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With just a few weeks left in the Major League season, it is officially crunch time in fantasy baseball. Every move is important and those managers that make the impact moves are the ones that will win their leagues. That makes managing the waiver wire in deep leagues as important as ever.
This article will be a look at players that are under 15% rostered in Yahoo leagues that are options to be considered in deeper leagues, or in the case of the Year of Coronaball, injury replacements with upside that have the possibility of sticking on rosters even beyond a few games or couple of weeks.
Without further ado, let's get into it.
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Corey Dickerson (OF, MIA)
12% Rostered, Recommended Move: Add for the long haul.
Dickerson has been recommended here before and while nothing really stands out about him, he is still contributing in the counting stats department while playing every day in an increasingly potent Marlins lineup and now batting leadoff most days.
He has posted two home runs, three runs batted in and four runs scored in his past six games, so he is definitely going to accumulate counting stats while hitting in front of the newly acquired Starling Marte. He should continue to remain a solid option in this regard for the remainder of the season.
Ke'Bryan Hayes (3B, PIT)
8% Rostered, Recommended Move: Ride the hot streak.
Hayes was recommended last week as well, but his roster rate has only jumped two percentage points, which seems a little surprising considering how well he has been playing. He's been tearing the cover off the ball with a .389/.421/.722 triple slash, and while that is in no way sustainable, this is the type of run that can win a manager a fantasy league. There have been countless examples of a rookie coming up late in the season and start raking and carrying fantasy teams, so it is not so outlandish for Hayes to continue this trend.
His 31.6% strikeout rate is definitely concerning, but Hayes has never really had a strikeout issue in his minor league career, with his previous high being 18.8% in his first taste of AAA ball last year. It's not unusual for a rookie hitter to come up and start striking out more, but one would think that with more MLB playing time, that rate should fall back to his minor league norms. Speaking of playing time, there are essentially zero reasons for the Pirates to keep him on the bench, so pick him up and ride out his blazing start through the fantasy playoffs.
Tyler Naquin (OF, CLE)
5% Rostered, Recommended Move: Add and stash for a few weeks.
Naquin is a platoon player for Cleveland, so that does limit has fantasy impact, but he has been playing well as of late against a steady stream of right-handed pitchers. He has a .568 slugging percentage in the last two weeks, with four home runs and 15 RBI, which is definitely useful for fantasy purposes.
The rest of his game is not as well-rounded, as it's just a .227 batting average and a .250 on-base percentage in that same two-week span, but for some undervalued deep-league power, Naquin is a fine option at the moment. More encouraging is his overall line against right-handed pitching this season sits at .299/.314/.597. He's proven to be extremely reliable in the platoon advantage, so in daily leagues, Naquin should be a priority as he should be expected to continue to fare well in his current role.
Ty France (2B/3B, SEA)
5% Rostered, Recommended Move: Add and stash for a few weeks.
Since being acquired from the San Diego Padres at the trade deadline, France has been in the Mariners lineup in every single game and hitting in the heart of their order, often behind Kyle Lewis and Kyle Seager. He hasn't set the world on fire in his performance, with just a .745 OPS in his four games as a Mariner, but he has been a positive contributor in the batting average department with a .308 batting average in that span, which can be useful for fantasy managers struggling in that category.
Batting average is pretty much France's main appeal currently. So far in a limited sample, Statcast seems to agree, as he has a .292 expected batting average, with a respectable 7.8% barrel rate. With him now finally receiving everyday playing time, we should get an opportunity to fully evaluate France. With dual eligibility at both second and third base, France could be a sneaky addition for fantasy down the stretch.
Garrett Cooper (1B/OF, MIA)
3% Rostered, Recommended Move: Add for the long haul.
As was the case with Hayes, Cooper was recommended here last week. However, his roster rate did drop from 5% a week ago to now 3%, and that is mostly due to him getting injured during the weekend that caused him to miss two games, rather than performance.
He has hit two home runs and driven in seven runs in his past nine games, with a .500 slugging percentage in that span. Additionally, his Statcast peripherals jump off the page, with him absolutely crushing the ball with a 15.6% barrel rate. He still only has just 43 plate appearances this season, so it is tough to fully evaluate him, but Cooper has always has good peripherals when he is actually playing. Last season, he had a .271 expected batting average and a .473 expected slugging percentage, which even if he replicated and turned into his actual ones down the stretch this season, would be very useful for fantasy purposes. He's been in the lineup every day that he has been healthy since coming back from the COVID-19 injured list, and he should remain in that role for the remainder of the season. He also has dual eligibility as an added plus, adding more to his fantasy appeal.
Leody Taveras (OF, TEX)
1% Rostered, Recommended Move: Add and stash for a few weeks.
Taveras is definitely a more speculative pick, so feel free to skip over if something more stable is needed. With the Rangers out of the race, they have turned to one of their top prospects in the outfield in Taveras and are allowing him to play every single day and at the leadoff spot in their lineup.
There have been some mixed signs in his first 14 Major League games. The bad is that he has struck out at a 34.6% rate thus far and only has a .156 isolated power mark. The good is that, of those extra-base hits, two of them have been home runs, and he is showing some plate discipline with a 13.5% walk rate so far. He does also have a 51.9% hard-hit rate and a 11.1% barrel rate to go along with it. These are encouraging signs, but it is unlikely to stick, as he has not been known for his strong power as a prospect. He has, however, been known for his speed and that has been on full display through the beginning part of his season. His 28.6 feet per second of sprint speed is in the 92nd percentile per Statcast and has contributed two stolen bases. There's no reason for the Rangers to stop him from running, so if a fantasy manager is in need of some readily available stolen bases, Taveras could be a solid option.
Looking Back on Last Week's Picks
At the end of each week's post, we'll end with a brief look back on last week's picks along with a brief recommendation on what to do with the said player for the future.
Jason Heyward (OF, CHC)
Last week: 12% rostered. This Week: 17% rostered.
Heyward had another good week, with a .375/.476/.438 triple slash, although he did not contribute much in terms of counting stats with zero runs scored, home runs and stolen bases, and just one run batted in. He's still playing well and his overall performance is still looking good as he continues to help fantasy teams. Current Recommendation: Hold.
Jacob Stallings (C, PIT)
Last week: 8% rostered. This Week: 8% rostered.
Stallings did not have a great week, with just a .607 OPS and the main reason to roster him, his batting average, was just .143 last week in four games played. His roster rate is holding steady, and with the catching landscape looking pretty bare, especially in deeper leagues, Stallings is likely still one of the better options available. This is a hold. Current Recommendation: Hold.
Sam Haggerty (2B/OF, SEA)
Last week: 5% rostered. This week: 2% rostered.
Haggerty was placed on the injured list with a forearm strain and his season is likely over. There's no reason to hang on to him at this point. This is an obvious drop. Current Recommendation: Drop.
Rowdy Tellez (1B, TOR)
Last week: 3% rostered. This week: 27% rostered.
There are not many hotter hitters currently than Tellez, with a 1.163 OPS in the past week as his roster rate has shot up to 27%, which may still be a little too low. Either way, if Tellez is on a fantasy roster he's not leaving, so this is a clear hold. Current Recommendation: Hold.
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