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Welcome to the Deep/Very Deep waiver wire additions for Week 17. This is the first week that players from both the AL and the NL will be featured.
This week, eight players with a Fleaflicker ownership under 10% will be discussed, and if you are a fantasy baseball manager in a deep league in need of sneaky stats, these eight players could be a huge boost down the stretch.
Editor’s Note: For other waiver wire options, check out RotoBaller’s fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups list. It's updated every single day. You can also download our waiver wire iPhone app for free, and easily stay updated.
Deep League Pickups
Eugenio Suarez (SS, CIN) - 3 percent owned
After Zack Cozart's season was ended due to injury, the Reds called up Suarez, and the product of the Alfredo Simon trade has been a pleasant surprise. In 121 AB this season, Suarez has three SB, five HR, a .306 BA, and a .831 OPS. Suarez has been especially deadly at home, as he holds an OPS of .925 within the confines of Great American Ballpark. Suarez has also been destroying both arms, as he has a .827 OPS vs RHP and a .850 OPS vs LHP. At this point Eugenio Suarez is one of the top overall offensive shortstops in baseball and is certainly the best available in so many leagues. If you are in need of a shortstop, grab Suarez before someone else realizes what they've been missing.
Jarrod Dyson (OF, KC) - 4 percent owned
Almost all leagues were affected by Alex Gordon's injury that put him on the DL, and more leagues should be affected by Dyson's increased playing time due to Gordon being out. In just 123 AB this season Dyson has scored 19 runs and has stolen 15 bases, and has a .721 OPS. Dyson began the season batting poorly, with an April OPS of .545 and a May OPS of .555. Dyson has since significantly turned it around at the plate, with a June OPS of 1.129 and a July OPS of .743. Dyson has always been great st stealing bases, and now that he is batting much better, fantasy baseball managers can take advantage of Dyson's elite speed without sacrificing most other offensive categories.
Will Venable (OF, SD) - 4 percent owned
Changes are coming in the San Diego outfield. No matter what happens, it is likely that Venable could benefit. Venable is a solid power/speed combo with six HR, six SB, and a .707 OPS in 224 AB; Venable also is batting well against righties with a .725 OPS vs. RHP. It also isn't surprising that Venable hits much better away from the pitcher friendly confines of Petco Park, as he has an away BA of .284 and an away OPS of .819. The most intriguing thing about Venable is how well he hits with RISP. This season, Venable has an OPS of .925 with RISP. Venable doesn't get many opportunities to show this skill off, however, as the Padres have the worst OBP in the league at .294. There have been trade talks of Venable either ending up with the Cubs or the Mets. Chicago ranks 15th in the leage in OBP at .316 and even the dreadful Mets have a better OBP than the Padres at .298. The trade deadline could be a big Win-Win for Venable. If just Justin Upton is traded, Venable could see more AB in order to accumulate more HR and SB. If Venable is traded to a contender, he will have many more RBI opportunities, as he will actually have RISP, a situation in which he excels in. Fantasy baseball managers should keep an eye on what happens to Will Venable and be ready to take advantage when the specific opportunities present themselves to Venable.
Preston Tucker (OF, HOU) - 5 percent owned
Tucker is a great young hitter on an up and coming team. His solid production has been glossed over this season in praise of George Springer and Carlos Correa. Tucker is a great option everywhere for fantasy baseball managers. This season in 197 AB Tucker has eight HR, 26 runs, 26 RBI, a .775 OPS, and a 113 OPS+ for the Astros fourth best run scoring offense. Tucker has also been strong against RHP with a .899 OPS, at home with a .874 OPS in Houston, and in the month of July as he currently sits with a .869 OPS within the month. Tucker is producing consistently great in a lot of specific situations this month and if the Astros are able to get out of this current run scoring funk, Tucker's value will only increase in the form of runs and RBI. Fantasy baseball managers in deep leagues should add Tucker to their rosters because of all the problems in Houston's offense lately, Preston Tucker certainly wasn't one of them.
John Danks (SP, CWS) - 6 percent owned
Danks may have a less than ideal 4.66 ERA on the season, but his 4.30 FIP indicates he has been pitching better than quality start level and his 2.5 BB/9 are encouraging. On the season Danks performs better at home with a 3.90 ERA at Cellular Field but Danks seems to have hit a stride in July. Danks has a 2.25 ERA. 1.208 WHIP, and has allowed 0 HR on a maintainable BABIP of .301. Danks had one bad performance this month (four and one-third IP, six ER vs the top run scoring Toronto offense) but in his three other July performances; Danks accumulated 19 and two-thirds IP, 0 ER, and only 14 hits. Danks is a solid stream at home for fantasy baseball managers in deep leagues, especially if he continues to limit HR, as the long ball has been his biggest problem on the year by allowing 1.2 HR/9.
J.T. Realmuto (C, MIA) - 6 percent owned
Realmuto could be pushing Russell Martin aside as the best baserunning catcher. In 266 AB (20 less than Martin) Realmuto has four SB (tied for first in MLB among catchers), to go along with five HR. Realmuto also excels at hitting off of southpaws, as he has a .894 OPS vs LHP. Realmuto got off to a poor offensive start in Miami with an April OPS of .576 and a May OPS of .596. Since then Realmuto has warmed up along with the summer weather with a June OPS of .776 and this month Realmuto has an OPS of .785. Realmuto offers welcome base stealing at the catcher position and he is steadily warming up with the bat. If you are a fantasy baseball manager in a deep league looking to sneak steals in wherever you can, add Realmuto so you can add clever steals without sacrificing solid slugging.
Sleepers from the Crypt
Melvin Upton Jr. (OF, SDP) - 7 percent owned
At this point, Upton can hardly be mentioned without being followed by haughty snickering and comparisons to being like baseball's Trent Richardson. It is for this reason that maybe his value is being overlooked this year. In just 74 AB this season Upton has five SB, and two HR. Hypothetically, If Upton had 328 AB this season (Jason Heyward's AB), he would be on pace to have hit eight HR and would be tied for fifth in the league with 22 SB. To start the season in San Diego, Upton continued his ice cold hitting from Atlanta. Since the start of the season, Upton has really shaken off some cobwebs. Upton is batting well against right handed pitching with an OPS vs. RHP of .728, and Upton is batting well outside the suppressive hitting conditions in San Diego with a .720 away OPS. In July Upton has a .250 BA, a .318 OBP, and a .718 OPS. If his brother Justin is shipped out of San Diego or Will Venable finds a new home in Chicago or New York, Upton could see a large increase in AB, as no team will trade for Upton given his current salary. If his AB increase, fantasy baseball managers should take notice to take advantage of Upton's improved hitting and fantastic base stealing ability.
Hank Conger (C, HOU) - 1 percent owned
Conger's power hitting has also unfortunately been lost in the talk of the Houston Renaissance. In 109 AB this year Conger has six HR, a .788 OPS, a .841 OPS at home, and a 1.064 OPS vs RHP. In 45 AB to begin the year, Conger was sub-par with a .683 April OPS and .542 May OPS. Since then Conger has exploded with a .931 June OPS and a .915 July OPS. With Jason Castro producing just a .632 OPS and Evan Gattis receiving zero AB as a catcher this year, there are much less security issues than people think. If you are 99% of fantasy baseball managers, you should keep a close eye on Hank Conger and you should pounce before his bat gets any hotter and you miss out.
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