Points League Waiver Wire Pickups - Week 8

Nicklaus Gaut's H2H points league waiver wire pickups for Week 8 of the 2021 fantasy baseball season, identifying free agents to add and pitchers to stream.

We'll be doing this roundup of point league happenings every week here at RotoBaller, with waiver wire targets and streaming pitchers being evaluated in terms of the different scoring systems of ESPN, Yahoo!, CBS, and Fantrax.

Player values can vary wildly from platform to platform, so we'll make sure to highlight where players are the best and worst fits. We know points league players get neglected and we're here to help.

These waiver-wire adds are for the week of May 17th - May 23rd, looking at players below 50% ownership for ESPN and Yahoo!

• Fantasy baseball trade analyzer
• BvP matchups data (Batter vs. Pitcher)
• PvB matchups data (Pitcher vs. Batter)
• Who should I start? Fantasy baseball comparisons
• Daily MLB starting lineups
• Fantasy baseball closer depth charts
• Fantasy Baseball live scoreboard
• Fantasy baseball injury reports

Know Your System

If you've read me even a little, you likely know what I'm going to say...You must account for, as precisely as possible, how a player performs under your particular scoring system. Don't be fooled into believing you can just make rough adjustments in your head, bumping up guys with high on-base percentages and low strikeout rates. Every point, in every category, counts.

For example, ESPN and Fantrax are virtually identical in their scoring for hitters and roster size. The only difference is that stolen bases are worth one more point on Fantrax and ESPN subtracts one point per strikeout. That's the difference between Ronald Acuna Jr. being a top-five hitter versus top-25.

If your league uses standard settings, then great! Turn to page 94 and you can skip ahead to the leaderboards. If you play with custom settings, it'll still be fine. Go back to page 43 and look below at the scoring systems of the four major platforms. I bet there's a chance that you'll find that your league's scoring is very similar to one of the four (well, not Yahoo!'s), even if it's not the platform you actually play on.

For example, my home league started on a now-defunct platform before moving first to ESPN and is now at Fantrax. But our scoring is basically ESPN standard only with two points for stolen bases and a handful of other minor adjustments.

If you look above, you'll likely find a suitable mirror to your own system. While every point counts, as long as they aren't seismic changes you can get away with some "close enough" calls. IE. If everything is the same except for HBP (or something similar), you're probably fine.

Waiver Wire Leaderboards

In addition to our overall waiver wire leaderboards, we're deep enough into the season that we'll also start doing a 14-day leaderboard, as well, giving us a window into recent production. The charts are updated prior to Saturday's games, on stats and ownerships. All leaderboards, overall and 14-day, are sorted according to the player's APR*, and clicking on a chart will open a new page with a magnified version.

*APR = Average Platform Ranking - the average platform ranking between ESPN, CBS, Yahoo, and Fantrax (standard point settings)

14 Day Leaderboard

First Base

Must Adds

• Andrew Vaughn, CHW - Ok, it's time, already. With injuries forcing Tony LaRussa to begrudgingly play someone younger than 25-years-old, Vaughn won't last on the wire much longer now that he's getting regular playing time. Heading into the weekend, Vaughn has hit two home runs in his last four games and is positively crushing LHP early in his career. In his first 28 PA vs LHP, he has a .5.16 wOBA, compared to a .280 wOBA vs RHP.
• Brandon Belt, SF - Here we are again. Belt has a .374 wOBA, .374 xwOBA and 139 wRC+ on the year. He's the #74 hitter by APR and is #44 over the last two weeks.
• Pavin Smith, ARI - With Christian Walker back to the IL, Smith should continue to get full-time at-bats. He has a 95 APR for the season and has a 86 APR over the last two weeks.

Can Adds

• Bobby Dalbec, BOS
• Miguel Sano, MIN - You can add if you want (unless your league penalizes strikeouts; in which case, RUN AWAY!) but I wouldn't touch him until he shows proof of life. The strikeouts and batting average were always expected but the troubling thing is his diminished exit velocities on balls hit in the air. Because if he's not doing that, what exactly is he worth?

Desperate Adds

• Per usual, a bunch of players getting part-time: Mitch Moreland, Seth Brown, Rowdy Tellez, etc.

Notable IL

• Joey Votto (finger)
• Evan White (hip)

Second Base

Must Adds (Almost)

Second base has some decent options floating around the wire right but many of them are tweeners that are better than the "can adds" but don't trip over yourself grabbing more than one.

• Josh Harrison, WSH - Harrison is the closest to a must-add for me, with an overall 141 APR and a 79 APR over the last two weeks. He's slashing .287/.363/.416 with three home runs, 13 runs, and 13 RBI, with a .346 wOBA in 113 PA.
• Cesar Hernandez, CLE - Hernandez is heating up, with a 50 APR over the last two weeks, hitting two home runs and posting a .387 wOBA over 51 PA.
• Luis Arraez, MIN
• Kolten Wong, MIL - Wong has stayed cold since coming back from injury but he's still a grab-and-stash for me if he got dropped while injured. Partly because I think the skills will come around but also because of the sheer amount of plate appearances any leadoff hitter will rack up. That's too valuable of an asset to sit on the wire in points because even a little heat up will bring plenty of value.

Can Adds

• Gavin Lux, LAD
• Starlin Castro, WSH

Desperate Adds

• Jonathan Schoop, DET
• Wilmer Flores, SF

Notable IL

• Enrique Hernandez, BOS (hamstring)
• Ty France, SEA (wrist)
• Rougned Odor, NYY (knee)
• Brendan Rogers, COL (hamstring)
• Tommy La Stella, SF (hamstring)
• Donovan Solano, SF (calf)

Third Base

Must Adds

• Jeimer Candelario, DET - Hello-oooo? Anyone? Candelario has a 106 APR for the year and a 75 APR over the past two weeks, posting  a .418 wOBA over 44 PA.

Can Adds

• Travis Shaw, MIL
• Yandy Diaz, TB
• Evan Longoria, SF

Desperate Adds

• Maikel Franco, BAL
• Brian Anderson, MIA

Notable IL

• Asdrubal Cabrera, ARI (hamstring)
• Phillip Evans, PIT (hamstring)
• Edwin Rios, LAD (shoulder)
• J.D. Davis, NYM (hand)

Shortstop

Must Adds

• Miguel Rojas, MIA - Nothing new to report since last week, as Rojas's ownership remains silly, albeit slightly less. Rojas has a 44 APR among all hitters and a 9 APR over the last two weeks, posting a .473 wOBA over his last 49 PA.

Can Adds

• Brandon Crawford, SF - The renaissance continues! Crawford has a 91 APR on the year, with a 9 (!) APR over the last two weeks - though that is buoyed by a successful trip to Coors.
• Niko Goodrum, DET

Desperate Adds

• Luis Urias, MIL
• J.P. Crawford, SEA

Outfield

Must Adds

• Robbie Grossman, DET - Grossman keeps on batting leadoff and keeps on hitting. Grossman now has four home runs, 18 runs, and 18 RBI in 2021, with a 48 APR overall and a 7 APR over the last two weeks.
• Avisail Garcia, MIL - Garcia has officially come back to life in Milwaukee, slashing .258/.336/.411, with five home runs, 17 runs, and 20 RBI. He has a 94 APR on the season, a 48 APR over the last two weeks, and is playing every day, with little competition.
• Tyler O'Neill, STL
• Willie Calhoun, TEX - The Groundskeeper keeps hitting after returning from injury, with a 51 APR over the last two weeks and a rapidly rising 177 APR for the season, in just 94 PA. The best-version of Calhoun has always been a point-player's dream. Pick him up.
• Ian Happ, CHC - Coming off an injury, this will likely be his only appearance on the sub-50% list.

Can Adds

• Adam Duvall, MIA
• Adam Eaton, CHW
• Hunter Renfroe, BOS
• Josh Naylor, CLE

Desperate Adds

• Hunter Dozier, KC

Notable IL

• Kole Calhoun, ARI (hamstring)

Catcher

Must Adds

• Yan Gomes, WSH - I don't know how long Gomes can keep this up but in a world of dumpster fires, he's been a torch of catcher justice as of late. Gomes now has three home runs in the past two weeks, posting a .457 wOBA over his last 41 PA.
• Mike Zunino, TB - Zunino keeps crushing bombs, hitting three home runs in the last two weeks. With a lot of higher-owned catchers hitting the IL for extended stays, you better snatch him up, if needed, while you can.

Can Adds

• Tucker Barnhart, CIN

Desperate Adds

• All catcher adds are desperate adds.

Notable IL

• Carson Kelly, ARI (toe)
• Travis d'Arnaud, ATL (thumb)
• Wilson Ramos, DET (back)
• Alejandro Kirk, TOR (hip)
• Jorge Alfaro, MIA (hamstring)
• Francisco Mejia, TB (ribs)

Starting Pitchers

Two-Start Options

14 Day Leaderboard

Must Add

• Yusei Kikuchi, SEA
• Rich Hill, TB
• Robbie Ray, TOR
• Mike Minor, KC
• J.A. Happ, MIN

Can Add

• Shane McClanahan, TB
• Cole Irvin, OAK
• Vincent Velasquez, PHI
• Garrett Richards, BOS
• Griffin Canning, LAA
• David Peterson, NYM
• Adbert Azolozy, CHC
• Ryan Yarbrough, TB
• Casey Mize, DET
• Kwang-Hyun Kim, STL
• Brady Singer, KC
• Drew Smyly, ATL
• Josh Fleming, TB

Desperate Adds

• Spencer Turnbull, DET
• Johnny Cueto, CIN
• Martin Perez, BOS
• Austin Gomber, COL
• J.T. Brubaker, PIT
• Zach Davies, CHC

Relief Pitchers

Keep in mind that with relievers, points scored can be deceiving. Most scoring systems make it pretty difficult for even the best non-closers to score elite points, making them very reliant on unpredictable wins. You simply need the save points to really do damage. AKA, when you see totally rando names hit the leaderboard (particularly the 14-Day one), it's probably because they happened to get a few wins and/or a lot of usage. If a reliever doesn't have an established role, tread carefully.

One note about ownership; because ESPN uses nine open pitching slots, as opposed to dedicated slots for RP/SP, relievers tend to be lighter owned than on other sites.

Must Add

• Michael Fulmer, DET - That's right. After picking up his first save, I've convinced myself that the Tigers are finally listening to the song sung by my heart and are going to make Fulmer their closer.
• Jordan Romano, TOR

Can Add

• Tejay Antone, CIN - I still think Antone is by far the best choice to be the Reds every day closer but Cincinnati seems fairly committed to their committee approach. His usage is just too volatile, at this point.
• Tyler Rogers, SF

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