Josh VanMeter (1B/2B/3B/OF, CIN) - Week 22 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 15% of leagues ANALYSIS: Josh VanMeter is what some call a boring guy; he provides a little bit of everything when he plays, but nothing outstanding. Of course, he’s not terrible in any category either. While some will look the other way, this is exactly the type […]

Adrian Houser (SP, MIL) - Week 22 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues OWNED IN: 32% of Leagues ANALYSIS: Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Adrian Houser has been extremely effective since rejoining the Brewers' rotation in late July. He's allowed exactly one earned run in four of his five starts during this recent stretch and has earned two wins. The Brewers' rotation has been shaky at […]

Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 22

Just over a month remains of the 2019 season. Playoffs have already begun in some fantasy baseball leagues, but most of us are still fighting for position regardless of scoring format. Pitching has been a bugbear for many owners in 2019. Hopefully, this column has helped you navigate the waters thus far and will continue […]

2B and SS Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 22

If you haven't already taken part in multiple fantasy football drafts, you are probably getting ready to, and there is always the temptation to try and coast through the end of the baseball season as the chaos and guessing games of the NFL commence (particularly if you are in a nice position for the postseason). […]

Outfield Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 22

The season is galloping towards the finish. It is vital that fantasy managers target the categories they need. This week the primary focus for outfield additions will be to maximize venues. Some might cause a little tingle of concern when you read their name. Don't be afraid. Do what you're comfortable doing with your roster. […]

Asdrubal Cabrera (2B/3B/SS, WAS) - Week 22 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 23% of Yahoo! leagues ANALYSIS: After not finding a trade partner for Asdrubal Cabrera at the end of July, Texas moved on from the soon-to-be free agent. Just three days after being released by the Rangers, the Nationals pounced and added him to their roster. This is […]

Austin Nola (1B/2B, SEA) - Week 22 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 9% of Yahoo! leagues ANALYSIS: A latecomer to the majors, 29-year-old Austin Nola was finally called up by the Mariners after spending seven years in the Marlins' minor league system. He moved to Seattle this past offseason, debuted in mid-June, and has barely missed a game since. […]

Hanser Alberto (2B/3B, BAL) - Week 22 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 9% of leagues ANALYSIS: Under-the-radar players often make it to the waiver wire. Looking at his first three seasons as an MLB player, all three with negative WAR production, it was normal that Hanser Alberto was left off of most fantasy rosters. This year, in his first season in […]

Mark Canha (1B/OF, OAK) - Week 22 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 10% of leagues ANALYSIS: At this point in time it feels wrong that someone like Mark Canha keeps being overlooked. In 2019, his fifth MLB season, he's slashing .269/.385/.517, with a .902 OPS, all of those numbers being career-best marks. Adding wood to the fire, he just hit […]

Evan Longoria (3B, SF) - Week 22 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 16% of Leagues ANALYSIS: After building his Hall of Fame case for 10 years in Tampa Bay, Evan Longoria moved to the west coast to play for San Francisco in 2018. His production last year was awful considering what he had done not long ago. Flip the calendar […]

Starlin Castro (2B/3B, MIA) - Week 22 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 21% of Leagues ANALYSIS: I wrote a piece about Starlin Castro for our waiver wire stream last weekend. Seven days ago, I considered him a good guy to pick up in 14+ team leagues. Turns out he can't stop getting better and he's now someone to consider in […]

Jason Kipnis (2B/OF, CLE) - Week 22 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 27% of leagues ANALYSIS: After two completely mediocre seasons, Cleveland Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis is having a bit of a mini-renaissance as of late, seemingly drawing upon the last well of his old-man strength. After hitting .230 for the previous two years, with an 89 and 83 […]

Tom Murphy (C, SEA) - Week 22 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Two-Catcher Leagues OWNED IN: 13% of leagues ANALYSIS: Poor Tom Murphy...All he wants to do is mash home runs and no one will let him. Well not exactly, as Seattle has let him for mash for 194 plate appearances this year as the backup to Omar Narvaez, to which Murphy has responded by […]

Dinelson Lamet (SP, SDP) - Week 22 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues OWNED IN: 35% of leagues ANALYSIS: If players on the waiver wire continue to perform well, their ownership naturally rises and eventually reaching a point of inflection, wherein a player transitions from a streamer to a keeper. It's the savvy fantasy player that pounces before that point, saving themselves the heartbreak […]

Willy Adames (SS, TB) - Week 22 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 17% of leagues ANALYSIS: Now presenting Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Willy Adames, showing for the umpteenth time that the development of prospects is not always a linear process. The 23-year-old has had an up-and-down first two seasons, with a solid rookie year where he slashed .278/.348/.406, with 10 […]

Vince Velasquez (SP, PHI) - Week 22 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 30% of leagues ANALYSIS: Philadelphia pitcher Vince Velasquez - who occasionally moonlights as a human gas-can - was a lot easier to recommend before his last start, a 2.2 inning bonfire against the Marlins. Even though Miami had a .285 wOBA and .663 wOBA against right-handers that were […]

Dexter Fowler (OF, STL) - Week 22 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 6% of Yahoo! leagues ANALYSIS: 33-year-old veteran outfielder Dexter Fowler fell way off the fantasy radar with his disastrous 2018 season. However, things have been much better in 2019, and he is finally starting to garner some attention again. Fowler is hitting leadoff for a surprisingly effective […]

Jon Berti (2B/SS/3B/OF, MIA) - Week 22 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 9% of Yahoo! leagues ANALYSIS: Journeyman utility infielder Jon Berti has settled into a home in Miami, where he is serving as the team's leadoff hitter. Berti is slashing a tidy .267/.349/.435 with four home runs, five stolen bases, and 28 runs scored in 42 games played. […]

Abraham Toro (3B, HOU) - Week 22 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 0% of Yahoo! leagues ANALYSIS: The Astros lost shortstop Carlos Correa to yet another stint on the injured list. They have recalled unheralded prospect Abraham Toro in his place. Toro is a third baseman, which will allow Alex Bregman to shift over to shortstop to cover Correa. […]

Nick Solak (2B, TEX) - Week 22 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 7% of Yahoo! leagues ANALYSIS: The Rangers recalled infielder Nick Solak, whom they acquired from the Rays earlier in the year, just a few days ago but he has already made a strong impression on his new team. Solak has started all four games since being recalled, […]

Jose Iglesias (SS, CIN) - Week 22 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 5% of Yahoo! leagues ANALYSIS: When the Cincinnati Reds signed shortstop Jose Iglesias from the Tigers this offseason, it was primarily to have him fill a utility infielder role and provide positive value with his elite glove. Instead, Iggy has taken over as the team's starting shortstop, […]

Closers and Saves Report - Week 21 Waiver Wire

The more NFL rumblings we hear, the closer we are to the fantasy baseball playoffs. With sports news fully engrossed with helmets and frostbitten feet, baseball rumbles along through August. The lack of a waiver trade deadline has made August a bit quieter than usual in the baseball world, but there's still tons going on, […]

Digging Deeper: AL-Only Waiver Wire Report for Week 21

Every week in baseball, a significant player will hit the injured list, slip into a slump, or get traded out of a good spot. How fantasy owners adapt to these situations can make or break the season as a whole. One lousy add might not hurt the long-term standing of a team, but failing to […]

Digging Deeper: NL-Only Waiver Report for Week 21

Every week in baseball, a significant player will hit the injured list, slip into a slump, or get traded out of a good spot. How fantasy owners adapt to these situations can make or break the season as a whole. One lousy add might not hurt the long-term standing of a team, but failing to […]

Catcher Waiver Wire Pickups For Week 21

As we near the end of August you may have already found a dependable catcher that you roll with week-in and week-out, but as we know, backstops are the most volatile position in fantasy baseball. With that being said, we should always be aware of the landscape of the position just in case a few […]

Manuel Margot (OF, SD) - Week 21 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 17% of leagues ANALYSIS: Manuel Margot has been slowly but steadily building up his body of work at the plate since a horrendous .478 OPS  month of May, and has put up season-high numbers during the month of August with four home runs, a stolen base, and a […]

Vince Velasquez (SP/RP, PHI) - Week 21 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 21% of leagues ANALYSIS: It hasn't turned into the push for the postseason that the Philadelphia Phillies were probably hoping for, but Vince Velasquez has been back as a full fledged member of the rotation, and he has been rather effective of late despite the up-and-down (though heavily […]

Ivan Nova (SP, CHW) - Week 21 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 22% of leagues ANALYSIS: Following an unsightly 8.42 ERA, 1.75 WHIP showing for the month of April, there wasn't really any place to go for Ivan Nova but up. That is exactly where he headed too, and his performance on the mound for the Chicago White Sox got […]

Joe Jimenez (RP, DET) - Week 21 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues OWNED IN: 26% of leagues ANALYSIS: The Detroit Tigers bullpen has seen better days, but at least they have 24-year-old, 2018 All-Star Joe Jimenez to smile on in the present and hold promise for towards the future. The entire Tigers pitching staff has 25 saves for 2019. 22 of those saves […]