Nick Madrigal (2B/SS, CWS) - Week 3 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 13% of leagues ANALYSIS: By all accounts, 23-year-old Nick Madrigal is one of the top 50 prospects in baseball, and with only two seasons (628 AB) of minor-league play under his belt, the youth-stocked Chicago White Sox have already given Madrigal the major league call up. Putting the... Read More

Austin Riley (CI/OF, ATL) - Week 2 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 29% of leagues ANALYSIS: Austin Riley garnered considerable attention for the offensively astute Atlanta Braves in 2019 by hitting 18 home runs with a .471 slugging percentage over 274 AB, and that kind of attention doesn't come easily when you share the field with Ozzie Albies and Ronald... Read More

Kyle Lewis (OF, SEA) - Week 2 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues OWNED IN: 34% of leagues ANALYSIS: Between Evan White, Shed Long, Justin Dunn, Justus Sheffield, J.P. Crawford, Tim Lopes, and Jake Fraley, it seems that the Seattle Mariners are navigating a sea of young talent all over the field, but 25-year-old Kyle Lewis has already set himself apart from the pack... Read More

Trevor Gott (RP, SF) - Week 2 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 2% of leagues ANALYSIS: Personally, as a fellow alum of the University of Kentucky and resident of Lexington, Kentucky, it would be hard for me not to harbor some excitement regarding Trevor Gott (just ask Jason Kipnis, James Paxton, Luke Maile, Taylor Rogers, and Evan White). However, it's... Read More

Nick Burdi (RP, PIT) - Week 2 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 3% of leagues ANALYSIS: Keone Kela is still out with an illness, Kyle Crick's shoulder just landed him on the IL, and just like that, the Pirates are immediately forced to dig deeper into their bullpen to fill up the high-leverage innings. That created a window of opportunity... Read More

Greg Holland (RP, KC) - Week 2 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 7% of leagues ANALYSIS: Greg Holland is 34 years old, and to be perfectly honest, I would've believed you if you told me that he was 42 when considering the career that he has had. Holland is a three-time All-Star with 207 career saves and two placements within... Read More

Kyle Wright (SP, ATL) - Week 2 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 3% of leagues ANALYSIS: The Atlanta Braves just optioned Mike Foltynewicz following a horrendous first start for the 2020 MLB season, and while Sean Newcomb put up a solid showing as a starter to kick off the year against the New York Mets, 2019 demonstrated just how much... Read More

James Karinchak (RP, CLE) - Week 1 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 7% of leagues ANALYSIS: It is truly a relief to once again be talking about players warranting a waiver wire selection, and in the spirit of the scale of this relief, let's kick off the 2020 MLB season by discussing one of the most promising young relievers in... Read More

Austin Hays (OF, BAL) - Week 1 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 9% of leagues ANALYSIS: 25-year-old Austin Hays is a former highly touted prospect, and given the downtrodden nature of the Baltimore Orioles roster, is ready to take the reigns in the outfield at Camden Yards for the abbreviated 2020 MLB season. Whether or not you would slate the... Read More

Mike Muscala (PF/C, OKC) - Week 14 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add In 14-Team Leagues OWNED IN: 4% of leagues ANALYSIS: From the surface, it would seem like you would be best advised to steer clear of Mike Muscala: he has largely shot poorly from long-distance this season, he is seeing his lowest volume of floor-time since 2015, and he appears to be securely... Read More

Luke Kornet (PF/C, CHI) - Week 14 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add In 12-Team Leagues OWNED IN: 8% of leagues ANALYSIS: Luke Kornet has made his living as a three-point shooting seven-footer for NBA teams with depleted or economical rosters so far in his career, and with the recent significant injuries to Wendell Carter and Daniel Gafford, Kornet will again be having his number... Read More

Josh Hart (SG/SF, NO) - Week 13 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add In 12-Team Leagues OWNED IN: 27% of leagues ANALYSIS: There are definitely a couple of strong reasons for why you might want to avoid Josh Hart, namely that his three-point shooting percentage has decreased steadily each month from 40% in October to 29.7% to kick off the new year and his usage... Read More

Dorian Finney-Smith (SF/PF, DAL) - Week 13 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add In 12-Team Leagues OWNED IN: 12% of leagues ANALYSIS: It has been a nice two-month stretch of leaps and bounds for Dorian Finney-Smith out of the Dallas Mavericks front court. From October through December, the former Florida Gator was in the unique position of seeing his playing time steadily increase, yet his... Read More

Jarrett Culver (PG/SG/SF, MIN) - Week 12 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add In 12-Team Leagues OWNED IN: 13% of leagues ANALYSIS: Playing time can be difficult to come by for a rookie, even for a high draft pick who was as impressive in college as Jarrett Culver was. However, with the Minnesota Timberwolves as banged up as to see Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins, and... Read More

2B and SS Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 26

Well folks, we're approaching the final week of the 2019 MLB regular season, which means many of you are fighting for your lives in fantasy baseball championships. I want to thank everyone for taking this ride together through the campaign, and I have also be honest, it's already been a weird time for September. I... Read More

2B and SS Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 25

In one unfortunate week (though suspiciously, not on Friday the 13th), the Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs both lost their biggest star in the midst of the NL wildcard race, and are still fending off the Phillies and Mets on razor-thin margins. In losing Christian Yelich and Javier Baez, for their big league squads and... Read More

2B and SS Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 24

Wow. Well, if we all learned anything about sports in the past couple of days, it's that we can all be glad that there is far less baggage attached to our top draft picks in fantasy baseball than there is in fantasy football. Even with that in mind, these final three weeks aren't about the... Read More

2B and SS Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 23

Now college football is here, and the NFL regular season will have arrived by this Thursday. That means that final fantasy football drafts are popping off like Labor Day fireworks this weekend, and the attention of every living, breathing alumni of colleges across the country will be fixed on the television from noon to one... Read More

2B and SS Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 22

If you haven't already taken part in multiple fantasy football drafts, you are probably getting ready to, and there is always the temptation to try and coast through the end of the baseball season as the chaos and guessing games of the NFL commence (particularly if you are in a nice position for the postseason).... Read More

Manuel Margot (OF, SD) - Week 21 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 17% of leagues ANALYSIS: Manuel Margot has been slowly but steadily building up his body of work at the plate since a horrendous .478 OPS  month of May, and has put up season-high numbers during the month of August with four home runs, a stolen base, and a... Read More

Vince Velasquez (SP/RP, PHI) - Week 21 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 21% of leagues ANALYSIS: It hasn't turned into the push for the postseason that the Philadelphia Phillies were probably hoping for, but Vince Velasquez has been back as a full fledged member of the rotation, and he has been rather effective of late despite the up-and-down (though heavily... Read More

Ivan Nova (SP, CHW) - Week 21 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 22% of leagues ANALYSIS: Following an unsightly 8.42 ERA, 1.75 WHIP showing for the month of April, there wasn't really any place to go for Ivan Nova but up. That is exactly where he headed too, and his performance on the mound for the Chicago White Sox got... Read More

Joe Jimenez (RP, DET) - Week 21 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues OWNED IN: 26% of leagues ANALYSIS: The Detroit Tigers bullpen has seen better days, but at least they have 24-year-old, 2018 All-Star Joe Jimenez to smile on in the present and hold promise for towards the future. The entire Tigers pitching staff has 25 saves for 2019. 22 of those saves... Read More

Brett Phillips (OF, KC) - Week 21 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 1% of leagues ANALYSIS: Brett Phillips hasn't put in quality work on offense at the major league level since 2017 when he produced four home runs, five stolen bases, and a .799 OPS for the Milwaukee Brewers. Despite that gap in MLB work, the goofy laughing Phillips is... Read More

Dillon Peters (SP/RP, LAA) - Week 21 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 7% of leagues ANALYSIS: While his humdrum showing at Triple-A in 2019 didn't necessarily warrant a major league promotion, the Los Angeles Angels found themselves in need of a starting pitcher, and Dillon Peters has been a pleasant surprise in response. He has a 3.38 ERA and 1.26... Read More

2B and SS Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 21

With so many schools starting back incredibly soon (if they haven't already), and so many of us being impacted by the changing of the seasons (whether you have kids in school, you teach, or you're a student yourself), it's important to take a moment to appreciate the days when we have spare time to spend... Read More

2B and SS Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 20

We didn't have to venture too far into the month of August for the impact of the new trade deadline rules to become clear. Gaps on each team that weren't addressed by July 31st don't just go away, and players like Joe Panik, Zack Godley, Kevin Gausman, Jonathan Lucroy, and Asdrubal Cabrera have all found new... Read More

Drew Smyly (SP, PHI) - Week 20 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 20% of leagues ANALYSIS: It's been quite the long, frustrating road for Drew Smyly as he fell from that status of a promising prospect to a guy just hoping to carve out an MLB career. After an absolutely disastrous 51.1 inning stint with the Texas Rangers to kick... Read More

Anthony Bass (RP, SEA) - Week 20 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 13% of leagues ANALYSIS: What happened to the line of arms that were complicating Anthony Bass's road to high-leverage innings for the Seattle Mariners? Well, they traded Roenis Elias and Hunter Strickland, guys like Austin Adams are bound to the IL, and other competition like Cory Gearrin and... Read More

Michael Lorenzen (SP/RP, CIN) - Week 20 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 13% of leagues ANALYSIS: There is a lot to say about Cincinnati Reds reliever Michael Lorenzen, as he is a man of many talents. As an asset on offense, "Mikey Biceps" has accumulated three stolen bases and a .273/.333 BA/OBP combo, and on the mound he's been one... Read More