Welcome to Pickup of the Day, where every weekday we’ll pick an under-the-radar player whose immediate value is on the rise. The idea here is to identify a starter who can give you some solid innings off the scrap heap, a talented backup who’s been given a chance because of a starter’s injury, an unheralded regular with a favorable matchup, or a potential breakout player who’s starting to put it together. Unlike regular waiver-wire advice, Pickup of the Day is geared more towards interim success, but hopefully we’ll have the intuition to help you snag a waiver-wire gem a few times this season.
Chris Coghlan had only made a handful of appearances at second base in his major league career before this week began, but he now looks to be the Cubs’ new starter at the position. Addison Russell has moved over to shortstop and the struggling Starlin Castro has finally been benched. Coghlan carries much more fantasy value as a second baseman than he did as an outfielder -- where his level of production is easy to find. It might be worth giving him another look as the stretch run begins. As of this posting, Coghlan was batting .250/.337/.420 with a career-high 11 home runs and 10 stolen bases in 105 games.
