Week 6 Waiver Wire: Catchers

It's hard to believe that this is the sixth week of the baseball season. It seems like I had just started doing this column and I'm already halfway to a dozen of these. Many of the catchers out there also wish that they had more time - it hasn't been a great start for any […]

Week 5 Waiver Wire: Catchers

The first month of the season is usually filled with oddities. I'm not talking weather-related ones where it still feels like winter in May. For example, there was a stretch in the late 1980s when it seemed like Yankees catcher Don Slaught would always enter May hitting around .500. Of course, he'd wind up crashing […]

Catcher Waiver Wire Pickups & Adds: Week Four

It's Week Four and the days are definitely starting to heat up while the nights remain cool in many areas. Speaking of remaining cool, there are a lot of fantasy owners who are turning up their noses at many more-than-serviceable catchers on the waiver wire. Don't be snobs, guys. All of you can't have Buster […]

Catcher Waiver Wire Pickups & Adds: Week Three

Ah. Week 3 of the Waiver Wire... when April is beginning to head into May, the weather warming up even more - unless you live in Colorado and get three feet of snow dumped on you in the middle of the month - and certain players start heating up at the plate and showing they […]

J.T. Realmuto (CA, MIA) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deep Mixed Leagues, NL-Only Leagues OWNED IN: 26% Fleaflicker ANALYSIS: Fleaflicker owners haven't been dashing to scoop up the running catcher yet. J.T. Realmuto has begun the 2016 campaign hitting .280 and driving in a couple of runs. He'll wind up with double digits in steals, so go pick him up as your CA2, […]

Yadier Molina (CA, STL) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deep Mixed Leagues, NL-Only Leagues OWNED IN: 35% Fleaflicker ANALYSIS: Yadier Molina just isn’t CA1 material anymore. He's been productive in terms of average and RBI, but he hasn't hit any homers. His power numbers have steadily declined over the past several seasons, and it looks like this trend will continue. Yadi has […]

Francisco Cervelli (CA, PIT) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deep Mixed Leagues, NL-Only Leagues OWNED IN: 37% Fleaflicker ANALYSIS: Francisco Cervelli is not making Bronx Bomber fans wish that he was there in Brian McCann's place, but Cervelli is blazing at the plate, hitting .370 before Friday’s game. He wound up hitting .295 in 2015. It's like a Yankees reunion party, […]

Miguel Montero (CA, CHC) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deep Mixed Leagues, NL-Only Leagues OWNED IN: 24% Fleaflicker ANALYSIS: Miguel Montero is off to a fairly decent start, hitting .286 going into Friday’s game action, and he has a homer. Montero has no real competition, either, with Kyle Schwarber out for the season and David Ross backing him up. Fantasy […]

Wilson Ramos (CA, WAS) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deep Mixed Leagues, NL-Only Leagues OWNED IN: 18% Fleaflicker ANALYSIS: Wilson Ramos has stormed out of the gate, hitting .367 so far this season. This could be the Ramos that Nationals fans have been hoping would return. He hasn't hit any homers and has driven in just three runs, but it’s still […]

Travis d'Arnaud (CA, NYM) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Most Mixed Leagues OWNED IN: 37% Fleaflicker ANALYSIS: Travis d’Arnaud has gotten off to a miserable start with an anemic .091 batting average going into Friday’s game, but it's still really early in the season. He's going to come around. People are getting way too impatient early on. Check out RotoBaller's […]

Week 2 Waiver Wire Pickups: Catcher

You'll notice that there are fewer catchers on this list than last week's edition. I decided to pare down the list to six overall and sent the other four catchers back home, just like on shows like "The Bachelor/Bachelorette." No, I didn't give any of them a rose and I don't think any of them […]

Week 1 Waiver Wire Pickups: Catcher

Kyle Schwarber owners? It's a tough blow, for all of us, as we already have to say goodbye to an exciting young player for the entire 2016 season. But it's still early, and we are here to help. It's time to take a peek down that hole known as the waiver wire for catching depth. […]

Brandon Phillips (2B, CIN) - 2016 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper

BALLER MOVE: Target ~200 CURRENT ADP: 248.6 ANALYSIS: There was a time in December when it seemed like an era was coming to a close in Cincinnati: After 10 seasons, Brandon Phillips was going to be traded to the Nationals. He even Tweeted about being in Washington at the time of the rumored deal. Then […]

Jason Grilli (RP, ATL) - 2016 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper

BALLER MOVE: Target ~250 CURRENT ADP: 287.8 ANALYSIS: Yes, it's true that Jason Grilli had a very rough Grapefruit League showing, with a 6.75 ERA. He did strike out five batters in four innings of work, so that's encouraging. He also started pitching later than his teammates - his first action was on March 17. […]

Dustin Pedroia (2B, BOS) - 2016 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers

BALLER MOVE: Target ~150 CURRENT ADP: 164.3 ANALYSIS: Dustin Pedroia told reporters that he wanted to run more this season, which is encouraging, but it could also give people reason for pause. Hamstring problems plagued him in 2015, and it's not like they get looser as one gets older. He's had the element of speed […]

2016 Fantasy Baseball Draft Values: Dustin Pedroia

There are many out there who think Dustin Pedroia is a sleeper pick this season. He's certainly got a lot to prove after his injury-marred 2015 season. He's a player who bleeds for the game and he's going to be aiming to bring himself back to the upper echelon. The question is... is it a […]

Carson Smith Could Be Invaluable Part of Bridge to Craig Kimbrel for Boston

Carson Smith looked like he could be the closer in Seattle in 2015 after Fernando Rodney faltered. Instead, he was part of the Wade Miley deal in the off-season and he's now behind another uber-closer: Craig Kimbrel. All is not lost, though. Bullpens are constructed to lock down the later innings before turning the ball […]

Eduardo Rodriguez Looks to Have Strong Sophomore Season

There was a time during the 2015 season that the Red Sox brass was concerned that rookie southpaw Eduardo Rodriguez was tipping pitches. Pitching to a lineup like Toronto's, with Troy Tulowitzki, Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion is terrifying enough - but if they have an idea of what's coming? It might as […]

Brock Holt Ready For Another Year As Red Sox Utility Man

Brock Holt, whose name sounds like something out of a Wild West movie, isn't going to be a superstar. The nearly 28-year-old will be a very good player who can handle enough positions to allow manager John Farrell to give him around 500 plate appearances a year. He'll hit for a modest .280 average and […]

Blake Swihart May Get Nod to Start Season Behind The Plate For Boston

Right now Boston has a crowded catching corps with Blake Swihart, Ryan Hanigan and Christian Vazquez all on the roster. After Spring Training, it'll probably be pared down to two and Swihart has the upper hand on the depth chart. He's the youngest of the three and would probably benefit from having the older Hanigan […]

Rusney Castillo Has to Make Most of His Chance in 2016

OK. It looks like the training wheels are finally going to be off for Rusney Castillo. Boston has him starting in left field and they are going to see if that seven-year, $72.5 million contract is worth it. Either the Cuban will break out and make everyone in the Red Sox front office happy they […]

Boston Needs Joe Kelly To Be An Above-Average Joe This Season

There was a time where Joe Kelly showed a glimmer of hope that he might be a very good starter. It was in 2013, when he fashioned a 10-5 record for the National League champion St. Louis Cardinals. He didn't overpower anyone, but his 2.69 ERA showed promise. Ironically, he was traded the next year […]

Jackie Bradley Jr. Getting Possible Final Chance For Boston Outfield

Baseball, like all professional sports, can be brutal. The transition from "can't miss" to "forgotten" can be incredibly swift. Jackie Bradley Jr. has had the prospect label on him since 2013 and the glue on that label is starting to dissolve. Boston would love for him to be part of an outfield nucleus of Mookie […]

Rick Porcello Can Thrive With Less Pressure In 2016

Remember when Rick Porcello came to baseball as a precocious 20-year-old who won 14 games for the Detroit Tigers? 2009 is so long ago. Now he's fresh off a season where he finished with a 9-15 record and an ugly 4.92 ERA. He probably spent some time staring at the mirror, wondering where that youngster […]

Who's on First in Boston? Hanley Ramirez Is, That's Who

When discussing Clay Buchholz, I alluded to former Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington's very bad decision of having a 2015 pitching rotation with no aces. His having Hanley Ramirez play left field is probably Bad Idea 1A. In his short stint of patrolling the outfield, Ramirez made former Boston left fielders like Mike Greenwell […]

Pablo Sandoval Wants a Better Sequel For Kung Fu Panda in Boston

Pablo Sandoval bid a sad farewell to San Francisco after the 2014 season after signing with Boston. He didn't bowl anyone over during his first season in a Red Sox uniform. His numbers were a far cry from his best days: .245 with 10 homers and 47 RBIs, which came NOWHERE near his '09 line […]

Clay Buchholz Sees No Shame in Being No. 2 Starter in 2016

Ever since he got that final out in his no-hitter against Baltimore in 2007, Clay Buchholz has been chasing something. He looked like he was on track in '10, finishing sixth in the American League Cy Young voting. Then he backslid badly, suffering from depression/anxiety in '11 and various injuries over the years, though he […]

Dustin Pedroia Wants Laser Show To Last All of 2016

Like several of his teammates, Dustin Pedroia had a truncated 2015 season. Injuries limited him to 425 plate appearances, his lowest since '10. Predictably, Boston saw its season end way earlier than anticipated. Pedroia's determined not to let that happen. Don't bet on a 213-hit, 54-double season like '08, but if he's healthy, he's still […]

Craig Kimbrel Bringing Heat to Red Sox Bullpen

The Red Sox and Yankees made it a really interesting off-season with their bullpen additions. Boston acquired Craig Kimbrel from San Diego to be their closer... and New York got Aroldis Chapman from Cincinnati. Coincidence? Maybe. Sure, Boston got Kimbrel because Koji Uehara got hurt last year and he's also 40. But they also got […]

Xander Bogaerts Looking To Add More Power In 2016

Boston is still very high on Xander Bogaerts... and with very good reason. He won a Silver Slugger award in 2015, hitting .320 and driving in 81 runs. The thing that was missing was homers - he hit all of seven, below his target of 10. The Red Sox brain trust thinks he'll get more […]