September 21, 2016

Tony Peters analyzes some American League players to target as fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups & adds in Week 25. These AL-only targets can be sleepers.

The Athletics may have one of the worst records in the Majors this year at 66-84 going into Tuesday, and they may be 22.5 games behind the first place Rangers. But with the team striking gold multiple times this year with inexperienced and rookie players during the second half--including third baseman Ryon Healy, starting pitcher Sean Manaea and relief pitcher Ryan Dull--, they were able to reward fantasy players with enough insight to roster these players before their peers.

With a few more A's making fantasy relevant list again, they remind us there is never a bad time to dig into the waiver wire. Below are some last-minute targets owned in 25% or less of Flea Flicker leagues.

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American League Waiver Wire Targets

Hitters

Joey Wendle (2B, OAK) - 1% Owned

The newest rookie Athletic to make the column this season, second baseman Wendle has put himself on the map as Oakland's possible 2017 starting second baseman. Since his Major League debut August 31st, he's hitting .305 with one home run, nine RBI and two stolen bases, showing off all his fantasy tail feathers in one sample size. Wendle isn't showing any platoon splits so far, hitting .304 against right-handers and .308 against left-handers, which will allow his hot September to see itself through until the end.

Whit Merrifield (2B/OF, KC) - 2% Owned

After playing so well earlier this season that the Royals cut pricey veteran Omar Infante to give him more playing time, second baseman Merrifield lost his stroke and ended right back in Triple-A. But since his recall on September 2nd, he's back to his hot-hitting ways, hitting .351 with eight RBI and two stolen bases in 57 at-bats. Merrifield has been even better as of late, going 8-for-18 with half of his counting stats this month over his past four games. Much like Wendle, he's auditioning for a 2017 gig and will keep his full-time role until the season ends, making him a fantastic deep league addition.

J.J. Hardy (SS, BAL) - 5% Owned

Look, I know he doesn't hit for power much anymore, but it seems like a 5% ownership rate is a bit low for veteran shortstop Hardy. But hey, that can only help those reading this, so that's the loss of others. Hardy's been on fire this month, hitting .357 with one home run, seven runs scored and 11 RBI in 56 at-bats as the Orioles try to hold onto their wild card spot. Over his past six games, he's hitting a bonkers .450, though only one of those hits wasn't a single (a lone double). There are players owned in far more leagues than Hardy doing far, far less, so check to see if he can't help you today.

Kennys Vargas (1B/DH, MIN) - 1% Owned

One of the current kings of the "I'm awesome, but only a month at a time" club, first baseman/designated hitter Vargas is up to positive shenanigans this month. Right now, he's currently in "raking mode," hitting .333 with two home runs and three RBI in 27 at-bats since rejoining the team September 6th. Vargas is getting almost full-time at-bats for the Twins as they deal with injuries and inconsequential games. He's a bit risky for a deep league lottery ticket, but teams desperate for power over the next two weeks might be willing to take the chance he has one of his patented power binges.

Others: outfielder Norichika Aoki (3% owned) continues to have a blistering second half, hitting .359 with two home runs, seven RBI and a stolen base over the last two weeks. Master of the mustache and second baseman Tyler Saladino (2% owned) only seems to grow stronger with each passing day, hitting .472 with four RBI and a stolen base over the same time period. He's hard to trust for anything at this point, but failed veteran dice roll and first baseman Yonder Alonso (1% owned) is hitting .351 with eight RBI and a stolen base over his last 37 at-bats.

Pitchers

Ariel Miranda (SP, SEA) - 14% Owned

As a Mariners fan, I have been quite pleased with the way the Wade Miley/Ariel Miranda trade has worked out so far. Seattle has a long history of making one-sided trades in the other teams' favor, so seeing the flip-flop in action is a rare thing to see. Though Miranda is still learning how to consistently beat big league hitters, having walked 17 batters in 48.2 innings and only going seven innings in one of his eight starts this season, his past three starts have been dynamite. In those starts, Miranda's 3-0 with a 0.95 ERA, 15 strikeouts and only five walks over 19 innings. With his last two starts favorable ones (the Twins and Astros, whom his last start was against), he's a fantastic last-minute hired gun in quite a few leagues.

Daniel Mengden (SP, OAK) - 1% Owned

Another one of those young A's, starting pitcher Mengden's ugly season stat line masks a lot of fantasy potential. Under the grime of an awful July and an even worse start to September (courtesy of the first-place Red Sox), he's back to looking like the pitcher who had a 2.81 ERA after his first four big league starts, going 1-1 with a 1.50 ERA and 12 strikeouts in 12 innings. Mengden's last two starts of the season are fantasy friendly, a road start against the cellar-dwelling Angels and the Mariners, whom he held to two runs while striking out six over five innings September 9th.

Joe Kelly (RP, BOS) - 1% Owned

While the "Joe Kelly Starting Experience" may be over for the year after less-than-desirable results, the "Joe Kelly Reliever Tour" is just kicking into high gear. Since returning to the team at the beginning of September as a reliever, he's gone 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 11 strikeouts in 7.2 innings. Kelly was blown up to the tune of a 8.46 ERA as a starter this year, but has a 0.79 mark coming out of the pen. With the Red Sox getting their roster ready for the playoffs, he'll see plenty of action and help fantasy owners looking for some pitching relief.

Koji Uehara (RP, BOS) - 16% Owned

We finish with a double-helping of Beantown bullpen sauce with the return of Uehara. Since returning from the disabled list earlier this month, he has a 0.00 ERA, 0.67 WHIP, seven strikeouts, a save, and a hold in six innings. With the former closer a fresh arm among many others who have been active all season, it wouldn't be out of line to see Uehara pick up a couple more saves over the next two weeks so the Red Sox can give closer Craig Kimbrel some extra rest.

Others: reliever John Axford (2% owned) vultured two wins over the past two weeks to go with a 0.00 ERA in 7.1 innings, though history shows he's a hot potato of a fantasy commodity. Starter Jharel Cotton (6% owned) is off to a spicy start with the A's since coming over in the Rich Hill trade, going 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA, 0.78 WHIP and 11 strikeouts in his last 18 innings. Chris Devenski (12% owned) continues to plea an unheard case for a return to the rotation, as he is an absurd 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA, 16 strikeouts and three holds in 13.1 innings since August 27th.

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