The fantasy baseball season is slowly coming to a close and it’s a bittersweet moment. All of the work you have done all season long is coming to an end, but hopefully, it ends with the championship trophy sitting above your fireplace for the next year or so. Yes, the fantasy football season has started, but do not be one of those guys who throws your fantasy baseball team on the backburner and devote all your attention to your football teams. You think your baseball team may be good enough to win without your full attention, but chances are it certainly is not. Anyways, this article features four players that can help take your team to the promise land. It’s go time.
Luke Weaver, SP STL— Weaver continues to pitch well as a member of the St. Louis pitching rotation. Through six starts with the club, he’s 1-2 with a 3.48 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and a 39:8 K/BB ratio in 31 innings pitched. He’s posted three quality starts during his tenure with the team, but she should be able to post a couple more before season’s end. He’s owned in just under one-third of fantasy baseball leagues at the moment, but with the way he’s pitching, just about every fantasy team contending for a title could use his services. In the past 30 days, his 11.32 K/9 ranks sixth in all of baseball, Yes, sixth. He’s ahead of guys like Madison Bumgarner, Chris Archer and Yu Darvish. His ERA (3.48) is close to his FIP (3.50), so it’s not as if he’s gotten extremely lucky, or unlucky, this season. His FIP falls in the above average threshold, so if he’s still available in your league, go get this guy.
Cesar Hernandez, 2B PHI— Hernandez has always been a guy who can hit for a high average, but the best thing about him is when he gets in these red-hot streaks. Well, he’s in one of them right now. Over the last seven days, he’s hitting .393 (11-for-28) with one RBI, two runs scored, three walks and two stolen bases. Listen, he will do next to nothing for you in quite a few categories, but Hernandez is a niche player that can really boost your team’s average and stolen bases. When he gets on base. Philadelphia is going to let him run, and the best thing of all is that he has in fact gotten on base a lot lately. Hernandez can help you with batting average and steals down the road, and his positional eligibility (2B) could make him an upgrade to your team.
Dansby Swanson, SS ATL— Much like Hernandez, Swanson has been white hot of late. Over the last seven days, Swanson’s .529 batting average is the highest among all qualified batters in baseball. His .941 slugging percentage isn’t too shabby either, ranking fourth in all of baseball in the same aforementioned span. The young shortstop is getting regular at-bats in the Atlanta lineup, as he should, and he’s performing at a high level. For the season, he’s hitting .306 with two home runs, 10 runs scored, eight RBI and one stolen base. The shortstop position can get tricky in fantasy, especially if you don’t get an elite option, so more likely than not, Swanson offers you an upgrade at the spot in your title hunt.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Swanson left Monday's game with right groin soreness, so keep an eye on his health in our Player News section.
Terrance Gore, OF KC— I’m not going to lie to you, but this one is a pure niche play that will be rather annoying at times. Gore isn’t going to start ball games and there will be some that he doesn’t get in at all. However, when he does pinch-run, he’s a virtual lock for at least one stolen base. He pinch-ran five times in the last eight days, but he still racked up three runs scored and six stolen bases. If you desperately need stolen bases or you’re going up against someone with the likes of Jonathan Villar or Billy Hamilton, Gore could be the counter-move that neutralizes that category.
@colbyrconway on Twitter.