We are two months into the 2017 baseball season, a good time to assess your team. Here are five players to add off the waiver wire if you need help.
Regardless of league size, the waiver wire is rich with talent. The negative is that it’s because too many players are getting hurt and replacements are needed. Even if it’s for a short stint as a starting pitcher or fill-in bat, these players can help you in your head-to-head matchups or gain a couple of points in a roto league.
On the surface, these five players may not have the best stats. However, over the recent weeks, they’ve been some of the hottest players. With high averages and on-base percentages, low pitching ratios or high strikeout totals, these five players will help you towards your fantasy championship.
More from Fantasy Baseball
- 5 fantasy baseball waiver wire pivots to replace Triston McKenzie
- Fantasy baseball mock draft 2023, 12-team: Aaron Judge over Trea Turner?
- 3 fantasy baseball sleepers being drafted too late
- NBA DFS picks December 25: Merry Bucking Christmas
- Fantasy Baseball: Hot pitchers worthy of starting this weekend
Frequently, fantasy owners use the waiver wire to pick up a batter for a couple of extra at-bats or a streaming starting pitcher. However, there are some valuable full-time players still available.
It’s important to look at that team’s recent lineups to see how often a batter is getting plate appearances or if a pitcher is throwing every five games.
In this article, I will talk about two hitters, two starting pitchers and a relief pitcher. Every fantasy owner can use a hot bat, a quality arm or a boost in the bullpen.
I will be referencing ownership in ESPN leagues. That is what I have access to and I believe is the most popular site among fantasy players. Check your league’s waiver wire to see if these players are available.
Honorable mention: German Marquez (here), Brad Hand (here), Adam Frazier (here)
Chris Taylor has spent time as the Dodgers second baseman. But, with the return on Logan Forsythe, Taylor seems to be out of a job.
However, that isn’t the case. With the struggles in the outfield, manager Dave Roberts wants to keep Taylor’s bat in the lineup. Eric Stephen tweeted that Taylor is getting close to being a starting outfielder.
He will also see time at third base with Justin Turner’s injury. For the season, he is hitting .326 with five home runs, 16 RBI and 16 runs scored. The righty is crushing left-handing pitching, hitting .440 with a 1.29 OPS in the process.
Taylor is owned in just 24.7 percent of leagues. With the numbers he’s put up so far, the opportunity for more at-bats and multi-position eligibility, he’s worth an add in all leagues.
Devon Travis has been on fire over the last two weeks. In his last 15 games, 14 starts, Travis is hitting .382 with 11 doubles, two home runs, 11 RBI and seven runs scored. In that span, he has seven multi-hit games.
He doesn’t have much plate discipline, 10 strikeouts to just one walk, but when he makes contact with a ball, it’s usually a hit.
Good second basemen have hard to come by. Looking at ESPN’s Player Rater, Cesar Hernandez is No. 7, Jedd Gyorko is 10th and Brandon Phillips is 11th. All three of these men were drafted after Round 20.
Travis currently ranks 28th, but if you take out the multi-positional guys, he’s 22nd. Travis has flirted with being a top-20 option for a bit and this could finally be the season he does it.
He’s shown some power recently, two homers in his last three games. Hitting in the second half of the Blue Jays lineup, behind Kendrys Morales, Jose Bautista and the returning Josh Donaldson, Travis will have prime RBI opportunities. He’s owned in just 23.9 percent of leagues.
Joe Ross is back in the Nationals rotation. He made three starts before being sent back down to work on his mechanical issues. In those starts, he pitched 15.2 innings and allowed 13 runs on 20 hits and four walks while striking out 14.
In his first start back in the majors, Ross pitched eight innings and gave up one run on five hits and struck out six against the Seattle Mariners. Ross set down the next 12 batters he faced after giving up a leadoff single.
Ross’s next start will be on May 28 against the San Diego Padres. I’ve covered the recent struggles of the Padres before so this is a start worth taking advantage of. Ross has good control of his pitches, limiting free passes, and could strike out close to 10 batters in this game.
Ross is owned in just 18.6 percent of leagues. With a strong start upon his return and a nice matchup to follow, he should be owned in more leagues.
Zack Wheeler finally returned from Tommy John surgery for the start of this season. So far, he has a 3.74 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 3-2 record. He also has 40 strikeouts and 20 walks. He’s pitched well recently and is worth an add in deeper leagues.
Wheeler started this month out strong with two straight quality starts. His most recent outing against the Los Angeles Angels wasn’t as good.
He started out strong but pitched into trouble in the fifth inning. Wheeler lasted just five innings while giving up two runs on four hits and five walks. He managed to strike out five as well.
With the number of injuries and poor performances the Mets are dealing with from their rotation, a successful Wheeler is necessary. Fantasy owners are noticing as his ownership is up 11 percent.
His next start is May 26 on the road against the Pittsburgh Steelers. If he can avoid giving Adam Frazier a pitch to hit, then this will be another favorable matchup.
The Washington Nationals bullpen has seen a lot of turnover in a short amount of time. Going from Shawn Kelley to Blake Treinen to their current closer Koda Glover.
Manager Dusty Baker confirmed that Glover will be the Nationals closer. There are no more questions if this is a committee situation or if the plug will be pulled in a day or to.
“So he had said that’s the job he wanted, and so it’s his now,” Baker said in an interview with MASNSports.com. “We wanted to break him in slowly because this guy’s … shoot, he’s only a year-and-a-half out of college.”
The reason I teased this with “for now” because there have been a lot of rumors that Washington will be trading for a closer by the trade deadline, whether it’s Kelvin Herrera or David Robertson.
Until then, Glover is the man to own in the Nats’ bullpen. He hasn’t allowed a run this month while giving up five hits and one walk. Glover has five strikeouts and a save in his last 5.1 innings.
With few closers to stand behind, Glover is owned in just 22.2 percent of leagues. If you need closer help, pick him up. If the Nats to make a move, at least you get two months of quality service out of him.
These five players have a role carved out for them in their respective lineups. The waiver wire is full of part-time players or platoon options that you want no part of. It’s hard to find a player you can use on a weekly basis, but you just have to look harder. They are out there and the five players I list here are proof.