Josh Donaldson – The Fantasy Sports Coach

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Week 3

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 the Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Week 3!

Must Adds:

Yunel Escobar – 3B – Los Angeles Angels
18% Owned
Schedule: 4 @ CHW, 3 vs SEA

Yunel Escobar is doing an admirable job as the leadoff man for the Angels. His .426 wOBA, .357 BABIP and his high walk rate (11.8%) are numbers you want to see from the top of your lineup. What makes the Escobar pickup even more attractive is the fact that he has Mike Trout and Albert Pujols behind him. If you’re in need of walks, runs or raising your average – Escobar is the man.

Michael Saunders – LF – Toronto Blue Jays
7% Owned
Schedule: 1 @ BOS, 3 @ BAL, 3 vs OAK

Michael Saunders has worked his way up to the leadoff position for the Jays. We talked about having great security behind Yunel Escobar, but Saunders has arguably one of the best offences behind him. Although the Jays haven’t woken up this year, Saunders might be able to breathe some life into their batting order. In his career batting first, Saunders has a .321 OBP and a .712 OPS. Saunders is worth a look before he heats up.

Drops:

Devin Mesoraco – C – Cincinnati Reds
52% Owned
Schedule: 3 vs COL, 4 vs CHC

Many people drafted Devin Mesoraco hoping that he would find his raw power from the 2014 season. Unfortunately, he’s been a major dud to start the year. No homeruns, runs or RBI’s to go along with a .125 AVG isn’t good news. He’s starting to lose time to Tucker Barnhart which really hurts his fantasy value as well. It’s time to stop hoping for Mesoraco to come around.

Khris Davis – LF – Oakland Athletics
47% Owned
Schedule: 3 @ NYY, 3 @ TOR

Khris Davis hasn’t had a multi-hit game this year. He also hasn’t left the park yet which is alarming since he swatted 27 a year ago. His high strikeout rate from last year (27.7%) has only gone up (37.5%) which means you need to immediately get him out of your lineup, especially if you’re in a league with strikeouts.

Two Start Pitchers:

Chase Anderson – RHP – Milwaukee Brewers
12% Owned
Schedule: April 18 @ MIN, April 22 vs PHI

Chase Anderson’s 0.00 ERA through two starts isn’t even the best part about him this week. The best part is that he’s starting to find his control. Last years 2.36 BB/9 is down to 1.64 which is highly encouraging. Anderson’s matchups are attractive, too. Minnesota has been terrible this year while the Phillies look like they’re starting to come back down to earth.

Scott Feldman – RHP – Houston Astros
1% Owned
Schedule: April 19 @ TEX, April 24 vs BOS

Scott Feldman is pitching for his hypothetical life. When Lance McCullers comes back, the Astros are going to have to decide between Feldman and Mike Fiers. Ignore Feldman’s first start against Milwaukee and look at the gem he twirled against KC. His K/9 is up to 7.84 and with McCullers breathing down his back, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Feldman come away with 12 strikeouts and a sub 3.00 ERA once the week is over.

Trends:

Troy Tulowitzki – SS – Toronto Blue Jays
98% Owned
Schedule: 1 @ BOS, 3 @ BAL, 3 vs OAK

It’s not time to sell super low on Troy Tulowitzki. It’s also not time to bench him in favour of other batters. Tulo is a perennial slow starter. In the months of March and April combined, he has a lifetime .265 batting average (the lowest out of all months in his career). Let’s not forget he’s been trying out a new leg kick with his swing mechanics. Tulo’s value not only lies with his potential, but also with where he hits in the batting order. I’d say batting behind Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion & Josh Donaldson is a pretty nice spot. If someone is selling ridiculously low on Tulowitzki, buy buy buy.

Thanks for reading! If you have any questions regarding fantasy baseball or MLB DFS, feel free to contact me via Twitter @BESTofMATT

FSWA Fantasy Baseball Draft

This year I made the choice to join the Fantasy Sports Writers Association and I couldn’t be happier. Not only do I get to belong to a great group that supports the industry’s best and brightest, but I get to participate in leagues with fellow writers.

This season I was asked to join the latest FSWA Fantasy Baseball Draft (The Nado DiFino Award) and I thought that was a great chance to see where my rankings stacked up before my main money leagues drafted over the next two weekends.

For Reference FSWA Leagues Start-

CC,1B,2B,3B,SS,MI,CI,OF,OF,OF,OF,OF,OF,UT,P,P,P,P,P,P,P,P,P

and Scoring is

Runs,RBIs,SBs,OB%,Slugging% – Ks,ERA,WHIP,QS,Saves

When I found out I had the fourth pick in the draft I was praying that Andrew McCutchen would fall to me becuase he fills up all five offensive categories and plays a position that will end up being depleted with 12 teams having to start 5 Out Fielders. Well in a draft full of fantasy writers that didn’t happen. Paul Goldschmidt was there for me to take him, but in a league where you start 9 Pitchers every week I couldn’t pass up on the clear number one, tier to himself, Clayton Kershaw. That was the first of many slightly controversial picks I made in this draft.

COACH ESSER DENNIS
4	Clayton Kershaw, LAD SP Over Goldschmidt was tough, but I’m happy
21	Jose Bautista, Tor OF Needed a high upside Outfielder and Bautista can top four categories if healthy
28	Justin Verlander, Det SP This was a personal preference. I have him rated 3rd-SP most don’t
45	Joe Mauer, Min C 2-Catcher League Mauer is huge in OB% and Runs
52	Matt Kemp, LAD OF -Big gamble on health here. Wouldn’t have got him in the next round
69	Matt Carpenter, StL 2B -Value pick here as he is plus in Runs,OB% and decent in Slugging%
76	Josh Donaldson, Oak 3B -Another value pick, Wanted to wait and go with a sleeper later, but not bad.
93	Trevor Rosenthal, StL RP -The last of the upper tier Closers and now with Chapman hurt its good value
100	Jose Abreu, CWS 1B -needed some upside power at 1B and love to gamble on Abreu
117	Hisashi Iwakuma, Sea SP -Iwakuma has a lot of upside as long as that finger is ready soon
124	Danny Salazar, Cle SP -Salazar is going to break out this year and reached a little here
141	Austin Jackson, Det OF -Jackson was always a target and his ESPN ADP kept him off screen
148	Jason Castro, Hou C -Castro was the last offensive Catcher that could be plus in Slugging%
165	Jason Grilli, Pit RP -Steady closer who has a decent WHIP as well
172	Brad Miller, Sea SS -big time target for me and it was tough to lay off Castro and Simmons as they fell
189	Khris Davis, Mil OF -Fourth Outfielder with power upside-a bit of a gamble
196	Lance Lynn, StL SP -Lynn is nice starter to have in this format with his K totals
213	Matt Garza, Mil SP -Auto picked Garza when Adam Eaton was in my que but had been sniped-still stings
220	Nate Jones, CWS RP -The last decent upside closer left.
237	Taijuan Walker, Sea SP – Walker here was a round early based on ADP, but the shoulder sounds good
244	David Freese, LAA 3B – Batting fourth against Lefties and if healthy not a bad Corner Infielder
261	Oswaldo Arcia, Min OF – One of my favorite late round power sources
268	Michael Brantley, Cle OF -Solid outfielder with room for improvement-pure depth
285	Neil Walker, Pit 2B – Could be a nice value pick for MI depth-if not, to the wire I go
292	Devin Mesoraco, Cin C -Vargas knee issues had me looking for a 3rd Catcher when normally I wouldn’t
309	Todd Frazier, Cin 3B – Too much potential this late in the draft. RBIs in a pinch
316	Erik Johnson, CWS SP – Late round sleeper or bust. I like what I saw last year and worth a gamble
333	Junior Lake, ChC OF – Needed Steals and he could get 20 this year while putting up decent Slugging%

As you can tell my team lacks stolen bases and I will have to look to make a trade early on or raid the waiver wire for this year’s Nate McLouth. Let me know what you think and who you are targeting in your fantasy baseball drafts.