Luis Valbuena (1B/3B, HOU) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Deep Mixed Leagues, AL-Only Leagues OWNED IN: 8% Fleaflicker ANALYSIS: Luis Valbuena has always been a liability in batting average thanks to his propensity for whiffs, but last season he hit 25 HR in just 434 AB. That pop made him at least worth a flier in deep leagues. Unfortunately, until recently, it... Read More

Matt Adams (1B, STL) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Deep Mixed Leagues, NL-Only Leagues OWNED IN: 18% Fleaflicker ANALYSIS: Matt Adams played sparingly in April and was unimpressive when he did see the field. May has been a different story, though, as he’s hit .371/.420/.661 with four homers. With Brandon Moss scuffling of late, Adams has an opportunity to seize a bigger... Read More

Mike Napoli (1B, CLE) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Deep Mixed Leagues, AL-Only Leagues OWNED IN: 26% Fleaflicker ANALYSIS: Mike Napoli has four homers in his last seven games, bringing his overall line up to .234/.306/.486. He’s also stolen two bases in that time. He’s comfortably nestled in the cleanup spot of the Indians’ lineup, and as a result is on pace... Read More

Steve Pearce (1B/2B, TB) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Deep Mixed Leagues, AL-Only Leagues OWNED IN: 27% Fleaflicker ANALYSIS: Steve Pearce was one of the best hitters in baseball during the month of May, slashing an impressive .325/.415/.638 with seven homers and 32 R+RBI. There doesn’t seem to be anything fluky about his performance, either. In fact, a glance at his peripherals... Read More

Marcus Semien (SS, OAK) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 42 percent of Fleaflicker leagues ANALYSIS: Marcus Semien hasn't gone deep in two weeks, yet he's still on pace for a 30 HR season. That kind of pop from the shortstop position is obviously rare, and not something that can often be found floating around on the... Read More

Adam Duvall (OF, CIN) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues OWNED IN: 42 percent of Fleaflicker leagues ANALYSIS: Adam Duvall's ownership rate has doubled in the last 48 hours, and with good reason. Over the past month, he leads all hitters with 11 homers. He's been one of the few brights spots for the Reds so far, batting .271/.305/.606... Read More

Week 9 Waiver Wire: First Base (1B) and Third Base (3B)

Hope everyone enjoyed their holiday weekend. We’re roughly a third of the way through the season, and if you’re lagging behind in the standings, you’re probably thinking about shaking things up a bit. Maybe you’re finally going to cut bait on that struggling big-name player, or are working on a blockbuster trade. There are still... Read More

Yesterday's Studs and Duds: Fantasy Baseball Recap from 5/26/16

Every day, we will be taking a quick look at the best and worst fantasy baseball performers from yesterday's games. Only seven games were played, but there were still plenty of performances worth highlighting. Here's a quick rundown of those who impressed on Thursday, and those who want to pretend the day never happened. Editor’s... Read More

Week 8 Waiver Wire: First Base and Third Base

As the season progresses, it becomes simultaneously easier and harder to mine the waiver wire for production. It’s more difficult in the sense that top performers have mostly been plucked away already, but easier to find players whose early struggles have obscured recent success. The usual caveats about sample size and arbitrary endpoints aside, using... Read More

Yesterday's Studs and Duds: Fantasy Baseball Recap from 5/25/16

Every day, we will be taking a quick look at the best and worst fantasy baseball performers from yesterday's games. There were several high-scoring games and a couple of pitchers' duels. Here's a quick look at those who impressed on Wednesday, and those who want to pretend the day never happened. Editor’s Note: To read... Read More

Week 8 Buy and Sell for Fantasy Baseball

Last week’s buys were a mixed bag. Zack Greinke dominated the Cardinals, but Miguel Sano continued to scuffle. He’s still hitting the ball hard enough to anticipate better days ahead, though. On the sell side, Danny Salazar got knocked around by the Red Sox (no shame in that lately) and Adrian Gonzalez’s struggles continued. He... Read More

Jose Ramirez (3B/OF, CLE) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Deep Mixed Leagues, AL-Only Leagues OWNED IN: 10% Fleaflicker ANALYSIS: Jose Ramirez got some attention as a deep sleeper entering last season, but stumbled out of the gate and eventually lost his job to Francisco Lindor. He’s been a pleasant surprise for the Tribe this year, though. Splitting time between third and left... Read More

Aaron Hill (2B/3B, MIL) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Deep Mixed Leagues, NL-Only Leagues OWNED IN: 9% Fleaflicker ANALYSIS: You’re forgiven if you didn’t realize Aaron Hill was still playing in the majors. After an auspicious start to his tenure with the Diamondbacks, Hill hit just .238/.290/.359 over the past two seasons. Entering his age-34 season, it seemed unlikely that he would... Read More

Jake Lamb (3B, ARI) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Deep Mixed Leagues, NL-Only Leagues OWNED IN: 22% Fleaflicker ANALYSIS: Jake Lamb might be the most under-appreciated player in fantasy baseball right now. He’s hitting a robust .272/.353/.517 with six homers, two steals, and 44 R+RBI. Those numbers have been enough to put him in the top 10 third basemen in the Yahoo... Read More

Trayce Thompson (OF, LAD) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 15 percent of Fleaflicker leagues ANALYSIS: A second-round pick by the White Sox back in 2009, Trayce Thompson produced solid but unspectacular numbers as he rose slowly through the minor league ranks. He finally reached the big leagues last season and acquitted himself well, hitting .295/.363/.533 with... Read More

Rajai Davis (OF, CLE) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 37 percent of Fleaflicker leagues ANALYSIS: For the past decade, Rajai Davis has been a journeyman well known among fantasy owners as a source of cheap speed and not much else. Over the past two weeks, however, Davis has been one of the most valuable hitters in... Read More

Jonathan Schoop (2B, BAL) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues OWNED IN: 38 percent of Fleaflicker leagues ANALYSIS: Before the season began, some dashing fellow predicted that Jonathan Schoop would be among the best fantasy options at the keystone. While he hasn't been quite good enough to crack the top eight second basemen, Schoop is having a fine season... Read More

Cameron Maybin (OF, DET) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues OWNED IN: 55 percent of Fleaflicker leagues ANALYSIS: A former first round pick and the headliner of the trade that brought Miguel Cabrera to the Tigers, Maybin has bounced around the league and ended up back in the Motor City. He was hit by a pitch and suffered a broken... Read More

Week 7 Waiver Wire: First Base and Third Base

We’ve reached what is popularly referred to as the quarter pole of the MLB season. Except that the term “quarter pole” originates in horse racing, where it’s placed at the last quarter mile of the track, regardless of length. So we’re really just a quarter of the way through the season. All pedantry aside, while... Read More

Yesterday's Studs and Duds: Fantasy Baseball Recap from 5/19/16

Every day, we will be taking a quick look at the best and worst fantasy baseball performers from yesterday's games. They were mostly low-scoring affairs, but there were some offensive fireworks as well. Here's a quick rundown of those who impressed on Thursday, and those who want to pretend the day never happened. Editor’s Note:... Read More

Yesterday's Studs and Duds: Fantasy Baseball Recap from 5/18/16

Every day, we will be taking a quick look at the best and worst fantasy baseball performers from yesterday's games. It was a full slate - more, in fact, since there was a doubleheader - so there were plenty of performances to spotlight. Here's a quick look at those who impressed on Wednesday, and those... Read More

Week 7 Buy and Sell for Fantasy Baseball

Really couldn’t have asked for a better showing from last week’s buys. David Price dominated the Astros. Adam Duvall had three multi-hit games, homered, drove in five runs, and even stole a base for good measure. On the sell side, Michael Brantley landed back on the disabled list, lending further credence to my theory that... Read More

Derek Norris (C, SDP) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 21 percent of Fleaflicker leagues ANALYSIS: I met a traveller from an antique land,/Who said: "A vast and hopeless fake baseball team/Stands in the desert. Near them, on the sand,/Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,/And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,/Tell that its... Read More

Yan Gomes (C, CLE) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 59 percent of Fleaflicker leagues ANALYSIS: Catcher, as usual, is a barren wasteland for fantasy owners. So it is that one can, face straight but heart heavy, recommend a man hitting .179 as an option for your fake baseball team. That man is Yan Gomes, who has... Read More

Tyler Duffey (SP, MIN) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 16 percent of Fleaflicker leagues ANALYSIS: Tyler Duffey acquitted himself well as a rookie last season, going 5-1 with a 3.10 ERA in his 10 starts and striking out nearly a batter per inning. Despite that, he opened the season at Triple-A. When Kyle Gibson (shoulder) and Tommy... Read More

Jonathan Villar (3B/SS, MIL) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues OWNED IN: 57 percent of Fleaflicker leagues ANALYSIS: With Dee Gordon suspended, Delino DeShields demoted to Triple-A, and Billy Hamilton still very bad at hitting, it's been tough sledding for some of the most widely drafted speedsters. The emergence of Jonathan Villar, then, has been rather timely for fantasy owners.... Read More

Yesterday's Studs and Duds: Fantasy Baseball Recap from 5/12/16

Every day, we will be taking a quick look at the best and worst fantasy baseball performers from yesterday's games. Even in a limited slate of games, there were plenty of performances to admire and make fun of! Here's a quick rundown of those who impressed on Thursday, and those who want to pretend the... Read More

Yesterday's Studs and Duds: Fantasy Baseball Recap from 5/11/16

Every day, we will be taking a quick look at the best and worst fantasy baseball performers from yesterday's games. There were several dominant performances on both sides of the ball, as an MLB record was tied and several players went deep multiple times - including one of the last guys you'd expect. Here's a... Read More

Week 6 Buy and Sell for Fantasy Baseball

Good week on the buy side, as Ian Kennedy shut down the Indians and Marcus Semien went deep twice. Not a great showing on the sell half, though, as both Mark Trumbo and Jaime Garcia continued to impress. Still bearish on both long-term, but credit where it’s due. Once more unto the breach, dear friends.... Read More

Week 6 Waiver Wire: First Base and Third Base

It’s typically around this time of year that trading becomes more common. Negotiated player swaps can be a great way to address weaknesses that have become apparent and maneuver for positioning. But deals aren’t always available. You know what is available, though? Help from your lonely friends on the waiver wire. Let’s visit with them,... Read More