After a week’s hiatus, I’m back with more FAAB Insights. Huge shoutout to my friend, Ryan Clark, for his excellent fill-in column last week. Great calls on Jorge Polanco and Tony Gonsolin, to name just a couple—helped fantasy managers (including myself) make educated FAAB decisions and take another step closer towards winning their league(s). Hopefully, we can continue that trend this week with a handful of names that could help fantasy squads in all formats.
As a reminder, this column is designed to help guide those in Free Agent Acquisition Budget (FAAB) leagues in making the best choices regarding who to target on the waiver wire. Specifically, we’re focusing on players who are between 20-25% rostered in most 12-team leagues and/or 25-50% rostered in 15-teamers. Every league is different, so we won’t be labeling player bids with any sort of recommended dollar amount but instead will use a four-tier investment rating system, ranging from a minimal spend to a potential difference-maker (or LEAGUE-WINNER, if you will).
Let’s dig in!
Investment Rating System
Only four teams have a seven-game slate scheduled for this week as the Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds and Los Angeles Dodgers each have a full week ahead. The Colorado Rockies play six home games, hosting the Detroit Tigers and San Diego Padres while the Athletics host the Seattle Mariners and New York Yankees for six home games in their hitter-friendly park as well.
SEVEN GAMES: ARZ, ATL, CIN, LAD
Batters
Outfielders
Alex Verdugo ($$$): Well, Verdugo has now officially usurped Jarred Kelenic in the Atlanta Braves outfield and will likely remain a full-time starter even when Ronald Acuña Jr. returns from injury. He’s been a spark plug for this Atlanta offense, opening the season with a .313 average, six runs scored, and six RBI. He’s an accumulator who really only succeeds through volume, but he should get just that in the top portion of the Atlanta lineup moving forward.
Jeff McNeil ($$): McNeil returned from injury and immediately became a mainstay in the Mets’ starting lineup, with starts in center field and at second base. McNeil has gone 7-for-22 so far with a home run, showing his usual plate discipline paired with a little bit of pop in the middle of that Mets order. He’s a boring but solid addition to most fantasy lineups.
Mickey Moniak ($): Moniak has been a near-everyday starter for the Colorado Rockies, and with six home games this week could provide value as a streaming option. He’ll sit against left-handed starters, but the former top draft pick could see 20+ plate appearances in Coors Field, which is enough to at least consider the veteran as a pickup this week.
Leody Taveras ($): Typically considered a stolen base maven, Taveras has gone two weeks without swiping a bag entering Saturday’s games but has batted 7-for-19 with a home run. A streaky hitter his entire career, Taveras may be worth considering for as long as he stays hot. As soon as he shows signs of another slump, managers can dump him again.
Jason Heyward ($): With injuries to Jackson Merrill and Fernando Tatis, the San Diego Padres have been forced to trot out retread outfielder Jason Heyward more than they would probably like to over the past week or so. Though he’s batting just .208 this season, Heyward and the Padres head to Coors Field for three games, which could help boost his performance at the plate. He’s penciled in for plenty of playing time unless San Diego calls up another outfielder, so there are worse ways to spend a dollar of FAAB this week.
Infielders
Jorge Polanco ($$$): HOLY HARD CONTACT JORGE! Polanco has struck the ball incredibly well so far this season with a 19.0% hard contact rate and a 60% HR/FB rate that will certainly regress back to the mean. But the most encouraging sign of Polanco’s season so far has been an 87.0% zone-contact rate, the highest we’ve seen from him since 2021, when he hit 33 home runs and drove in 98 RBI. Regression is coming, but I don’t think he’ll drop down to the lows we saw over his last two seasons. With nine home runs already, we could see Polanco pop 25 or more this season if he can continue his increased zone contact rate and solid ball-striking.
Joey Ortiz ($$$): After an extremely slow start to the season, Ortiz might just be turning a corner. Batting just .189 this season, Ortiz had a modest five-game hit streak going earlier this week and looked more comfortable at the plate. Sporting a .227 BABIP that is a far cry from his career average of around .280, Ortiz should see some positive regression soon. The lynchpin of the Corbin Burnes trade with Baltimore, once Ortiz gets going, it should be a fun summer for his fantasy managers. He’s one of those guys that I don’t want to be late on, so I’m scooping him up now.
Javier Báez ($$): What is going on with Javier Báez this year? He’s batting .308, striking out at a reasonable 24.2% clip, and playing outfield. Times are strange. Fantasy managers ought to scoop the veteran now while he’s riding a .377 BABIP and 21.4% HR/FB ratio. Plus, he gets a series in Coors this week.
Max Muncy (LAD – $$): A streaky power-hitting lefty, Muncy hit his first home run of the season this past week, which could signal the beginning of a hot streak. Or be a flash in the pan. Either way, it might be worth taking a gamble on the veteran third baseman with the Dodgers scheduled to face five right-handed starters this week.
Catchers/UT
Carson Kelly ($$$): At this point, the Cubs’ starting catcher job is Kelly’s. He’s batting cleanup in some iterations of their lineup and Craig Counsell has shown that he’s going to ride the catcher while he’s hot. Roster him until he inevitably falls off a production cliff.
Tyler Stephenson ($$): Back from injury, Stephenson made his season debut this week with a pair of hits. He’s not widely available, but he should be picked up in all 15-team leagues and most 12-team leagues. Assuming he’s completely healthy, he’s easily a top-15 offensive catcher in the MLB, with the second-best home hitter’s park in the league to boot.
Jacob Stallings ($): He’s got a pulse, is catcher-eligible and has six games in Coors Field where he’ll likely start one or two. What more could you want from a streaming option at second catcher?
Pitchers
Starting Pitchers
Eury Perez ($$$$): An injury stash for those in non-NFBC formats, Perez looked pretty good in his first rehab start since Tommy John surgery last year. According to reports, Perez was near previous velocities in his rehab start, which is impressive considering he used to sit at 97.5 mph on his four-seam fastball before injury. If Perez can continue progressing, he ought to be back before the end of May, providing a huge boost for managers savvy enough to grab him now.
Tony Gonsolin ($$$): Likely the pitching prize of this week’s waiver run, Gonsolin shined in his season debut, tossing a quality start with nine strikeouts against the Miami Marlins. Now listen, it was the Marlins. But that shouldn’t completely dampen the excitement for the Dodgers’ starter. At the very least, he’ll offer a bunch of win potential, especially if he’s able to go six innings in each of his appearances.
Lucas Giolito ($$$): Much like Gonsolin, Giolito returned from injury to make his season debut this week. And much like Gonsolin, Giolito pitched well in his first start of the year. Giolito tossed six innings against the Blue Jays for a quality start with seven strikeouts and rave reviews from Nick Pollack in his SP Roundup. Rostered in most 15-team leagues, Giolito should be added everywhere he’s not already scooped up, including 12-team leagues. Backed by a solid Red Sox lineup, Giolito could finally bounce back after a couple of lean years.
Ben Casparius ($$): Casparius has been nothing short of amazing so far this season, but unfortunately, he won’t be fantasy relevant until he can go longer than 50 pitches at a time. With that party-pooper disclaimer out of the way, Casparius is a fun speculative add that pops off the page in nearly every pitching metric we use. If he is stretched out and fills one of the Dodgers’ vacated rotation spots OR is used as a piggyback long man to go after Glasnow or Sasaki, he could turn into the next 2018 Ryan Yarbrough. Even if that doesn’t happen, he’s likely helpful in strikeouts and ratios with the chance to vulture some wins as well.
Tomoyuki Sugano ($$): Sugano has shown signs of adjusting to the MLB rather well, displaying the type of savvy navigation of lineups that the Baltimore Orioles were hoping for when they signed the 35-year-old after a decorated career in Japan’s NPB. He shouldn’t be counted on for strikeouts—though he did whiff eight Yankees in his last start—but he ought to provide good ratios and win potential, assuming the Orioles can turn things around after a slow start.
Jake Irvin ($): Though most of us were thoroughly unimpressed by Irvin’s last outing, the Washington Nationals‘ starter still has some appeal on the waiver wire this week. Prior to his start against the Phillies this past week, Irvin tossed three straight quality starts, combining for three earned runs over 20.2 innings while ringing up 19 strikeouts. With a two-start week against Cleveland and St. Louis, Irvin could be a solid streaming option despite his poor outing last time out.
Relief Pitchers
David Bednar ($$$): Bednar is back in the big leagues after what seems to have been a quick fix at AAA after a terrible start to the year. He’s reclaimed his ninth-inning role, converting each of his last two save opportunities. The Pirates appear ready to trust their veteran reliever again, and so should fantasy managers.
Chris Martin ($$): For fantasy managers who got to enjoy the “Luke Jackson experience,” congratulations, and I’m sorry. You got your saves, but took your lumps. With Jackson out of the way, it should clear the ninth inning for Martin, who has been rock solid to begin the season. It’s tough to discern who will close since the Rangers haven’t registered a save in nearly two weeks – Robert Garcia may also be in the mix – but if it’s Martin, he ought to be near the top of FAAB relievers this week.
Shelby Miller ($$): The Arizona Diamondbacks are without A.J. Puk and Justin Martinez, both due to injury, and turned to Miller for their most recent save opportunity. Miller posted career numbers in the Dodgers’ bullpen in 2023 but took a step back with Detroit last season. So far this year, Miller looks back in top shape and could hold the Diamondbacks’ ninth-inning role for a while if he continues his form.
Kevin Ginkel ($): Another solid bullpen arm for the Diamondbacks, if Miller shows any sign of slipping up, Ginkel could sneak in for a save opportunity or two while the Snakes are missing Martinez and Puk.
Graham Ashcraft ($): A speculative add, Ashcraft has shown significant improvement this year in velocity and stuff coming out of the Reds’ bullpen. With five-straight scoreless innings over his last three outings combined, Ashcraft could make a case for high-leverage usage and could be a candidate for saves if Emilio Pagán cools off or fatigues.
Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire) | Designed by Aaron Asbury (@aarongifs on Instagram)
