Justin Turner (1B / 2B / SS / 3B, LAD) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues OWNED IN: 67% of Fleaflicker leagues ANALYSIS: Despite not getting consistent playing time early on, Justin Turner has now secured a job as the everyday third baseman in Los Angeles. Not only that, but Turner has also put up numbers worthy of being an All Star. To this point […]

Steven Matz (SP, NYM) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues OWNED IN: 25% of Fleaflicker Leagues ANALYSIS: During internal discussions with other industry fantasy analysts about Matz this offseason, the question which always came up was whether or not he had front of the rotation upside. He’s done everything possible at Triple-A Las Vegas to answer in the affirmative. Not only does […]

Eugenio Suarez (SS, CIN) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deeper Leagues OWNED IN: 2% of fleaflicker leagues ANALYSIS: Just as he was having the best offensive season of his young career, Zack Cozart had his season end abruptly by a scary knee injury. His replacement has been Eugenio Suarez. While everyone may be more excited about young shortstops like Carlos […]

Tommy Milone (SP, MIN) - Waiver Wire Analysis

  BALLER MOVE: Stream in deeper leagues OWNED IN: 16% of Fleaflicker leagues ANALYSIS: The trade that brought Tommy Milone to the Twin Cities may not have been a blockbuster, but his improvement this season has served Minnesota well. Milone is 4-1 with a 3.59 ERA and 1.34 WHIP for the surprisingly competitive Twins. Milone […]

Drew Hutchison (SP, TOR) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 10+ team leagues; stream for home games OWNED IN: 29% of Fleaflicker leagues ANALYSIS: Drew Hutchison currently has a record of 7-1 with a 5.33 ERA. How is this possible? Hutchison currently leads all of baseball in average run support, with 7.27 runs supplied per start by the Jays' sluggers. Hutchison […]

Francisco Cervelli (C, PIT) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deep Two-Catcher Leagues Ownership: 18% of Fleaflicker Leagues ANALYSIS: So far this season, Francisco Cervelli has been consistently underwhelming, but that consistency has him currently ranked as the 12th best backstop for fantasy purposes. His season slash line currently sits at .311/.389/.400, which accurately portrays what fantasy managers can expect from the Pittsburgh catcher. Even […]

Juan Lagares (OF, NYM) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in NL-Only Leagues Ownership: 10% of Fleaflicker Leagues ANALYSIS: Juan Lagares has bounced back from a lousy May, hitting .309 with a .811 OPS thus far in June despite nursing an elbow injury that is limiting him in the outfield. Overall, he’s got a solid .271 batting average and 30 runs scored, with five steals […]

Mike Pelfrey (SP, MIN) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Stream in AL-Only and Deep Mixed Leagues Ownership: 19% Yahoo!, 13% Fleaflicker ANALYSIS: It’s becoming the same old story with the Sox this season. Stream a pitcher against them knowing that their offense is poor right now, but their bats could wake up at any moment. Something like that has probably been written at […]

Yunel Escobar (3B / SS, WAS) - Waiver Wire Analysis

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 37% of Fleaflicker Leagues ANALYSIS: It’s almost July and Escobar is still hitting the daylights out of the ball. He’s batting .329 /.380/.408 as the regular number three hitter for one the best offense in baseball. As hard as it might be to believe, he’s stepped up his game […]

Chris Parmalee (1B / OF, BAL) - Waiver Wire Analysis

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 9% of Fleaflicker Leagues ANALYSIS: Parmelee burst onto the scene with a vengeance this week. After being called up the Orioles, he made his season debut by going 4/6 with two home runs, three Runs scored, and two RBI. He’s hit another home run since then and is batting […]

Mitch Moreland (1B / DH, TEX) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 31% of Fleaflicker Leagues ANALYSIS: Moreland has continued to hit his way up the Texas Rangers‘ batting order. Thanks to his impressive play, Manager Jeff Banister has entrusted him with cleanup duties twice in the last three days. Most notably, these outings have come against Zack Greinke and Carlos […]

Brock Holt (1B / 2B / 3B / SS / OF, BOS) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 31% of Fleaflicker Leagues ANALYSIS: Holt was a last-minute cut from last week’s column after news of Byron Buxton’s promotion broke. Since then, his ownership rate has tripled. A combination of injuries and ineffectiveness on the part of his teammates has allowed Holt to carve out consistent playing time […]

Kevin Pillar (OF, TOR) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 30% of Fleaflicker Leagues ANALYSIS: Though his overall numbers are still recovering from a vicious slump in May, Pillar has been an unsung hero in the Jays’ leviathan lineup of late. This month has been much kinder to the rookie, as he’s hit .403 with four homers and three […]

Joey Butler (OF, TB) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 25% of Fleaflicker Leagues ANALYSIS: Butler is a 29 year old rookie with a 40/5 K/BB ratio and a .420 BABIP. Skepticism is merited here. But as the season wears on, waiver bargains become more difficult to find and teams begin to fall back from the pack, and it […]

Wilson Ramos (C, WAS) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Most Leagues OWNED IN: 22% of Fleaflicker Leagues ANALYSIS: Wilson Ramos is a guy who just simply isn’t getting enough love this year. After an atrocious start to the season, Ramos has picked things up in the past month or so. He’s brought his season slash line up to .266/.289/.415 with his current hot […]

Yadier Molina (C, STL) - Waiver Wire Analysis

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues OWNED IN: 80% 0f Fleaflicker Leagues ANALYSIS: It's a stretch to call him a waiver wire pickup because of his high ownership percentage, but we're talking about catchers here. It’s also understandable why some fantasy managers recently dropped Molina out of frustration. I’m here to make sure that if that happened in […]

Mike Fiers (SP, MIL) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Stream in NL-Only and Deep Mixed Leagues Ownership: 21% of Fleaflicker Leagues ANALYSIS: Mike Fiers was a popular sleeper candidate this season after a 2014 in which he went 5-6 with a 2.13 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and a 76/17 K/BB rate. However, he has not had the same dominance this year, to the tune of a […]

Mark Buehrle (SP, TOR) - Waiver Wire Analysis

BALLER MOVE: Stream in Deeper Leagues Ownership: 27% of Fleaflicker Leagues ANALYSIS: Mark Buerhle doesn’t get much love in fantasy circles and rightfully so; his WHIP is usually in the 1.30s and he doesn’t strike many guys out. But his latest string of performances warrants some attention for fantasy purposes. In Buerhle’s three June starts he’s compiled a 1.23 […]

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

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deep Mixed and NL-Only Leagues Ownership: 47% of Fleaflicker Leagues ANALYSIS: Scooter Gennett has been en fuego since returning from the DL on June 11, hitting .310 with four RBIs over that time. He is still a very weak hitter against lefties, but his ability to destroy right-handed pitching makes him a valuable fantasy […]

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

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deeper Leagues OWNED IN: 27% of Fleaflicker Leagues ANALYSIS: Hardy has been lighting it up lately, and is currently riding an 11-game hit streak. During that streak he’s hitting .390 with seven runs scored and six RBIs. He missed a large chunk of time this year due to a DL stint, and he’s been […]

Jon Gray (SP, COL) - Waiver Wire Analysis

BALLER MOVE: Stash in Deeper Leagues / Add in NL-Only Leagues OWNED IN: 2% of Fleaflicker Leagues ANALYSIS: When a 23-year-old pitcher that grades as a potential above-average regular to All-Star is available on your waiver wire, you have to grab him in an NL-only league. Even if he hasn’t technically received his call up to the majors […]

Steven Matz (SP, NYM) - Waiver Wire Analysis

BALLER MOVE: Stash in Deeper Leagues OWNED IN: 19% of Fleaflicker Leagues ANALYSIS: With the Mets’ decision to (finally) demote Dillon Gee, opportunity arises for Steven Matz, one of the organizations best pitching prospects. We’re seeing Matz at the major league level a year earlier than he was projected, but that doesn’t mean he can’t assist your struggling […]

Chris Heston (SP, SF) - Waiver Wire Analysis

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 45% of Fleaflicker Leagues ANALYSIS: Heston has been one of the season’s biggest surprises, a lightly regarded rookie whose minor league track record didn’t move the needle much. 14 mostly good MLB starts (including a no-hitter) later, it sure seems like it’s time to start taking him seriously. […]

Wei-Yin Chen (BAL, SP) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 10 + Team Leagues OWNED IN: 46% of Fleaflicker Leagues ANALYSIS: I had no intentions to discuss Chen - that was until the Orioles decided to demote Chen to the minors after his eight-inning shutout vs the Phillies. Video can be seen here. The move allows the team to skip his next start at Toronto and keep him on […]

Luis Valbuena (2B / 3B, HOU) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 30% of Fleaflicker Leagues ANALYSIS: Valbuena has evolved into a somewhat steady source of power in 2015. The veteran lefty has slugged 16 homers so far to go along with 35 runs scored and 30 RBIs. Four of those home runs and 10 of the RBIs have come […]

Matt Wisler (SP, ATL) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deep Mixed and NL-Only Leagues Ownership: 4% of Fleaflicker Leagues ANALYSIS: The Braves’ top pitching prospect and a consensus Top 100 prospect overall, Matt Wisler can provide an immediate boost to fantasy teams in NL-only leagues and deep mixed leagues. The 22-year-old right-hander has performed well in the minors. He has a […]

Luis Valbuena (2B / 3B, HOU) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deep Leagues OWNED IN: 36% of Fleaflicker Leagues ANALYSIS: Luis Valbuena has been the epitome of a power hitter so far in 2015. His 16 HR and 35 RBI have provided fantasy teams with an excellent source of power and runs, but his .185 AVG, which ranks him 164th in the league, has left much […]

Mat Latos (SP, MIA) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Pickup in All leagues OWNED IN: 22% of Fleaflicker Leagues ANALYSIS: Mat Latos had about as rough a start to the 2015 season as a pitcher can have, only managing two outs in his 2015 debut while giving up a whopping seven runs on six hits and two walks. Nothing like starting the […]

Chris Young (SP, KC) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Pickup in Deep/AL-Only leagues OWNED IN: 20% of Fleaflicker Leagues ANALYSIS: Excluding two rough starts at the end of May and beginning of June, Chris Young has pitched himself to a spectacular 0.56 ERA thus far in 2015. Even after factoring in those two starts, in which he gave up 10 runs in […]

Lance McCullers (P, HOU) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues OWNED IN: 31% of Fleaflicker Leagues ANALYSIS: At 21-years-old, Lance McCullers has quietly been among the best young pitchers in baseball this year. After pitching five hitless innings in a win against the Seattle Mariners earlier this week, the right-handed McCullers saw his season ERA and WHIP drop to 2.00 and 0.89 […]