AL-Only Waiver Wire Team of the Week for Week 6

May 9, 2018

Waiver wire targets and pickups for AL-only leagues. Jon Denzler identifies who to target, pickup, or stash in deep leagues for week 6.

Every week a significant player will hit the disabled list, start a slump, or a get traded out the division. How fantasy owners adapt to these situations can make or break the season as a whole. One lousy add might not hurt the long terms standings of a team, but failing to take advantage of breakouts or impact bats before others sure can.

Instead of digging the waiver wire of 0% owned players, this article will give you a player at each position to fill the gap, or at the least, to keep an eye on. Not all of these players will replace that injury, but offer the best option of the scrap heap.

Comparing the NL and AL lists this week one should notice that this list is much shallower than Sunday’s post. With the DH slot, there are often fewer defensive players that might jump into a line-up with offensive upside.  This means that AL-only leagues are much shallower compared to their NL counterparts based on limited flexibility on benches. When looking to the players that are available a common theme will emerge: the upside is better than an empty roster slot. As long as a team has absorbed some of the issues with AVG and OBP most of these players will offer rosters some chance at counting stats but be a bit more careful when hanging onto this list in the long term.

AL-Only Team of the Week

C - Rene Rivera, LAA (C) - 1% owned

With Martin Maldonado's move to the bereavement list late last week, Rivera has had the chance to make a case for more playing time, and he is taking advantage. So far this season, including the games started, Rivera is batting .279 with one homer and eight RBI. Not the defensive equal to Maldonado, Rivera has displayed some offensive upside that should keep owners interested. The AVG is almost 6o points higher than a career average of .221, and while there should be some regression due to a .440 BABIP, perhaps a new floor of .240 is within reach. If so, this could be a great bench catcher who will get some time to play with a solid team around him. Even more, his HARD% is eight points higher than career average with a Pull% almost 14 points lower. While owners should not expect the 34-year-old catcher to have a breakout at this point in his career a reliable backup with opportunities would be a nice fill-in for that slumping or hurt starter.

1B - Jefry Marte, LAA (1B) - 1% owned

The fact that Marte is owned in almost no leagues is a bit surprising due to a relatively strong start to the year. Through 22 games Marte is hitting .333 with two homers, eight runs, and RBI, with a career-low 14.5 K%. The last number is the key figure here, as Marte is also pulling the ball 10 percent less than usual.  The profile is compelling concerning an emerging contact hitter with some pop. In addition, Marte is swinging at 2% fewer pitches this year and has increased his Z-contact% from 80.3% last year to 90.4% this year. Not only is Marte a legitimate add in AL-only, but should be rostered in more mixed leagues as well. While not giving a team superior power numbers for a first baseman, that average is unique at the position.

2B - Brock Holt, BOS (2B, 3B, SS, OF) - 3% owned

If you were looking at the profile of a hitter who was walking more, had cut his k% in half, and was batting .346 there is little to no chance that any would have guessed these stats belonged to Holt. Often known for the lack of any production, he is not owned in many leagues, but that should be changing in AL leagues soon. As mentioned above, Holt has cut his career K% from 18% to 9% and is currently getting on pace at a .400 clip. Add eight runs, and seven RBI and Holt looks like a legitimate add with some upside due to the Pedroia absence. Most of his AB early in the season came as the replacement for Xander Bogaerts, but his ability to play all over the field should allow him to perform well for fantasy owners. Add Holt if AVG and runs are needed, but do not expect much in the way of power as the .520 SLG will come down with more playing time. Coming off the DL, Holt is an afterthought, which makes him a prime target.

3B - Danny Valencia, BAL (1B, 3B) - 1% owned

Third base is tough this week due to injuries and slumps to players who took over for injured players. Case in point is Valencia, who looked set to be the starter in Baltimore after Tim Beckham went down with an injury. To this point, it seems that Pedro Alvarez will take most of the plate appearances versus righties which limits Valencia to the short side of the platoon. Still, the last four games have been pretty good for Valencia. In seven AB, he has two hits, with one RBI and run, complemented by two walks. Not barnstorming numbers but as a fill-in on a roster, it seems that owners could do much worse. The alternative is much worse, as there is nothing else to recommend here. Maybe next week there will be a sexy Triple-A player on the way up.

SS - Jose Iglesias, DET (SS) - 1% owned

Iglesias has always been a bit frustrating for fantasy owners as he is a legitimate major leaguer but might not hold that much weight in fantasy leagues. Currently, he looks to have the lock on the starting gig in Detroit mostly for his glove, which will help owners keep him in the line-up. So far this season the AVG has been bad, to say the least, sitting at .220. And yet, there is some upside in the eight runs and four stolen bases. Hitting deep in the line-up, mostly eighth, will limit some of the production but with speed being way down overall, any chance to stream and get a few steals seems to be a good idea. Most of Iglesias’ struggles have come against left-handed pitchers this season, posting a slash line of .214/.294/.214 with zero home runs and one RBI. Again, nothing to write home about but a starting body with some upside is better than a hole in the line-up. Keep an eye on match-ups and limits starts against lefties for the most value here.

OF - Carlos Gomez, TB (OF) - Yahoo 4% owned, CBS 17%

Perhaps the highest owned player in most leagues to appear on this list, Gomez is a legitimate add since this season continues a trend of better fantasy than real-life performances. Through 30 games Gomez is hitting only .200, but has five homers and three stolen bases to compliment 15 runs. Not the greatest bat, but with both power and speed he should be a decent add in most points league at the very least. The K% sits at 33% which is high, but only two points more than average so owners should not be all that concerned. What is interesting about the profile is a relatively low BABIP at .264 which means the AVG should only get better. If the power and speed are there without the average, and Gomez is a good play now, wait until the average creeps up. A .240 average with 25 homers and 15 steals makes him a legitimate OF3 in shallow leagues.

OF - Tyler Naquin, CLE (OF) - 0% owned

Naquin is another on this list that is playing well above projections and has changed enough things in the profile to give owners hope that he will continue to produce. The knock on Naquin was the chase rate in the upper half of the zone, as in his rookie campaign once pitchers went to this he fell off the table. Last year was a mixed bag spending the year at AAA, but Cleveland sources show that most of this came due to nagging injuries as opposed to a lack of skill. While it appears that Naquin is still chasing outside the zone at his career rate, the difference is that he is taking advantage of more balls in the zone this season. His Z-contact was up to 85% from 79% last season, and overall his sees fewer balls in the zone. A bit more selectivity and more contact are helping push up the profile. The reward? In 28 games Naquin is batting .319, and will all the injuries on the roster right now expect him to keep getting opportunities.

OF - Craig Gentry, BAL (OF) - 0% owned

The least owned of all the players on this list, and so far this season for a good reason, Gentry is off to a slow start. Already looking like the OF4 in Baltimore before a slow start is not helping his cause, but some factors make him an exciting roster moving forward. First, five steals in six total attempts. While not getting on base often, when he does he is running. In fact, he has reached first 13 times on either a single or walk, meaning half the time he is trying to steal. This ratio will pay off if more hits drop in. Second, a BABIP of .238 means that is getting unlucky when he does make contact out of the box. Not that he is expected to be a .300 hitter, but the .257 career line would increase his value for sure. Finally, an IFFB% of 20 should come down where the career average is pushing 8%. All of these factors, with some movement, can turn Gentry into an OF4 with steals upside.

P - Matt Andriese, TB (SP, RP) - 1% owned

An intriguing play in shallow leagues as Andreise looks to be set in the bullpen for now. And yet, in the event of injury expect Andriese to be the next man up in the rotation experiment for the Rays this season. Eligibility at both will help keep him on the roster, and so far the counting stats are worth the play, even if only in long relief. 10.61 K/9 compared to a 1.45 BB/9 are both career highs, which could be helped by the usage in the bullpen, but also could carry over back to the rotation. While not to compare him to Carlos Carrasco, this could be another move where a pitcher finds something new in the pen and when making the shift back can maintain those gains. So far this season Andriese has almost dropped the cutter usage down to only 3.1% of pitches and is throwing the change-up 14 percent more often. His fastball is also up a mile-per-hour, which again while predictive of bullpen usage, should show a changing profile that is getting to batters quicker. Could this be a long-term play if Colome continues to struggle?  Do not let the owners take that chance if there is a roster slot to burn.

P - Nick Tropeano, LAA (SP) - 1% owned

Pitchers coming off the DL are always a risk, but when they play for one of the better teams in the league, this seems to be a good risk with the wins upside. Even better, while the six-man rotation might limit starts, it should help keep injury-prone players like this healthy by reducing workload. Before the injury, Tropeano was walking fewer batters, and while striking out fewer as well, not enough to be of concern. 7.6 K/9 still plays in leagues with innings caps where he is at least an upgrade over someone like Reynaldo Lopez. Even better? The GB% is trending upwards, and the starter was rewarded with a 1.14 HR/9 rate. On its own, again, not great, but compared to the track record a marked improvement. Only significant differences in the profile was an increase in split-fingers and a decreased change-up usage. Should help explain the decrease in fly balls at the very least. Worth a pick-up for the upside.

P - Seung-Hwan Oh, TOR (RP) - 11% owned

Oh is a clear add moving into week seven due to the news around Roberto Osuna as it appears Oh will be named the closer moving forward. In leagues where he is unowned, expect this to shoot up close to 60% ownership on the low end. Even if he's not named the only closer north of the border, there is upside in the profile even if he remains as the set-up man. Both the HR/9 and BB/9 numbers are down compared to last season with the lowest ERA at 1.76 since he moved to the States. All signs point in the right direction for at least a repeat of 2016, if not an overall improvement. Even more interesting the pitching profile regarding times throwing each of his pitches is the same. No significant change in the approach, but a drastic increase in results means that owners should be buying into Oh.

More Waiver Wire Pickups and Streamers