There are so many moving parts this time of the year we want to help you get ahead of the curve. Some of the names we’re about to mention are going to benefit from teammates being traded, but some are just flat out good and will help your team tremendously going forward.

 

10-team leagues

Kendrys Morales, TOR 1B (68% ownership), FAAB Bid - $14 – We know that ownership percentages can be misinterpreted because the amount of teams that have simply given up as the season wears on is tremendous. That said, 68-percent ownership for a guy who’s already belted 20 homers up to this point in the season is ridiculous. Not only has he just hit 20 HR, but his 56 RBI rank him 25th in the AL, more than guys like Machado, Benintendi and Ramirez, all guys much higher owned than him. Morales has also been really good of late specifically, crushing four homers over the last 14 days. He’s been extremely productive throughout his career when he’s been able to stay healthy and he’s the perfect fit in your utility spot if that’s where you’re in need of some help.

Trevor Cahill, KC SP, RP (32% ownership), FAAB Bid - $12 – It’s weird having two Royal starters on here in one article if we think back to where they were earlier this year, but they both deserve the recognition. It’s been well documented how well Cahill has been missing bats, 10.62K/9, and getting groundballs, 56.8-percent, this year. Although he’s no longer pitching in San Diego, he still has the benefit of pitching in another pitching friendly environment in KC. Cahill is a very nice SP3 for ROS and should be treated as such.

 

12-team leagues

Ian Kennedy, KC SP (41% ownership), FAAB Bid - $11 – Kennedy is in a nice groove on the bump right now and he’s been a key cog into helping the Royals vault themselves into playoff contention. Since June 16th, Kennedy’s help his opponents to a slash line of .203/.265/.385 and an abysmal .275 wOBA. He’s benefitted from more putout pitches as he’s posted a 22-percent K-rate over the same aforementioned time frame. He’s hard to trust in every singe format because his propensity to allow the homerun ball, but he’s a safe bet in 12-team leagues as an SP4, maybe even an SP3.

Patrick Corbin, ARI SP (32% ownership), FAAB Bid – Since June 8th, we’ve seen Corbin pitch exactly how he did back in 2014 when he made the All-Star team. He’s been missing all kind of bats posting a 9.7 K/9 and a 24.9-percent K-rating since that date. He’s really gotten back to what made him successful in the past and that’s inducing grounders, which he’s getting at a 51-percent clip. Those are the two biggest factors to making a pitcher successful, especially in fantasy, because he’ll be able to avoid the big blow aka a homer.

Luke Weaver, STL SP (20% ownership), FAAB Bid - $8 – Your 2017 pre-season 50th ranked prospect has entered the Cardinals rotation and is seemingly going to stay there for the remainder of the season. After flat-out dominating Triple-A hitting to the tune of a 9-1 record with a 1.91 ERA and a 9.4 K/9, Weaver had nothing left to prove. The Cardinals also happen to be shopping Lance Lynn quite aggressively right now, so that would do nothing but ensure Weaver’s stay in the rotation going forward. The 23-year old made one mistake during his first start of the year and it resulted in a grand slam but he still managed to strike out a batter per inning over his five frames. He has a lot of upside for the rest of the 2017 campaign and even beyond.

 

15-team leagues

Amed Rosario, NYM (23% ownership), FAAB Bid - $6 – It’s only a matter of time before the entire Mets roster has a sale label tattooed to their foreheads and that will only heighten the chance that Rosario is called up. He has nothing more to prove at Triple-A, the same sentiment we made about Luke Weaver above, as he’s hit .332 with seven homeruns and 18 stolen bases. Everyone and their mothers have said Rosario is Major League ready we’re just anxiously awaiting the Mets to begin selling in wholesale.

Luis Valbuena, LAA 1B, 3B (1% ownership), FAAB Bid - $4 – We’ve seen Valbuena’s capability of belting homeruns in the past as he hit 25 in 2015 and 13 in 90 games in 2016 and we’re beginning to see it again this season. Just over the last 14 days he’s hit five bombs to go along with a .320 average. With Mike Trout back and hitting in front of him, he is going to see plenty of pitches to hit that he wasn’t seeing when the likes of Cole Kalhoun and C.J. Cron were the ones hitting in front of him. Valbuena’s had some pretty horrible luck this year as he’s hit the ball hard with very nice consistency. Against righties he’s posted a 35.9-percent HC mark and against lefties an elite mark of 42.9-percent. His luck seems to be turning a bit in July, so in 15-team formats he’s worth the risk.

Hector Sanchez, SD C (10% ownership), FAAB Bid - $3 – It’s hard to suggest picking up Sanchez in anything more than 15-team formats because when Austin Hedges returns from injury, the two will likely split time. The issue with putting Hedges back in the fold is that means you’re taking Sanchez out. Sanchez has raked since the All-Star break hitting .342 with four homeruns and nine RBI in 12 games. His second-half OPS alone is north of 1.000 and he’s only making soft contact six percent of the time. Hedges hasn’t exactly lit the world on fire so if he struggles it wouldn’t surprise us if Sanchez began to see the bulk of the playing time. He’s a nice fit in NL-only formats for the rest of the season.

 

*ownership percentages courtesy of Yahoo

** FAAB bids based on $100 budget