Wily Peralta (SP, MIL) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12 Team Leagues; Scout in Shallow Leagues ANALYSIS: Wily Peralta is someone I've heard about from the fantasy community on and off all year, and with good reason. He has had many starts where he has given up 3 runs or less, but he also had a run of starts where he gave […]

Trending Up & Trending Down: Week 17 Report

  Fantasy Baseball Trends For Week 17 I'd like to begin this week's report by doing somewhat of a follow up to my article from two weeks ago. I really still like Hughes's K/BB ratios, but it's hard to ignore his current results. I've dropped him until he shows signs of improvement, and recommend you […]

Tanner Roark (SP, WAS) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues ANALYSIS: The fact that Tanner Roark is only 61 % owned is downright criminal. Sure he had back to back hiccups on June 27th and July 4th, where he gave up 4 runs to the light hitting Cubs, but otherwise he has been an ERA and WHIP saint. On […]

James Paxton (SP, SEA) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Stash in Deep Leagues ANALYSIS: James Paxton and Taijuan Walker were two of the highly touted Mariners' pitching prospects coming into the year. Taijuan is the one people are more familiar with since he has pitched in the majors more recently than Paxton, but Paxton is the one with more upside in my […]

Buy and Sell: Biggest First Half Breakouts for Fantasy Baseball

This week is a little different from the past few weeks of my trending up / trending down column. This week I'll only be focusing on those players who have been sizzling for the entire half, and have never shown this kind of promise before in their careers - the true 2014 breakouts who were […]

Sam Fuld (OF, MIN) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Very Deep / AL-Only Leagues ANALYSIS: "The Legendary Sam Fuld" is amazing. Amazing because he robs people consistently of homers. Unfortunately, defense doesn't matter for fantasy purposes. On the season Sam Fuld is hitting for a .269 AVG, with 2 HRS, 20 runs scored,17 RBIs, and 11 steals. Not very useful for […]

Edinson Volquez (SP, PIT) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Very Deep Leagues ANALYSIS: Edinson Volquez is having the best year of his career since 2008 with the Reds, putting up a 3.65 ERA. His strikeout rate is down at 5.92 K/9 but so are his walks at a 3.00 BB/9. Overall that 2:1 K:BB is not very impressive. However, his batting […]

Joe Kelly (SP, STL) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deep Leagues ANALYSIS: Last year in 15 games started for the Cardinals, Joe Kelly went 10-5 with a 2.69 ERA, and 1.35 WHIP. Very useful numbers in Fantasy Baseball for the back-end of your rotation. This year started well enough for Kelly, who allowed only 1 run in his first three […]

Jimmy Nelson (SP, MIL) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Continue Scouting ANALYSIS: Jimmy Nelson was supposed to be the next big pitching call-up this year. Unfortunately, someone forgot to tell Jimmy Nelson that. In his most recent start following his call-up, Nelson was hammered for 6 runs in 4 1/2 innings of work.  It's hard to know if that's indicative of what Nelson […]

Trending Upwards / Downwards: Starting Pitchers for Week 16

  Last week I focused exclusively on hitting trends so it seems only fair that this week I focus on pitching.  Eventually, I hope my format will evolve to the point that I'll be analyzing a mixture of both pitchers and hitters, but for now let's get started!   Fantasy Baseball Pitchers Trending Upwards Matt […]

Brandon McCarthy (NYY, SP) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in AL-Only Leagues / Continue Scouting in Shallower Leagues ANALYSIS: Brandon McCarthy is now officially on the Yankees, and made his first start for them yesterday. With his 4.80 ERA on the MLB season, I can see why many fantasy owners don't see much to get excited about. I mean, he's heading to […]

Adam LaRoche (1B, WAS) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add Immediately in All Leagues ANALYSIS: Since 2008, Adam LaRoche has 25 or more homers in every year except 2011 - and he was hurt that year. So what is LaRoche doing being owned in only 66 % of Yahoo-leagues? That is just craziness, and he could even be labeled right now as […]

Jose Quintana (CWS, SP) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12-team or Deeper Leagues / Continue Scouting in Shallow Leagues ANALYSIS: I loved Jose Quintana as one  of my pre-season sleepers, somewhat based on the fact that the Sox offered him an extension. I figured their development people must have seen something and thus he'd be a good investment. Unfortunately, he […]

DJ LeMahieu (2B / 3B, COL) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in NL-Only / Deeper Leagues ANALYSIS: DJ LeMahieu is a speedy middle infielder / corner infielder who plays for the Colorado Rockies. LeMahieu hasn't gotten all that much attention in fantasy leagues so far, and that's probably for good reason. He really hasn't been a plus producer so far this year. However […]

David Freese (3B, LAA) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in AL-Only / Deeper Leagues ANALYSIS: David Freese is probably most remembered for being the World Series hero for the Cardinals in 2011. However, after his trade to the Angels, he hasn't quite been the same player for most of this year. Contrary to his last name though, Freese has been heating up […]

Fantasy Baseball Hitters Trending Upwards / Downwards

The point of this article is to highlight fantasy baseball batters and pitchers who have been hot lately or players that have been colder than the Batman villain Mr. Freeze. The article will highlight the players most recent stats, with some advice about what should be done with the player for the rest of the season. […]

Brad Miller (2B / SS - SEA) - Waiver Wire Analysis

BALLER MOVE: Continue Scouting ANALYSIS: Brad Miller has been hitting better in the month of June than he had to start the season, but that only means his average now sits slightly above the Mendoza line at .207. This would be a tolerable average to some if he hit for more power, stole more bases, […]

Marlon Byrd (OF, PHI) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Most Leagues ANALYSIS: Marlon Byrd had one of the best seasons among outfielders who don't get much recognition last year when he hit 24 home runs, 88 RBIs, and scored 75 times all while batting .291. This year he is on the dreadful 2014 version of the Phillies but he's doing his […]

Omar Infante (2B, KC) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deep Leagues ANALYSIS: Considering how many questions per week I seem to get about the 2nd base position, I'm surprised Omar Infante's ownership tag currently sits at 19% in Yahoo! I realize that 2nd base is deeper than a lot expected this year, but Infante does have 7 RBIs, 5 runs […]

Yan Gomes (C, CLE) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Two Catcher Leagues ANALYSIS: Last year Yan Gomes was so good with the bat that the Indians felt comfortable moving Carlos Santana from behind the plate this year to make room for Gomes. Unfortunately, so far this year Gomes has responded by hitting .267/.311/.421 which is no better than OK for […]

Drew Stubbs (OF, COL) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deep Leagues ANALYSIS: Both Carlos Gonzalez and Michael Cuddyer pulled their usual shenanigans of hitting the disabled list for an extended amount of time. Enter Corey Dickerson and Drew Stubbs. You have already  heard enough about the superstar that Dickerson is becoming. However, based on an ownership tag of 9% in […]

Jarrod Dyson (OF, KC) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deep Leagues ANALYSIS: Jarrod Dyson is an outfielder with the Kansas City Royals who was on the left handed side of a platoon with Justin Maxwell. However, Dyson has taken over most of the at-bats with his play so far this year resulting in a .303 AVG and 12 stolen bases. […]

J.J. Hardy (SS, BAL) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deep Leagues, Continue Scouting in Shallow Leagues ANALYSIS: Did you know you can count the number of shortstops that have 20 or more home runs in 2012 and 2013 on only two fingers? No it's not Troy Tulowitzki (though he'd probably make the third finger if he wasn't hurt in 2012). […]

C.J. Cron (1B, LAA) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deep Leagues ANALYSIS: Since the release of Raul Ibanez, C.J. Cron has been lighting it up by going 9 for 21 with 5 home runs and 7 RBIs, including a pair of dingers last night. Cron has big time power as evidenced by his minor league numbers in which he reached 27 homers […]

Scooter Gennett (2B, MIL) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deep Leagues ANALYSIS: Scooter Gennett now has a .316 AVG, .349 OBP, and .160 ISO in 450 at-bats in the majors between 2013-2014 making him a viable option for those in deep leagues or NL-Only. He offers both speed and pop having reached 9 HRS in almost every minor league season […]

Matt Shoemaker (SP, LAA) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12 Team Leagues or Deeper ANALYSIS: Matt Shoemaker has a K/9 rate of 9.18. Why is that important? Because if he qualified by innings pitched, that would place him as the 8th best K/9 rate in the American League behind Jon Lester and ahead of his teammate Garret Richards. That is […]

Jeremy Guthrie (SP, KC) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Very Deep Leagues ANALYSIS: Jeremy Guthrie is on a little run right now, having only given up more than two runs once in his past 7 starts. He also had back-to-back 9 strikeout games which is fairly impressive in itself. I'd be a tad more impressed with Guthrie if he wasn't […]

Chase Whitley (SP, NYY) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Very Deep / AL-Only Leagues ANALYSIS: The Yankees were supposed to roll out a rotation other teams were envious of  with CC Sabathia, Hiroki Kuroda, Masahiro Tanaka, Ivan Nova, and Michael Pineda. However, as many of you know their rotation didn't live up to expectations due mostly to injuries. Enter Chase […]

Dexter Fowler (OF, HOU) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues ANALYSIS:  Dexter Fowler is capable of double digit totals in both home runs and steals as he did with the Colorado Rockies in both 2013 and 2012. However, in the beginning of the season Fowler struggled a bit to adjust to his new home with the Astros and that led […]

Josh Harrison (2B / 3B / OF, PIT) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deep Leagues ANALYSIS: Josh Harrison was only supposed to play for the Pirates as long as Neil Walker was hurt. However, considering that Harrison has played to a .306/.347/.478 triple slash one has to imagine they'll try to find room for him in their lineup even when Walker returns. Harrison won't […]