With the trade deadline essentially upon us, there is going to a countless number of moving parts. Those moving parts are going to open up so many doors and give us so many different looks at players in new roles. We’re sifting through all of it for you to give you the best pickups going forward!
10-team leagues
Lance Lynn, STL SP (79% ownership), FAAB Bid - $25 – Lynn is our top pickup of the week and for damn good reason! He has been lights freakin’ out lately, allowing two earned runs total over his last four starts which have spanned 25.1 innings. Over those 25.1 innings, opponents have hit an abysmal .193, he’s limited the hard contact to 27.8-percent and has induced groundball outs at a 50-percent clip. He’s not very available as his ownership levels have gotten all the way to 79-percent, but if he’s at all available you’re picking up an SP2 as we approach August and that simply doesn’t happen.
Gerardo Parra, COL 1B, OF (38% ownership), FAAB Bid - $19 – Although Parra has missed a few games of late due to a calf ailment, he has flat out raked to the tune of .478 during the month of July. He’s posted a 1.179 OPS and a .474 wOBA and is playing against righties AND lefties. Parra will continue to hit in the middle of the Rockies lineup and gets the luxury of playing at the most hitter friendly ballpark the league has to offer. That recently acquired first base eligibility is a nice wrinkle too.
Kevin Gausman, BAL SP (46% ownership), FAAB Bid - $16 – Over the last 30 days, only nine pitchers have struck out more batters than Kevin Gausman. If you base this addition off of Gausman’s entire season, you may throw up in your mouth, or someone else’s, but let us paint the entire picture before making that messy decision. In four of his last six outings, the O’s righty has allowed one run or less. The two in between were very bad outings, but the strikeouts have still been there (five and seven) in those. He’s also begun to get more groundball outs as he’s posted a 35-percent mark or better in six straight contests and four of them were 43-plus. Hop back on the bandwagon before it’s officially too late.
12-team leagues
Kirby Yates, SD RP (3% ownership), FAAB Bid - $12 – Now that Brandon Maurer has been dealt, Brad has been Hand-ed the closers job in San Diego, but we’re not sure he’ll make it another week with the team before he too is dealt. So why not get ahead of the curve and take a look at the Padres next likely in line for save opportunities, which is where Yates comes into play. He’s easily having the most productive year of his career and he’s been damn good. He’s missing so many bats, posting a career-high 13.5 K/9 mark while posting a career-low 2.4 BB/9 rate. There’s no reason to think he wouldn’t find success in the ninth inning – barring Hand is traded – with the type of stuff he’s shown this season.
Hyun-Jin Ryu, LAD SP (13% ownership), FAAB Bid - $11 – The Dodgers always seemingly have a surplus of pitching arms and then one of them lands on the DL, opening the door for any one of them that might have been moved to the bullpen. That looks to be the case for Ryu who was flirting with a move to the pen until he began to really pick it up over his last four starts. Over those starts alone, Ryu has struck out 24 batters in 20.2 innings. Longevity remains the issue with him and why he isn’t suggested in all formats, as he hasn’t gotten out of the sixth inning since June 5th.
Cory Spangenberg, SD, 2B, 3B, OF (15% ownership), FAAB Bid - $9-10 – This is probably our favorite, most underrated pickup we’re writing up this week. Spangenberg gets absolutely no love, which is fine because he plays for an awful team, but his fantasy value has never been higher than right now. Since June 2nd, a span of 43 games, Spangenberg has slashed .295/.352/.479 with an OPS of .832. During that same timeframe, he’s hit seven homers, driven in 22 runs and swiped three bags. Couple that with his eligibility at three different positions and we’re talking someone who we might even suggest in 10-team formats going forward.
15-team leagues
Derek Fisher, HOU OF (15% ownership), FAAB Bid - $7-9 – Fisher’s going to see ample playing time with utility god Marwin Gonzalez playing shortstop going forward until Carlos Correa returns. Fisher not only impressed earlier this year when he was called up but flat out destroyed Triple-A pitching all season long. He has massive power, belting 21 homers and 26 doubles in just 84 games at AAA this year, so if he translate even half of those numbers to the bigs for the remainder of the campaign he’ll be extremely valuable in 15, even 12 team formats.
Kyle Barraclough, MIA RP (16% ownership), FAAB Bid - $8 – Another opportunity to get ahead of the field and stash a potential closer. Manager Don Mattingly has already commented that Barraclough would definitely be considered for the closers role if A.J. Ramos were dealt. Barraclough has 17 holds on the year and has been extremely valuable asset to the Marlins pen. Although it was up at 37-percent last season, Barraclough has posted a very respectable 24.1-percent K-rate this season. What’s extremely impressive about him is the lack of hard contact he’s allowed; 24.8-percent to be exact.
Matt Chapman, OAK 3B (3% ownership), FAAB Bid - $2 – If you’re looking for power that won’t cost you a dime, look no further. Chapman has a lot of it and is an excellent fit in AL-only formats that also have a CI roster spot. Just over the last 14 days, Chapman has hit five homeruns, which is tied for second in all of baseball behind only Giancarlo Stanton who’s hit six. He barely contributes in any other category, but it’s hard to ignore a slugging percentage north of .500, especially in leagues with a condensed player pool.
*ownership percentages courtesy of Yahoo
** FAAB bids based on $100 budget