Fantasy Baseball Week 4 Waiver Wire Pickups: Hitters
By Bill Pivetz
The fantasy baseball season is flying by. With Week 3 ending, now is a good time to assess your team. Here are five hitters to add off the waiver wire.
We are three weeks into the fantasy baseball season. It’s been an interesting road so far. There’s been some good and some bad. We’ve seen talented players unfortunately get hurt and other players breakout and become fantasy relevant. It’s important for you to keep tabs on the waiver wire so you can take advantage of those players on a hot streak.
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While it’s still early in the season, some changes could be made. If there is a player you drafted late that isn’t productive, you should hold no qualms about dropping him in favor of a more productive hitter. On the other hand, if a top-five pick isn’t hitting, sit tight. There’s no need to overreact. You drafted him early for a reason.
My criteria for this list is simple. These hitters are available in less than 40 percent of ESPN leagues. I apologize if you don’t use that website. That is the only one I have accurate numbers to. It doesn’t make sense to write about a player that is 80 percent owned. The hitters also need to be productive, obviously. These five hitters have either been crushing the ball, getting on base or stealing a lot of bases so far this season.
I will also not be writing about the players I or any one of my colleagues have written about as a waiver wire pick up. If there is a player I didn’t mention, take a look at our website earlier in the week, and that player might be there.
So, if you need some help in the hitting department, here are five hitters that should be on your radar for the upcoming week.
Next: No. 5 Justin Smoak
Owned: 1.2 percent
Justin Smoak is going to get a lot of playing time over the next 80 days. Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Chris Colabello has been suspended 80 games for testing positive for a banned substance. Smoak is the next one up on the depth chart. And in this offense, he becomes fantasy relevant.
He isn’t doing much this season, for obvious reasons. On the season, he is hitting .208 with one RBI and one steal. Those numbers will likely go up now that he’ll be in a more featured role. In 132 games last season, he hit 18 home runs, 59 RBI and .226.
Smoak hits well against right-handers, but struggles against lefties. He has a career .224 average with 23 home runs in 382 games against southpaws. As a result, the team may look to call someone up from Triple-A to fill in for him.
He doesn’t have guaranteed playing time like some of the other players on this list, but he definitely has more than what he had just a week ago. If you need a corner infielder or utility guy, Smoak is a good pick up.
Next: No. 4: Melvin Upton
Owned: 25.7 percent
Once a premier steals guy, Melvin Upton Jr. fantasy value has declined over the last few years. From 2013 to 2015, he hit .209 with 41 steals in 354 games. This year, however, we’ve seen a bit of a renaissance. In 18 games, he has two home runs, six RBI and a .259 average with five steals.
The San Diego Padres lineup is not the best, to say the least. The team has already been shut out five times this season. They have scored less than three runs nine times this season. It’s evident by Upton’s lack of runs scored, only eight.
But, that isn’t why you should add Upton. You should add him as a cheap steals option. The fact that he is running again makes him valuable. He had just nine steals in 87 games last year. He is well on pace to destroy that. If he plays 130 games, he will finish with 30 steals.
Now, Upton isn’t someone I would rush to the waiver wire to add. He is going to be very streaky this season. In order to steal, you need to get on base. He two hits in his previous 12 at bats. He is more worthy of a pick up in deeper leagues and not your standard 10-team ones.
Next: No. 3: Jarrod Dyson
Owned: 19.0 percent
The Kansas City Royals outfield is now at 100 percent. Jarrod Dyson missed the first couple of weeks with an oblique injury, but made his return on April 19. He showed no signs of a lingering injury and should be added in all leagues.
In five games this season, he is hitting .333 with one RBI and two steals. That last stat is why owners should go after Dyson. He had 26 steals in 90 games last year and 36 in 120 games the year before.
He was never a full-time starter for the Royals, so he will be getting a lot more at-bats as the starting right fielder. If he plays all season, he can easily top 30 steals. He will replace Paulo Orlando in right field Orlando wasn’t performing poorly, .261 average in seven games, but Dyson is a more productive hitter.
Dyson won’t give you a lot of power, he has just six career home runs. He is going to be a nice source for batting average and on-base percentage. The Royals lineup, at least the first six batters, is dangerous. With Dyson hitting at the bottom of the lineup, the Royals are using the “second lead-off man” strategy to help the rest of the offense.
Next: No.2: Trea Turner
Owned: 14.2 percent
It seems like the Washington Nationals never want to promote Trea Turner. However, this might be the year. After getting a whiff of big-league play last season, management sent him back down to Triple-A to start this season. In 16 games, he has two home runs, eight RBI, six steals and a .377 batting average. You can’t keep that kind of production down in the minors for long.
The reason Turner is still in the minors is because the Nationals don’t have any holes to fill. The team signed second baseman Daniel Murphy in the offseason and has Danny Espinosa and Anthony Rendon at shortstop and third base.
But, there may be a spot opening in the Nationals lineup. Espinosa isn’t hitting well. In 17 games, he has five RBI and a .188 batting average. If he keeps this up for another week, then Turner should be getting the call soon.
Fantasy owners are already hopping on the Turner bandwagon. I will assume some of his ownership percentage is due to keeper or dynasty leagues, but he should be added in re-draft leagues, too. He has power and speed, which is a rarity in today’s game. There aren’t too many guys on the waiver wire like him.
Next: No. 1: Yasmany Tomas
Owned: 39.2 percent
Last season was an up-and-down year for the rookie Yasmany Tomas. After coming over from Cuba, Tomas hit nine home runs and 48 RBI with a .273 average in 118 games. He played some infield, but transitioned to the outfield, which may have affected his production. This season, after a full Spring Training, has been better.
In 16 games, he has three homers, nine RBI and a .279 average. With the injury to A.J. Pollock, the Arizona Diamondbacks need all the help they can get to compete in the National League West.
In his last seven games, Tomas has his three home runs with five RBI. Because he is outfield and third base eligible, Tomas provides you with a little more flexibility in your lineup.
The downside is that he may not help your batting average. Over his last six games, he has just one hit in each. While one of those hits was a home run, going 1-for-4 or 1-for-5 is not something you look forward to. He isn’t someone you should start on an everyday basis, but he is a good fill in for one of your regular starters.
Next: Wrap Up
These five players can help your team in a few different ways. Some can help with power and driving in runs. Some can get on base and help batting average and others can swipe a couple of bags throughout the week. It doesn’t matter who you choose, it’ll be more than what you’re getting out of your current players…or else you wouldn’t be looking at the waiver wire.
There are some questions with these players though. Can Upton continue to get on base? Will Dyson have enough at bats as the No. 9 hitter? Though, every waiver wire add doesn’t come with his own list of concerns. It’s just something you have to deal with as you make some changes to your team.
Like I said earlier, it is very early to be making drastic changes. But, dropping one of your bench players for someone a little more productive makes sense. It’s all about juicing the orange and getting every last drop of productivity out of these players.
Next: Jarrod Saltalamacchia Deep Waiver Wire Add
Keep an eye out for my top-five starting pitchers to add this week. The names on that list are, if not more, valuable than those listed here.