We are one week away from the September 1st roster expansion date, when all teams bring up a ton of new players into the fantasy baseball player pool as everyone makes a mad dash for the finish line.

Before that influx of talent clouds our attention, here are some players surging into September, most of which are hungry to earn 2017 jobs. All players are owned in 25% or less of Fleaflicker leagues.

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American League Waiver Wire Targets

Hitters

Tim Anderson (SS, CHW) - 10% Owned

As one of the game's top-50 prospects before the season began, shortstop Tim Anderson had already developed a buzz around him with an offensive skill set not unlike the player he replaced earlier this season, current real life free agent Jimmy Rollins. Anderson is still adjusting to the Major League game, but his recent production shows he is making positive progress in that regard. Over the past month, he's slashing a healthy .286/.330/.429 with two home runs and three stolen bases. He's been even better when hitting at home--where the White Sox will be through the weekend--where he's hitting .319 with three home runs and three stolen bases in 119 at-bats.

Eddie Rosario (OF, MIN) - 10% Owned

Outfielder Eddie Rosario has been a jolt of lightning since his return to the Majors July 3rd, as an early season demotion was able to get the talented second-year player back on track. Through Monday, he's hitting .324 with five home runs, 19 RBI and two stolen bases in 148 at-bats since that day. Rosario has played so well that the team demoted mega-prospect Bryon Buxton in favor of keeping him in the lineup full-time. That's about as solid as a recommendation as a player can get, and proof that hype doesn't always equal immediate fantasy production.

Erick Aybar (SS, DET) - 5% Owned

A recent addition to the American League player pool, former Braves shortstop and current Tigers shortstop Erick Aybar has some pretty ugly numbers if you take his 2016 in as a whole. But dig deeper and there are signs that the veteran still has something to offer fantasy owners. Though he's only hitting .263 in 19 at-bats since coming over to the Tigers, Aybar's hitting .286 with two home runs, 20 RBI and one stolen base since June 12th. He's become mostly an average-only contributor in fantasy, but that's more than enough to help any owner in need of middle infield help this late into the season.

Nori Aoki (OF, SEA) - 2% Owned

Another veteran who struggled earlier in the season but is turning things around, outfielder Nori Aoki has performed closer to expectations since returning from his mid-season demotion to Triple-A. In the 27 games he's played in following his July 20th recall, he's slashing a very fantasy friendly .326/.368/.438 with two stolen bases in 89 at-bats. Aoki's strong player has pushed him to the top of the Mariners' left field depth chart, giving his hot streak at the plate all the fuel it needs to keep burning. Unfortunately for all, his speed has fallen off considerably, resulting in him being caught stealing more times (9) than he has been successful (6).

Teoscar Hernandez (OF, HOU) - 2% Owned

When it rains fantasy relevant prospects, it pours in Houston as the power of their famous tear down continues. The newest addition to the Major League roster is outfielder Teoscar Hernandez, who falls just outside the team's top-10 prospects. A potential 20-20 player in the future thanks to good power and great speed, Hernandez put himself on a path for more contact and less strikeouts this year, resulting in the more-rounded player who received his first cup of coffee earlier this month. Already slashing .281/.378/.594 with three home runs and six RBI over his first 32 at-bats as the Astros' starting center fielder, he's a must-add while Colby Rasmus remains without a return date.

 

Pitchers

Tyler Clippard (RP, NYY) - 13% Owned

Welcome back to New York, Tyler Clippard. The Yankees brought back the right-hander in a deadline trade this season to help stabilize a bullpen-in-transition. Making his first appearances with the team since he made his Major League debut way back in 2007, he's gone 1-0 with a 1.00 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and nine strikeouts in nine innings since the trade. Clippard had fallen on fantasy baseball hard times this year as a member of the Diamondbacks, but if he can continue on this road of improvement, he could vulture some more wins while offering ratio relief before the season ends.

Andrew Tripp (SP, OAK) - 1% Owned

Rookie right-hander Andrew Tripp is the newest youngster to join the Oakland rotation this season. His overall stats are tainted by some early season struggles, but he has really turned things around in August. In three starts and three relief appears this month, he's 0-1 with a 2.25 ERA and 16 strikeouts in 20 innings. His last start was especially solid, firing off six innings of shutout ball against the first place Indians. With a career minor league ERA of 2.09, WHIP of 1.04 and K/9 of 9.0, fantasy owners could do worse than take a flyer on another possible Oakland success story.

Matt Strahm (RP, KC) - 0% Owned

Fantasy players love a power relief arm as much as general managers love to snag them. Royals rookie left-hander Matt Strahm may have been a starter in the minors, but after a hugely successful debut month so far, the idea of him staying there is intriguing. Since his recall on July 31st, he's 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA, 0.62 WHIP and 16.2 K/9 in 8.1 innings so far. With a full rotation and the need for fresh arms as the team makes a late playoff push, there should be plenty of relief innings for Strahm take on. As long as he can keep the ball in the park, one of his weaknesses, that strikeout rate could reap plenty of fantasy rewards.

Mychal Givens (RP, BAL) - 2% Owned

June wasn't kind to right-hander Mychal Givens as a couple of blowups sent his beautiful ERA into the stratsosphere. July brought him back into good graces though, with his August even better. All told, Givens is 3-0 with a 2.35 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 23 innings since July, including a 0.87 ERA and 17 strikeouts in his last 10.1 innings. Much like Strahm, he's on a team with playoff hopes, which should translate into plenty of chances to add to his current win total of eight. Wins are wins in September, vultured or not.

Luis Cessa (SP, NYY) - 1% Owned

The final player of the week is a bit more risk than reward when it comes to fantasy baseball. Rookie right-hander Luis Cessa wasn't any good in his first career start earlier this month, but he looked a lot better the second time around. At home and against the offensively potent Angels' lineup, Cessa limited them to no runs on three hits and one walk over six innings, striking out five. Looking more like the promising young starter who started his career with the Mets in 2011 than the disappointment of the past two seasons, the out-of-contention and pitching-thin Yankees have plenty of reasons to see just what they have in Cessa.

 

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