10-team leagues
José Peraza , CIN 2B, SS (60% ownership), FAAB Bid - $14-16 - The 24-year old Peraza is having the best stretch in his big league career and I believe this is the type of player we may see going forward. Over his last 10 games he’s slashing .383/.388/.532 with nine runs scored, two homers and three stolen bases. He’s been moved into the two-hole hitting right in front of Joey Votto which has vastly improved his run scoring, but the power has been great to see. He can be slotted in at both middle infield spots so pair that with the production and he’s a must own.
Nick Kingham , PIT SP (47% ownership), FAAB Bid - $15 - The 26-year old rookie has looked great in his first two professional starts striking out 16 batters in 12.1 innings. He never had a very big K/9 at the minor league level until this year as it sat at 10.72 before the call-up. He’s followed that up with an even more impressive 11.68 mark in the Majors. He’s been generating a ton of swings and misses and his SwStr percentage is 12.1. At every stop in the minors he’s been a 40-plus percent guy when it comes to getting ground ball outs as well, so that’s a check in another box I want for my fantasy pitchers.
Jorge Soler , KCR OF (31% ownership), FAAB Bid - $14-15 - The Jorge Soler break out campaign is finally upon us. He’s been so red hot lately that he’s increased his slash line to .309/.429/.526 on the year. Over his last nine games he has a hit in every one of them and five of those have been multi-hit efforts. His on-base percentage has been given a huge bump thanks to his 16-percent walk rate. His .413 wOBA and 44.1-percent hard-hit rate are elite marks as well. He’s a must own in all formats.
12-team leagues
Mallex Smith , TBR OF (26% ownership), FAAB Bid - $11 - With such scarcity in the stolen base category, Smith makes for the perfect addition to one’s team. He’s swiped only six bags on the year, but he also wasn’t playing regularly when the season began. With Kevin Kiermaier out of the equation, he’s gotten his chance and taken full opportunity of it. He’s hitting .322 with nine runs scored and we’ve already mentioned the bags he’s taken. Three of his SB’s have come over his last seven games, so he’s been running more frequently. The triple threat Smith has given us of average, runs and stolen bases and that makes him viable in many formats.
Nick Markakis , ATL OF (66% ownership), FAAB Bid - $10 - There’s really no way that you can convince me this power is real, but why not ride it out until he regresses back to the mean? Markakis hasn’t hit more than 15 homers since 2009 and he’s on pace to nearly double that. He’s always been a solid hitter, but .333 is one of the best averages in the league. He’s also riding an 11-game hitting streak so why not give him a look?
Kyle Gibson , MIN SP (19% ownership), FAAB Bid - $6 - If you can believe it, Kyle Gibson has been very good this year, especially of late. Gibson’s struck out 23 batters over his last 17.1 innings and now has 36 K’s in 32 IP for the year. Gibson’s career-high K-rate is 17.7% for an entire season and yet his 2018 mark is 26.3%. The HR/9 number is way down at 0.56 this year which has also been an encouraging sign.
15-team leagues
Jeremy Jeffress , MIL RP (20% ownership), FAAB Bid - $8 - So the Brewers bullpen saga continues as Jeffress was the one to pick up the last two saves. Corey Knebel is due to return soon, but saves are hard to come by these days. If Jeffress continues to pitch this well and pitch in the ninth, he’s worth the add. He’s had six consecutive scoreless appearances that include two saves and one hold.
Alen Hanson , SFG 2B, OF (1% ownership), FAAB Bid - $1 - If you’re looking for a short-term replacement for Joe Panik , look no further than his own teammate. Hanson has started his 2018 campaign rather well by scoring three runs, hitting one homer, driving in four and stealing two bases in just six games. He was hitting over .400 in the Minor league levels as well, so he’s carried that momentum right into the bigs. If he’s going to be productive in multiple categories, I wouldn’t limit my exposure to just NL-only formats.
Fernando Romero , MIN SP (34% ownership), FAAB Bid - $5 - For redraft league’s, Romero doesn’t hold a ton of value outside of 15-team league formats until he proves more. He’s never been a big strikeout guy as he’s only ever posted a K/9 better than nine once (9.39 at Single-A+) but he is a big groundballer as he’s been at 44.4-percent or better at every level he’s played at. The elevated walk rate is a little scary, but if he continues to pitch the way he did in his debut, he’s worth the add.