Hitters
AJ Pollock (LAD) – It’s very likely I catch some heat in the MLB Seasonal Discord over Pollock. He’s been a fringe waiver add in my eyes, but I just wanted to see more consistency from him. And to be fair to him, he’s delivered on that. Sadly he won’t get the steals he used to about four-to-six years ago, but he’s been flashing some power lately. Since the beginning of this month he’s slashing .352/.426/.833 with seven home runs and five doubles. He’s probably only available in shallower leagues, but he’s a nice grab if he’s still available.
Josh Harrison (WSH) – If you recently lost Josh Rojas, might I interest you in another Josh to help fill the void at an infield position? Harrison doesn’t really excel in any particular area. But he’s been solid since June 20th hitting .316/.380/.449 with 31 hits and 14 runs and RBI in that span. I don’t like that at best, he hits fifth. He tends to bounce around the bottom of the order, but he’s been productive this season and he does offer the occasional stolen base as well.
Mitch Garver (MIN) – Garver made his return to the big-league ball club on Monday and hit two home runs. He then followed that up with an 0-for-5 performance on Tuesday night. We know what he’s capable of when he’s healthy and is getting ample playing time. The catcher position sucks and if you’ve read my advice in the MLB Seasonal Discord, you know that I’m always riding the wave with catchers. I try to identify the ones in good matchups or the ones riding a bit of a streak. I’m very frugal with how I treat catchers as I drop them as soon as they cool off. So I may tend to overrate power bursts, which we saw from Garver on Monday. He’s obviously not on the heater he was two years ago, but there’s interest here if he’s getting playing time and he can have some semblance of consistent power.
Brandon Marsh (LAA) – We’re starting to enter that territory where Mike Trout is getting closer to starting his rehab assignment, but for now the Halos called upon Brandon Marsh as a short-term fill-in. He’s a rookie that’s produced well in the minors, but as with all rookies that have been called up in the last calendar year, this isn’t a sure thing. Case in point? Vidal Bruján was just optioned to Triple-A. Jared Kelenic has struggled deeply in his two stints at the big-league level this year. So, take these young guns with a grain of salt. So far Marsh is 4-for-12 with a stolen base in three games and he’s available in a wide range of leagues. And if he cools off you can throw him back to the waiver pool. He likely won’t cost you very much. Even after Trout comes back it’s possible he sticks in the lineup given the other injuries to the Angels’ outfield.
Starting Pitchers
Jon Gray (COL) – As much as we like to complain about pitchers in Coors Field, Gray’s easily been better at home than on the road this year pitching to a 3.14 ERA at home compared to a 4.54 ERA on the road. With the exception of 2020, he’s been about a strikeout per inning type of player and his 3.68 xERA justifies his 3.56 ERA. Plus, he’s been rumored to be on the trading block so he’s an interesting grab for the time being if he does get traded to a team with friendly pitching confines. If he isn’t dealt then he still has potential. Unfortunately, his next two starts are slated to come on the road against the Dodgers and Padres.
Kwang Hyun Kim (STL) – This game between the Cardinals and Cubs Thursday is very interesting. I like both sides of this pitching matchup and even view Adbert Alzolay as a streaming option. Regarding Kim, he looks to have hit a nice stride. Pitching deeper into games has been my issue with him this year, but he’s 4-0 in his last four starts and he’s gone at least six innings in each of his last three outings. I prefer him more in roto/categories leagues. In points leagues the strikeouts aren’t really there. But he keeps the ball in the park and has been minimizing damage lately.
Touki Toussaint (ATL) – I’m trying hard not to get fooled (and hurt) by Toussaint again. He’s always performed well at the minor league level but could never quite put it together at the big leagues. With that said he’s still just 25 and maybe he’s just a late bloomer. He’s a pretty good source of strikeouts, but he’s prone to getting blown up too. He was great against the Padres earlier in the week to the tune of one earned run over 6.2 innings of work with five strikeouts, three hits, and two walks. I do like that he garnered 12 swinging strikes on 79 pitches which shows he was very efficient. He’s next two starts come in a pair of divisional series matchups for the Braves as he’ll toe the rubber in Philly and Queens.
Josiah Gray (LAD) – I’m not overly excited about this prospect grab. I’m more interested in Brandon Marsh to be honest. But Gray made his big-league debut in long relief on Tuesday and worked four innings allowing four earned runs (three home runs, yikes), but he had seven strikeouts to just one walk. If he were RP-eligible and we knew he would get these long relief appearances then I’d be on board. However, he will take the mound on Sunday in a Battle of Grays against the previously mentioned Jon Gray.
Relief Pitchers
Daniel Bard (COL) – You have read about him ad nausea in this article. Earlier in the year I mentioned him at least two or three times. I know I’ve seen him in Ray’s waiver articles at least once or twice as well. But ownership still isn’t quite where it should be for a guy who could return 20+ total saves. From here until the end of the season you might get an additional eight-to-ten but with the trade deadline looming I won’t fully commit to that number. Since June 28th Bard has allowed just one earned run with five saves in that span. He’s basically doing everything Colby Conway projected to do in Bard’s player profile from earlier this year. The ERA and walks are a little high but he’s a very cheap source of saves and strikeouts.
David Price (LAD) – SP/RP Alert! David Price has been getting some starts in for the Dodgers with Clayton Kershaw sidelined. He hasn’t pitched deep into games because he’s always been working in relief this season but he’s set to take the mound against the Rockies and then the Giants next week. The more starts he gets, the longer the Dodgers will stretch him out. I’d say he’s a worthwhile grab especially in points leagues where it’s all about accumulating volume out of your relief pitchers.
Ryan Tepera (CHC) – Tepera could be a speculative add assuming Craig Kimbrel gets traded to the Phillies or anywhere else for that matter. There is speculation about Andrew Chafin possibly getting some saves if Kimbrel were to be dealt so it comes down to preference and I prefer Tepera slightly. I like his strikeout potential a little bit more but if Kimbrel is traded by next Friday’s deadline, expect a spike in ownership for both players.