no one has more stolen bases than Thompson’s 15 swipes on 17 tries. This is after he went 49-for-52 in stolen base attempts this season at Triple-A Round Rock. Thompson – who has a sprint speed in the 99th percentile – is also starting to figure things out at the plate, batting .301 over his last 25 games.
Andrus has actually produced more from a power perspective since latching on with the White Sox, slugging a surprising five home runs in 24 games. Still, I think he’s a much better bet to be of use if you need stolen base help. Andrus has been leading off for the Pale Hose and that should continue for a while with Tim Anderson‘s (finger) return not imminent.
Eaton is 5-for-5 in stolen base attempts during his brief time in the majors, including 3-for-3 this month. He’s also started four of the last six games for the rebuilding Royals. The 25-year-old has 28 steals between the majors and minors this season and ranks in the 97th percentile in sprint speed.
Multi-position eligible guys: Escobar, Berti, Villar, Brendan Donovan, Luis Rengifo, Rodolfo Castro, Christian Arroyo, Jace Peterson
Donovan fell back to earth in July but has been better since then and has been batting either first or second almost exclusively lately. There’s virtually no power or speed here, but Donovan has excellent on-base skills which can lead to lots of runs when he’s batting at the top of the order. Plus, he’s eligible at every position except catcher.
Rengifo is eligible at almost as many positions as Donovan and, while he doesn’t have the on-base skills, he has shown some surprising pop and a little speed. The switch-hitter can be especially useful when going up against left-handers, sporting a .895 OPS versus southpaws.
There’s plenty of swing-and-miss in Castro’s game, but he’s gone deep six times across his last 17 contests and has been batting third in the (admittedly terrible) Pirates’ lineup. Castro offers eligibility at both middle infield spots and also third base.
Peterson is actually tied for the fourth-best OPS+ (111) on an inconsistent Brewers offense. He doesn’t play at all against left-handers but is usually in there versus righties. In 289 plate appearances this season, Peterson has hit eight home runs and stolen 11 bases, which will play in deeper leagues where his versatility comes in handy.
Saves: Alexis Diaz, José Leclerc, Brandon Hughes, Jimmy Herget, Pete Fairbanks, Wil Crowe, Matt Barnes
It took longer than it should have to happen, but Diaz has been getting the Reds’ traditional save chances the last several weeks (granted, there haven’t been very many). The rookie reliever and Edwin’s brother has been the team’s best reliever all season and one of the best relief arms in the National League.
Leclerc was signed to a contract extension by the Rangers a few years back when they identified him as their long-term closer. He was sidetracked by injury, but the 28-year-old is back now and seems to have unofficially won back his old job. Leclerc has five saves, a 2.17 ERA and 35/11 K/BB ratio over 28 innings since the All-Star break.
I’ve put Fairbanks in the saves section here, and, if pressed, I’d pick him to lead the Rays in saves the rest of the way. We know the drill here, though. Manager Kevin Cash is capable of picking just about any one of his relievers to close out a game. Fairbanks has been great, though, and he secured the club’s last save.
Barnes has quietly turned things around since the beginning of August, sporting a 2.30 ERA and 16/6 K/BB ratio over 15 2/3 innings. He’s also notched three saves during that span, including the Red Sox’ last one. I wouldn’t trust Barnes outside of a deeper league, but he’s getting back in manager Alex Cora‘s good graces.
Non-closer relievers: James Karinchak, Jonathan Loaisiga, Bryan Abreu, Erik Swanson, Anthony Bass, Dillon Tate
Karinchak has found it again this season after a disappointing 2021 campaign. The funky, hard-throwing reliever has posted a 1.47 ERA and 49/18 K/BB ratio over 30 2/3 innings and has been scored upon in just one of his last 26 appearances. He’s also regained some of his spin rate, which has led to some opposing managers becoming… suspicious?
Abreu might be one of the more overlooked elite relievers in baseball this season. The 25-year-old boasts a microscopic 1.98 ERA and 77/22 K/BB ratio over 54 2/3 innings for the Astros. Since the All-Star break? Abreu has allowed just one run, permitting only eight hits with a 28/6 K/BB ratio over 21 2/3 frames.
Swanson wasn’t able to make it as a starter but has thrived since a full-time move to the bullpen. Among pitchers with a least 40 innings, only Ryne Stanek has a lower ERA than Swanson’s 1.14 mark. He also ranks eighth among that group with a 0.85 WHIP and seventh with a 29.4 percent K/BB ratio.
Felix Bautista pitched Tuesday for the first time in a week after battling some arm fatigue and looked just fine in closing out a win. Tate picked up a save while Bautista was unavailable and could be next in line should “The Mountain” have a setback. Even if he doesn’t, Tate and his 2.59 ERA and 0.97 WHIP are nice to have around.
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WEEKEND WARRIORS
Friday:
Germán Márquez at CHC
It’s been a disappointing campaign for Marquez overall, and he was ambushed for nine runs his last time out at Coors Field against the Diamondbacks. The right-hander has been good on the road, though, especially of late with a 2.42 road ERA since the beginning of August. Marquez should be locked and loaded for games away from Coors versus mediocre offenses, and this one fits the bill.
Mitch Keller at NYM
The Mets’ offense has been good this season, not mediocre, but they’ve been struggling of late. Keller has been trending in the opposite direction, having tallied consecutive scoreless outings and fanning 10 batters in the start before that. One of those starts came against these very Mets earlier this month at home when he spun six shutout frames.
Saturday:
José Quintana vs. CIN
Quintana has posted a 2.93 ERA over eight starts since arriving in St. Louis at the trade deadline. The veteran left-hander hasn’t given up more than two earned runs in any of those outings. Quintana has not been pitching deep into games of late, having not completed six innings since back on August 10. Still, he should have a good opportunity to pick up a win in this one, anyway, particularly with it being part of a doubleheader which might lead to the Reds sitting some regulars.
Wade Miley vs. COL
Miley has missed most of this season with arm issues, but he’s pitched well when healthy with a 2.89 ERA and 23/11 K/BB ratio over 28 innings covering six outings. That includes his last time out when he tossed five frames of one-run ball against the Giants. Miley isn’t fully stretched out yet, but he figures to be able to handle 90 pitches after throwing 75 in his last start. That should be enough to handle the Rockies at home on Saturday.
Sunday:
Javier Assad vs. COL
Assad has impressed in his first five major league appearances (four starts) with a 2.53 ERA and 18/10 K/BB ratio over 21 1/3 frames. This is after he held a 2.66 ERA and 111/35 K/BB ratio across 108 1/3 innings between Double- and Triple-A. Assad will need to get the walks down if he wants continued success, but he’ll have a soft landing spot this weekend in a home date with the Rockies.
Ryne Nelson vs. SD
It’s difficult to top what Nelson has done in his first two major league starts, as he’s gone 13 shutout innings while allowing just six hits to go along with a 13/2 K/BB ratio. The matchups were difficult, too, with one coming in San Diego and the other at home versus the Dodgers. Nelson gets the Padres again this weekend, with that one coming in Arizona. The 24-year-old didn’t post great numbers at Triple-A Reno this season, but that’s a very hard environment to pitch in. He’s ranked as the team’s No. 8 prospect by MLB.com.
