RADIO
There may be lots of baseball left, but not so much fake baseball, as we inch closer and closer to September. Playoffs are coming, and it's no secret that there aren't a lot of players left on the wire who can make a huge impact, but some of my pickups in the last few weeks have made their presence felt, and while they may be sparse, I think I've found some more who can help your boys of summer ride into the sunset as champions.
This week we're back with our shallow and deep points leagues waiver targets, looking at anyone and everyone between 1% and 55%. So here are a few guys who can contribute in points leagues, one at each position to consider for the next week, and possibly beyond. These are your H2H points leagues waiver wire pickups for Week 21. Let's get to it.
Note: All ownership percentages are courtesy of Yahoo! Fantasy Sports.
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Week 21 Waiver Wire - Points Leagues
C - Mike Zunino, Seattle Mariners - 30% owned
In categories leagues, I get it, this is a bit of a nutty pick. He doesn't hit for average, he doesn't run at all, and he doesn't even particularly play on a great team. He's definitely got power, and while category owners may shrug that off, points owners should not. Zunino's average continues to fall, and while you'll definitely catch some goose eggs from the 26-year-old, you'll also find some long balls mixed in. It doesn't help that he's hitting at the bottom of M's lineup, and his walk percentage is down from July where he hit an ugly .188. Good news is that he's striking out less, especially over the last few games. Point is, he's worth the ugly averages in points leagues, because he's already up to 18 home runs on the year.
1B - Mike Napoli, Texas Rangers - 28% owned
More power, more strikeouts, more Mike. This time it's not Zunino, but Mike Napoli. He's hit even more homers than the former, but he's straddling the Mendoza Line. It would help tons for his RBI numbers if he could get up to the cleanup spot, but obviously with his average at the place it's in, he won't get too many chances there. But that doesn't mean he's not doing what he can in the six or seven spot. Napoli's crushed four homers in the last ten games, to go along with 11 RBI. Napoli hits in streaks so this little ride could end as quickly as it started but for points owners who want that potential of picking up 10-15 points, Napoli is your guy. The average is coming back around in July and August compared to a horrific June as well, so maybe there's some hope yet.
2B - Josh Harrison, Pittsburgh Pirates - 49% owned
Last call on this guy! I've recommended him before, and he's still within my range for writing. Harrison is on a bit of a homer tear, with three in his last five games, and his second spot in the order is helping him score a boatload of runs. His production since the All-Star break has been definitely worse than prior to the Midsummer Classic, however, he's started to regress back to the norm in August, batting .274. He's already got more home runs and more runs batted in than he did in all of July, and he's approaching the amount of runs scored too, and we still have 10 or so games to go. Harrison is looking like he's having a nice bounce back August, and it should carry into September with the Pirates hitting well. Pick him up, and let's get him past 55%.
3B - Yangervis Solarte, San Diego Padres - 18% owned
Last week it was fellow Padre, Cory Spangenberg at this spot, and while there's plenty of upside to "Spangy" (yes, that will be on his jersey this coming weekend), there's more upside with "Yangy" (no, that won't be on his). Although he plays for a below average team, in a tough hitter's park, Solarte still hits cleanup and more than gets the job done. If he wasn't forced to miss games in late June and early July, Solarte would easily be more owned and in the top 150 players this year. He had a scorching hot June, and obviously he's regressed a little since then, but he's still hitting .265 in August, and he just belted his 13th of the year. I think he'll be good for 17 and 58 RBI, not too shabby from the 30-year-old.
SS - Brandon Crawford, San Francisco Giants - 34% owned
This week's article could just be called "Faces of Consistency", because like the players listed above, Crawford doesn't particularly wow you, but he's rock solid and sure to contribute points weekly. His average is definitely not there, for those of you wondering if this is a strong pickup in category leagues, but he has a team-leading 61 RBI and makes for an interesting play considering the lack of options at shortstop this year. It certainly doesn't help that he doesn't have a great team around him, but that makes his decent numbers slightly more impressive. Like most players on this list, Crawford had a rough June, but July was better to him and August is an improvement over July. Unfortunately due to a lack of better options, Crawford is a strong option for a fill-in a short, at least he'll put something on the board for you.
OF - Shin-soo Choo, Texas Rangers - 23% owned
I've been hesitant to recommend Choo this year, because although he's been under-owned, nothing about him stood out to me. It's hard to ignore the facts though. In my points league, Choo is a top 100 player. He's striking out less than almost ever before, and he's walking more than almost ever before, too. He's running on the base paths again, which is exciting, considering we used to bank on Choo for at least 10 steals, and potentially 20. He won't hit 20 this year, but his 11 steals are just two less than the 13 he has in the prior three years combined. He's also consistently hit at the top of the order, either as the leadoff or number two hitter, and the results are telling. Maybe it's time to let Shin-soo Choo back into the circle of trust. It's been a while since we could say that but he's certainly proving himself. He might not be the Choo of 2012, 2013 or 2015, but it's a huge departure from the Choo of 2016.
SP - Matt Moore, San Francisco Giants - 26% owned
Although he's got an ugly 5.54 ERA and a WHIP over one and a half, I'm still recommending Matt Moore because of two things: his pitching recently, and his ability to strike batters out. He's got 124 in 143 innings which works out to a 7.8 K/9. We'll take that in points leagues. Since talk of moving him to the bullpen started up, Moore has stepped his game up, pitching into the seventh in both of those games, striking out 13 across 14.1 innings. The big difference for Moore will be whether or not he can limit his walks. In August, he's down to under three walks per nine innings, but that number is a little generous considering he had one start with no walks. Moore can have flashes of brilliance but he also needs to be able to stay out of his own way. The Giants won't get Moore that many wins, but if he can manage to continue what he's doing with strikeouts, he'll be a useful player to own.
RP - Juan Minaya, Chicago White Sox - 12% owned
Minaya is going to be popular, just because of the position he's in. Let's face it, the White Sox are not winning games, and the team with one of the worst records in baseball likely won't have many chances to earn saves. However, with David Robertson, Tyler Clippard and Anthony Swarzak all traded in the past month or so, Minaya will be hard to oust from the closer's role. Manager Rick Renteria clearly likes what he's seen as Minaya has earned three saves in the past four days. He's got an 11.25 K/9, so even if he's going to give up a run or a walk, like the White Sox will, he'll get you some strikeouts to earn some points. Merely an add out of opportunity, grab Minaya while you can, he'll be worth it while you wait for the Sox to win.
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