RADIO
This is it - the final week of the baseball season (sheds single tear). For those trying to clinch a championship or just a better final position, here are some players that could warrant starting, sitting, adding, or dropping, depending on your league and team's circumstance. I'll focus on lightly owned players to add or highly owned players to bench for this point in the season.
Scouting players who may be undervalued and re-assessing players who may be overvalued is a weekly exercise that you should pursue. Fortunately, I have you covered. Here are a few players who are good buy or sell candidates based on their current performance compared to ownership levels. This could mean scooping them off waivers if possible or actively seeking a trade to acquire or discard certain players in order to maximize value.
I will include one player at each key position group (Infield, Outfield, Pitcher). Ownership levels are taken from Yahoo! Fantasy Sports.
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Underrated Players - Week 26
Tim Anderson (SS, CHW) 53% owned - It took long enough, but the speed is finally showing up. Anderson has eight steals over the past month with a .362 average to accompany them. There's no better time to take advantage of talented players on bad teams than in September. A young player like Anderson is auditioning to keep his starting job next year and can flash all the tools that made him a first round pick.
Mitch Haniger (OF, SEA) 38% owned - Haniger was one of the hottest pickups of the first month after getting off to a .342 average with 16 RBI in April. Injuries derailed his start and he just wasn't the same player the rest of the year, until September. Suddenly, Haniger is raking the way he did months ago to bookend his rookie year with another strong showing. Haniger is batting .350 with five HR in the last 19 games despite a declining BB:K ratio. If you need an extra outfielder on a hot streak, give Haniger a chance.
Daniel Mengden (SP, OAK) 8% owned - Also known as this year's Jharel Cotton, Mendgen is pushing for a role in the rotation long-term and doing a damn fine job. In five starts, he's got a 3.30 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and just five walks. The downside is clear - he's given up as many homers as walks (five) and is only striking out 15% of batters faced. He won't dominate, but if you need a streamer this week for ratio help, Mengden is proving more than capable.
Overrated Players - Week 26
Matt Carpenter (1B/2B/3B, STL) 84% owned - In non-keeper leagues, Carpenter should have rightfully been ditched weeks ago. Easier said than done when you used an early-round pick on an established star that can play all around the infield. It's inexplicable how poorly Carpenter has fared this year, but it's obvious that nothing is going to change over the final week. He's still bothered by a shoulder problem and is batting just .242 on the season. You're better off putting in Tim Anderson or Jose Reyes.
Adam Duvall (OF, CIN) 83% owned - It's tough to bench a player that could easily have a two-homer game on a given night, but it's been few and far between for Duvall in the second half. He has not a single base hit to his name over the past week and is hitting .156 with one homer in the last month. In other words, Scott Schebler single-handedly outproduced his September output in one game on Thursday. He's simply gone ice cold at the worst possible time for fantasy owners in weekly leagues.
James Paxton (SP, SEA) 84% owned - Paxton missed a month of action and was put on a pitch count upon returning. He didn't make the most of his time on the mound, giving up three runs in less than two innings against the Astros. He only lasted 3 2/3 innings in his next outing, getting hit hard right away in the first inning. It's the wrong time to take a chance on a starting pitcher trying to stretch out and regain command after a lengthy absence. Keeper leagues aside, you can cut bait with him.
More Risers and Fallers
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