Chase Headley (3B, NYY) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deep Leagues ANALYSIS: Chase Headley has been worse than dog poop in 2014, and it's incredible he's still 51% owned in CBS leagues.  BUUUUUUT, he just got traded to the New York Yankees. You don't need to be a scientist to know that the difference between Petco Park and Yankee Stadium is enormous […]

Zach Putnam (RP, CHW) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues ANALYSIS: It's clear the ChiSox have settled on Zach Putnam as their closer after notching back-to-back saves on July 18th and 19th.  If you own Petricka, you can safely cut him loose now, because despite Ventura's public statements that the closer role will be shared, it's looking more likely that Putnam […]

Wade Miley (SP, ARI) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues ANALYSIS: Wade Miley is only owned in slightly more than a 1/4 of Yahoo! leagues, and at this point I'm convinced it's because he's got a really junky sounding name, because there's really no other explanation. Miley's fastball velocity has been increasing each month, and he has a lot of room […]

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

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues ANALYSIS: Scooter Gennett is still only owned in 40% of Yahoo! leagues, which is pretty shocking considering his last 30 days and 68 ABs: 15 R, 4 HR, 14 RBI, 1 SB, .309 BA. He's the 6th rated 2B over that time frame, he's batting at the top of a potent […]

Chris Johnson (3B, ATL) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deep Leagues ANALYSIS: Chris Johnson was scorching hot going into the all-star break, hitting 3 HR with 7 RBIs in the two games before the mid-summer classic.  He's continued his hot hitting with 4 hits, a HR and 3 RBIs after the break and he deserves consideration in all leagues with corner infield spots.  It's […]

Joaquin Benoit (RP, SD) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add Immediately ANALYSIS: By now you've surely heard the most recent closer carousel news. Huston Street has been sent 90 minutes north and is closing for the Los Angeles Angels, and Joaquin Benoit has inherited the Padres 9th inning duties.  Benoit proved last year he can handle the closing reigns, racking up 24 saves for […]

Brad Boxberger (RP, TB) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Continue Scouting ANALYSIS: Brad Boxberger has been one of the Rays' more dominant relief pitchers in 2014. He's having a breakout season, pitching to a 2.87 ERA with a.93 WHIP and an impressive 48:12 K:BB ratio in just 31.1 IP. His filthy strikeout stuff is well suited to the closer role, but Boxberger, with just […]

Mark Melancon (RP, PIT) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add Immediately ANALYSIS: Racking up saves is 50% opportunity and 50% talent. Mark Melancon has always had the talent, and he's about to get his 2nd 2014 opportunity. After racking up 10 saves while Grilli landed on the DL, Melancon had been relegated to setup duties. All he did over his last 10 outings was throw 9.1 […]

Adam Lind (1B, TOR) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deep Leagues ANALYSIS: Lind is a righty killer. He's slashing .367/.439/.587 vs. them in 109 AB.  He barely plays vs. LHP (2 hits in 17 AB), but it was the same thing last year (.309/.385/.539 vs. RHP, compared to .208/.240/.333 vs. LHP). You get the idea: Lind is gold in deep leagues where […]

Jake McGee / Juan Carlos Oviedo (RP, TB) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deep Leagues ANALYSIS: Grant Balfour is out as the closer in TB, for now. He says his fastball has been improving, and if that's the case we will not be surprised to see Balfour reclaim the closer gig in a matter of weeks.  Joe Maddon is intensely loyal to his players - could […]

Chad Qualls (RP, HOU) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues ANALYSIS:  Qualls is quietly putting together quite the dominant campaign in 2014, and it's going overlooked by 64% of owners in Yahoo! leagues.  Here are the basic facts: Houston has finally settled on Qualls as their closer after a merry-go-round month of April. On the season, Qualls has an elite […]

Jenrry Mejia (RP, NYM) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues ANALYSIS: Don't let the last two innings scare you - while Mejia gave up 3 ER, he still locked down a save and didn't blow a save in the other appearance. Since taking over the closer role, all Mejia has done is, well....get nasty.  He's thrown 12.1 IP, with a 13:5 […]

Jonathan Singleton (1B, HOU) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deep Leagues ANALYSIS: Jon Singleton has arrived, and he already has a HR in just 12 plate appearances in the majors.  Houston will give him every chance to succeed and will bat him in the 5th or 6th spots in the lineup, giving him ample opportunities to drive in runs.  Singleton has […]

Khris Davis (OF, MIL) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deep Leagues ANALYSIS: Davis has cooled off over the past 5 games, only going 4-for-16 with 3 Runs, 0 HR and RBI.  Prior to that, he had been on a pretty nice tear, going 11-for-20 with 3 HR, 6 RBI and a whopping 9 runs. Considering Davis is primarily batting in the 6th spot […]

Michael Saunders (OF, SEA) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deep Leagues ANALYSIS: Saunders has a 4 game hit streak going with 2 HR and 8 RBI during that span. On the season he has only 4 HR and 2 SB in 136 AB, which is not on pace with preseason hopes for him to be a potential 20-20 guy like he nearly […]

Phil Hughes (SP, MIN) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues ANALYSIS: Filth Hughes is back!  Well, with the exception of one solid season in New York, he was barely ever "here" to begin with. Instead of saying he's back, we'll just say he has finally, after long last, arrived and found himself.  Hughes, a flyball pitcher who never had hope of […]

Oscar Taveras (OF, STL) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add Immediately in All Leagues ANALYSIS: The moment we've been waiting for has finally arrived.  Prospectors waiting for the arrival of Oscar Taveras since his incredible 2012 minor league campaign had to suffer through an injury plagued 2013 and an overcrowded outfield in April-May of 2014.  There's finally a spot for Taveras and he'll make […]

Kolten Wong (2B, STL) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deep Leagues ANALYSIS: Wong has 4 SB and 5 Runs and is 10 for his last 27 since he's been recalled.  He is hitting like the Cardinals expected him to when they handed him the 2B gig out of the gate in 2014.  Wong is setting the table in the Cardinals lineup and […]

Garret Jones (OF / 1B, MIA) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deep Leagues ANALYSIS: Jones has been scorching over the past couple weeks and is 8 for his last 19 with 2 HR and 6 RBI.  He has been steadily producing even after many of his detractors have said he'll fade away.  He plays in a better than expected lineup in Miami, and as […]

Eric Young (OF, NYM) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deep Leagues for Speed ANALYSIS: Eric Young is once again getting consistent at bats in the Mets lineup, so if you got the need for speed, you should pay close attention to what EYJ is doing.  Young's steals come in spurts, so while he only has 1 over his past 8 games, […]

John Jaso (C, OAK) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Two-Catcher Leagues ANALYSIS: Look at John Jaso's stats and you understand why the Oakland A's have a rampaging offense.  He has a .276-.369-.457 triple slash line, as a backup catcher and part time DH.  What other backup catcher in the MLB has stats even close to 4 HR, 12 RBI, 16 Runs with […]

Dallas Keuchel (SP, HOU) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add Immediately (If not sooner!) ANALYSIS: Ladies and Gentlemen, Houston has a starting pitcher worthy of owning in all leagues. You read that right. It's been a long time since Houston had a rosterable starting pitcher, so it's ok if this shocks you a little bit. Let it sink in for a minute.  Now here […]

Phil Hughes (SP, MIN) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deep Leagues ANALYSIS: We had a hunch that moving from homer haven Yankee Stadium to homer graveyard Target Field would really help Phil Hughes. He is a heavy fly ball pitcher, and Target field is where fly balls go to die. Not only has Hughes slashed his HR/FB rate from ~12% over the […]

Brayan Pena (C, CIN) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Very Deep Leagues and Two Catcher Leagues ANALYSIS: Brayan who? He's the guy filling in for Devin Mesoraco while he's on the DL. Pena has batted .313 (10-for-32) over the last two weeks with 3 HR and 6 RBI. With Jay Bruce and Mesoraco out and Brandon Phillips still floundering, as long as […]

Travis Wood (SP, CHC) - Waiver Wire Analysis

BALLER MOVE: Add Immediately ANALYSIS: Here are the only two things you need to know about Travis Wood. 1) He is a dominant pitcher. 2) He's somehow only owned in 50% of leagues. Go pick him up, immediately! Then come back and read this.....ok, now that Wood's ownership % is up a tick, here's why he's so […]

Blue Jays Bullpen (RP, TOR) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Continue Scouting ANALYSIS: Sergio Santos took the BS, L last night after giving up 3 runs on 2 HR to Pedro Alvarez (tying the game) and Starling Marte (winning the game).  Santos has now allowed 6 ER in his last 2 outings, and has a 10.61 ERA on the year. His magnificent 16.39 K/9 is […]

Welington Castillo (C, CHC) - Waiver Wire Analysis

BALLER MOVE: Add in Two Catcher Leagues ANALYSIS: Only 5% owned in Yahoo! leagues, Castillo will be available in a handful of 2 catcher leagues. He is benefitting from a little BABIP luck, but he's shown in the past that he can hover around .340 which means a .270 BA is attainable.  He has been racking up […]

Carlos Ruiz (C, PHI) - Waiver Wire Analysis

BALLER MOVE: Add in Two Catcher Leagues and Deep Standard Leagues ANALYSIS: Ruiz is only 31% owned in Yahoo! leagues which means he's plenty available even in ~10 team 2 catcher leagues.  Ruiz has racked up 13 hits in his last 8 games, with an impressive 7:2 BB:K ratio, 7 RBI, 4 2B, and 9 runs.  He's […]

Wily Peralta (SP, MIL) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deep Leagues ANALYSIS: Peralta's ownership was steadily rising for a few weeks and it now sits at 44%.   His most recent start, arguably his worst of the year, still saw him go 7 IP with a 6:1 K:BB ratio, while allowing 8 hits and 3 ER.  Still a quality start.  If that […]

Erick Aybar (SS, LAA) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deep Leagues ANALYSIS: Aybar is putting up a respectable year and has gotten a hot recently.  His totals on the year (16 R, 11 RBI, 1 HR, 1 SB, .261 BA) have added up quite quickly over the past week (8 R, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 1 SB, .480).   Over this time […]