Marcell Ozuna (OF, MIA) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 42 percent of Fleaflicker leagues ANALYSIS: Marcell Ozuna was a popular target in fantasy drafts last year after hitting 23 homers in 2014. His numbers plummeted across the board, however, and he earned a demotion to the minors. While he performed better upon returning to the majors,... Read More

Ketel Marte (SS, SEA) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 27 percent of Fleaflicker leagues ANALYSIS: After going 4-for-5 with his first homer of the year on Monday, Marte is hitting .297/.323/.398. Over the last two weeks, he's running a .920 OPS, helping to offset his stumble out of the gate. The 22 year old isn't a... Read More

Carlos Santana (1B, CLE) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 55 percent of Fleaflicker leagues ANALYSIS: Carlos Santana lost a decent chunk of his fantasy value after the Indians moved him out from behind the plate. His power numbers were excellent for a catcher, but are merely decent for a first baseman. His inability to hit for... Read More

Kevin Gausman (SP, BAL) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues OWNED IN: 48 percent of Fleaflicker leagues ANALYSIS: Over the past two seasons, Kevin Gausman has flashed the potential that led the Orioles to select him with the fourth pick in the 2012 MLB Amateur Draft. He has yet to put it all together or log more than 115 innings... Read More

Derek Dietrich (2B/3B/OF, MIA) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in NL-Only Leagues OWNED IN: 6% Fleaflicker ANALYSIS: With Dee Gordon suspended, Derek Dietrich has been handed the starting job at second base. So far, he’s running with it, hitting .323/.408/.597. Dietrich hit 10 homers in 289 plate appearances last season, so the pop is real. The average is probably headed down,... Read More

Brandon Moss (1B/OF, STL) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deep Mixed Leagues, NL-Only Leagues OWNED IN: 22% Fleaflicker ANALYSIS: Brandon Moss’s plate discipline metrics and batting average continue to trend in the wrong direction, but at least he’s hitting for power again. The bulk of his at-bats have come in the Cards’ cleanup spot, which has helped him pile up... Read More

Martin Prado (2B/3B, MIA) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deep Mixed Leagues, NL-Only Leagues OWNED IN: 24% Fleaflicker ANALYSIS: Martin Prado isn’t going to hit .400 all season. We all know better than that. But he is a career .293 hitter and routinely one of the most difficult hitters in baseball to strike out. Reliable sources of batting average are... Read More

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

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deep Mixed Leagues, NL-Only Leagues OWNED IN: 9% Fleaflicker ANALYSIS: Jonathan Villar has more stolen bases this season than anyone not named Jose Altuve, and most of them have come in the past two weeks. He’s holding his own at the plate despite a lack of power. With Domingo Santana battling... Read More

Byung Ho Park (1B/DH, MIN) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deep Mixed Leagues, AL-Only Leagues OWNED IN: 23% Fleaflicker ANALYSIS: Remember when everyone was freaking out over how much Byung Ho Park was whiffing? Well, now his strikeout rate is…not great, certainly, but tenable. As a result, he’s raised his OPS to a cool .907. That’s fifth among all first basemen.... Read More

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

Every day, we will be taking a quick look at the best and worst fantasy baseball performers from yesterday's games. We saw three teams get shut out (one in 10 innings), while another scored 13 runs in a single frame. Here's a quick look at those who impressed on Thursday, and those who want to... Read More

Yesterday's Studs and Duds: Fantasy Baseball Recap from 5/4/16

Every day, we will be taking a quick look at the best and worst fantasy baseball performers from yesterday's games. It was a big night offensively, as 13 teams scored at least five runs and two put up double digits. Here's a quick look at those who impressed on Wednesday, and those who want to... Read More

Week 5 Buy and Sell for Fantasy Baseball

Last week’s buys did pretty well. Miguel Sano hasn’t gone deep since last week’s column, but he did start May by going 5-for-11 with three doubles and a couple of walks. He’s pushed his batting average up to .260 and, when the homers start coming, that’s plenty good enough. Though Chris Archer wasn’t dominant in... Read More

Joe Mauer (1B, MIN) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 22 percent of Fleaflicker leagues ANALYSIS: Entering 2016, Joe Mauer was an afterthought for most fantasy owners. He’d lost his catcher eligibility, and his batting average fell from .324 to .277 and .265 over the past three seasons. Combined with his always modest power, advancing age,... Read More

Adam Conley (SP, MIA) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues OWNED IN: 21 percent of Fleaflicker leagues ANALYSIS: Adam Conley finally notched his first victory in his last start. He did so in impressive fashion, tossing 7.2 no-hit innings against the Brewers. Through five starts, Conley has a playable 3.67 ERA and has struck out over a batter per... Read More

Odubel Herrera (OF, PHI) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 58 percent of Fleaflicker leagues ANALYSIS: Plucked away from the Rangers in the Rule 5 draft, Odubel Herrera came out of nowhere as a rookie last season to hit .297 with eight homers and 16 steals for the Phillies. A look at his peripherals indicated some... Read More

Billy Burns (OF, OAK) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 59 percent of Fleaflicker leagues ANALYSIS: In his rookie season last year, Billy Burns established himself as a solid fantasy contributor in batting average and steals. While his current average of .264 isn’t anything to write home about, he’s already swiped eight bags on nine attempts.... Read More

Week 5 Waiver Wire: First Base and Third Base

Can you believe it’s May already? At the current pace, we’ll be hitting the All-Star break sometime before the end of this column. As quick as the first four weeks of the season felt, there remain many more ahead. Here are some widely available corner infielders worth adding to your fake baseball teams. Editor’s Note:... Read More

What to Do With Early Disappointments

This article first appeared in the Metro news publication. Most fantasy baseball experts (present company included) preach patience in April. This is a sound and prudent approach for most situations. However, any experienced owner can tell you that sometimes, early struggles continue well into the season. Each year, there are a handful of well-regarded, established... Read More

Week 4 Buy and Sell for Fantasy Baseball

Starting off on the right foot is great. That’s exactly what happened with this column, as both sell recommendations (Carlos Gomez and Aaron Sanchez) have struggled and Domingo Santana has performed well in the past week. Zack Greinke didn’t fare well in his start, but at least he got a win. Still buying him long-term... Read More

Aaron Nola (SP, PHI) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues OWNED IN: 56 percent of Fleaflicker leagues ANALYSIS: Aaron Nola was the Phillies' first round pick in the 2014 draft. He's always been considered something of a "safe" player, one with a limited ceiling but a high floor. Those types are typically more desirable assets to real MLB teams... Read More

Steven Souza (OF, TAM) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues OWNED IN: 59 percent of Fleaflicker leagues ANALYSIS: Steven Souza Jr. drew some sleeper buzz prior to 2015, as the rookie was considered a potential 20/20 player. He only managed 16 home runs and 12 steals due to missing 50 games with hand and wrist injuries, and many owners... Read More

Yasmani Grandal (C, LAD) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues OWNED IN: 36 percent of Fleaflicker leagues ANALYSIS: Yasmani Grandal showed serious promise in his rookie season with the Padres back in 2012, posting a .297/.394/.469 line with eight homers and 64 R+RBI in just 60 games. During the following offseason, however, he was suspended for a positive PED... Read More

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

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 29 percent of Fleaflicker leagues ANALYSIS: Jake Lamb hit .254/.314/.382 with 10 homers in 523 plate appearances during his first two seasons in the majors. As a result, he wasn't on anyone's fantasy radar outside of NL-only leagues and deep mixers. He's done his best to... Read More

Week 4 Waiver Wire: First Base and Third Base

We’re already coming up on the end of the season’s first month, which seems crazy given that this offseason lasted about 14 years. Based on games played, though, there’s still almost 90 percent of the season in front of us. There’s still plenty of time to rebound from a rough start. Here are a few... Read More

Early Season Advice: The Power of Patience

This article first appeared in the Metro news publication. The opening weeks of the fantasy baseball can be treacherous to navigate. On one hand, you don’t want to act rashly when dealing with such small samples. On the other, sitting on your hands might mean missing out on some of this season’s breakout performers. It’s... Read More

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

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deep Mixed Leagues, NL-Only Leagues OWNED IN: 14% Fleaflicker ANALYSIS: Jake Lamb hasn’t been especially impressive so far this season, or at any point in his brief major league career, really. What he has done, though, is make steady improvements at the big league level. Lamb got less than a season’s... Read More

Brandon Moss (1B//OF, STL) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deep Mixed Leagues, NL-Only Leagues OWNED IN: 21% Fleaflicker ANALYSIS: Through his first dozen games, more than half of Brandon Moss’ hits have been homers (four out of seven). Outside of his breakout 2012, he’s never hit higher than .256, and his numbers have been trending downward over the last few... Read More

Brett Lawrie (3B, CHW) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deep Mixed Leagues, AL-Only Leagues OWNED IN: 20% Fleaflicker ANALYSIS: It seems like ages ago that Brett Lawrie burst onto the scene with a .953 OPS and 16 HR+SB in just 171 AB as a rookie. That was only 2011, but Lawrie has had trouble staying healthy and hasn’t come close... Read More

Nick Castellanos (3B, DET) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Most Mixed Leagues OWNED IN: 62% Fleaflicker ANALYSIS: There seems to be some skepticism regarding Nick Castellanos’ hot start in the fantasy community. On some level, this makes sense. Through 11 games, he’s struck out in nearly a third of his plate appearances, hasn’t walked, and is currently benefitting from a... Read More

Nick Castellanos (3B, DET) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in all leagues OWNED IN: 42% of Fleaflicker leagues ANALYSIS: There seems to be some skepticism regarding Nick Castellanos’ hot start in the fantasy community. On some level, this makes sense. A quick glance at his numbers suggests that the third-year Tiger is a mediocre player who didn’t show much in the... Read More