10-Team Leagues

Justin Smoak , TOR 1B (78% ownership), FAAB Bid - $18 - If you dropped Smoak thinking last year was a fluke, think again. Smoak has been on fire the last two weeks hitting .310 with five homers and 10 RBI. His 16 homers and 52 RBI put him on track for nearly 30 and 90. His run production may also increase when Josh Donaldson returns to the lineup to hit in front of him. With a big second half, he could potentially get to 35 and 100. He should be owned in all formats for the remainder of the year.

Héctor Rondón , HOU RP (62% ownership), FAAB Bid - $17-20 - Rondon has become the one and only option for the Astros in the ninth inning these days. Ken Giles was sent packing to the minors and Chris Devenski has a 9.00 ERA in July. Rondon has eight saves a 1.57 ERA and 44 K’s over 34.1 innings pitched. Rondon is the top closer on the market and it’s not even close.

Julio Teherán , ATL SP (66% ownership), FAAB Bid - $12-15 - Teheran has been really good of late, especially in the strikeout department, something he’s not really known for. Over the last month, he’s notched the sixth most strikeouts in the league. His 8.35 K/9 is actually a career-high mark. If he can just get over his woes at home, he can be really dominant. He has high-end SP3 potential for the remainder of the season.

12-Team Leagues

Andrew Heaney , LAA SP (52% ownership), FAAB Bid - $11 - Outside of a blowup against the Red Sox AKA the best offense in baseball, Heaney has notched six straight quality outings. Just over his last three he’s struck out 26 opponents over just 20.1 innings. He has a really nice 24-percent K-rate and a nice 40-percent ground ball rate as well. He has a sub-4.00 ERA, SIERA and xFIP and has had a really nice first half of the year. Obviously he’s been injury prone in the past, so who knows how many innings his arm and body can take. He’s only three away from his career high (105.2).

Ronald Guzman , TEX 1B (2% ownership), FAAB Bid - $7-8 - The 23-year old rookie had a very nice first half of the campaign notching nine homers and 37 RBI. His .759 OPS is very respectable and it has a great chance of rising going forward. Just over his last 10 games coming into the All-Star break, Guzman slashed .355/.375/.581 with two homers and seven RBI. He needs to cut down on the strikeouts a bit, but we’ve seen plenty of players in today’s league be productive even with high strikeout totals.

Ervin Santana , MIN SP (18% ownership), FAAB Bid - $7-8 - Santana is ready to return, just in time for the second half of the season to begin. In his last rehab start, he struck out seven over 5.2 innings. Santana posted ERA’s of 3.38 and 3.28 over the last two seasons so hopefully that provides us with some hope that there is something left in the 33-year old’s tank aka his right arm. He’s worthy of a pick up as an SP4 type of arm for the remainder of this campaign.

15-Team Leagues

Jesse Winker , CIN OF (26% ownership), FAAB Bid - $5 - There are only 10 players in baseball with more RBI than Winker over the last 30 days. The issue with Winker – and why I wouldn’t suggest him in many other formats – is because he rarely plays against lefties and when he does, he’s as close to an auto out as it gets. Winker has a real shot at 60 runs, 15 homers and 70 runs batted in by years end.

Nick Williams , PHI OF (5% ownership), FAAB Bid - $3 - It’s been an up and down season for Williams but more up than down of late for the Phillies outfielder. Since the start of July, Williams has slashed .298/.389/.468. He’s near .900 OPS is encouraging and he has flashed some power with 11 this season after 12 over 83 games in 2017. He has a realistic shot at 20 home runs by seasons end and even a slight chance at 25 if he can get really hot. He’s worth the add in almost all 15-team leagues right now.

Tyler Saladino , MIL 2B, SS, 3B (1% ownership), FAAB Bid - $1 - Although he’s not the best, Saladino has been a very nice addition to the Brewers lineup since sending Orlando Arcia down. Saladino has four homers and two stolen bases in just 34 games played. He’s had two seasons at the Minor League level in which he’s swiped at least 28 bags so he’s someone that can steal more bags going forward. His .828 OPS plays in a lot of formats, especially in NL-only formats where you could likely use some middle infield depth.

 

*Ownership percentages courtesy of Yahoo

** FAAB bids based on $100 budget