Hitters

Brandon Nimmo (NYM); FAAB Bid: 4% - In case you weren’t aware, there have been a lot of injuries this season. If it feels like every time you turn around there is another one of your players with the dreaded “IL” tag, you probably are correct. It then gets to the point that you simply can’t sustain all those dead spots on your bench, so that is how Nimmo ended up being owned in just 24% of Yahoo leagues as of Wednesday afternoon. The outfielder is currently slated to return this weekend and he likely will find himself atop the Mets’ lineup once again. Prior to his finger injury Nimmo was hitting .318 with one home run, seven runs scored, eight RBI and two stolen bases in 66 at bats and he should be in position to pick up where he left off. New York’s lineup isn’t fully performing up to what they are capable of but they are moving in the right direction and Nimmo’s on base skills should be nice addition and of course his stolen base potential will catch our attention.

Josh Rojas (ARI); FAAB Bid: 2% - Let’s keep the theme of lead-off hitters going by moving on to Rojas. He is more heavily owned (45% in Yahoo leagues) but he is quite the useful options with his multi-positional eligibility (depending on site rules) at second base, shortstop, and outfield. Arizona has been struggling, but that doesn’t mean we can’t mine their roster for some fantasy production. Batting leadoff appeals to Rojas and the more at bats we get, the better. Entering action on Wednesday, Rojas was hitting a solid .264 with 10 home runs, 26 RBI and an impressive 40 runs scored. The latter is often an overlooked category from a fantasy perspective, but batting lead-off works in Rojas’ favor here. Rojas’ 26% strikeout rate (not completely abnormal these days) is partially offset by his 10% walk rate. With a .239 xBA and lackluster Statcast metrics (a 7.5% barrel rate and 37.1% hard hit rate) it’s hard to feel truly confident, but a 22.5% line drive rate is solid and the production has been there to this point. Batting at the top of the order also works to Rojas’ advantage.

Mike Zunino (TB); FAAB Bid: 1-2% - Don’t expect the .286 batting average over the last 14 days prior to Wednesday to last. What will last though is the power and Zunino had five home runs in that stretch before hitting his 18th home run of the season Wednesday. Overall, Zunino is hitting .207 on the season with 34 RBI entering action for the day so it is clear that he is a one-dimensional option. The good thing, at least from the perspective of your batting average, is that he doesn’t play every day so while it is a gross looking number, it doesn’t impact your overall team totals all that much. However, if Zunino is in the lineup, there is a pretty good chance he will go deep and that power is real.

Kike Hernandez (BOS); FAAB Bid: 2% - We are going with a theme of lead-off hitters today and Hernandez is another one who also has multi-positional eligibility. Boston is outperforming most of the expectations that were set for them prior to this season, by outside sources of course, and Hernandez both deserves credit for it and has benefited from it at the top of the order, at least as of late. Hernandez took a .324 average over the last 14 days into action on Wednesday which brought his mark for season up to .238. Historically that isn’t far off from his career mark of .240 but in the age of the pitcher, that is becoming less and less of a liability. With 37 runs scored, all Hernandez has to do is reach base and the elite hitters behind him take care of the rest. He is showing off solid power production with eight home runs to this point thanks to an 18.2 degree launch angle but his game is really dependent on making things happen on the ground.

Akil Baddoo (DET); FAAB Bid: 1-2% - Baddoo is back. The outfielder emerged on the scene out of nowhere in the beginning of the season before returning back to earth. It now appears that Baddoo has found his groove again batting .351 with two stolen bases over the last 14 days entering action on Wednesday. If you look at Baddoo on an overall basis he is a solid outfielder hitting .269 with five home runs and 23 RBI in 195 plate appearances. The first thing that catches my attention though is his nine stolen bases, and those shouldn’t be sitting out on the waiver wire. While he is worth a look, I wouldn’t recommend going all out for the outfielder as he strikes out 29.7% of the time (although it’s hard to knock with a 13.2% walk rate) and is still benefitting from a .377 BABIP. The good news though is that Baddoo’s strikeout rate has declined on a monthly basis and sits at 16.9% for June. A 9.9% barrel rate and 34.2% hard hit rate don’t exactly jump of the page at me, but Baddoo has been getting results and it’s worth investigating to see if the decrease in strikeout rate is real.

Starting Pitchers

Marco Gonzales (SEA); FAAB Bid: 1-2% - Gonzales is a starting pitcher who gets the ball every five days, when he is healthy that is, and this year that hasn’t always been the case. But now that he is back, let’s assume that he stays healthy for the rest of this season as he did make 29 and 34 starts in the last two full seasons and 11 last year. Of course, the 5.10 ERA that Gonzales is currently sporting does give us some cause for concern, along with a ghastly 8.45 xERA but his 4.76 xFIP does look a little better. In his last start, the southpaw threw 6.2 innings of two run ball against Tampa Bay while striking out six. A closer look at Gonzales’ game log does give us a little more comfort as after allowing 12 runs in his first two starts, he allowed 15 runs in his next seven starts (including one start of four runs). His next start comes against Texas and that is a situation to exploit as well.

Shane McClanahan (TB); FAAB Bid: 2% - There isn’t much argument with the southpaw’s talent and pedigree as a prospect, and it appears that he is turning a corner in his development. Part of that credit goes to Tampa Bay as in his last two starts they have loosened the reigns on McClanahan allowing to throw six innings in each, but he has also proven to be up to the task. In that stretch, the southpaw has allowed four earned runs while striking out 15 batters. In 50.2 innings so far this season the left-hander is striking out 10.84 batters per nine innings and he does a solid job of limiting walks (2.84 per nine innings) while posting a 4.09 ERA. We do have to worry about the long ball some (1.42 per nine innings) but his 3.59 xERA and 3.04 xFIP does give us some cause for optimism.

Cole Irvin (OAK); FAAB Bid: 1% - Irvin couldn’t have been much better in his last start as he threw eight shutout innings in San Francisco for his sixth victory of the season while striking out eight. The strikeouts were a pleasant development as Irvin has just 68 strikeouts in 94 innings on the season which does fit with what we have seen some from the southpaw to this point in both his major and minor league career. The left-hander does a good job at limiting walks, 1.63 per nine innings, but the lack of ground balls could be something to keep an eye (36.1%) as he has been fortunate to this point in the home run department (0.86 per nine innings). Irvin’s 4.40 xERA and 4.64 xFIP do incorporate what would be a potential spike in the long ball, but even at that point, we’d still get a quality start out of Irvin who also has done a good job of limiting the hard contact (37.2%).

Relief Pitchers

Cole Sulser (BAL); FAAB Bid: 2% - Follow the saves. At this point we know the drill, a relief pitcher picks up a save, especially one who is owned in just 3% of Yahoo leagues, and we flock. That is the case for Sulser who picked up his third save of the season Wednesday night against the Astros. For starters we know that there likely won’t be many opportunities for Baltimore, but Sulser does have two saves over the last five days. The good thing is that is that with a 2.05 ERA and 1.08 WHIP he will be an asset to your ratios while striking out 43 batters in 30.2 innings so far this season.

J.P. Feyerseisen (TB); FAAB Bid: 1% - Whenever Tampa Bay acquires a pitcher, our attention is going to be piqued. Over the past 14 days Feyereisen has thrown four scoreless innings while picking up his fourth victory of the season and striking out three. He is striking out a batter per inning (35 in 36 innings) while putting up a 2.00 ERA and 1.06 WHIP. If you are trying to manage your ratios, and that this point in the season it likely is a concern, there is value here.