As we dip our toes back into the water that is the second half of the regular season, we hit crunch time for our fantasy season. It’s make it or break it, and the potential additions below are players that will vault you into contention if you’re not already there, or put you way ahead of the field.

 

10-team leagues

Aaron Hicks, NYY OF (45% ownership), FAAB Bid - $23 – Although Hicks isn’t even scheduled to resume baseball activities until the end of July, he’s a must-own going forward. He’s going to get a bulk of the playing time in CF when he does return, as you can’t simply bench a player slashing .290/.398/.515 with a .913 OPS for a player in Jacoby Ellsbury who’s virtually giving you nothing at the dish. Although he likely won’t be back until August, Hicks still has a decent chance at being a 15 homer, 15 stolen base player. That will play in any and all formats.

Matt Holliday, NYY OF, 1B (62% ownership), FAAB Bid - $18 – The Yankees are beginning to get healthy and it begins with Holliday. Holliday will be slotted right in the heart of the Yanks lineup when he returns, so he’ll continue to be put in run-producing opportunities. Holliday’s been destroying the ball this year despite posting a mediocre .265 average as he’s been making hard contact 35.8-percent of the time. Holliday’s 41.2-percent fly ball rate plays extremely well at Yankee Stadium as it’s possible he could hit 30 home runs for the first time since 2017 if he gets back to where he was before his stint on the DL.

Cesar Hernandez, PHI 2B (17% ownership), FAAB Bid - $17 – Hernandez was well on his way to a career year in all major statistical categories other than batting average before his injury, but he’ll be back before you know it. Before missing the last 30 games or so, Hernandez was extremely productive with 17 extra-base hits and six stolen bases. You’ll be able to get the duel-threat second basemen in almost every format as people likely forgot about him he’s been out for so long.

 

12-team leagues

Mike Clevinger, CLE SP, RP (49% ownership), FAAB Bid - $14 – Clevinger, to much surprise, has been amazing of late, and has been really good the entire season. His ability to slot in at both pitching positions bolsters his value too. He’s allowed a measly .184 AVG and has an extremely 27.5-percent K-rate, which are two elite marks anyway you look at it. The one downfall long term could be the hard contact he’s allowed, especially in July despite only allowing one earned run over two starts. His hard contact rating for the month is north of 40-percent.

Bradley Zimmer, CLE OF (13% ownership), FAAB Bid - $13 – We will continue to suggest Zimmer until we’re blue in the face, or until people begin to take notice how productive of a fantasy asset he is. He’s been especially good versus right-handed pitching, posting a .830 OPS and a .353 wOBA. Zimmer does need to cut down on the K-rate (26.1-percent), but his homerun and stolen base threat make up for it. We’ve seen him hit leadoff a couple of times this year versus RHP, so if that somehow becomes an everyday thing, he’ll become even more valuable as he would be maximizing his at-bats.

Michael Wacha, STL SP (52% ownership), FAAB Bid - $10 – Whatever has gotten into Wacha lately is much more like the pitcher we’ve grown accustomed to watching pitch over the years. He’s gotten a massive boost from the strikeout, which he’s accomplished 24 times over his last 17.2 innings. Just over his last two starts he’s allowed a minuscule .256 wOBA to his opponents. Wacha could be rounding into form and should get a serious look in all 12-team formats going forward.

 

15-team leagues

Arodys Vizcaino, ATL RP (13% ownership), FAAB Bid - $5 – We should get ahead of the pack here if you have a place to stash him. Jim Johnson, to put it simply, is horrible. Vizcaino on the other hand has been extremely reliable for the Braves all season long, posting a 2.39 ERA while striking out 39 opponents over 34 innings. It’s hard to find closers this late in the season and he has a great chance at becoming one.

Freddy Galvis, PHI SS (8% ownership), FAAB Bid - $5 – Galvis has been sneaky good this season, especially over the past couple of months. After a June month in which he hit .287, he’s followed that up with a .866 OPS in July so far. Galvis hit 20 homers and stole 17 bases in 2016 and is on pace to replicate that once again this season. That much production from your shortstop position is extremely valuable.

Paul Blackburn, OAK SP (6% ownership), FAAB Bid - $3 – This suggestion comes with a price, and that price is the fact that Blackburn doesn’t strike anybody out. That said, he’s been awesome over his first two big league starts, allowing one earned run over 13.2 innings. It’s risky because he doesn’t miss bats, and to show you how much contact is made against him, his best K/9 mark at any professional level was 6.3 at Double-A.

 

*ownership percentages courtesy of Yahoo

** FAAB bids based on $100 budget