Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire
What a wild week in baseball. We expected this year to be weird and crazy in fantasy baseball leagues, and deciding on add and drops will be especially important. Injury, COVID-19, and news breaks daily, so pay attention in the case that you need to make adds and drops during the week. We will also include the suggested free agent acquisition budget (FAAB) percentages, but make sure to take into account how your league mates bid on players. If you are not using FAAB, then players are prioritized in order.
Hitters
Colin Moran, 3B, Pittsburgh Pirates
15-20% FAAB
Colin Moran has been crushing the ball to begin the year. In 35 plate appearances, he has five home runs, eight runs, and seven RBI while slashing .273/.314/.758. Yes, this is a small sample, but check out his Statcast data. He has a 52.2% hard-hit rate (91st percentile) with a 95.8 mph average exit velocity (98th percentile). Moran’s expected stats of xBA and xSLG are both in the 95th percentile or above. If you need a corner infielder with batting average and some power, then Moran is the top add of the week.
Kyle Seager, 3B, Seattle Mariners
15% FAAB
In 41 plate appearances, Kyle Seager has one home run, five runs, ten RBI, and one steal while slashing .286/.366/.486 with an identical 9.8% walk and strikeout rate. A few concerns would be his 89.2 mph average exit velocity, 37.5% hard-hit rate, and 53.1% groundball rate. His average exit velocity and hard-hit rate are not looking great, and the groundball rate is above his career average of 34.6%. However, Seager’s contact rate is up across the board, and his swinging-strike is down almost 3%. Ride the hot hand with Kyle Seager.
J.P. Crawford, SS, Seattle Mariners
10% FAAB
Another Mariners hitter, J.P. Crawford, is also off to a hot start with zero home runs, ten runs, four RBI, and two steals while slashing .333/.455/.472. Crawford typically displays great on-base skills with a 15.9% walk rate and an 11.4% strikeout rate this season. Although the shortstop position is deep, add Crawford in 12-14 team leagues.
Kevin Pillar, OF, Boston Red Sox
2-5% FAAB
Kevin Pillar is better suited for daily lineup leagues because he is a platoon bat. However, he has four doubles and one home run with six runs and five RBI in 32 plate appearances. Granted, it is a small sample, but he is slashing .387/.406/.613, paired with a 33.3% hard-hit rate. Pillar is a bench bat in deeper leagues.
Starting Pitchers
Nate Pearson, SP, Toronto Blue Jays
20% FAAB
Do a quick check if Nate Pearson is available in your fantasy baseball league. In his MLB debut against the Nationals, he threw five innings, allowed two hits, two walks, and five strikeouts. Pearson also had 14 swinging strikes on 75 pitches, which included mostly four-seam fastballs and sliders. Pick him up if he is available!
Zach Plesac, SP, Cleveland Indians
15% FAAB
Like Pearson, Zach Plesac looked good last week, and he dominated the White Sox last Wednesday. He tossed eight innings allowing three hits, zero walks, and 11 strikeouts in a no-decision. Plesac finished with 20 swinging strikes and was almost unhittable with his slider that resulted in a 59.1% whiff rate. Add Plesac in 10-12 team leagues.
Austin Voth, SP, Washington Nationals
15% FAAB
Austin Voth falls more in the streaming pitcher category. Voth finished with a decent performance in his first start throwing five innings, allowing two earned runs, zero walks, and two strikeouts. Last year his curveball resulted in a 20.9% swinging-strike rate, a 47.5% whiff rate, and a .192 xwOBA. On Fangraphs scouting reports, his best pitch is his slider, and it could be a pitch misclassification. Nonetheless, his breaking pitches result in whiffs, thus why I think he is a streaming pitcher option depending on the matchup.
Cristian Javier, SP, Houston Astros
12-15% FAAB
Cristian Javier made his first start for the Astros against the Dodgers last week. He finished with 5.2 innings pitched, allowed two hits, one earned run, one walk, and eight strikeouts. Javier mostly used a four-seam fastball and curveball combination that both resulted in a swinging-strike rate above 10% and a whiff rate above 23%. He struggled with command and walks in the minors, so that is something to watch. Pick up Javier if you need pitching.
#Astros prospect Cristian Javier whiffed the Dodgers’ three best hitters to begin his first MLB start. pic.twitter.com/AQgW4gE7Di
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) July 29, 2020
Alec Mills, SP, Chicago Cubs
8-10% FAAB
Alec Mills is a deep league streaming pitcher candidate. In his first start against the Reds, he threw six innings, allowed two hits, two earned runs, two walks, and three strikeouts. Mills is not a hard thrower averaging 90.4 mph on his four-seam fastball and sinker. His curveball and changeup are his best two pitches. Last year, his curve resulted in a 15.1% swinging-strike rate and a 33.3% whiff rate. His changeup is probably his best pitch resulting in a 25% swinging-strike rate and 43.5% whiff rate last year.
Relief Pitchers
Anthony Bass, RP, Toronto Blue Jays
With Ken Giles injured, Anthony Bass will be the closer.
Ryan Pressly, RP, Houston Astros
Roberto Osuna hit the injured list with elbow soreness, so Ryan Pressly should serve as the closer. Pressly was also dealing with a cut on his finger over the weekend.
Jairo Diaz, RP, Colorado Rockies
Wade Davis and Scott Oberg are both injured, and Jairo Diaz could serve as the closer.
Nick Burdi, RP, Pittsburgh Pirates
Keone Kela has been on the COVID-19 injured list but recently cleared for workouts. Nick Burdi could get saves in the meantime.
Rowan Wick, RP, Chicago Cubs
Craig Kimbrel looks awful so far in two appearances. Rowan Wick could slide in if they take Kimbrel out of the closer role temporarily.
Oliver Drake, RP, Tampa Bay Rays
This might be a bullpen to stay away from, but Oliver Drake has converted two saves already this season.
