Hunter Dozier (1B/3B, KC) - Week 4 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues OWNED IN: 42% of Yahoo! leagues ANALYSIS: The former eighth overall pick is finally beginning to live up to some of the lofty expectations that were laid on him when he first came into the league. Dozier's 2018 season was a disappointment, but so far in 2019 he has ballooned... Read More

Avisail Garcia (OF, TB) - Week 4 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 9% of Yahoo! leagues ANALYSIS: Garcia's 2019 season is shaping up a lot like his out-of-nowhere 2017 campaign, where he slashed a blistering .330/.380/.506 with 18 home runs and 80 RBI, thanks to a bloated .392 BABIP. So far in 2019 he's hitting .304/.351/.551 with four round-trippers... Read More

Chad Pinder (2B/3B/OF, OAK) - Week 4 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 29% of Yahoo! leagues ANALYSIS: Chad Pinder has been having an odd year. His strikeout rate is cut in half from last season, down from 26.4% last year to just 13.3% so far in 2019. Unfortunately his walk rate has been slashed even further, sitting at a... Read More

Mike Soroka (SP, ATL) - Week 4 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 22% of Yahoo! leagues ANALYSIS: Health was the biggest concern for the 21-year-old Soroka heading into 2019. That, plus Atlanta's multitude of starting pitching options, made him a risky choice in redraft leagues this season. Soroka overcame the late spring shoulder injury that pushed him out of... Read More

Spencer Turnbull (SP, DET) - Week 4 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 4% of Yahoo! leagues ANALYSIS: Tigers right-hander Spencer Turnbull is through four starts, and is now being recommended as a deep league add in his third week this season. That's due to this 3.43 ERA (3.16 FIP) as well as his 26.7% K rate and 7.8% walk... Read More

Motor City Madness - Can Detroit's Starters Keep Up Their Hot Start?

While the Mariners have gotten most of the attention as the "tanking team that is actually good", the Detroit Tigers have shown glimpses of being better than advertised this season as well. Most of that has been in their pitching. Expected to be their weakest link heading into the season, the Tigers looked even more... Read More

Jorge Polanco (SS, MIN) - Week 3 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues OWNED IN: 28% of Yahoo! leagues ANALYSIS: Polanco has quietly been one of the hottest hitters in the league, boasting an excellent .372/.417/.721(!) slash line with a pair of home runs and six runs scored. While that pace obviously won't last, Polanco looked solid after coming back from an 80-game... Read More

Caleb Smith (SP, MIA) - Week 3 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 12% of Yahoo! leagues ANALYSIS: Marlins left-hander Caleb Smith is an inning away from starting off the 2019 campaign with three straight quality starts, having only gone five innings in his season debut. His last outing was a beauty, tossing six shutout innings with only one hit... Read More

Mitch Garver (C, MIN) - Week 3 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Two Catcher Leagues OWNED IN: 5% of Yahoo! leagues ANALYSIS: 28-year-old Twins catcher Mitch Garver has torn the cover off the ball to kick off the 2019 campaign, blasting three home runs in just six games while sporting a .474/.474/.1.000 slash line. You don't need me to tell you that that kind... Read More

Trevor Richards (SP, MIA) - Week 3 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 30% of Yahoo! leagues ANALYSIS: There has been much ado about the Marlins young pitching staff to kick off the 2019 campaign, and it is easy to see why. Of that group, right-hander Trevor Richards may have the most promise, but also the most volatility. Case in... Read More

Brandon Woodruff (SP, MIL) - Week 3 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 31% of Yahoo! leagues ANALYSIS: A quick glance at Woodruff's numbers through his first three starts isn't going to make you run to the waiver wire. He boasts a 6.00 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP after giving up four earned runs in each of his last two... Read More

Cleveland Rocked - How to Recover from Key Injuries to the Tribe

Things aren't going well for the Cleveland Indians in 2019. The offense did very little to try and improve over the offseason, watching left fielder Michael Brantley and catcher Yan Gomes walk and trading slugger Edwin Encarnacion and infielder Yandy Diaz. Carlos Santana has looked great, but Jake Bauers has not performed as well as Diaz... Read More

Spencer Turnbull (SP, DET) - Week 2 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 2% of Yahoo! leagues ANALYSIS: If you read this column last week, you would have seen a suggestion to pick up Tigers right-hander Spencer Turnbull, even after a rocky first start on the season. For those of you who listened, you were rewarded with an outstanding second... Read More

Jorge Soler (OF, KC) - Week 2 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 34% of Yahoo! leagues ANALYSIS: A quick look at Jorge Soler's big league career and it's easy to see why there has been so little buy-in to him on fantasy teams in 2018. Still, he did get off to a hot start in 2018 before a broken... Read More

Clint Frazier (OF, NYY) - Week 2 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 10% of Yahoo! leagues ANALYSIS: A rash of injuries to the Yankees offense has forced them to call up highly-touted outfielder Clint Frazier, who slotted into their lineup in the seven spot over the last few games. He has gotten off to a hot start, blasting home... Read More

Jorge Polanco (SS, MIN) - Week 2 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues OWNED IN: 20% of Yahoo! leagues ANALYSIS: Polanco extended his season-opening hit streak to five games in the most dramatic of fashions on Friday, going 5-for-5 and hitting for the first cycle of the season. He has opened up the 2019 campaign with a tidy .286/.375/.476 slash line. He's been... Read More

Yandy Diaz (1B/3B, TB) - Week 2 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 14% of Yahoo! leagues ANALYSIS: It's hard not to love what we've seen out of Yandy Diaz in a short sample this season. He's slashing a blistering .310/.394/.621 with a 12.1% walk rate and just a 9.1% strikeout rate. He's always shown strong plate discipline, high contact... Read More

Which No-Hit Bid Means the Most?

Three MLB starters, Detroit's Jordan Zimmermann, Chicago's Lucas Giolito and Baltimore's Davis Hess, all took no-hit bids deep into their first start of the MLB season. Unless you play in an AL-only league however, you probably don't own any of them. Now, they sit staring at you atop the waiver wire with their sparkling ERA... Read More

Domingo German (SP, NYY) - Week 1 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 19% of Yahoo! leagues ANALYSIS: Pre-season injuries to C.C. Sabathia and Luis Severino thrust young right-hander Domingo German back into a rotation spot, where he will slot in at No. 4 and start Monday's game. German posted some intriguing numbers last season, despite his 5.57 ERA and... Read More

Spencer Turnbull (SP, DET) - Week 1 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 1% of Yahoo! leagues ANALYSIS: There was a fair amount of helium regarding Spencer Turnbull after it was announced he would get the No. 3 starter job in Detroit following an excellent spring training (1.80 ERA, 15/2 K/BB ratio). While his first start wasn't great (5.0 IP,... Read More

Jeimer Candelario (3B, DET) - Week 1 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 6% of Yahoo! leagues ANALYSIS: Candelario, like all of Detroit's offense, is off to a slow start this season. However, as I'm writing this, he's 3-for-4 with a pair of RBI this afternoon. Candelario looks primed for an age-25 breakout, and you'll want to get him before... Read More

Ryan Zimmerman (1B, WAS) - Week 1 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 13% of Yahoo! leagues ANALYSIS: Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman has been around a long time, and has already gone through his career renaissance, making him an afterthought in most fantasy leagues. And while it's true he's only topped 16 home runs once since 2014, Zimmerman still... Read More

Sergio Romo (SP/RP, MIA) - Week 1 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues OWNED IN: 31% of Yahoo! leagues ANALYSIS: Despite starting a few games last season, make no mistake, Romo was a closer last year. He earned 25 saves with a 10.02 K/9, a 2.67 BB/9 and a 4.14 ERA - with a 3.32 SIERA. He is now in line to be... Read More

Is It Legit? Harrison Bader's Breakout

We're still going strong with our preseason edition of "Is It Legit?" to discuss a surprising breakout performer from the 2018 MLB season in order to assess his value heading into 2019. With so many players seemingly becoming fantasy baseball darlings overnight, it can be challenging to sift through the multiple hype trains and determine... Read More

Is It Legit? Mike Foltynewicz's Breakout

We're still going strong with another preseason edition of "Is It Legit?" to discuss a surprising breakout performer from the 2018 MLB season in order to assess his value heading into 2019. With so many players seemingly becoming fantasy baseball darlings overnight, it can be challenging to sift through the multiple hype trains and determine... Read More

Is It Legit? Trevor Bauer's Breakout 2018 Season

We're back with another edition of "Is It Legit?" to discuss another surprising breakout performer from the 2018 MLB season in order to assess his value heading into 2019. With so many players seemingly becoming fantasy baseball darlings overnight, it can be challenging to sift through the multiple hype trains and determine which players are... Read More

Is it Legit? Tyler White's Breakout Season

We're back with another edition of "Is It Legit?" to discuss another surprising breakout performer from the 2018 MLB season in order to assess his value heading into 2019. With so many players seemingly becoming fantasy baseball darlings overnight, it can be challenging to sift through the multiple hype trains and determine which players are... Read More

Is it Legit? Wade Miley's 2018 Season

We're back with another edition of "Is It Legit?" to discuss another surprising breakout performer from the 2018 MLB season in order to assess his value heading into 2019. With so many players seemingly becoming fantasy baseball darlings overnight, it can be challenging to sift through the multiple hype trains and determine which players are... Read More

Is It Legit? Blake Treinen's Breakout Season

We're back with another edition of "Is It Legit?" to discuss another surprising breakout performer from the 2018 MLB season in order to assess his value heading into 2019. With so many players seemingly becoming fantasy baseball darlings overnight, it can be challenging to sift through the multiple hype trains and determine which players are... Read More

Is It Legit? Ketel Marte's Breakout

We keep rolling with our preseason edition of "Is It Legit?" to discuss another surprising breakout performer from the 2018 MLB season in order to assess his value heading into 2019. With so many players seemingly becoming fantasy baseball darlings overnight, it can be challenging to sift through the multiple hype trains and determine which... Read More