Trading Up: Javier Baez

Before the season, Chicago Cubs manager, Joe “Hates Your Fantasy Baseball Team” Maddon challenged Javier Baez to make himself so productive that Maddon would be forced to start Baez every day. Many fantasy owners are well aware of Maddon’s tendency to split playing time between several strong players, thereby decreasing their volume and consequently their […]

Sergio Romo Earns Another Save Sunday Versus Houston

Tampa Bay Rays closer Sergio Romo earns another save against the defending champs Sunday. In the three-game series this weekend, Romo came into the ninth inning of all three with a lead. He gave way to Alvarado Friday but he picked up the other two saves in the sweep. Romo now has eight saves on […]

Kenley Jansen Earns 22nd Save Of Season Sunday

Los Angeles Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen picked up his 22nd save of the season Sunday in a 6-4 game against the Rockies. Jansen pitched a clean ninth inning, allowing no runs on no hits and no walks with two strikeouts. The 30-year-old had a bumpy start to the season but has since looked like the […]

Will Smith Records Last Out For Second Save In A Row

Will Smith struck out the final batter in Sunday's game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The San Francisco Giants pitcher picked up the save which was the second of the year for him, and it was just the third of his major league career. Smith has been fairly successful this year as he has a 1.13 […]

Will Smith (RP, SF) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deeper Saves Leagues OWNED IN: 28% of leagues ANALYSIS: Will Smith got his second save tonight, and the second save in a row for the Giants, spanning the last three days. Mark Melancon actually started the ninth inning tonight in a non-save situation (the Giants were leading 9-5 at the time), […]

Wily Peralta (RP, KC) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deeper Saves Leagues OWNED IN: 14% of leagues ANALYSIS: Everyone knew the Royals were going to trade their closer, Kelvin Herrera. We just didn't know it would happen so early. While looking at the Kansas City bullpen and thinking about who could replace Herrera in the ninth inning, the internet seemingly had a […]

Tyler Clippard (RP, TOR) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deeper Saves Leagues OWNED IN: 28% of leagues ANALYSIS: Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Tyler Clippard earned his fifth save of the season Friday night against the Detroit Tigers, and could be in line for more saves chances. Ryan Tepera had been serving as the team's closer but has been placed on […]

Seung Hwan Oh (RP, TOR) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deeper Saves Leagues OWNED IN: 7% of leagues ANALYSIS: Toronto Blue Jays relief pitcher Seung Hwan Oh got the call in the ninth inning of Saturdays 4-3 win over the Tigers. Oh entered the game tied and allowed no runs on a hit and a walk with a strikeout. The Blue […]

Mike Minor (SP/RP, TEX) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 8% of leagues ANALYSIS: Minor had some preseason buzz going if he could keep his bullpen gains from 2017 going in Texas’ rotation. It hasn’t been that simple, but the 2009 seventh-overall pick has built up momentum with quality starts against Houston, Colorado and Minnesota in […]

Dereck Rodriguez (SF, SP/RP) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 7% of leagues ANALYSIS: Rodriguez’s first appearance in the bigs was an iffy relief spot at Coors Field, but since then he’s posted three quality starts in five outings with a solid 24-to-6 strikeout-to-walk ratio. I’d be remiss not to say how he’s faced San Diego […]

Danny Salazar To Undergo Surgery Monday

Cleveland Indians pitcher Danny Salazar will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder on Monday. Salazar has been on the disabled list all season and it looks like he will stay there for the remainder of it. Still, Salazar is owned in 21% of leagues, and that number needs to be greatly reduced as he […]

Brad Hand Narrowly Avoids Disaster

San Diego Padres closer Brad Hand escaped with his 23rd save Saturday against the Pittsburgh Pirates despite allowing two earned runs. Spotted a three-run lead, Hand surrendered two doubles and a triple to start the ninth inning before miraculously avoiding a blown save by ending the game via two fly balls and a strikeout. Hand […]

Seung Hwan Oh Pitches Ninth Inning Saturday

Toronto Blue Jays relief pitcher Seung Hwan Oh got the call in the ninth inning of Saturdays 4-3 win over the Tigers. Oh entered the game tied and allowed no runs on a hit and a walk with a strikeout. The Blue Jays walked off with a win in the bottom of the ninth, so […]

The Cut List (Week 14): Time to Let Go?

Welcome to Week 14 of the Cut List. In this edition, I take a look at the recent performances of Joey Gallo, Tommy Pham, Travis Shaw, and Kyle Hendricks. Has Gallo underperformed expectations? Why is Pham hitting .246? Is Shaw not the bonafide slugger we thought he was? Is Hendricks viable in standard leagues? I […]

Week 14 Waiver Wire Watch List

This is the point in the season where things start to get interesting, especially in fantasy circles. Prospects continue to rise and the real life trade deadline is just a month away, which means potential new opportunities for some of baseball’s brightest. It also means sample sizes are getting ever so larger, helping us make […]

Sergio Romo Earns Seventh Save Saturday Versus Houston

Tampa Bay Rays closer Sergio Romo earned save unlucky (for Houston) number seven Saturday versus the Astros. He would produce a clean ninth inning to close out the game. Romo had been serving multiple roles this season, including starting several times. This split role made it tough for fantasy owners to use Romo. When he […]

Wilmer Font Likely Out Eight Weeks

Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Wilmer Font (lat strain) could miss eight weeks with his injury. The Rays do not plan to promote another player to the position of starter but instead run another bullpen or opener day until Chris Archer returns. In the case of Archer, that could be July 8 or 9 if everything […]

Buy or Sell - Undervalued and Overvalued Players for Week 14

We all suffer from recency bias, whether we realize it or not. It's easy in this day and age. Highlights and long-winded articles about who you should add, drop, or trade color our perception even more, but the numbers tell the true story. If any sport demands that we step back and take a macro view […]

Streaming Wars - Waiver Wire Targets for July 1

Welcome back to Streaming Wars, your one-stop shop for streaming the waiver wire all season long. This article, now in its second year, runs seven days a week. For those who are newcomers to this feature - use this column on a daily basis to improve upon your neediest categories, and target players who may be available on […]

Sergio Romo And Jose Alvarado Combine To Close Out Houston

Tampa Bay Rays relief pitchers Sergio Romo and Jose Alvarado combined to shut down the Astros in the ninth inning Friday. Sergio Romo came in and got the first two outs of the ninth inning but then allowed a single. Alvardo was then brought in to retire Marwin Gonzalez to close out the 3-2 victory. […]

Hector Neris Pounded Again As Days Appear Numbered

Late in Friday night’s game against the Washington Nationals, Philadelphia Phillies manager Gabe Kapler went to Hector Neris to close out the ninth. Of course, this wasn’t a save situation, rather a garbage time appearance for the former closer who’s now at the very bottom of the depth chart. The 29-year-old came on with the […]

Joe Musgrove Goes Seven Strong in Win, Vasquez Gets Save

Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Joe Musgrove got his third win of the season on Friday. The San Diego area hurler pitched seven scoreless innings with five strikeouts and only two walks. He has 36 strikeouts in 40 1/3 innings pitched this year. Felipe Vasquez came on in the ninth for his 16th save in the […]

Mike Montgomery Picks Up A Victory Friday

Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Mike Montgomery picked up his third victory on Friday versus the Twins. Montgomery allowed five runs (three earned) on seven hits, three walks and five strikeouts. Montgomery gave up all five runs to Joe Mauer, who hit a three-run blast and knocked in a pair with a double. Montgomery has held […]

Wade Davis Shuts Down San Francisco

Colorado Rockies closer Wade Davis seems to have gotten his groove back as he pitched a perfect inning against the Giants on Thursday to record his 22nd save. Davis had a couple hiccoughs and one horrendous outing ten days ago, but he's since only allowed one hit in his last three innings pitched. There are […]

Adam Ottavino May Be Losing Control

Two years ago, Colorado Rockies relief pitcher Adam Ottavino was a control freak who posted a 5.00 K/BB ratio while striking out more than 11 batters per nine innings. Last season, he lost his control and posted an incredible 6.58 BB/9, leading to an ERA north of 5.00. After looking like he put those demons […]

Jeff Hoffman Sent Down To Albuquerque

Colorado Rockies pitcher Jeff Hoffman finally caught a ride back to Triple-A Albuquerque when reliever Mike Dunn was activated from the disabled list. Hoffman performed poorly as a starting pitcher last season for the Rockies, but his stint of five appearances in relief this month has been an absolute nightmare. Hoffman finished up with a […]

Brooks Pounders Demoted to Triple-A

The Colorado Rockies demoted relief pitcher Brooks Pounders to Triple-A Albuquerque to make room for Scott Oberg in the bullpen. Pounders has been atrocious this season, posting a 7.63 ERA in 14 appearances. He's lasted this long simply because Colorado's bullpen is so bad that Pounders has just blended in. It's not clear why Pounders […]

Mike Dunn Activated From DL

The Colorado Rockies activated relief pitcher Mike Dunn from the disabled list after he finished a rehab assignment for his strained upper back. Dunn hasn't been very good this season, but compared to those who stepped in while he was out, he looks like a star. Ignoring three terrible outings that happened right before he […]

Scott Oberg Activated From Disabled List

The Colorado Rockies activated relief pitcher Scott Oberg from the disabled list in hopes that he'll help steady the ship in the worst bullpen in the majors. Oberg had been sidelined for 15 games due to a strained lower back, and the bullpen has been atrocious while he was out. It wasn't purely that Oberg […]

Sam Dyson (RP, SF) - Week 14 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 30% of leagues ANALYSIS: San Francisco Giants relief pitcher Sam Dyson appears to be the closer of the moment in San Francisco, making him a nice addition. Hunter Strickland will not available for the next month or so and Dyson seems to be the man to fit […]