James McCann (C, CHW) - Week 7 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 32% of leagues ANALYSIS: After a 2017 season that seemed to pack plenty of promise for the future, James McCann took a massive step back last year in his fifth season as a Detroit Tiger. Maybe he just needed a change in scenery though, as he has already […]

Alex Verdugo (OF, LAD) - Week 7 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues OWNED IN: 31% of leagues ANALYSIS: One of the top prospects in the Dodgers' system, Alex Verdugo had failed to impress in brief MLB cameos in each of the last two Septembers. Over the course of 111 plate appearances, the 22-year-old hit a pedestrian .240/.309/.360 with two home runs and was […]

Griffin Canning (SP, LAA) - Week 7 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues OWNED IN: 32% of leagues ANALYSIS: First and foremost, happy 23rd birthday to highly-touted prospect and current Los Angeles Angels starter Griffin Canning. The UCLA alumni got the call from the Angels in part due to a fantastic stint at Triple-A Salt Lake this year in which he produced a stifling […]

Eric Sogard (2B/SS, TOR) - Week 7 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 17% of Leagues ANALYSIS: Since the Toronto Blue Jays called up Eric Sogard to the big leagues, he's done nothing but produce. In his 18 games since April 16, he's hit .328 with four homers, 12 runs, 12 RBI, and two stolen bases. The Jays have […]

Chris Martin (RP, TEX) - Closers and Saves Waiver Wire Adds

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 4% of Yahoo Leagues ANALYSIS: Earlier today the Texas Rangers placed Shawn Kelley on the injured list with an infection. Kelley had been acting as the Rangers closer ever since Jose Leclerc was removed from the role. It's unclear how long Kelley will be out for, so it's time […]

Brian Goodwin (OF, LAA) - Week 7 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 14% of leagues ANALYSIS: It's not that Brian Goodwin hasn't flashed this skill set before, he painted a nice portrait of his potential performance back in 2017 when he hit 13 HR, stole six bases, and produced an .811 OPS in just 251 AB for the Nationals. He […]

Hansel Robles (RP, LAA) - Week 7 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues OWNED IN: 31% of Yahoo! leagues ANALYSIS: Few ninth inning situations are as confusing as the one led by Brad Ausmus down in Los Angeles. First it was Cody Allen, but injuries and ineffectiveness have left him on the outside. Then, briefly, it was Ty Buttrey, who has been LA's […]

Raimel Tapia (OF, COL) - Week 7 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 8% of leagues ANALYSIS: 25-year old Raimel Tapia was once a highly ranked prospect, and for good reason. He accumulated 13 home runs, 39 stolen bases (in 47 attempts), and an OPS of .872 in 801 AB across three seasons at Triple-A Albuquerque. Now, after a string of […]

Eric Thames (1B/OF, MIL) - Week 7 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 8% of Yahoo! leagues ANALYSIS: Brewers first baseman/outfielder Eric Thames has quietly hit the stuffing out of the ball this season, boasting a ridiculous 91.7 mile per hour average exit velocity along with a 45.5% hard hit rate. Tack on his 16.3% walk rate, one of the […]

J.P. Crawford (SS, SEA) - Week 7 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 1% of Yahoo! leagues ANALYSIS: The Mariners finally recalled infield prospect J.P. Crawford this week, giving him and Shed Long a chance to show off at the big league level. Only one Seattle infielder, Dylan Moore, was placed on the IL however, so playing time could be […]

Roenis Elias (RP, SEA) - Week 7 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 38% of leagues ANALYSIS: The Mariners' bullpen has been pretty terrible this season, ranking toward the bottom of MLB in home runs, walks, and ERA. An early-season injury to Hunter Strickland has left them mostly employing a committee approach to the late innings. However, Roenis Elias has been […]

J.D. Martinez Hits Two Homers On Sunday

Boston Red Sox outfielder J.D. Martinez hit two home runs and drove in three runs in Sunday's 11-2 win over Seattle. The two dingers increases his season total to seven, while also racking up 24 RBI. Martinez has been having a great year, but not to extent we've come to expect from the slugger. His […]

Hector Velazquez Serviceable In Win Sunday

Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Hector Velazquez threw five innings, allowing two runs, on just two hits, while fanning three, and walking two in an 11-2 win over Seattle Sunday. It was a spot start for Velazquez and he did his job. It helped that Sox offense churned out four runs through his first two […]

Omar Narvaez Continues Strong Season With Home Run

Seattle Mariners catcher Omar Narvaez slugged his seventh home run of the year in the team's 11-2 loss to the Red Sox Sunday. He finished the game 2-for-4 with a double as he's now hitting .304 on the year with 24 runs and 17 RBI proving to be one of the top hitting backstops in […]

Mallex Smith Expected To Return This Week

Seattle Mariners outfielder Mallex Smith was sent down to Triple-A two weeks ago to refine his swing after slashing .165/.255/.247 to begin the year. He still found success on the bases stealing eight bags, but the M's made the move after Smith missed most of spring training with an elbow injury to give him more […]

Marco Gonzales Struggles With Command In Loss

Seattle Mariners starter Marco Gonzales had an inefficient outing against the Red Sox on Sunday Afternoon. He only managed to complete four innings as he gave up four runs on four hits and three walks for his second loss of the season. The Mariners defense didn't help out Gonzales as they dropped two pop-ups in […]

Anthony Rizzo Out Sunday With Back Tightness, Listed Day-to-Day

Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo (back) will sit from Sunday's series finale with Milwaukee after experiencing back tightness and will be day-to-day. With the Cubs set to have Monday off, the team saw it worthy to sit Rizzo and hope he is fresh for Tuesday, when the Cubs open up a road series with […]

Martin Perez Hit By Line Drive, Lifted From Sunday's Game

Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Martin Perez was removed from his start in the sixth inning Sunday, after being hit in the leg by a line drive. Perez allowed two home runs earlier in the outing, which plated all three runs he surrendered. However, he was able to walk off the field under his own power, […]

Ryan Braun Sits For Second Consecutive Day

Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun (hamstring) will start the game on the bench for a second consecutive day when the Brew Crew faces off with Jon Lester and the Cubs Sunday night. Braun was scratched from Saturday's lineup with soreness in his left hamstring, but did strike out in a pinch hit appearance. Seeing […]

Tucker Barnhart, Jesse Winker Sitting Sunday

Cincinnati Red's catcher Tucker Barnhart and outfielder Jesse Winker will start Sunday's game against the Giants on the bench. In their place to start against southpaw Madison Bumgarner will be Curt Casali behind the dish and hit seventh, while Jose Peraza will make the start in left and bat ninth. Kyle Farmer will draw the […]

Jason Kipnis Out Of The Lineup Sunday

Cleveland Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis is resting in Sunday's series finale with the Athletics. In his place, infielder Mike Freeman is starting at the keystone and batting second against righty Daniel Mengden. Through 27 plate appearances, Freeman is batting .250 with three runs batted in. In his limited action, he holds a 26 K% […]

Victor Robles, Howie Kendrick Sitting Against Dodgers

Washington Nationals outfielder Victor Robles is getting Sunday off against the Dodgers, while infielder Howie Kendrick is also resting with a stiff neck. It's a routine day off for Robles and in his place in center will be Michael Taylor, who will bat eighth against lefty Hyun-Jin Ryu. Taylor is batting just .175, with three […]

Greg Bird Transferred To 60-Day Injured List

New York Yankees first baseman Greg Bird (foot) was transferred from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day IL, reports Lindsey Adler of The Athletic. Bird had been on the IL since mid-April with a plantar fascia tear in his left foot. With the move, he'll be out of action until at least mid-June. Unless […]

Gary Sanchez Evaluated For Concussion

New York Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez (head), who was hit on the head by a backswing from Guillermo Heredia on Saturday, underwent concussion tests and will see how he feels Sunday morning. Don't be surprised if Sanchez is out of the lineup on Sunday to rest, but he shouldn't miss much more time than that. […]

Brandon Belt Receives Good News

The MRI exam on San Francisco Giants first baseman Brandon Belt (knee) came back clean on Saturday, although he received the day off as a precaution. He'll likely be back in the lineup on Sunday. Make sure you check the lineup on Sunday before automatically throwing Belt back into your fantasy starting lineups this weekend. […]

Austin Riley Seeing Extended Time In Triple-A Outfield

Atlanta Braves prospect Austin Riley played left field again Sunday for the fourth time in five contests. Sunday was also the third straight start in the outfield for Riley after playing strictly third base prior to his first game in left. The Braves originally planned to play Riley in left field just a couple of times […]

Austin Allen Starting At Backstop For Friars

San Diego Padres catcher Austin Allen is batting eighth in his first career start Sunday against the Colorado Rockies. Allen was called up on Saturday after catcher Francisco Mejia (knee) was placed on the injured list. He walked in his first big league plate appearance as a pinch hitter on Saturday. Allen, the Friars No. […]

Giants Option Dereck Rodriguez

The San Francisco Giants optioned starting pitcher Dereck Rodriguez to Triple-A Sacramento on Saturday. Rodriguez has struggled with his command this year, going from 2.74 walks per nine innings in 2018 to 3.73 in 2019. He has allowed 1.98 homers per nine innings, a 5.05 ERA, 5.93 FIP and saw his strikeout rate drop to […]

Andrew Heaney Ready For Rehab Assignment

Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Andrew Heaney (elbow) will make a rehab start for his next outing, according to manager Brad Ausmus. Heaney should need around three rehab starts before the team considers activating him from the injured list. The left-hander has the stuff to be the ace for the Halos rotation, so he should […]