Brandon Drury – The Fantasy Sports Coach

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Week 5

With Dee Gordon out for 80 games, you’ll most likely need a replacement if you own shares of him. When it comes to the middle infield, I’ve got the perfect solution for you. In this week’s Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire article, I’ll be breaking down the biggest must adds, players you can cut ties with, two-start pitchers and the latest trends going into Week 5’s Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire!

Must Adds:

Brandon Drury – 3B/MI/OF – Arizona Diamondbacks
17% Owned
OPP: 3 @ MIA, 3 @ ATL

Although he’s not 2B eligible yet (he needs three more starts at 2nd base or seven more appearances at the position – so, he will be soon eligible), Brandon Drury is able to slide in as your middle infielder for now. Drury is one of MLB.com’s 100 top prospects and the Diamondbacks plan to keep sliding him into the lineup as long as he’s producing. His walk rate isn’t the greatest but he makes up for that with his .294 ISO. His hard hit ball percentage is 31.5% while his soft hit percentage is only 18.5%. While he continues to tear the cover off the ball, take advantage and get him on your team.

Hector Neris – RHP (RP) – Philadelphia Phillies
14% Owned
OPP: 4 @ STL, 3 @ MIA

If you’re in a deep league or need desperate help with your ERA, Hector Neris is your guy. He strikes everyone out that he faces with his 14.44 K/9. While Jeanmar Gomez is the closer, Neris is the set up guy and arguably the best reliever in baseball right now. A three pitch reliever, Neris’ split-fingered fastball has looked downright nasty leading him to his 0.63 ERA.

Drops:

Tyler White – 1B/3B – Houston Astros
44% Owned
OPP: 3 vs MIN, 4 vs SEA

I contemplated last week making Tyler White a droppable player. This week, there’s no doubt. After his scorching start, White has cooled down considerably. His high strikeout rate was a concern to begin with (25.6%) but now that he’s not hitting for power – it’s one of the main reasons you should drop him. The Astros also have White on a very short leash as they have top prospect A.J. Reed waiting in the minors.

Kolten Wong – 2B – St. Louis Cardinals
55% Owned
OPP: 4 vs PHI, 3 vs PIT

Kolten Wong is off to a miserable start this season. His .226 AVG to go with just two RBI isn’t going to cut it. With Wong sidelined on and off with the flu, Jedd Gyorko has been stealing his playing time. Aledmys Diaz has been a huge surprise for the Cards and it wouldn’t be a surprise if Kolten Wong was eventually the odd man out of the infield.

Two Start Pitchers:

Bartolo Colon – RHP – New York Mets
22% Owned
OPP: May 2 vs ATL, May 7 @ SD

Atlanta is not good. The Padres are not good. Need any more reason to start Bartolo Colon against them? Big Sexy’s K/9 (7.99) is the highest it’s been since 2001 when he played for the Indians. Bartolo isn’t afraid to pound the strike zone this year either. He’s hitting the strike zone at a 53.8% rate and truly trusting his pitches. Did I mention that Atlanta has five homeruns as a team to go with a .229 average? Go get Big Sexy.

Other Two Start Pitchers: Matt Moore (LAD/LAA), A.J. Griffin (TOR, DET)

Trends:

Dee Gordon – 2B – Miami Marlins
75% Owned

I could rant about how perplexing it is that Dee Gordon has been caught for the use of PED’s. That would most likely be 500+ words so I’ll digress. Dee Gordon shouldn’t be dropped. He’s gone for 80 games, not the whole season. He could still finish the season with 25+ stolen bases when he comes back around the All-Star break. If you have an extra slot on your roster and somebody has dropped Gordon, pick him up. This is a guy who swiped 122 bags in two years. Also a guy who had 205 hits last year. AKA a guy who can help you when fantasy playoffs come around.

Thanks for reading! If you have any questions regarding MLB DFS or season long leagues, feel free to reach out to me via Twitter @BESTofMATT

DraftKings MLB DFS Must Plays | Stay Aways | The Bargain Bin | April 28

Busy night on the diamond with 14 teams in action past the 7:07 ET first pitch. In todays article, I will outline what must plays and stay aways you should be aware of as well as some cheap players that will produce for you in the bargain bin.

Must Plays

Sean Manaea – LHP ($7,600) – vs Houston Astros

Sean Manaea is the Athletics’ prized prospect that came over in the Ben Zobrist trade. Manaea has been carving batters up in Triple-A, averaging 10.5 K/9. A strikeout happy pitcher, Manaea will have the opportunity to square off against a strikeout happy lineup. As a wholehe Astros have struckout the most in the majors, a whopping 224 times. Manaea will be a chalky play, so use him accordingly in cash games.

Manny Machado – 3B ($4,200) – vs Chicago White Sox

Manny Machado has been raking at home. He sports a .455 AVG a .512 SLG%. He’s ran into a bit of a slump lately (all while on the road) so many people will be off of him. In DraftKings, we love the long ball and Machado is no stranger to launching one past the fence. Carlos Rodon is who he’ll be facing and Rodon has been prone to making atleast one major mistake a game. Machado should be the man to take advantage of that.

Stay Aways

Jimmy Rollins – SS ($4,100) – @ Baltimore Orioles

Let’s start by saying that Jimmy Rollins is 37 years old. He doesn’t swipe bags and he doesn’t hit homeruns. Banking on him to have a multi-hit game is both risky and not suggested. If you’re going to spend up at the SS position, there are much better names to spend your money on.

Jake Peavey – RHP ($7,500) – @ New York Mets

Jake Peavey is grossly overpriced, especially against the Mets. He’s had one good outing all year and he only racked up 19 DK points. While he doesn’t walk a ton of batters, he doesn’t strike them out either. So even if he gives you a quality start – his ceiling is about 20 DK points.

The Bargain Bin

Juan Nicasio – RHP ($5,800) – vs Cincinnati Reds

The best part about this matchup is the fact that the Reds haven’t figured out how to score on the road. Their 29 runs scored is the lowest number in the National League. Juan Nicasio’s hard hit ball percentage is at the lowest mark of his career (20.8%) and his high K/9 has carried over from last year (10.03 – 9.45). Nicasio is a must play against the power-less reds.

Brandon Drury – 3B/OF ($3,000) – vs Colorado Rockies

Brandon Drury is getting a ton of playing time in Arizona and rightfully so. He launched a 442 foot homerun last night and has a .950 OPS. His walk rate could use a bit of help but if he’s swinging the hot stick, he doesn’t need to walk for DFS purposes.

Thanks for reading! If you have any MLB DFS or season long questions – feel free to contact me via Twitter @BESTofMATT