Michael Fulmer (SP/RP, DET) - Week 9 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues ROSTERED IN: 29% of leagues ANALYSIS: A new closer has arisen in Detroit - or so it seems. Michael Fulmer has seen a surprising and strange resurgence this season. He began the year in long relief, then moved to the starting rotation and now, he appears to be the […]

Bobby Dalbec (1B, BOS) - Week 8 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12-Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 21% of leagues ANALYSIS: Boston Red Sox first baseman Bobby Dalbec closed out last week on a roll. Over a three-game stretch from Thursday through Saturday, Dalbec went 5-for-10 with one walk, two home runs, two doubles, a stolen base, six RBI and four runs. That three-game […]

Alek Manoah (SP, TOR) - Week 8 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 11% of leagues ANALYSIS: If you missed out on recently promoted young arms like Shane McClanahan and Logan Gilbert, Alek Manoah could be a great consolation prize. The 23-year-old is off to a tremendous start at Triple-A Buffalo, allowing just five baserunners (none of whom scored) and striking […]

Austin Hays (OF, BAL) - Week 8 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12-Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 40% of leagues ANALYSIS: Baltimore Orioles outfielder Austin Hays has been a mainstay in the No. 2 spot in the team's lineup lately. Going into Wednesday's action, he was riding a six-game hitting streak that has included a double, a triple and a home run. Hays is […]

Michael Fulmer (SP/RP, DET) - Week 8 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues ROSTERED IN: 23% of leagues ANALYSIS: Though Michael Fulmer never lived up to the promise he showed early in his career as a starter, a move to the bullpen has made him an appealing option for fantasy managers. The 28-year-old has solid ratios overall (3.34 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 8.5 K/9) but they're […]

Jonathan Villar (2B/3B/SS, NYM) - Week 8 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12-Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 32% of leagues ANALYSIS: Who's going to be the last man standing for the Mets? It's been a brutal month of injuries for the franchise and as a result, infielder Jonathan Villar has become a mainstay in the lineup. Villar has consistently delivered strong all-around fantasy play […]

Jameson Taillon (SP, NYY) - Week 8 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12-Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 47% of leagues ANALYSIS: Through eight starts this year, New York Yankees starting pitcher Jameson Taillon has made it past the fifth inning just once. He's allowed at least four earned runs in exactly half his starts, including his most recent one on Tuesday, when he allowed six […]

Points League Waiver Wire Pickups - Week 8

We'll be doing this roundup of point league happenings every week here at RotoBaller, with waiver wire targets and streaming pitchers being evaluated in terms of the different scoring systems of ESPN, Yahoo!, CBS, and Fantrax. Player values can vary wildly from platform to platform, so we'll make sure to highlight where players are the […]

Catchers to Stream - Week 8 Waiver Wire

It's your resident catcher advocate here, with my weekly defense for baseball's most maligned position. Instead of giving into easy narratives about the lack of talent at the catcher position and how they're the kickers of fantasy baseball, I'm here to create a place where catchers are celebrated for how they can help our teams. […]

Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire Pickups - Week 8

We are well into the 2021 MLB season and it has been glorious. We have seen a ton of standout pitching early on, which is basically the opposite of what we expected going into the year. There have been no shortage of surprising starts and breakout performances, which in my view has made the fantasy […]

Outfield Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 8

We have completed another week of MLB action, and we have once again been littered with injuries. Both good and bad things arise from injuries. Let's start with the bad, which means losing a player, sometimes a key player from your roster. The good is a chance to add a new player, and certain players […]

1B and 3B Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 8

Everyone is suffering from injuries. That goes for fantasy managers, real-life teams, and each position group. Much like we saw in the NHL and NBA seasons, this season-after is doing a number on the health and well-being of our favorite players, beyond even symptoms of COVID-19 for those that test positive. Whether because the normal […]

2B and SS Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 8

The trendiest names may be gone from your league's waiver wire, but there is still help to be found out there - if you know where to look. That's the goal of this column. Most of the players who will be written up in this feature won't be the next breakout star. Some may only […]

Two-Start Pitcher Streamers: Week 8

You know, some weeks it's easy to come up with an opening for this column, and other weeks I have no idea how I'm going to start things off. So this week let's open things up with, "Something, something, baseball is great. Something, something, pitchers. Something, something, OK here's the recap." So closing out Week […]

Top Hitter Streamers and Starts for Week 8

Welcome to the top hitter streamers column for Week 8 of the MLB season (5/17 through 5/23). This weekly piece should be helpful for anyone looking to gain an edge in their league. If you need a fill-in for an injured player or want to exploit some plus matchups to gain an edge on your […]

Andrew Vaughn (1B/OF, CHW) - Week 8 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 35% of leagues ANALYSIS: A popular late-round pick in drafts this spring, Andrew Vaughn's slow start left him languishing on many waiver wires. That trend has reversed this week, as his rostered rate has nearly doubled. Fantasy managers are back in thanks to the rookie finally breaking through […]

Niko Goodrum (1B/2B/SS/OF, DET) - Week 8 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 39% of leagues ANALYSIS: Niko Goodrum has been one of the most popular adds in fantasy baseball over the last few days. The versatile 29-year-old has four home runs and six stolen bases in 32 games after reaching double digits in both categories in 2018 and 2019, and […]

Logan Gilbert (SP, SEA) - Week 8 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues ROSTERED IN: 49% of leagues ANALYSIS: One of the top prospects in baseball, Logan Gilbert made his debut on Thursday night. While he only completed four innings and allowed four runs, there was plenty to like about his performance. He struck out five batters without issuing a walk, generating 10 whiffs […]

Closers and Saves Report - Week 8 Waiver Wire

The first few weeks of this baseball season (and even a couple of weeks leading up to Opening Day) were absolutely littered with bullpen news and notes. It seemed like almost every single day, some team was tinkering with its bullpen, or some closer was getting hurt, or some previously well-established closer was slumping while […]

Nico Hoerner (2B/3B/SS, CHC) - Week 8 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12-Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 34% of leagues ANALYSIS: Before going on the injured list with a left forearm strain, Chicago Cubs infielder Nico Hoerner (forearm) was showing a lot to be excited about. He was called up in mid-April and went on to slash .389/.500/.556 over 11 games, hitting six doubles, […]

Adbert Alzolay (SP, CHC) - Week 8 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12-Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 22% of leagues ANALYSIS: Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Adbert Alzolay has allowed three or fewer runs in each of his past five starts. He's also gone exactly six innings in two of his past three, which is especially encouraging. He didn't reach six innings over a single […]

Yusei Kikuchi (SP, SEA) - Week 8 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12-Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 37% of leagues ANALYSIS: What's a guy gotta do to get a higher rostered percentage, huh? How about striking out 11 Dodgers over 6 1/3 innings while allowing three earned runs? Or pitching seven scoreless, one-hit innings against the Houston Astros while striking out seven? Well, Seattle […]

Omar Narvaez (C, MIL) - Week 8 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12-Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 40% of leagues ANALYSIS: Milwaukee Brewers catcher Omar Narvaez was activated from the injured list on Thursday after missing about two weeks with a hamstring injury. Prior to the injury, he was off to a hot start to the year, slashing .352/.434/.507 with three home runs, two […]

Domingo German (SP, NYY) - Week 8 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues ROSTERED IN: 47% of leagues ANALYSIS: The New York Yankees have won each of the past four games that have been started by Domingo German. He hasn't been spectacular by any means, but he's going deep enough into games and limiting the damage so the Yankees bullpen can put […]

Evan Longoria (3B, SF) - Week 7 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12-Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 27% of leagues ANALYSIS: At least judging by wRC+, Evan Longoria hasn't logged an above-average offensive season since 2016, back when he was still with the Tampa Bay Rays.  But so far in 2021, Longoria has produced a 134 wRC+, good for his best season by that […]

Shane McClanahan (SP/RP, TB) - Week 7 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12-Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 30% of leagues ANALYSIS: Tampa Bay Rays rookie pitcher Shane McClanahan has been extremely impressive over his first three MLB starts. Unfortunately, they've been brief, and there's little reason to believe that trend will end anytime soon. Still, McClanahan is someone who could provide a good amount of […]

Brandon Belt (1B, SF) - Week 7 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12-Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 42% of leagues ANALYSIS:  Brandon Belt had an unbelievable 2020 season, producing a .309/.425/.591 slash line with a 172 wRC+ across 179 plate appearances in the shortened year.  Apparently, that wasn't enough to convince fantasy managers to take a chance on Belt this year, as he has […]

Adam Wainwright (SP, STL) - Week 7 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12-Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 37% of leagues ANALYSIS: St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Adam Wainwright dominated the Colorado Rockies on Sunday, pitching 8 1/3 scoreless innings while allowing just three hits and three walks and recording five strikeouts. The outing was Wainwright's third quality start over his past four starts. Through […]

Luis Patiño (RP, TBR) - Week 7 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 15% of leagues ANALYSIS: Much like teammate Shane McClanahan, Luis Patiño is a highly-regarded young arm whose nontraditional usage clouds his rest of season outlook. Just as with McClanahan, however, it's worth betting on the skills and letting the role sort itself out. Patiño was the centerpiece of the […]