April 20, 2017

Tom Bellucco brings you the best deep American League MLB sleepers and picks for Week 3 of the 2017 Fantasy Baseball Season.

Welcome back to Digging Deeper! I'll be taking a look at some deeper AL waiver wire options for Week 3 of the fantasy baseball season.

Once again, I'm going to try to find some low-owned players in the American League that you deep-league players can look to add to your fantasy baseball rosters. Whether you are in an AL-only league or just a deep mixed league in general, finding a gem on the waivers before he becomes universally relevant is the key to gaining an edge in the early going.

I get the feeling that last week may have been a little too deep, so I'm going to surface a little to try and relate to a larger crowd. Any feedback is welcomed, and you can find me on Twitter @BellRoto. Let's see who we can come up with for this week.

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Digging Deeper: Week 2 Picks - AL

Didi Gregorius (SS, NYY) - 16% owned in Yahoo! Leagues

Gregorius was a popular topic of discussion at the middle infield position in deep leagues on draft day. However, a shoulder injury might've forced his owner to drop him for an active, flavor-of-the-week player. The Yankees shortstop's incredible defense and improved bat will be a welcomed addition to the talented, young club. His rehab stint is just getting underway. If you're drawing dead at SS or MI early in the season, you can do worse than to take a shot on a potential 20 HR/10 SB lefty hitter in Yankee Stadium.

Matt Davidson (3B, CHW) - 9% owned in Yahoo! Leagues

Davidson and Avisail Garcia have been two lone bright spots early in the White Sox season. Playing a utility role at third base, first base, and designated hitter, Davidson has turned some heads with a 44% hard hit rate and a 55% fly ball rate. Who knows if he can sustain that all year, but those are numbers that certainly can lead to an inflated HR/FB percentage. The ugly sister team in Chicago has little reason to keep this young bat on the bench, so if you want to take a shot on a possible difference-maker in the power category I have no problem with Davidon's upside.

Robbie Grossman (OF, MIN) - 3% owned in Yahoo! Leagues

Here's another guy who is hitting the ball extremely hard in the early going. He's also cut his K% nearly in half through the first two weeks of the season. Is this going to hold up? Who knows... probably not. But Grossman is free right now, and he's hitting in the top/middle of the Twins lineup until further notice. If you just lost Starling Marte or are looking for that utility batter to support struggling studs, Grossman isn't a terrible short term (maybe long term) option.

Steven Wright (SP, BOS) - 18% owned in Yahoo! Leagues

Is there really any analysis that I can come up with here to make this knuckleballer any less volatile? No, there is not. But here goes nothing. Wright has been off with his knuckler the first few starts. The Boston announcers pointed out the flatness and increased spin multiple times throughout the first two innings of his Marathon Day start against Tampa Bay. The good news? He must've figured it out somewhat, because he lasted into the seventh inning and gave up just one earned run. The bad news? He has to go to Baltimore this weekend to pitch against a team who just ruined him the other day.

Here's my strategy for deep leaguers: Pick up Wright now if you're in need of pitching help and bench him for this next start. If he's bad, you can drop him. But if he's good, you'll have a huge-upside knuckler who seems to be figuring it out.

Jordan Montgomery (SP, NYY) - 7% owned in Yahoo! Leagues

The following is a tweet from pitching expert Eno Sarris: "Jordan Montgomery is a stud. Good spin 4s, decent occasional sinker, plus curve, great slider, change only show-me but good enuff w/command."

Sure, his starts haven't been stellar, but as Eno would agree, we've seen some awesome glimpses of huge potential. It's unclear whether the Yankees see the same thing, but if Montgomery sticks around he could make some serious strides as a deep league starter. His strikeout upside could be a nice addition to the back of your fantasy rotation. Keep an eye on him.

Alex Wood (SP, LOS) - 5% owned in Yahoo! Leagues

With Rich Hill back on the disabled list with that lingering blister issue, the Dodgers will likely let Wood keep starting at least until their coveted prospect Julio Urias returns. While we've seen the bad on mulitple occasions from Wood, we've also seen the good. He has a funky delivery and the breaking ball to buckle knees. He will get lit up from time to time, but if you have the flexibility to play him in good matchups he can be very valuable for the short term.

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