10-Team Leagues
Zack Godley , ARI SP (79% ownership), FAAB Bid - $14 - After a forgettable start to the 2018 campaign, Godley has found his groove, the same groove he was essentially in for the entire ‘17 season. Outside of one bad start against the Giants, Godley has allowed two earned runs or less in six straight starts. Something that has likely impacted Godley at times, especially in the games in which he’s getting shelled is the fact that his swinging strike rate is down over two-percent from last year, so more players are putting the ball in play against him. He’s seemed to weather the storm recently, but that’s something that has definitely been a factor.
Derek Dietrich , MIA 1B, 2B, 3B, OF (48% ownership), FAAB Bid - $13 - After belting two homers on Friday, Dietrich has tied his career-high in homers with 13….in just 94 games. There are obviously teams that will be interested in a guy that’s so versatile and can play so many positions so this could potentially turn bad for us a fantasy owners, but if he stays in Miami he’s someone who should be owned in all formats. His ability to be plugged in at four different positions are crucial and if he stays in Miami he stays hitting at the top of a lineup each and every day.
Jesse Winker , CIN OF (30% ownership), FAAB Bid - $10-11 - I’m officially all in on the Winker train. Just over the last month, Winker has hit .435 and only four players (Martinez, Arenado, Baez, Aguilar) have driven in more runs than him. His struggle has been with lefties since being called up last season and he’s finally starting to show some signs of life against them hitting .333 since June 1st. Yeah it’s just a 24 at-bat sample, but progress is what is important here. Winker should be owned everywhere for the second half of the season.
12-Team Leagues
Kirby Yates , SDP RP (42% ownership), FAAB Bid - $18 - You’re going to have to pay a pretty penny to nab Yates, but he’s going to be worth it. Or is he? He could be traded just like his old teammate Brad Hand and before you know it he’s back in an eighth inning role. That being said, Yates has been dominant this season notching a 1.43 ERA and 0.88 WHIP while striking out 48 over 37.2 innings. He was scooped up in 23-percent of Yahoo! leagues in the last day alone if you want an idea of how fast you’re going to have to be to pick him up.
Robert Gsellman , NYM SP, RP (13% ownership), FAAB Bid - $12 - With Jeurys Familia basically out of the door and packing his bags for Oakland, Gsellman is the next man up in the ninth inning for the Mets. The thing is, he’s already seemingly that guy as he’s converted the last two save opportunities for the team already. Gsellman has an impressive six wins out of the bullpen and is now up to four saves. Only reason I wouldn’t add him in all formats is because of the lack of opportunities he’ll get in the ninth with how bad the Mets are. Maybe now that they’re getting healthy they’ll compete and be in more games, giving Gsellman more chances in the ninth.
Willie Calhoun , TEX OF (19% ownership), FAAB Bid - $10-11 - I’m not ready to add him in all formats, but if he can live up to his hype that he’s had as a prospect, than he’ll be a big time addition to anyone’s team. Calhoun has had two Minor League seasons in which he’s hit 23-plus homers and that’s the type of upside he possesses. At Triple-A this season he was hitting .306 with eight homers, 57 runs scored and 42 runs batted in. He has a ton of upside and with Nomar Mazara on the disabled list he has his opportunity to showcase it all and possibly stick around for the long haul.
15-Team Leagues
Nick Kingham , PIT SP (18% ownership), FAAB Bid - $6-7 - Although inconsistent for most of the season, he’s been better of late and the one thing he has going for him is the strikeouts. He’s struck out 51 batters in 50.1 innings which is impressive. The inconsistencies are what will limit his upside, but NL-only leagues are something he fits perfectly in and he’s probably a solid enough SP5 in all 15-team league formats as well.
Cameron Maybin , MIA OF (3% ownership), FAAB Bid - $3-4 - Two Miami Marlins in one article? Weird stuff I know, but both Dietrich and Maybin are worth giving looks to. Maybin has been really good of late, notching a .357 AVG with a homer and five stolen bases over the past 10 games alone. He’s a power/speed combination we could all use in 15-team league formats.
Tim Beckham , BAL 2B, SS, 3B (8% ownership), FAAB Bid - $3-4 - Beckham hasn’t been the same player we saw last year since returning from the disabled list, but he flashed some of what we saw last year on Friday belting his second bomb of the season. Even though he’s struggled at the plate hitting just over the “Mendoza Line” this season, Baltimore continues to run him out in the leadoff spot. He’ll have all the opportunity in the world -- maybe even at shortstop which is his natural position -- with Machado out of the picture. He’s worth the add in deeper leagues.