Khris Davis – 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

Garbage Picking

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Watch

Fantasy Baseball owners are as bad as toddlers when it comes to patience. They want the results now and two bad starts or two tough weeks at the plate is just too much for them to take. They’ll jump ship before a distress signal has even been sent. Leagues with limited or no DL slots make this time of year exciting to watch the drop section of your league’s transaction log. Remember it’s always better to take the bad end of a trade then drop a potential asset. No matter what I say or do I will never change the average owner, so I have to just sit back and garbage pick through their drops.

Leonys Martin owners haven’t had a lot to smile about so far.

Erik Johnson- Chicago White Sox- Starting Pitcher

Johnson had a lot of helium in early drafts before Alex Wood and Yordano Ventura stole all the pre-draft hype. Through his first two starts Johnson looked like he was going to prove that his draft stock deserved to be falling by looking very hittable. Those who dropped him may be kicking themselves after watching him dominate the Red Sox lineup yesterday to the tune of 9 strike outs in 6 and a 1/3 innings. Johnson is a fringe pitcher in 12 team mixed, but is a must roster in any larger leagues. His strike out upside is just better than what you probably have at the bottom of your rosters.

Dexter Fowler- Houston Astros – Center Fielder

Fowler started out of the gates hot and owners were patting themselves on the back just like last year that they took him late in drafts, but an illness has really sapped Fowler for the last few weeks and owners are starting to panic. He has been dropped in a ton of leagues for streaming types like David Murphy or Dayan Viciedo and that was a mistake. I am not a huge fan of Fowler. I’m not one of these guys that think he will all of a sudden put it all together and be a premier outfielder. (some people actually believe that.) I think he’s a serviceable fourth or fifth outfielder to have who can fill power and speed categories when you’re in a pinch. He should be rostered in in all 12 team mixed leagues with at least 5 bench spots.

Kyle Seager- Seattle Mariners- Third Baseman

Seager is off to another slow start this year. Last season he was dropped almost everywhere in 12 team mixed leagues only to see him become a valuable asset down the stretch. He no longer holds second base eligibility, but third base isn’t the deepest position in the league. With players like Moustakas, Sandoval, Lawrie and Freese struggling and Middlebrooks and Beltre hurting it makes hanging on to Seager that much harder. The reason I say harder is because owners see third-baseman like Marcus Semien and Trevor Plouffe flying off the waiver wire while they sit on their hands. I believe owners should just keep Seager on the bench if they can. He’s too valuable as a third-baseman that has the ability to hit 20+ homers and steal 10 bases.

Khris Davis-Milwaukee Brewers-Left Fielder

Davis being dropped is an example of expectations being too high in the fantasy draft process. People were punting homers in the middle of their drafts thinking they were going to grab Davis late and get a potential 25-30 homer guy. That is a lot to ask of a young player. I still like Davis a lot, but I wasn’t banking on him as my steady 3rd Outfielder. Don’t cut bait on Davis just yet, unless there’s something crazy on the waiver wire. Keep him on your bench until he gets his feet under him and starts to get better pitches to hit. In leagues of 14 or bigger I wouldn’t think of dropping him yet. The Jason Kubel’s of the world will always be there to pick up if Davis is still struggling in a month or two.

Leonys Martin-Texas Rangers- Center Fielder

Martin is caught up in the downward spiral that is the Texas Rangers. The injuries to the pitching staff and lineup have lumped a lot of pressure on players that aren’t used to shouldering it. Martin’s spot in the lineup was always going to keep his numbers somewhat down, but he has gotten off to much slower start than I would have thought. He’s got zero extra base hits and only two steals so I can understand the frustration. Martin is another one I am holding on to with all my might and I’m even trying to target as a secondary throw in in trades. When the Rangers get healthy and the heat picks up in Texas I expect Martin to break out.

Some studs that I have seen or heard hit the waiver wire. Allen Craig (Dan Strafford just told me about this one), Wilin Rosario, and David Ortiz.

Some other guys people might be losing patience for that you should pick up. Brett Lawrie, Danny Salazar, Homer Bailey, Billy Butler and Xander Bogaerts. I wish I played in more leagues where they hit the wire!