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Tom Bellucco brings you the best deep MLB sleepers and picks for Week 19 of the 2017 Fantasy Baseball Season.
It's August, and by now you're either in it for the final push, or moving on to fantasy football research. I know for a fact that Yahoo! leagues instill an August 13th trade deadline, so keep that in mind if you think you need more than a few waiver pickups to bring home a championship. As the dog days of summer drone on, you'll notice the waiver wire drying up exponentially. Sure, you can still find category specialists and streaming pitchers here and there, but game-changing reinforcements are going to be tough to come by.
Max has really hit the gas this past week, and now I lead him by just a half-point. I have to give him mad respect for putting on the pressure, but now's the time where I use the waivers and my past four months of preparation to create permanent seperation. Hopefully you all can do the same!
Because I'll be covering more players, my analysis will be shorter and to the point. Feel free to find me on Twitter @BellRoto and ask me to explain more personally. I'll be happy to do so, and I will even contort the waiver pick-up to your own team and situation. Best of luck to you all.
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Digging Deeper: Week 19 Picks
Jarrod Dyson (OF, SEA) - 21% owned in Yahoo! Leagues
If you still need steals and runs, Jarrod Dyson better not be on your waiver wire. He's getting consistent playing time, and we know that's all he needs to rack up the stolen bases. The hitting has been known to disappear from time to time, and that fear is understandable. If you need the steals and runs but want a more balanced hitter, Cameron Maybin (20% owned on Yahoo!) has just come back from injury and may be available. He's still leading off, and Mike Trout is back hitting behind him.
Yangervis Solarte (2B/3B, SD) - 15% owned in Yahoo! Leagues
Before getting injured about a month ago, Yangervis Solarte was heating up quickly. He's displayed rare power for such a reliable contact hitter, and he can help at both middle and corner infield. He's back to batting clean-up, and he has two home runs and a stolen base in the past week. Here's your offensive utility reinforcement.
Jose Pirela (2B/OF, SD) - 6% owned in Yahoo! Leagues
Are 15-20% owned players not available in your league? How about this hot hitter at 6%? Jose Pirela is batting just ahead of Solarte and is quietly impressing the four baseball fans that are still left in San Diego. He's been up in the majors for two months now, and he has seven home runs, 30 RBI, 25 runs, and three stolen bases. Pirela simply deserves more ownership than this.
Matt Belisle and Tyler Clippard (RP, MIN and CWS) - 20% and 13% owned in Yahoo! Leagues
Do you need saves? Here you go. Are these guys good pitchers? Nope. But hey, they currently have the closer job, and that's enough. There's no guarantee that Matt Belisle and Tyler Clippard won't blow up and lose their jobs by the weekend, but if you are chasing saves you don't have time to be picky. Go grab these two arms now if you still are desperately trying to find closers.
Reynaldo Lopez (SP, CWS) - 18% owned in Yahoo! Leagues
Reynaldo Lopez is finally getting called up to start Friday against the Kansas City Royals. Upside is all we are looking for in this pickup, and I wouldn't blame you for benching him for his first start at home against KC. However, his numbers in the minors recently and his status as a top prospect warrant ownership, and if Lopez shines on Friday you'll want to be the one with him on your team come Saturday morning.
Chad Kuhl (SP, PIT) - 9% owned in Yahoo! Leagues
You probably should be using this spot to stream starting pitchers at this point. However, if you have an innings limit, I like Chad Kuhl's combination of safety and upside from start to start. He's a young pitcher who throws gas (97-99 mph on his fastball), and his breaking ball improves every start. There will certainly be some juicy matchups in pitchers' parks for the Pirates between now and the end of September, so Kuhl could be a pitcher to grab in deeper leagues if you're not into the streaming strategy.
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