Rotoworld’s Pickups of the Day column is designed to help fantasy managers uncover a handful of widely-available targets over the course of the season. It could be a breakout candidate, a prospect stash, an injury replacement, a pitcher with a favorable matchup or week, a player who is due some better luck, or any other number of scenarios. If there’s value to be found on the waiver wire, we will find it and bring it your way.
In today’s column, we’ll take a look at a sure-fire first ballot Hall of Famer who is playing his final three games over the weekend and an interesting streaming option for Thursday’s MLB slate.
PICKUPS OF THE DAY
Miguel Cabrera, 1B, Tigers
Available in 99 percent of Yahoo leagues
I’m sure that this is just the nostalgia in me that’s talking, but I truly believe that Miguel Cabrera is going to be a useful fantasy asset over the weekend. Playing in the final three-game set of his storied 21-year MLB career – in front of the hometown crowd at Comerica Park – the 40-year-old slugger is going to turn back the clock and deliver the kind of production that we haven’t seen much of over the past few years.
Cabrera showed a glimpse of that on Wednesday night – before the rain came and suspended the game – crushing a vintage Cabrera-esque opposite-field 400-foot blast over the wall in right-center. He also added a seeing-eye single in that one.
At this stage in the season, in daily leagues where moves can still be made, there’s something to be said for having players that you know are going to be in the lineup. You can write this one in stone, Cabrera will be in the lineup for all three games over the weekend against the Guardians. The crowd will be celebrating him and his career achievements throughout the weekend and he’s going to deliver because he absolutely wants to put on a show one last time.
I anticipate that he’ll get four or five hits over the course of the weekend, drive in a pair of runs and perhaps – just maybe – slug his 512th career home run to tie him with Ernie Banks and Eddie Mathews on the all-time leaderboard.
Either way, it should be a fun weekend at Comerica Park to watch one of the greatest right-handed hitters of all time play the game that he loves one last time.
Your fantasy season doesn’t end after the draft. Dominate your league with our new FREE Season Tools, including Weekly Expert Rankings, Targets Reports, Lineup Adviser, Trade Analyzer and more. Click here to get started.
AJ Smith-Shawver, SP, Braves
Available in 92 percent of Yahoo leagues
The 20-year-old right-hander has already had a few opportunities to pitch for the Braves this season – compiling a 4.57 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and an 18/10 K/BB ratio across 21 2/3 innings in five appearances (four starts).
He has looked much improved at Triple-A Gwinnett since his last demotion and looks poised to deliver a quality start against the Cubs on Thursday night in Atlanta. Worst case scenario, he should be good for a handful of strikeouts with a limited risk of a blow-up – and with the powerful Braves’ offense backing him the chances of earning a victory are always high.
If you’re forced to gamble with the fodder that remains on the waiver wire at this point in the season, I’d much rather gamble with elite talent and upside, rather than taking a mediocre arm elsewhere and hope that they deliver a strong performance.
Pick up and start Smith-Shawver with confidence on Thursday night.
