There isn’t too much to say this week other than good luck. For many, this is the beginning of the finals for your fantasy baseball leagues, which is a time when the rest of your FAAB money is going to come into play.
Throughout the season, this column is designed to help guide those in Free Agent Acquisition Budget (FAAB) leagues to make the best choices in 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
SEVEN GAMES: CWS, DET, MIN, LAA, NYM, CIN, COL, LAD, SDP
Batters
Outfielders
Max Clark (OF, $$$): 27% rostered on Yahoo
Clark has lived up to the hype since being called up and is frequently one of the most added players every waiver cycle. He’s really starting to showcase his tools, as he has three stolen bases in the last four games and is showing the extra-base pop he can tap into with his bat. It’s kind of surprising he’s only rostered in around 30% of leagues, but with the amount of people adding him in the final push of the season, that mark is certain to go up.
Josue de Paula (OF, $$$): 15% rostered on Yahoo
Josue de Paula was recently called up by the Dodgers, who definitely need some help getting production from the outfield. Right now, he’s filling in for Shohei Ohtani, who is injured, and thus, de Paula will mostly be hitting from the DH spot. His first hit was a monster shot of a home run that drove in three, and the Dodgers dugout was sent into a frenzy. This is a player who is known for serious power potential, an area of the game we will likely continue to see him improve in as he takes more at-bats and fills his frame. He is only 21 years old, which is scary considering how much talent the Dodgers have right now.
Victor Mesa Jr. (OF, $$$): 13% rostered on Yahoo
Mesa is an awesome ballplayer, and that’s not something many of us expected to say when the Rays called him up earlier in the year. His discipline and raw power are impressive, which have been driving factors behind his incredible September, in which he is putting up a 244 wRC+. It’s starting to feel like Mesa is a member of this Rays lineup’s core, as the group for most of the season was a three-headed monster of Yandy Diaz, Junior Caminero, and Jonathan Aranda. Now they have actual viable options, with Mesa, alongside Liam Hicks, being the ones worth writing home about.
Infielders
Coby Mayo (1B, 3B, $$): 23% rostered on Yahoo
Mayo has been on quite a tear lately, with hits in 15 of his last 16 games. He’s also tapped into his power potential a bit more, hitting four home runs last week. Mayo profiles mostly as a slugger, with impressive bat speed and a max exit velocity this season of 116.5 mph. He also pulls the ball a ton, which is an excellent combination, one that has powered home run hitters like Kyle Schwarber and Pete Crow-Armstrong. Is he at their level? Of course not. But he’s at the top of his game right now and is one of the most important Orioles.
Bryce Eldridge (1B, $$): 30% rostered on Yahoo
Eldridge is pretty underrated for what he’s accomplished. The Giants aren’t great; nobody is going to argue that they are, but Eldridge is a pretty solid piece for a team to build around. He has 16 homers this season and has an OPS above .800, which is great for a rookie. He and Rafael Devers are likely to share the first base/designated hitter roles in the future, and honestly, there is an argument to be made that it’s one of the better tandems in the game. Devers is now out, unfortunately, so even more is riding on Eldridge’s shoulders, and his skills are too good for us to think he won’t stand up to the pressure.
Christian Koss (2B, 3B, SS, $): 5% rostered on Yahoo
Another popular Giant pickup, Koss is a great plug-in guy in fantasy lineups, as he’s eligible at three positions where it can be hard to find production. He’s a scrappy, slappy hitter who doesn’t have great career numbers, but is off to a hot stretch, especially in the batting average and stolen bases columns. He’s more of a deep league guy, but he’s been on a bit of a tear and has to be respected.
Catchers/UT
Shea Langeliers (C, 1B – $$$): 70% rostered on Yahoo
Langeliers is back, and he could be here in time to save your fantasy team at the end of the season. He’s one of the best hitting catchers in the game, though he doesn’t get the full four-dollar-sign rating here because he is playing in Tampa this week, as opposed to his super hitter-friendly home ballpark.
Leo Bernal (C – $$): 7% rostered on Yahoo
Bernal has looked great for the Cardinals since they called him up, recording hits in all but two of the games he has played thus far. This includes three home runs, which is pretty impressive as a catcher in your first few big league games. He’s a popular pickup right now at a position where it’s difficult to find consistent production. Don’t miss the boat.
Pitchers
Starting Pitchers
Kade Anderson (SP – $$$): 38% rostered on Yahoo
Anderson hasn’t looked amazing so far in action with the Mariners, as he sports an ERA of 4.29 and a WHIP of 1.38. There’s been plenty of talk about the drop in fastball iVB since being called up as well, which is something to keep an eye on. With that said, the Angels are a pretty poor offense and it feels like at the very least he can be a top 50-ish pitcher, given his excellent minor-league ratios and solid arsenal.
Cal Quantrill (SP – $$): 57% rostered on Yahoo
I can’t remember the last time that I saw Cal Quantrill rostered in one of the leagues I was in. At least long-term. Quantrill has bounced around from squad to squad in the past few years and has really been, at best, an absolute desperation play in deep leagues. Well, this season he has a 2.89 ERA and 1.06 WHIP in 102 innings. It’s hard to pinpoint what he’s doing that’s allowing him to see so much success, but
Jake Bennett (SP – $$): 43% rostered on Yahoo
Bennett hasn’t quite been the excellent starting pitcher that we saw earlier in the season, as he’s coming off a tough inning against the Angels in his hitter-friendly home ballpark. Well this week, he gets the Texas Rangers in their pitcher-friendly park, and it seems likely there will be a better outcome for the southpaw.
Relief Pitchers
Mason Montgomery (RP, SP – $$$): 49% rostered on Yahoo
I’ve been screaming from the rooftops that Montgomery is going to be one of the better closers in MLB, as his stuff is just way too good. He’s now the full-time closer on the Pirates, and he’s been notching saves left and right. This is an easy add and one worth dropping a couple of FAAB bucks on if he’s still available in your league.
Rico Garcia (RP – $): 18% rostered on Yahoo
Garcia picked up back-to-back saves for his Orioles squad that has shuffled around bullpen roles quite a bit. With him seeing solid success lately and with a low WHIP, perhaps he will be called upon in the highest-leverage situations the rest of the way? His consistency won’t hurt your squad even if you pick him up, and he should be available at a low cost.
