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Nick's Waiver Picks - Get 'Em While They're Hot (Premium Content)
BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues OWNED IN: 15% of leagues ANALYSIS: Oakland Athletics outfielder Stephen Piscotty has been continuing to take care of business over the last month or so, quickly getting on the fantasy radar. Over the last two weeks, the former Cardinal has connected for two home runs, six runs, six runs... Read More
BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 8% of leagues ANALYSIS: There is not much to say about Washington Nationals outfielder Victor Robles since he has been sidelined for nearly the entire season with an elbow injury, but the Nationals have recently sent him on a rehab assignment to get back in the... Read More
BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 2% of leagues ANALYSIS: Minnesota Twins catching prospect Willians Astudillo has been featured over at Fangraphs.com a couple of times as being the strangest minor league player since his callup, and we are inclined to agree. He is primarily a catcher, but has played infield and... Read More
BALLER MOVE: Target ~100 CURRENT ADP: ~110 ANALYSIS: The reason last season’s performance was such a let-down for New York Jets running back Isaiah Crowell owners is due to the promise that he showed the previous season. His 2016-2017 numbers were not necessarily breathtaking, but he finished that year as the 14th best running back in... Read More
BALLER MOVE: Target ~60 CURRENT ADP: ~70 ANALYSIS: Carolina Panthers wide receiver Devin Funchess put together a very solid season last year and finished as the 19th most targeted receiver with 113, in addition to doubling his end zone output from the previous year with eight touchdowns. Funchess has seen no fewer than 13 red zone... Read More
BALLER MOVE: Target ~120 CURRENT ADP: ~125 ANALYSIS: With both C.J. Anderson and Jamaal Charles gone, Denver Broncos third-year running back Devontae Booker will have the early opportunity to take a stranglehold of the lead back duties . In his first two years, he has been somewhat lost in a messy backfield and has totaled 911 total rushing... Read More
BALLER MOVE: Target ~100 CURRENT ADP: ~110 ANALYSIS: The brief Brandon Marshall experiment is over in NY, which will allow New York Giants wide receiver Sterling Shepard to again claim the Giants’ number two receiver spot behind Beckham outright, much like he did in his rookie season. Both he and Beckham are working back from injuries of varying degrees,... Read More
This column has spent a lot of time covering prospects so far in 2018. We've had some calls that proved correct (Shane Bieber, Ronald Acuna, Fernando Romero) and others that don't look as great in hindsight (Juan Soto, Gleyber Torres). The Astros called up top prospect Kyle Tucker prior to Saturday's action, so we'll take... Read More
Every week in baseball, a significant player will hit the disabled 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... Read More
When you get to the late rounds of fantasy football drafts, you are chasing upside. You already have your starting rotation of players in the fold; now all that is left is to find that league-winning talent late in your drafts that nobody sees coming. These value picks serve two purposes: 1) they add depth... Read More
The talk about who is the first rookie taken in dynasty drafts this year begins and ends with Giants running back Saquon Barkley. Any discussion that answers with a different name is doing so just to be a contrarian. The real question this year comes with the quarterback position, where a host of early draft... Read More
July is one of the most exciting times of the year for baseball: division races are starting to take shape, fans get to see all of their favorite All-Stars on the same stage, and the trade rumor mill is in full swing. Big names will find new homes and some teams will drastically change the... Read More
Expected stats, such as xBA, xSLG, xwOBA and others we have examined in this series have to be taken for what they are - a projection based on past data, but not the sole basis of fantasy analysis. If expected stats always jived with actual stats, we wouldn't have so many discrepancies. As of today,... Read More
As we approach fantasy-baseball trade deadlines, many owners find themselves needing to improve their team in one way or another. Owners buying a player or making a trade to get their team across the finish line are best off targeting reliable, high-ability players because of the relatively short window remaining in the season. You don't... Read More
Due to a combination of harder throwers and hitters focusing on hitting for power, strikeouts are at an all-time high in baseball. For pitchers, this is an ideal trend. The ability to generate swings and misses is the most important skill to possess, as it's the only true way to control what happens after the... Read More
Perhaps the most viewed global sporting event, the World Cup brings more than a billion fans to their television screens to watch a month of the world's most popular sport. With this comes the inevitable fantasy variant of the sport - a month-long competition that pits you against the rest of the planet. The most... Read More
BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 23% of leagues ANALYSIS: Atlanta Braves infielder Johan Camargo deserves to be a top waiver wire pickup, even if he is an unheralded player in the Braves lineup. His performance alone deserves more attention than he is receiving, not with a mere 23% ownership. The 24-year-old... Read More
BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 18% of leagues ANALYSIS: New York Mets starting pitcher Zack Wheeler is dealing lately and he could soon be a permanent addition to someone’s fantasy baseball roster. In the past four games, Wheeler has notched at least five strikeouts. He’s allowed two earned runs, or fewer, in... Read More
BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues OWNED IN: 23% of leagues ANALYSIS: Detroit Tigers 23-year-old relief pitcher Joe Jimenez is going to be getting his shot as the team's primary closer, as regular closer Shane Greene was placed on the 10-day disabled list with a right shoulder strain. The severity of the injury is not... Read More
BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 43% of leagues ANALYSIS: Chicago Cubs shortstop Addison Russell stumbled out of the gate early this season, as he did hit just .250/.326/.333 with no homers and just four RBI in April. Since the calendar flipped to May, however, Russell has slashed .298/.370/.438 with five homers... Read More
Happy day, RotoBallers! All of us here hope you had a wonderful independence day with all of the beer, baseball, and brats that come with our nation's birthday! We'll continue our dive into the hottest and most interesting options largely available on waiver wires across the country. And since it's July, we'll be getting prospects... Read More
BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 19% of leagues ANALYSIS: Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Tyler Anderson got knocked around pretty badly to open 2018, but he has recently pitched like the first rounder that the Rockies drafted in 2011. Anderson has back-to-back starts where he has pitched eight scoreless innings and has... Read More
BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 28% of leagues ANALYSIS: San Diego Padres starting pitcher Joey Lucchesi remains on far too many waiver wires, as fantasy owners are slow to pick him up after he comes back off of an injury. The rookie did not allow a ball to leave the infield... Read More
BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 1% of leagues ANALYSIS: Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Antonio Senzatela likely helped Colorado feel comfortable with Jon Gray going to the minor leagues by tossing 7 ⅔ scoreless frames with just three hits and a walk allowed to San Francisco’s Triple-A affiliate on June 28. His... Read More
BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 30% of leagues ANALYSIS: Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Jhoulys Chacin is a tough pitcher to evaluated. Sure, he will pitch a dud every once in awhile, but Chacin can be a reliable streamer, too. He has allowed two earned runs, or less, in four of the past... Read More
BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 16% of leagues ANALYSIS: Jesse Winker looked to be in danger of losing playing time after an atrocious showing during the month of May, but ever since the calendar flipped to June, he's been one of the hottest hitters in baseball. The sophomore (he just barely cleared 130... Read More
BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 31% of leagues ANALYSIS: Josh Reddick has had something of a bizarre season thus far. He blasted six home runs in his first 18 games, then went over two months before hitting another. After hitting .281 and .314 in the last two seasons, Reddick's average sat at .221... Read More
BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 20% of leagues ANALYSIS: Matt Duffy has been a pleasant surprise this year on a Tampa Bay Rays team that wasn't expected to do a whole lot. He's having one of his best years so far in his still young career. He's hitting .306 and has... Read More
BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 15% of leagues ANALYSIS: Despite playing at close to a 90-win pace thus far, the Athletics are 10 games behind the Astros for first place in the AL West, and 6.5 games back of the Mariners for the second wild-card slot. Their playoff odds aren't great, in other... Read More
BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 28% of leagues ANALYSIS: When the Mets shipped him to Cincinnati earlier this season, it was fair to wonder if we were seeing the end of Matt Harvey's major league career. The one-time ace hadn't looked like anything close to his former self in the last three years,... Read More
