Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups-Sleeper Central-June 20
Tonight, I’m headed to Fenway for my first game of the season. My family and I are headed back to Guam this weekend, so it’s an end-of-the-trip treat to see my Sox in person. We’ll be near the Moster, but the tickets on it are a little pricey so we’re just in the left field bleachers. I’ll let you know if I catch any sleepers first-hand in tomorrow’s sleeper central.
Today, let’s take a look back at a lineup of players who out-performed their ownership in last night’s action. If you need a positional or category upgrade, these are some options to consider depending on your need and league rules. If you need more ideas check our archive.
Here’s today’s sleeper central starting lineup with ESPN ownership percentages in parentheses:
Sleeper Starting Lineup
C– Nick Hundley – SD: (0.1%) This season has been an offensive disappointment for the Padres catcher hitting just .162 coming into yesterday’s action. He did have a nice 2-4 game with a run scored and an RBI. He’s shown some pop with three homers and 20 RBI, but don’t rush to grab him until he brings his average up. This could be the start of something so keep an eye on him going forward.
1B– Logan Morrison – Mia: (36.7%) Although he started at DH in the American League park, Morrison has OF and 1B eligibility. He went 3-4 at Fenway last night with two doubles, a home run, run scored, and five RBI. He’s off today with a lefty going for the Red Sox, but should return to the regular lineup going forward. He’s hitting .240 on the year with six home runs and 22 RBI.
2B– Daniel Descalso – Stl: (0.1%) Descalso has contributed in his utility role in 56 games so far for the Cards. He went 2-3 with two runs scored yesterday bringing his totals for the year to .236 with three home runs, nine RBI, and 18 runs scored.
3B– Chris Johnson – Hou: (16.8%) Last night against KC, Johnson went 2-4 raising his average to .270 on the year with five home runs, 26 runs, and 27 RBI. He’s a top 20 3B fairly easily with a tendency to get hot and pile up long balls and RBI in bunches when he gets on a roll.
SS-Zack Cozart – Cin: (35.4%) Cozart is back after a few days off from the flu and has hit safely in eight of his last ten games with six multi-hit games. He went 3-5 last night with a double and a run scored to bring his average up to .266 with a .312 OBP from the top spot in the potent Reds lineup. He’s a consistent source of runs (40 on the year) and hits with some decent power (seven home runs) from a thin SS position. He’s worth a look if you need help at the SS spot.
OF– John Mayberry Jr. – Phi: (2.4%) With home runs in four of his last five games, Mayberry is starting to heat up while maintaining OF and 1B eligibility. He has gone 8-21 in his last five with the four homers and a total of 10 RBI. The Phillies were counting on his bat, and it looks like their patience may be about to pay off.
OF– Quintin Berry – Det: (9.2%) Berry got a second consecutive start in LF and went 2-5 with a run scored and RBI. If he keeps playing regularly, Berry’s speed and average make him an attractive option. He has nine steals in nine attempts and is currently hitting .337 with 19 runs scored and seven RBI. He’ll have huge value if he hits second and plays LF on a daily basis.
OF– Cody Ross – Bos: (25.2%) Returning from the DL with a bang, Ross went 1-3 with a home run in his first game back. While outfielders who hit for average are available as the year goes on, but power hitting outfielders are hard to come by. Ross has nine homers in 38 games and has shown the ability to collent home runs, RBI, and runs and should get plenty of at-bats until the Crawford-Ellsbury returns.
AL Starting Pitcher– Luke Hochevar – KC: (0.5%) In his best start of the year, Hochevar went 7.2 scoreless allowing five hits and four walks to the Astros and striking out six. He picked up the win to improve to 4-7 but his ERA is still 5.65 and he has a 1.46 WHIP in his first 14 starts. It’s a good step, but he’ll need to string some more outings like this together before he becomes a regular fantasy option.
NL Starting Pitcher– Travis Wood – ChC: (0.2%) Picking up his first win of the year, Wood outdueled Jake Peavy allowing just a run on four hits in six innings. He’s had several solid starts allowing three earned runs or less in all but one of his seven starts. He’s limited opponents to a .224 BAA and is starting to become a spot starter option.
Relief Pitcher– Charlie Furbush – Sea: (0.1%) Furbush hasn’t allowed a run in his last 12 appearances and has allowed just two hits in that time. He pitched two scoreless shutdown innings against the D-backs last night striking out four and getting the win to improve to 3-1 on the season. He’s been effective in his 25 games striking out 35 in 27.1 innings with a 2.30 ERA and a 0.62 WHIP. If you need a relief pitcher in your league and the closers are gone, Furbush is a solid setup option.