10-Team Leagues

Tyler O’Neill, STL OF (39% ownership), FAAB Bid - $15 - The guy has insane power, plain and simple. In 29 games at Triple-A before being called up, O’Neill hit 13 homers and slugged .708. He’s already at three in the Major League’s and he’s played a total of six games. O’Neill is an instant boost to your home run category and is a legit power threat even at the Major Level level. Let’s also not overlook the fact that O’Neill has stolen 12 or more bases twice in his minor league career, so the potential to swipe some bags is there as well.

Zach Britton , BAL RP (49% ownership), FAAB Bid - $12-14 - The Orioles bullpen is in flux and is in desperate need of help. Britton begins his rehab assignment on May 30th meaning he’s likely going to be back at the Major League level in June. When he’s healthy, he’s one of the best closers in baseball, straight up. He had 36 saves or more from 2014-’16 and then 15 more last year before he tore his Achilles. He could be the cure to your lack of saves once he returns. Get him now and stash him away.

Aaron Hicks , NYY OF (46% ownership), FAAB Bid - $12-13 - There aren’t many dual threat players available in league’s at this point in the season so we need to take advantage of them when we can. Hicks has five homers and five stolen bases at this stage in the season which puts him on pace for 18 of each. If he were to heat up in both categories, which is actually expected seeing how he’s hitting 20 points lower than last year, than he’s a legit 20-20 candidate. He’s hit anywhere from first to sixth in the Yankees lineup of late and the more he hits near the top of the lineup the better.
 

12-Team Leagues

Daniel Mengden , OAK SP (17% ownership), FAAB Bid - $11-13 - When one good start turns to two and two turns to six of his last seven, maybe there is something to it. Mengden has been really, really good since April 16th. He’s made seven starts since then and in 41.1 innings, he’s kept his opponents at bay with a .231 AVG and .275 wOBA. His 3.72 FIP over that span doesn’t exactly correlate with his 2.18 ERA, but a 3.72 mark is still very respectable. Mengden’s downfall is the lack of strikeouts.

Juan Soto , WAS OF (65% ownership), FAAB Bid - $12 - If he hasn’t been scooped up in your redraft leagues than do so immediately because the 19-year old is here to stay. Soto played at three minor league levels before being called up and slugged .814, .790 and .581 respectively. He hit as high as second in the Nationals order thus far, a place he become familiar with going forward. The more at-bats in front of Bryce Harper the more pitches Soto will see. Obviously that’s a huge bonus for his fantasy owners.

Nate Jones , CWS RP (37% ownership), FAAB Bid - $10-12 - Jones seems to be the man out of the White Sox pen these days. He converted a save on Tuesday night giving four on the year and three just in the last week. Jones has struck out 22 batters in 19 innings and has a 26.5-percent K-rate on the year. He’s had five straight scoreless outings and is the best reliever out of the White Sox pen right now.

 

15-Team Leagues

Jhoulys Chacin , MIL SP (14% ownership), FAAB Bid - $7-9 - The Brewers have won 8-of-11 of Chacin’s starts this year despite the fact that he only has three wins. But the lack of wins shouldn’t deter you from scooping Chacin up in deeper leagues. He’s allowed two earned runs or less in four straight starts and has struck out 22 batters over his last 23.1 innings. Chacin’s been really bad against left-handed hitters over the past few seasons but has actually stymied them a bit this year holding them to a less than averaged .412 SLG. If he continues to get lefties out, he could become valuable in 12-team leagues as well.

Ross Stripling , LAD SP, RP (20% ownership), FAAB Bid - $5-8 - Rich Hill is expected to miss around a month with blisters but knowing that Hill has had issues with blisters in the past, this could become a problem for the remainder of the year. Stripling has put together back-to-back really nice outings striking out 16 batters over 11.1 innings and only allowing three earned runs. He has boosted his 24.3-percent K-rate from last year to a 27.8 in 2018 while limiting the hard contact to a measly 25.3-percent. Stripling could mess around and find himself in the rotation for the longhaul.

Mark Reynolds , WAS 1B (21% ownership), FAAB Bid - $4 - We all know who Mark Reynolds is and this tear he’s on will only last so long, but for immediate production the home run and RBI categories, look no further. He’s hitting .455 with four homers and six RBI in just six games. The Nationals are really banged up and have a lot of players on the disabled list so it’s likely Reynolds playing time diminishes once they return.

 

*ownership percentages courtesy of Yahoo

** FAAB bids based on $100 budget