Week seven, like every other week this year, was filled with injuries and demotions and so on and so forth. We’re back at it this week filling your brain with the knowledge it needs when heading to the waiver wire.

10-team leagues

Neil Walker, NYM 2B (37% ownership), FAAB Bid - $16 – Is it baffling to anybody else that Neil Walker is only owned in 37-percent of Yahoo! leagues? After a putrid opening month that saw him hit .195, Walker has turned up the heat, hitting .351 thus far in May. He already has more hits, more doubles, more RBI and runs scored and has hit the same amount of homers this month all while playing nine less games. The amount of soft contact between the first two months has drastically decreased from 19.2 to 13.0-percent which subsequently raised his hard contact percentage from 31.5 to 34.8. Walker has arguably been the most productive 2B in the NL since the start of May and he should be owned in all formats.

Charlie Morton, HOU SP (48% ownership), FAAB Bid - $15 – Watching Morton paint the corners in Yankee Stadium with 99-MPH 2-seemers over and over again on Derek Jeter night was really eye opening. What’s truly eye-popping is his K/9 destruction. The 33-year olds career-mark is 6.6 but this year he’s up to 10.7. One of biggest reasons as to why Morton’s strikeouts are so high right now could be his rise in velocity. In 2015, at 31, his average 2-seamer clocked in at 91.8 MPH. Thus far in 2017 he’s throwing it at an average speed of 95.4 MPH. Although RHH are batting .294 against him this year, he’s still missing enough bats that he should be owned in all formats right now.

12-team leagues

Josh Bell, PIT 1B (30% ownership), FAAB Bid - $12-14 – Bell, like the aforementioned Neil Walker, has no business being just 30-percent owned in any format. He possesses a ton of power and reaches base at an extremely high clip. The .244 average is definitely scaring some away, but his .812 OPS and .350 wOBA are something that should be pulling you right back in. Bell’s patience at the plate should not go unnoticed either, as he sees 4.3 pitches per at-bat against right-handed pitching, ranking him 23rd in the entire MLB.

Steve Cishek, SEA RP (6% ownership), FAAB Bid - $7-10 – It was announced on Tuesday that Edwin Diaz was going to lose his closers job for now, which is good timing for Cishek’s camp as he’s just returned from the DL. Cishek has plenty of experience saving games as he has 120 career saves on his resume. The M’s will likely be going with a committee and ultimately back to Diaz if he gets his mechanics figured out, but Cishek’s experience gives him a leg up on the field for the time being.

Nick Markakis, ATL OF (14% ownership), FAAB Bid - $6 – Everyone, every fantasy season, in every sport, is looking for a splash that will change the outlook of their team and take them over the edge. For season-long MLB leagues, it’s not always the game-changing prospect that was just called up or the 28-year old fill-in journeymen that’s seeing nothing but fastballs that should be the first player on your radar. That description above is exactly why we’re touching on Nick Markakis. He has been flat out rock solid in 2017 but has been clearly overlooked based on his Yahoo! ownership. He’s hitting .319 for the year while posting an OPS of .812. He won’t contribute much in the power department, but he’s tied for 14th in the NL in runs scored and RBI among all qualified outfielders. He’d be the perfect third or fourth OF on a lot of really quality fantasy rosters.

15-team leagues

Jose Urena, MIA SP, RP (11% ownership), FAAB Bid - $5 – Since Wei-Yin Chen went down with an injury, Urena has been a sparkplug for the Marlins rotation. Not only that but Adam Conley has been sent down as well, so even when Chen comes back Urena could put a stamp on a rotation spot if e continues to pitch well. The 25-year old has had two turns through the rotation and has thrown 12 innings while allowing just two measly runs. There are, however, a few issues with Urena and they are the lack of strikeouts (14 in 27.1 IP) and his 4.30 FIP tells us some regression is on the way. BUT he’s posted a career-best 2.3 BB/9 thus far in 2017 so some big strides are being made. Urena is a deep-format addition only until he shows us consistency that he’s lacked in the past.

Trevor Plouffe, OAK 1B, 3B (3% ownership), FAAB Bid - $2 – Although he got off to a horrid start to his 2017 campaign, Plouffe has picked up the pace since the beginning of May. In the month of May, Plouffe is slashing .289/.341/.500 with an .841 OPS. One thing trending in the right direction for Plouffe is his strikeout rate. He’s cut it down from 33-percent in March/April to just 17-percent in May. He’s also seen a spike in hard contact going from 35.9 to 38.7-percent. Taking a shot on his current production, but also productive history could be worth it if you’re in desperate need for a corner infielder.

 

*ownership percentages courtesy of Yahoo

** FAAB bids based on $100 budget