10 Team Leagues

Yordan Alvarez OF, DH HOU; FAAB Bid: 30-40% - You sure better be willing to spend big here. It finally happened. Yordan Alvarez has been called up. These big rookie promotions always seem to happen hours after the previous Waiver Advice column has dropped. In his big league debut, Alvarez did mash the first home run of his career and then he collected his second on Tuesday night. One has to assume there will be several more. There is some risk that comes with picking up the highly-touted rookie. The move was only done because of injuries that have mounted up for the Astros so if there are any struggles by Alvarez then he could be sent back down once Houston starts to get healthy. However, if he hits well then it’ll be difficult to take him out of the lineup. If I were a betting man I’d say he sticks for the long run hence the massive bid for this young man.

Héctor Neris RP PHI; FAAB Bid: 15-25% - It’s criminal how under-owned Neris is. He’s available in over a quarter of Yahoo leagues and he’s available in over 40% of ESPN leagues. He has 14 saves, touts a 12.56 K/9, and his ERA is sub-2.00. I’m not sure what more this guy has to do to warrant more ownership. He’s the closer for the team currently in a tie for first in the National League East. What more do you need from this man?!

Didi Gregorius SS NYY; FAAB Bid: 10-15% - Gregorius made his 2019 debut last Friday night and it didn’t take him long to get his first home run of the season in just his second game on Saturday. He’s sitting for Game 2 of Tuesday’s doubleheader, but in Game 1 he collected two more hits and scored a run. He now has six hits in four games. Gregorius is just the start of the Yankees starting to get healthy. Don’t forget that he is coming off three straight seasons of at least 20 home runs including 25 and 27 over the last two season respectively.

Jay Bruce 1B, OF PHI; FAAB Bid: 5% - In case you’ve been living under a rock you’ve missed what Jay Bruce has done with the Phillies in short order. In just eight games he already has five home runs, 13 RBI, and eight runs scored. The change of scenery and move to a better lineup has done him some good and he is absolutely raking right now. We’ve seen this from Bruce before however. From March 30th to April 9th Bruce went on a tear where he hit seven home runs in eight games with the Mariners. He can be a streaky hitter at times, but that can still benefit any fantasy team.

Julio Teheran SP ATL; FAAB Bid: 3-6% - My fingers tremble even just typing this guy’s name. He has a proven track record of not being a good pitcher, but he’s doing well as of late. Through his first eight starts in 2019 Teheran surrendered seven home runs. Over his last seven starts he hasn’t given up any and he’s allowed just three earned runs in 38.2 innings of work (0.70 ERA). Now what does concern me about Teheran is he has a 3.38 FIP and a 5.37 xFIP and he still averages a walk every other inning. He is likely in line to regress, but his next start comes Thursday at home against Pittsburgh and the Pirates have lost five straight and eight of their last ten games.

 

12 Team Leagues

Framber Valdez SP/RP HOU; FAAB Bid: 5-7% - This addition has some serious upside, but I do have concerns about his ability to remain in the Astros rotation. Since April 6th, as a reliever, Valdez has built a 2.63 ERA while surrendering just one home run in 24 innings of work. I’m actually cherry picking just a bit by leaving out his first relief appearance of the season (spoiler alert: it was bad), but in his first official start he looked good enough to gain some consideration as a waiver target. In seven innings against the Orioles he struck out seven hitters, surrendered five hits and the lone run came off a solo shot to Renato Núñez . He didn’t get the win because the bullpen would cough up the game, but Valdez looked good enough to stick in the rotation in the short-term. Once this team gets healthy and can provide more run support his fantasy value will tick up.

Scott Kingery SS, 3B, OF PHI; FAAB Bid: 4-8% - Kingery, like his teammate from the shallower league section, is going a bit under-owned at the moment. He’s finally getting regular playing time regardless whether it’s at third base or in center field and he’s quietly showcasing a pretty impressive slash line of .324/.365/.630. He has seven home runs, but keep in mind he’s only registered 115 plate appearances and he still has ten doubles and a triple. It would be nice if he was a little more active on the base path though. Last year he stole ten bases and this year he has two, but he hasn’t even attempted to steal a base in about three weeks.

Jorge Soler OF KC; FAAB Bid: 10% - I’m weary of this add especially in points leagues because he rarely walks and strikes out more than 20% of the time, but Soler’s power has been on full display. Over the last two weeks he has five home runs and 11 RBI and on the season 32 of his 59 hits have gone for extra bases. Despite the power he’s still hitting under .250 and his OPS is barely over .800 but that’s due to an unsightly on-base percentage. If you need some power and assistance with counting stats this is your guy. But as always with outfield depth, there’s a ton of it so Soler isn’t a “must add” by any means.

Robinson Chirinos C HOU; FAAB Bid: 3-6% - I’ve included Chirinos in the past since catcher is such a difficult position to gain any form of satisfaction from. However, he’s shown a bit of a power surge as of late. So far in June, in seven starts, he’s hit a home run in five games. He might occasionally sit against lefties, but the power is there and it’s juiced his OPS to .891 on the season. Get him in your lineup while he’s raking.

 

15+ Team Leagues

Jarrod Dyson OF ARI; FAAB Bid: 5-8% - Dyson’s ownership is way too low for someone that could steal 30+ bases and possibly score 70-80 runs. He doesn’t possess much power and he normally leads off. But hitting at the top of the order has its perks because he’ll get more plate appearances and with a .263 batting average he won’t really kill your team’s BA. 12% owned on Yahoo is just criminally low especially in a rotisserie or categories league. He’s tied for the fifth-most stolen bases in the league and he’s hit 14 swipes in just 184 plate appearances.

Albert Pujols 1B LAA; FAAB Bid: 0-2% - Occasionally I like to check in on studs from the past just to see what they’re up to. The Angels gave Pujols one of the worst contracts in the history of baseball and he’s hardly lived up to it in his eight years with the team. However, since May 27th he’s put together a decent enough line to be of value to fantasy players in deeper leagues. In that span he has a .273/.360/.545 slash line with three home runs and 11 RBI. Perhaps the most telling number is that fact he’s struck out just once in that span. He’s far from the player he once was, but if you need a little pop from a player that could finish with 20 home runs, then throw this old dog a bone.

Jason Vargas SP NYM; FAAB Bid: 0-2% - I really don’t like Vargas, but since coming off the Injured List he’s been a serviceable pitcher. In his last four starts he has a 1.66 ERA (2.66 FIP) and he hasn’t allowed a home run in that span. He has three straight quality starts and two wins over that period as well. I got burned a few weeks back telling a member of the FANation to not add Vargas prior to his complete game shutout of the Giants and I’m certainly eating crow in that regard. His next start will come this Sunday at home against the Cardinals and St. Louis has just a .727 team OPS against southpaws.

Brandon Workman RP BOS; FAAB Bid: 0-1% - This is largely a speculative add. The Red Sox bullpen is trash. They’ve blown ten saves so far and we aren’t even halfway through June. Workman has quietly been stringing together some solid appearances from the bullpen. He has a pair of saves, a dozen holds, and a 1.84 ERA. He’s not the hardest thrower and he’s not even the official closer as of right now for the Red Sox. But it’s a speculative add if you can afford the roster spot. Boston can still turn their lackluster season around if they address their bullpen issues. They missed out on bringing Kimbrel back, but to be fair there was almost no chance of that happening. They have to make some changes and I’m keeping my fingers crossed they use Workman in higher leverage situations.