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For the final time this season, welcome back to the NL-only and AL-only pickups column. Each week, I'll look at five players who are under 15% rostered in Yahoo! leagues and who can be considered as options to add in deep-league formats, such as 15-teamers or AL or NL-only leagues.
I'll also include a recommendation for what to do with each player on your roster. And lastly, I'll take a look at some of my picks from the previous week to see how they're performing.
Without further ado, let's get into it.
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Tommy La Stella - 1B/2B/3B, Giants
8% rostered
Recommended move: Add for this week
With the Giants facing a good number of right-handed starters last week, La Stella was a pretty solid option to stream, and he was recommended here last week. He did exactly what he was supposed to do as he and the Giants took care of business last week. For La Stella, it was an impressive .318/.400/.636 line, while also chipping in some valuable counting stats with two home runs hit, four runs batted in, and six runs scored in just 26 plate appearances. It hasn't been the most consistent season for La Stella, as his wRC+ for the season still sits below 100, but it does look like he's heating up at just the right time, both for the Giants and for fantasy squads.
The Giants are again in line to face a good deal of righties this week, and against some pitching staffs that are in shambles, as they face Arizona and San Diego in their final two series to close out the season. La Stella has been promoted to the leadoff spot when he's in there as well, so he figures to be right in the middle of things as the team navigates through the final week of the season. The matchups are great, he's been playing well, and he has triple eligibility, all of which make him a very attractive option for fantasy purposes this week.
Brandon Marsh - OF, Angels
7% rostered
Recommended move: Add for this week
Like La Stella, Marsh was also recommended last week. He had been heating up since the start of August after a slow start to his season, and that trend continued last week. He didn't hit for much power at all, but his .333/.448/.375 slash line still translates to a 140 wRC+, and was definitely helpful for fantasy managers last week. He also netted a stolen base just to make things a bit better.
The lack of power from Marsh has been something to note, as he is only slugging .367 for the season, but he remains a solid enough contributor elsewhere that he should still remain a valuable fantasy option, and that's backed up by encouraging Statcast metrics since the start of September. The highlights of which would be his whopping 54.5% hard-hit rate to go along with a still-strong 12.7% barrel rate. For whatever reason, the power just hasn't come along, but his Statcast metrics do look encouraging, and do perhaps point to a bright future for Marsh, which is good to see considering his top-prospect status. Most of the talk about Marsh will be about what his fantasy value will be in 2022, but for one final week of the 2021 season and with decent matchups against Texas and Seattle, Marsh should not be ignored and could still end up being a positive contributor one more time this year.
Sam Hilliard - OF, Rockies
3% rostered
Recommended move: Add for this week
Hilliard had been recommended earlier in the season, and here he is showing up again in the final week of the season. It's been an inconsistent overall season or Hilliard, with him at times looking like a legitimate offensive threat, as he did in August with a .243/.321/.529 slash line, or at times looking completely lost, as he did in April with a .108/.154/.324 line, which eventually earned him a demotion to the minors.
A big part of that up-and-down, and streaky profile has to do with his high strikeout rate, which sits at 35.5% for the season. A hitter really has to make the most of their batted balls when striking out that much, and Hilliard hasn't been able to do that consistently enough, which has held him back. Fortunately, it looks as if Hilliard is back on one of those hot streaks, as he has been crushing the ball to the tune of a .295/.354/.545 slash line since September 9th. In that span, he's hit three home runs, driven in eight, scored seven runs, while also adding a stolen base as well, making him one of the more productive readily available players in fantasy in that stretch.
That is obviously nice, and it's made even better by the fact that the Rockies are home this week, and against a poor Nationals staff to boot, and then the team heads to Arizona to take on a weak D-Backs group. With splendid matchups and him hitting the ball super well as of late, it's tough to ignore Hilliard for the final week of the season, as he should be expected to do reasonably well in these final few games, and could help a fantasy manager make one last late-season surge towards a championship.
Matt Duffy - 2B/3B, Cubs
3% rostered
Recommended move: Add for this week
The Cubs and their fans would love to just get on with the offseason as soon as possible and close the book on what's been a disaster of a season, but alas, there's still just a little bit more baseball left to be played. While not much has gone right for the Cubs as a whole this season, Duffy has been a reasonably decent success story, hitting for a roughly league-average wRC+, which is not bad for a player who was brought in on a minor league contract in the offseason.
He has also been hitting relatively well recently too, with a strong .366/.422/.634 (180 wRC+) line since September 15th, and with a 144 wRC+ all told for the month of September. He's been an everyday player for the team pretty much since July, and is extremely unlikely that anything will change in terms of playing time in the final week of the season. While Duffy may not be the most glamorous option, his dual eligibility and general competency with the bat perhaps makes him an underrated fantasy option in deep leagues. That dual eligibility could definitely come in handy, as Duffy could be plugged and played into lineups when needed, due to some potential late-season injuries or days off.
Chas McCormick - OF, Astros
1% rostered
Recommended move: Add for this week
McCormick has been a solid hitter overall for the season and he has definitely earned his fair share of playing time with a 106 wRC+ for the year, but the Astros' strong overall lineup makes it hard to justify putting him in when everyone is healthy. This has changed recently though, as after not having a true everyday role for the Astros for most of the season, McCormick has been getting the majority of the playing time for them in left field with Michael Brantley dealing with a knee injury.
McCormick has continued to play well since being given the temporary everyday left-field job. Since September 13th, McCormick has hit .317/.333/.463 line, while doing a little bit of everything by contributing two home runs, six runs batted in, four runs scored, and even a stolen base as well to keep himself productive from a fantasy perspective.
While the Astros are pretty much a lock for the postseason at this point, they likely won't be taking this final week lightly, as they are still playing for potential playoff seeding, which could be important down the line. That being said, the Astros don't get particularly great matchups this week as they face off against Tampa Bay and Oakland, but it gets a little bit better due to them playing all of their games this week at home, which is quite a nice park for hitters to hit in. McCormick has shown decent power this season, and he could potentially be a sneaky power option this week as he could take advantage of the hitter-friendly Minute Maid Park.
Reviewing Last Week's Picks
At the end of each week's post, I'll review what happened with last week's picks and offer a suggestion for them in the future.
Yoshi Tsutsugo (1B/3B/OF, PIT)
Last week: 9% rostered. This week: 10% rostered.
Tsutsugo had been playing well since becoming a Pirate, but had a bit of a down week last week, as he put up just an 83 wRC+. He did put up some solid counting stats with a home run, and five runs batted in, so it wasn't a complete disappointment. The Pirates do get some decent matchups this week with them facing the Cubs and Reds, and his triple-eligibility is a plus. He's probably worth holding onto for the final week in case a fill-in is needed at one of his three positions.
Current recommendation: Hold.
Lewin Diaz (1B, MIA)
Last week: 2% rostered. This week: 2% rostered.
Diaz has cooled down after what has still been a splendid month of September, but his .261/.261/.391 line last week was not all that helpful. The Marlins face off against the Mets and Phillies to end the year, and while those aren't bad matchups, they aren't matchups worth chasing. There are likely better hitters available to stream for the final week.
Current recommendation: Drop.
Luis Rengifo (2B/3B/SS/OF, LAA)
Last week: 1% rostered. This week: 0% rostered.
Rengifo had been playing well coming into last week, and with quadruple eligibility, it did make him fantasy relevant in extremely deep leagues. He did not hit well last week, though as he slashed just .200/.250/.320, and with every plate appearance mattering in the final week of the fantasy season, this is simply not worth holding onto, with quadruple eligibility or not.
Current recommendation: Drop.
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