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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.
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- Who should I start? Fantasy baseball player comparisons
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Points League Players to Add
Joc Pederson (OF, LAD) - 40% owned
Joc Pederson is trying to return to the form we fell in love with in 2016. Pederson has a scorching .433 AVG in June. He has seven of his eight home runs this month. Things are really starting to look good for Pederson. He has only struck out three times in 30 plate appearances this month. Pederson has 11 runs and 10 RBI in that span. His wOBA this year is .380, which is actually 20 points better than his career high. Pederson has improved by having a 0.65 BB/K. The Dodgers offense as a whole has come around. He continues to be a great addition even if he cools back off. Consider him a rest of season addition, but keep a fairly short leash if he gets into a slump.
Leonys Martin (OF, DET) - 35% owned
Leonys Martin may not be a player that turns into one of your top outfielders, but he makes a great fourth or fifth option. He's a very steady player that gets points every night from the leadoff spot. He has a hit in nine of his last 12 starts. He has three home runs over that period. Martin also has four stolen bases in that span. Over the course of the season he has 39 runs. Martin also has 26 RBI which isn't bad for a leadoff hitter. He's slashing a respectable .332/.470/.802. He has had success getting on base in part because of his 39.1% hard hit rate. Martin should be picked up in all league sizes. He should be considered a rest-of-season addition.
Scott Schebler (OF, CIN) - 20% owned
Scott Schebler is one of the most underrated outfielders in the league. He has a hit in 10 of his last 11 games, and reached base the one game he didn't get a hit. His slash line is .353/.470/.823. Schebler has a .357 wOBA which is slightly above his career average. He has a 41.5% hard hit rate which contributes to his 10 doubles and eight home runs. They aren't eye-popping numbers, but they aren't bad for a leadoff hitter. Although he hits as a lefty, he has a .352 AVG against southpaw pitching. Something to note if you pick him up is that his average drops almost 100 points when he hits against right-handed pitching, but his power gets much better. This is useful for determining what you need. If it's Sunday and you are trying to hold onto a lead, you want him facing a left-hander. If you need big power, you want him facing a right-hander.
Points League Pitchers to Stream
Clayton Richard (SP, SD) - Thursday 6/21/18 vs. SFG - 31% owned
Clayton Richard pitched pretty well in June and he's staying successful in July so far. Richard is having one of his best seasons as far as strikeouts go, with a K/9 of 7.26 That doesn't sound very high, but it's important to look at his innings pitched as well. Some players can have high K/9 but score less points because they can't go as deep into games. Richard has gone at least six innings in his last eight starts. His last three starts have all been seven innings. He has 71 strikeouts on the year.
Joakim Soria (RP, CWS) - 27% owned
Joakim Soria has reinvented himself. His lower arm angle has landed him the closer role for the Chicago White Sox. Soria has saves in six straight appearances. Soria has only given up four hits in his last 10 appearances. It has been 12 games since he has allowed a run. He gets a ton of value in points leagues due to a 6.00 K/BB ratio. The numbers leading to that are a 10.38 K/9 and a 1.73 BB/9. Soria has been one of the top 10 relievers in points leagues over the last 15 days. Don't miss a chance to get steady points night in and night out.
Jhoulys Chacin (SP, MIL) - Monday 6/18/18 vs. PIT - 30% owned
Jhoulys Chacin has a chance to be one of the best two-start pitchers this week. He draws the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday and the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday. Chacin owns a 6-1 record with 64 strikeouts on the season. His record can be attributed to good pitching, but he has also had much better run support than in the past. His 7.08 K/9 isn't much better than his career average, but he has improved in other areas. His area of most improvement is in home runs. He has a 0.66 HR/9, which is about .50 better than his major league career average. Chacin has won his last three starts.
Points League Players to Drop
Maikel Franco (3B, PHI) - 28% owned
Maikel Franco has reached platoon status at best. Franco has been sitting against right-handed pitching. Franco has 32 RBI, but that's about the only thing going for him. Franco has lived off of his power in the past. He only has six doubles and eight home runs. His .294 wOBA just isn't cutting it. J.P. Crawford has been taking away his playing time, and until he does something to prove he can be the everyday starter, Franco is worth dropping. Franco is a hard player to own in any format due to his cold spells, but he has only drawn 12 walks which makes it even harder in points leagues. You should pursue one of your many other options in the waiver wire or consider using him as an extra chip in a trade.
Michael Conforto (OF, NYM) - 48% owned
It has been a rough year for Michael Conforto. His season batting average is a low .216. It has been far worse in June at only .108. His season slash line rests at .339/.368/.708 on the year. All of the numbers in his slash line are career lows. Conforto has a very low 28.4% hard hit rate. It's alarming to me to see his hard contact so low. He gets most of his value from extra-base hits and RBI. He only has 13 extra-base hits and 17 RBI. There are many Conforto lovers and that's obvious with his 48% ownership. However, there are a ton of better options; Conforto should be dropped in all formats.
Zack Cozart (2B/3B/SS, LAA) - 40% owned
While Zack Cozart has gotten 29 runs this season, he has struggled in other areas. He had quite a bit of value before second baseman Ian Kinsler came back from injury, but he hasn't been playing well enough to be an everyday starter. A lot of his fantasy value comes from eligibility at three different positions. He has a .219 AVG this season. Cozart has dealt with some minor injury, but now finds himself on the 10-day disabled list. I don't usually drop a player just because they go on the DL, but his play warrants it. His wOBA is only at .289. His slash line is even worse at .296/.362/.658. He has been ice cold of late going a mere 2-for-19. At 32 years old, Cozart is safe to drop in both redraft and dynasty formats.
