10 Team Leagues
Anthony DeSclafani (Starting Pitcher – Cincinnati Reds) FAAB Bid: 8% - DeSclafani has been a very popular name on waivers lately. He’s been performing at a higher level than we’ve seen in the past. He’s been a quality start machine logging three in his last four outings. The one game he didn’t log one he missed it by an out. The strikeouts are up and he’s allowed just one home run in his last 23.2 innings of work. His fastball has been very good, as have his breaking pitches. He’s a nice sell high candidate too, but if you opt to hang on to him you can go that route.
Franmil Reyes (Outfielder – San Diego Padres) FAAB Bid: 12-18% - Reyes is no stranger to the waiver wire column as he’s appeared at least twice this season. Since April 30th he is 17-for-43 with four home runs, eight runs scored, and eight RBI. He’s now raised his batting average to .275 but be a little more weary in points leagues. He has a 5.4% walk rate and 24.6% strikeout rate so San Diego’s behemoth does take a massive hit in that format. The Padres are frequently hitting him second in the order so they are clearly confident in him. Dare I say this 23-year-old gets to 35 home runs this season?
Mitch Garver (Catcher – Minnesota Twins) FAAB Bid: 5-8% - Catchers are hard to come by and Garver’s swinging a really good bat. And it’s worth mentioning, that as it gets warmer in Minnesota that ballpark turns into a pretty good hitter’s haven. Everyday playing time will be difficult for him since the Twins love Jason Castro as well. Garver’s not a full-time catcher yet he has the third-most home runs so far of all catchers with three of those coming in his last five games.
Frankie Montas (Starting Pitcher – Oakland Athletics) FAAB Bid: Montas has looked solid over his last five starts. Sure he’s given up a lot of hits (33 in 28.1 innings) and he’s lucky that none have left the park, but he’s limiting the free passes and generating strikeouts. He’s on tap for a road start next Friday against the Tigers. This is definitely a matchup you’ll want to stream him for.
12 Team Leagues
Jonathan Lucroy (Catcher – Los Angeles Angels) FAAB Bid: 5-6% - Remember this guy? It wasn’t all that long ago Lucroy was considered one of the best catchers in the game. Since his 2016 All-Star campaign he’s been with the Rangers, Athletics, Rockies, and now the Angels. He’s found some offensive success lately with four home runs since April 30th and he’s always been a good points league option because he doesn’t strike out very much. He’s hitting in the bottom half of the order unfortunately, but he’s still worth picking up.
Brandon Woodruff (Starting Pitcher – Milwaukee Brewers) FAAB Bid: 5-8% - Woodruff may have relief pitcher eligibility depending on the site you play on. He’s won his last three starts and generating strikeouts at a high clip (22 over his last 16 innings). He gets two road starts next week against the Braves and Phillies so now is the time to grab him if he’s available.
Alex Verdugo (Outfielder – Los Angeles Dodgers) FAAB Bid: 4% - Verdugo’s fairly available across the board and you could get him for almost nothing. He hasn’t hit a home run since April 24th, but he’s finding ways to contribute especially in batting average (.337). He has four multi-hit games so far in May and you get the sense he’s going to get plenty more in the coming weeks despite hitting in the bottom portion of the Dodgers’ lineup.
Jerad Eickhoff (Starting Pitcher – Philadelphia Phillies) FAAB Bid: 8% - I’m not completely sold on Eickhoff yet, but he has done well in the games he’s started so far. I’m no fan of the excess walks, but he’s at least keeping the ball in the park. His 1.73 ERA seems concrete given his 2.47 FIP, but you have to approach him with trepidation. He won’t finish 2019 with a sub-2.00 ERA, that’s obvious. He’s not a big strikeout threat, but he did just shut down the Cardinals on Wednesday. Next week will be a good test for him. He’s a two-start pitcher at home against the Brewers and Rockies. If he can weather those storms then maybe he’s worth holding rest of season.
15+ Team Leagues
Hunter Pence (Outfielder – Texas Rangers) FAAB Bid: 4% - Pence is coming off a run this past week where he hit a home run in three straight games including a pinch hit grand slam on Wednesday. He has six total on the season, but he also touts a .329/.407/.657 slash line. The Rangers move him around their lineup quite a bit, but recently he’s been hitting cleanup pretty consistently. If you can find a cleanup hitter on waivers you’ll be best served picking him up in deeper leagues.
Jefry Rodriguez (Starting Pitcher – Cleveland Indians) FAAB Bid: 1% - I’m not a big fan of Rodriguez’s long-term prospects. He’s 25 and has just two good pitches: his fastball and curveball, and he leans on that fastball a lot. So he won’t be fooling many hitters, but he’s done well lately in three starts so far. In 18.2 innings of work he’s surrendered just five earned runs on 15 hits and five walks. He’s not a big strikeout machine, but the Tribe put him in position for a quality start. He faces the Athletics on Sunday to wrap up the week, but he’s usable in his next start against Baltimore. For this reason you should also give Jonathan Loaisiga of the Yankees some consideration. He might get two starts next week, but his first start is guaranteed to come against Baltimore.
David Fletcher (First Baseman, Second Baseman, Outfielder – Los Angeles Angels) FAAB Bid: 2% - Fletcher’s a relative no namer with minimal power (just ten extra base hits so far) but he’s coming off a streak where he had four straight multi-hit games where he did club two home runs. He’s hit almost everywhere in the lineup, but more recently they’ve let him hit leadoff quite a bit. He has a .308 batting average and he rarely strikes out. He’s a sneaky good find in deeper/points leagues and he can contribute a stolen base here and there. If he cools off or if you need to cut him to activate a player off the Injured List, you can do so at little-to-no cost.