2B and SS Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 7

It has been a particularly interesting week in terms of attention-grabbing storylines, to say the least. Addison Russell made a controversial return to the Cubs lineup to a crowd of mixed feelings, Mike Fiers embarrassed the Cincinnati Reds with his second-career no-hitter, and another MLB game was curiously delayed due to a massive swarm of […]

Luke Jackson (RP, ATL) - Week 7 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 26% of leagues ANALYSIS: It has been a tumultuous start to the 2019 season for the Atlanta Braves bullpen. Arodys Vizcaino broke many a heart by landing on the 60-day IL after having surgery on his elbow, A.J. Minter was recently demoted for Jonny Venters as he failed […]

Tyler Mahle (SP, CIN) - Week 7 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 8% of leagues ANALYSIS: The Cincinnati Reds were definitely depending on a few pleasant surprises if they wanted to have a go at it in 2019, and Tyler Mahle has certainly qualified through hard work to improve some strongly lacking areas in his game. Last season in 23 […]

James McCann (C, CHW) - Week 7 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 32% of leagues ANALYSIS: After a 2017 season that seemed to pack plenty of promise for the future, James McCann took a massive step back last year in his fifth season as a Detroit Tiger. Maybe he just needed a change in scenery though, as he has already […]

Griffin Canning (SP, LAA) - Week 7 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues OWNED IN: 32% of leagues ANALYSIS: First and foremost, happy 23rd birthday to highly-touted prospect and current Los Angeles Angels starter Griffin Canning. The UCLA alumni got the call from the Angels in part due to a fantastic stint at Triple-A Salt Lake this year in which he produced a stifling […]

Brian Goodwin (OF, LAA) - Week 7 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 14% of leagues ANALYSIS: It's not that Brian Goodwin hasn't flashed this skill set before, he painted a nice portrait of his potential performance back in 2017 when he hit 13 HR, stole six bases, and produced an .811 OPS in just 251 AB for the Nationals. He […]

Raimel Tapia (OF, COL) - Week 7 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 8% of leagues ANALYSIS: 25-year old Raimel Tapia was once a highly ranked prospect, and for good reason. He accumulated 13 home runs, 39 stolen bases (in 47 attempts), and an OPS of .872 in 801 AB across three seasons at Triple-A Albuquerque. Now, after a string of […]

2B and SS Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 6

Baseball is neither fair nor consistent, this much we all know. It is however, predictable. Not in the sense that we know what will happen with each player taking each individual AB, but in the sense that based on the complete picture of performance formed by a player's peripheral figures, we can typically feel a […]

Tyler Beede (SP, SF) - Week 6 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 7% of leagues ANALYSIS: It isn't lost on me that Tyler Beede just gave up seven ER in a startling 2.1 IP against the Cincinnati Reds in GABP (though the Giants would go on to win 12-11), and this may cause you to raise your eyebrows at this […]

Eric Thames (1B/OF, MIL) - Week 6 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 16% of leagues ANALYSIS: Eric Thames has consistently demonstrated that he is in short, a beast, over the course of the last three seasons. The tide definitely seemed to turn once he joined the Milwaukee Brewers, as he has produced 52 HR, 11 SB, and a slash of […]

Carter Kieboom (SS, WAS) - Week 6 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 30% of leagues ANALYSIS: With an injury still barring the return of Trea Turner, the opportunity opened up for the Nationals to call up highly-touted prospect Carter Kieboom at shortstop. While the results have been mixed, they (along with his minor league track record) warrant just as much […]

Jose Iglesias (SS, CIN) - Week 6 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 2% of leagues ANALYSIS: Jose Iglesias started the 2019 season on a minor-league contract with the Cincinnati Reds looking at manning the backup middle infield slots alongside Derek Dietrich. Now, with Scooter Gennett transferring to the 60-day IL and the Reds frequently experimenting with the lineup, he has […]

2B and SS Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 5

It was a good week to watch baseball if you were keeping your eyes peeled for assets of interest out of the middle infield. Some guys capitalized off of their hot starts and kept the ball rolling with another handful of games that support the surrounding hype, while others turned the tables and started getting […]

Mike Soroka (SP, ATL) - Week 5 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 36% of leagues ANALYSIS: 21-year old Mike Soroka is one of the many current and former highly-touted prospects that grace the Atlanta Braves roster, and he came into this season with plenty of hype from glimpses he gave in 2018. Last year he finished with a 3.51 ERA […]

Mitch Garver (C, MIN) - Week 5 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Two-Catcher Leagues OWNED IN: 33% of leagues ANALYSIS: Coming into the 2019 season, many expected veteran backstop Jason Castro to take a majority share of the starts and AB for the Twins at catcher, but so far it has been 28-year old New Mexico alumni Mitch Garver who has seized the helm. In […]

Taylor Rogers (RP, MIN) - Week 5 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 35% of leagues ANALYSIS: There are plenty of contenders coming out of the back end of the Minnesota Twins bullpen, and 28-year old fellow former Kentucky Wildcat Taylor Rogers is one of them. In a relief core featuring a slew of competitors for high leverage situations such as […]

Amir Garrett (RP, CIN) - Week 5 Waiver Wire Analysis

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 3% of leagues ANALYSIS: There are plenty of factors that make Amir Garrett appealing. There's his 6-5, 228 lbs. frame, his fantastic athleticism as demonstrated by his basketball history at St.Johns, and his aggressive and entertaining approach to baseball braggadocio. He has also gotten off to a Cincinnati […]

2B and SS Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 4

The 2019 MLB campaign has reached Week 4, and there has been no shortage of friction and shake-ups among middle infielders on major league rosters. With many players still dealing with injuries, splitting time with their fellow teammates in hybrid platoon situations, straight-up ugly starts to the year, and the threat of prospect call-ups to […]

Jeff Samardzija (SP, SF) - Week 4 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 15% of leagues ANALYSIS: A veteran of the MLB since 2008, no one has ever questioned Jeff Samardzija's athleticism or physical makeup. At 6-5, 240 lbs and a former wide receiver for the Notre Dame football team, no one has ever accused Samardzija of being a less-than-imposing presence […]

Nick Anderson (RP, MIA) - Week 4 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 4% of leagues ANALYSIS: Just in case you missed out on his backstory since he first appeared in the majors for the Miami Marlins as a 28-year old rookie, Nick Anderson hasn't exactly had an easy or typical path to the MLB. With a meandering journey that took […]

Robert Stephenson (RP/SP, CIN) - Week 4 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 3% of leagues ANALYSIS: Robert Stephenson has been a highly-touted, eagerly-awaited prospect within the Cincinnati Reds organization for what feels like (especially to Reds fans) a million years. The Reds organization seems to have an unfortunate habit of identifying fantastic relief pitcher qualities...in starting pitchers. Stephenson has seen […]

2B and SS Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 3

The 2019 MLB campaign has reached Week 3, and as typically comes with the first month of the season, we find ourselves both befuddled by the surprising starts of some players and desperately awaiting the acceleration of others. With still a limited sample size of AB under each player's belt, it could cause any human […]

Tyler Mahle (SP, CIN) - Week 3 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 8% of leagues ANALYSIS: The Cincinnati Reds came into 2019 counting on big comeback-seasons for starting pitchers Luis Castillo and off-season acquisition Sonny Gray. One player that was in equal need of a bounce-back campaign, and who could also have a significant impact on the Reds' season, is […]

Jorge Soler (OF, KC) - Week 3 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues OWNED IN: 26% of leagues ANALYSIS: In 2018, Jorge Soler was able to bounce back in a big way from his disastrous first year as a Kansas City Royal, compiling an impressive slash of .265/.354/.466 with nine HR and three SB in the process before his season was cut short. Now, […]

Richard Lovelady (RP, KC) - Week 3 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 2% of leagues ANALYSIS: Richard Lovelady: Name of a 19th Century romantic novelist, or 23-year old rookie reliever for the Kansas City Royals out of Kennesaw State University? If you're still curious, the answer is the latter, and Lovelady's track record suggests that he could be a force […]

2B and SS Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 2

The 2019 MLB campaign has officially arrived in full swing, and though the offensive sample size has been extremely limited so far, the shaking out process has already begun between assets of real value and those not worth the time or effort for fantasy baseball managers. Players have come into 2019 either looking to build […]

Yan Gomes (C, WAS) - Week 2 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 36% of leagues ANALYSIS: Yan Gomes is playing for a different team than the Cleveland Indians for the first time in six years, and he is carrying plenty of offensive momentum with him to his new home with the Washington Nationals. Last season as the Tribe's backstop he […]

Kole Calhoun (OF, LAA) - Week 2 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 7% of leagues ANALYSIS: Kole Calhoun has long been a reliable defensive fixture in the outfield for the Los Angeles Angels, taking home a Gold Glove award for his fearless exploits in 2015. "The Red Baron" had always been fantastically consistent on the offensive side as well, producing […]

Jung Ho Kang (3B, PIT) - Week 2 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues OWNED IN: 29% of leagues ANALYSIS: Jung Ho Kang came to the MLB from South Korea with plenty of surrounding hype and potential, and at least through his first two seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates, he very much lived up to the excitement he brought. Though he took only 739 combined […]

Tucker Barnhart (C, CIN) - Week 2 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 31% of leagues ANALYSIS: In 2017, Tucker Barnhart officially announced his arrival in Cincinnati with seven HR, four SB (in four attempts), a .270/.347/.403 slash, and a highly impressive Gold Glove award at the catcher position. In 2018, while his defense remained top-tier and he hit a career-high […]