Brad Ziegler (RP, MIA) – Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 42% of Yahoo! Leagues   ANALYSIS: Brad Ziegler certainly doesn’t carry a typical closer’s profile, as he has just 21 strikeouts in 40 innings pitched. He also has a cringe-worthy 4.73 ERA and 1.58 WHIP for the season. That makes it little surprise he is owned in […]

Luis Castillo (SP, CIN) – Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues OWNED IN: 39% of Yahoo! Leagues   ANALYSIS: Luis Castillo has been a revelation for the Cincinnati Reds, a team in desperate need of viable starting pitchers. He has been a strong fantasy producer, and there is little reason to believe that will change down the stretch of the fantasy […]

Marcus Semien (SS, OAK) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 25% of Yahoo! Leagues ANALYSIS: Marcus Semien has missed the majority of the season with a broken wrist, but his recent performance has merited consideration in deeper fantasy formats. Semien is slashing .333/.354/.489 across his last 45 at-bats, with a home run and seven RBI. His […]

Shane Greene (RP, DET) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues OWNED IN: 47% of Yahoo! Leagues ANALYSIS: After trading closer Justin Wilson, the Tigers turned to former starter Shane Greene to take over ninth inning duties. While the Tigers have not played particularly well in the month of August, Greene has done his part by earning four saves and […]

Jose Pirela (SD, 2B/OF) - Waiver Wire Adds

BALLER MOVE: Add in deeper mixed and  NL-only leagues OWNED IN: 11% of leagues ANALYSIS: Jose Pirela has been under looked the entire season as he quietly has put together a .295 batting average and .858 OPS with eight home runs on the season in just 244 at-bats. Yes, the Padres don’t offer the best lineup, but […]

Logan Forsythe (LAD, 2B/3B) - Waiver Wire Adds

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ team and NL-only leagues OWNED IN: 29% of leagues ANALYSIS: Logan Forsythe is another example of a player who was highly regarded coming into the season but has not been able to muster it all together. Acquired for one of the top pitching prospects Jose De Leon in the offseason, many had […]

Tim Anderson (CWS, SS) - Waiver Wire Adds

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12-team and AL-only leagues OWNED IN: 32% of leagues ANALYSIS: Tim Anderson of the Chicago White Sox was a hot name heading into fantasy drafts this year. For most of this season the young shortstop has disappointed both for the Chicago White Sox and fantasy owners. However a light has flicked on for […]

Kolten Wong (STL, 2B/OF) - Waiver Wire Adds

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12-team and NL-Only leagues OWNED IN: 19% of leagues ANALYSIS: Kolten Wong is the perfect example of a player who should be owned as soon as owners give up on the player. Wong has been hyped up every season by both fantasy owners and the St. Louis Cardinals every season. As soon […]

Neil Walker (MIL, 2B) - Waiver Wire Adds

BALLER MOVE: Add in 10-12 team leagues OWNED IN: 23% of leagues ANALYSIS: Neil Walker is a player I have mentioned before in this article. Now that he is with the Milwaukee Brewers, his stock should only improve as he joins a much more potent lineup while hitting in the heart of the order since his arrival. […]

Matt Belisle (RP, MIN) – Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 18% of Yahoo! Leagues   ANALYSIS: Matt Belisle certainly isn’t going to fall in line with Craig Kimbrel, Kensley Jensen, or other elite closers, but he has been solid since taking over the closer role after Brandon Kintzler was dealt at the trade deadline. Since the trade deadline, […]

Shin-Soo Choo (OF, TEX) – Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 22% of Yahoo! Leagues   ANALYSIS: Shin Soo-Choo has shockingly low ownership despite being a contributor across every fantasy category. Though he is a boring name and at a prime age for regression, Choo could be a key contributor to fantasy teams down the stretch of the fantasy […]

Randal Grichuk (OF, STL) – Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 29% of Yahoo! Leagues   ANALYSIS: Randal Grichuk is perceived as a streaky hitter, and while his production does come in bunches he has shown an ability to contribute regularly. For example, his average has fallen below .240 just one month this season, and his slugging percentage has […]

James McCann (C, DET) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Two-Catcher Leagues OWNED IN: 35% of Yahoo! Leagues ANALYSIS: The trade that sent Alex Avila over to the Chicago Cubs has created more playing time for youngster James McCann, and he has responded with the best offensive stretch of his career. McCann is hitting .364/.402/.506 with two home runs and a […]

Mikie Mahtook (OF, DET) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 15% of Yahoo! Leagues ANALYSIS: There are always players who fantasy owners stare at on the waiver wire, expecting any day that their hot streak will end and they will fade into fantasy irrelevance. It never seems worth it to pull the trigger on a streaky […]

Cory Spangenberg (2B/3B/OF, SDP) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 33% Yahoo ANALYSIS: I'm reasonably confident that a majority of baseball fans have no idea who Cory Spangenberg is, but fantasy owners have certainly taken notice. It's been hard not to, considering that the Padres' Swiss Army knife has hit four home runs and totaled 16 R+RBI in the […]

Matt Chapman (3B, OAK) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 6% Yahoo ANALYSIS: As a small-market West Coast team in last place, the Athletics understandably don't get a lot of attention from baseball fans as a whole. They also don't have much in the way of appealing fantasy assets, particularly after selling off Sonny Gray and Yonder Alonso […]

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

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 20% Yahoo ANALYSIS: C.J. Cron was nobody's idea of an exciting fantasy asset, but he had improved in each of his first three MLB seasons. Heading into 2017, he deserved to at least be on the radar of owners in AL-only or super-deep mixed leagues. A combination of […]

Cesar Hernandez (2B, PHI) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 34% Yahoo ANALYSIS: In April, Cesar Hernandez appeared to be building on his breakout 2016 second half before a slump and an oblique injury knocked him off the radar of most fantasy owners. Since returning from the disabled list, however, he's looked a lot more like the player we […]

Tyler Flowers (C, ATL) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12-Team Leagues OWNED IN:  35% of Yahoo! Leagues   ANALYSIS: Tyler Flowers started off like a house on fire, though he must have started feeling the heat in July, since his production fell off. He's still hitting above .300, though his power has been lacking. With the rash of injuries that have befallen […]

Tucker Barnhart (C, CIN) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Two-Catcher Leagues OWNED IN:  8% of Yahoo! Leagues   ANALYSIS: Tucker Barnhart is another one of those catchers who has seen a somewhat significant increase in ownership numbers. This time, though... it was a modest bump, from 1% to 8%. Not exactly an amount that you'd want to hang your hat on as […]

James McCann (C, DET) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN:  18% of Yahoo! Leagues   ANALYSIS: James McCann has been a hot property lately, with thousands of leagues snapping him up like he's the next coming of Mike Piazza. Well, maybe that's a little bit of hyperbole, but the fact that he drove in five runs on Aug. […]

Nicholas Castellanos (3B, DET) – Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 36% of Yahoo! Leagues   ANALYSIS: Nicholas Castellanos’ counting stats are finally starting to catch up to his advanced metrics, which have suggested he is capable of fantasy relevance for quite some time. For example, Castellanos has a strong 46% hard hit rate for the season, yet  […]

Jose Pirela (2B/OF, SDP) – Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 10% of Yahoo! Leagues   ANALYSIS: Jose Pirela is getting consistent major league at-bats for the first time in his career, and the results have been solid. Through 234 plate appearances, he is posting a .241 ISO with just a 21% strikeout rate. Pirela’s power has been […]

Ryan McMahon (3B, COL) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deep Mixed Leagues, AL-Only Leagues OWNED IN: 3% Yahoo! ANALYSIS: The Rockies called up Ryan McMahon, their No. 3 prospect, in advance of Friday’s game against the Marlins. While he hasn't drawn the start in either of his first two contests, Bud Black will be sure to find ways to stick […]

Manuel Margot (OF, SDP) – Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues OWNED IN: 28% of Yahoo! Leagues   ANALYSIS: Coming up through the minors, Manuel Margot was profiled as a top of the order base stealer. Of late however, he has shown some surprising power that includes a current stretch of four home runs in his past seven games. Given that […]

Bradley Zimmer (OF, CLE) – Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues OWNED IN: 27% of Yahoo! Leagues   ANALYSIS: Bradley Zimmer has come back to earth in August after what appeared to be a breakout performance in July. However, given the injuries the Indians have been forced to fight through and the team’s remaining schedule, Zimmer is worth adding thanks the […]

Jake Junis (SP, KC) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 1% of Yahoo! Leagues ANALYSIS: With the placement of recently acquired Trevor Cahill on the disabled list with a shoulder impingement, the Royals need a new rotation piece. Enter Jake Junis, who threw eight innings of one run ball against the Mariners back on August 6. […]

Marcus Semien (SS, OAK) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 28% of Yahoo! Leagues ANALYSIS: A’s shortstop Marcus Semien has lost a huge chunk of the season to a wrist injury, but looks nice in his return from the DL. While the power has not come back for the shortstop who hit 27 home runs last […]

Rhys Hoskins (1B, PHI) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12- and 14-Team Leagues OWNED IN: 25% Yahoo! ANALYSIS: A trip to the disabled list for Aaron Altherr opened up a roster spot for Rhys Hoskins, the Phillies’ No. 6 prospect according to MLB.com. The 24-year-old was seemingly blocked at first base by Tommy Joseph, but he recently began working in […]