Hitters

Mike Zunino (TB); FAAB Bid: 1% - We know how hard it is to fill the catcher position, and in one catcher leagues in often morphs into a streaming situation if you don’t have one of the top few options. That brings us to Zunino as there is no questioning his power production. Playing four or five times a week, on average, is actually a good thing here as keeps the damage Zunino’s .213 batting average can do. From that power perspective though, Zunino is finishing the season strong as the two home runs he hit over the last seven days give him 31 for the season. With a week left in the month, Zunino already has seven home runs in September and the fact that he is also batting .250 is a nice bonus. The real problem here is that Zunino struggles to make contact (35.5%) as when he does, it’s hard to knock the results; 24.1-degree launch angle, 24.7%-barrel rate, and 47.4% hard hit rate. 

Kiké Hernández (BOS); FAAB Bid: 1-2% - One of the things I like to focus on, especially towards the end of the season, is versatility. Having someone like Hernandez is very useful as you work to draw every single last at bat and opportunity for production. Going with Boston’s leadoff man, who also is in the lineup on a daily basis, checks both boxes as he was hitting a solid. 251 with 18 home runs and 56 RBI entering action on Wednesday. 

Gavin Lux (LAD); FAAB Bid: 2-3% - This is a clear case of chasing the talent here. At this time of year, depending on your league settings, things have to be evaluated from a keeper perspective, and that only adds to Lux’s value. To this point we haven’t seen too much from him at the big-league level, but we know what he is capable of and Lux appears to have, at least on a temporary basis, found his groove after a stint in Triple-A earlier this summer. In nine games so far this month entering action on Wednesday, Lux is hitting .464 with one home run, eight RBI and eight runs scored while striking out just four times. It is a small sample size, but it is a far cry from his 22% strikeout rate on the season. 

Jesús Sánchez (MIA); FAAB Bid: 3-4% - Why not continue on with the theme, and this time with a player who has a better expected outlook for the remainder of the season. Sanchez has taken advantage of his opportunity with Miami and that finds him playing on a daily basis and batting either third or fourth. While his barehanded catch will certainly stick in your memory, it’s his offense we are after here and Sanchez is hitting .304 with three home runs, seven RBI, and six runs scored over the last seven days. Strikeouts are going to be major concern here, 31.4% of the time, but at .245 his batting average isn’t a complete liability and you have to like his 13 home runs and 34 RBI in 226 plate appearances. With an 11.6%-barrel rate and 42.4% hard hit rate, Sanchez is impressive when he makes contact. 

Yoshi Tsutsugo (PIT); FAAB Bid: 1% - Where did this come from? There are the types of things we should be used to seeing in September, especially with a team like Pittsburgh, but here we are as Tsutsugo all of a sudden has fantasy value batting at the top of the order for the Pirates. In 18 games so far this month, Tsutsugo is hitting .327 with three home runs, 11 RBI, and 11 runs scored. Sometimes, it’s best not to ask questions, and instead just ride the wave at this point in the season. 

Starting Pitchers

Tony Gonsolin (LAD); FAAB Bid: 1% - Based on what we have seen from Gonsolin as of late, it’s hard to see him stretched out much past 70 or 80 pitches when he takes the mound Friday against Arizona, but I think it still might be enough. In his last start against the Diamondbacks, Gonsolin only needed 67 pitches to make it through five shutout innings for the victory while striking out six and allowing just four baserunners. Through 46 innings of work this season, the right-hander has 53 strikeouts along with just a 2.93 ERA while not letting a 1.43 WHIP rear its ugly head. At some point though, the 6.96 walks per nine innings will cause a problem if Gonsolin’s control doesn’t improve but to this point it hasn’t impacted him and I would expect that continue; well at least for Friday’s start. 

Shane Baz (TB); FAAB Bid: 3% - Tampa Bay didn’t promote Baz to not use him, and it’s hard not to like the matchup in upcoming his start against Miami. It’s also hard to miss what Baz did against Toronto in his debut with five innings of two run ball while striking out five for the victory. With a 1.76 ERA in 46 innings at Triple-A, there wasn’t much doubt Baz was ready to pitch at his third level for the season, and things should even be easier for him against the Marlins. 

Jordan Lyles (TEX); FAAB Bid: 1% - Lyles was in the midst quite the three-start streak as he picked up victories in each while striking out 17 batters in 20.2 innings. Of course, things didn’t go as well in his next start as he gave up five runs against the White Sox in just 3.2 innings after allowing just four runs in the three starts prior. Before that Lyles suffered through an eight-run outing so clearly, there are some inconsistencies here, but his next start is a good matchup against Baltimore. 

Relief Pitchers

Luis Severino (NYY); FAAB Bid: 1% - Better late than never, right? A few months ago, Severino was a popular choice to stash as we awaited his return to the rotation, but his groin and other ailments had other thoughts. The right-hander is finally back though, and for the next week and a half, he will be used out of the bullpen for the Yankees, and I imagine the situations will be relatively high leverage. In his lone outing to this point, Severino threw two shutout innings while striking out two batters and allowing just one baserunner. Depending what you are looking for at this point, in daily leagues, Severino very possibly could be better than what is on the wire and he also offers keeper value. 

J.T Chargois (TB); FAAB Bid: 1% - At this point we have churned through just about all of the potential options that can get you saves, so let’s dig into an option that could value in deeper leagues. Over the past seven days, Chargois has seven strikeouts in 3.2 innings of work with a 2.45 ERA and 1.09 WHIP. That is across four outings, and to be honest, it’s better production than we could expect from a lot of the starting pitchers that are available. With a 2.44 ERA and 1.03 WHIP this season, that success is not out of nowhere and Chargois has 50 strikeouts in 51.2 innings while also picking up six victories which might be more valuable than saves depending on your situation.