RADIO
Blake Sullivan dives into weekly Points League strategy for your fantasy baseball leagues and looks at MLB players to target on the waiver wire or drop in week 15 of the 2018 season.
Welcome back for another week of advice for points league waiver wire moves. This segment will include waiver wire adds, drops, and streaming pitchers for the upcoming week. This article will be geared specifically toward points leagues. Every points league is different, so keep that in mind. Walks and extra base hits are more valuable, whereas AVG and ERA are not important, so consider that as well.
Some players will be suggested as streamers (while they are hot), or as rest-of-season adds (ride them all year).
As always, feel free to follow and message me on Twitter @BlakeSullivanFF for any fantasy advice or for further reasoning with this segment. Without further ado, let's take a look at some players that you should either add or drop.
Points League Players to Add
Avisail Garcia (OF, CWS) - 43% owned
Avisail Garcia has hit safely in 13 of his last 15 games. He has 20 hits in his last 12 games. The Chicago White Sox outfielder has four home runs in his last seven games. He's one of the hottest hitters in all points leagues at the moment. Not only does he have three doubles in the last seven days, but he also has two triples. Those nine extra-base hits rack up the points rather quickly. It's important to note that he only has a .06 BB/K, but it doesn't hurt him too much because of his production elsewhere. He's slashing .279/.298/.529. He should be viewed as a rest of season addition.
Jason Heyward (OF, CHC) - 34% owned
Jason Heyward appears to be climbing his way out of a two year slump. His defense has been outstanding all year, but his offense is coming around now as well. At .287, his average is the second highest it has been in his career. His 40 runs and 38 RBI are on track to give him career high numbers this year in those categories. He had a .327 AVG this June and had 10 doubles. He had 34 hits in just 25 games. Heyward has yet to steal a bag this year, but that doesn't destroy his value. Heyward has been killing it with a .70 BB/K rate. This will get him lots of extra points for walks in points leagues.
Addison Russell (SS, CHC) - 32% owned
Addison Russell is one of the few players that can produce from the bottom of the lineup. He benefits from being on a good team and from Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon switching up the order. Russell currently has a career high .282 AVG. Sometimes it's hard for hitters at the bottom of the order to get walks, but Russell still has a .48 BB/K rate. He has also scored 39 runs and has 27 RBI. Russell offers a great value at the shortstop position. He doesn't have to compete for playing time like some others in the league do, and he's fairly consistent. His June was outstanding. He hit .329 with 14 runs and 12 RBI. He makes a good addition as he looks to carry over his hot streak into July.
Points League Pitchers to Stream
Tyler Anderson (SP, COL) - Tuesday 7/10/18 vs. ARI - 17% owned
Tyler Anderson is one of the hottest pitchers right now, and he has a two-start week. Anderson hasn't given up any runs in his last two games which accounted for 16 innings of work. In that span he has allowed only nine batters to reach base while striking out 17 hitters. He has made it through five innings in his last 12 starts which makes him reliable, especially in a two-start week. He has an 8.32 K/9 which isn't outstanding, but it's pretty decent for a waiver wire claim. Since he can go deep into games, he may have a better chance to rack up a high strikeout total than some pitchers with higher K/9 ratios. He has to go up against the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Seattle Mariners this week, but is still a solid addition.
CC Sabathia (SP, NYY) - Tuesday 7/10/18 vs. BAL - 47% owned
At 37 years old CC Sabathia is having one of his best career seasons with a 3.02 ERA. His K/9 is down to 7.15, but he still manages to get outs. He has a two-start week against the Baltimore Orioles and the Cleveland Indians. He's only a streaming option in dynasty leagues, but in redraft leagues he could turn into a rest of season addition. He did quite well against the Boston Red Sox and the Atlanta Braves which are both highly dangerous teams, so don't be worried about his matchups. He has been stranding 77.2% of runners and has kept his walks to a minimum. He has a 1.24 WHIP. These mean he can limit the damage that a good lineup can do. Sabathia is a solid play this week.
Chase Anderson (SP, MIL) - Monday 7/9/18 vs. MIA - 49% owned
Chase Anderson has the friendliest schedule this week with matchups against the Miami Marlins and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Anderson is 6-6 this year with a 3.99 ERA. He has a 1.10 WHIP and has stranded 77.7% of runners. His 6.94 K/9 is a little low, but he has over five strikeouts in each of his last five games. He may not be a great rest of season add, but this week should be really good for him. He has given up five or less hits in his last seven games which has given him consistency. He has scored double digits his last three games and is looking to improve his value further this week.
Points League Players to Drop
Jonathan Schoop (2B, BAL) - 58% owned
The Baltimore Orioles second baseman Jonathan Schoop hasn't had as good of a season as he has in the past. Schoop has struggled in almost all areas this year as he is slashing .208/.249/.374. His wOBA is only .268. Despite those numbers, he's still owned in well over half of leagues. Schoop has 10 home runs which isn't terrible, but he only has 13 other extra-base hits so far. What's worse is his .21 BB/K and the fact that he has no stolen bases. That only leaves runs and RBI, which he hasn't been great in either. He has 33 runs and 23 RBI. While it isn't always smart to speculate, it looks like Manny Machado may be getting traded this season which could stunt his production even more.
Ian Kinsler (2B, LAA) - 45% owned
Ian Kinsler would be a great trade piece as many will buy his hot start. You should move on from him due to his recent performance. His average has been consistently terrible and now rests at .213. Kinsler has just a .283 wOBA on the year. It's important to remember that the veteran is 36 years old. He has little value in dynasty formats, but slightly more in redraft. Kinsler has some value in the home run category with 11, and he has seven stolen bases. other than that there isn't much attraction to him. you could try using him as a trade chip and if there are no takers you can drop him.
Josh Harrison (2B/3B, PIT) - 35% owned
Josh Harrison has had a bad year for the Pittsburgh Pirates. his wOBA is only .279. His BB/K ratio is only .26. He no longer gets the benefit of outfield eligibility which helped his value so much before. Harrison is slashing just .265/.303/.365. He's only seven for his last 46 at-bats. Over that same time he has no walks and just one RBI. You can't win a championship with those numbers. He hasn't even showcased his speed this year as he has only stolen two bases. He should be dropped in all leagues.
