tyler white – 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 22

Packed slate tonight on the diamond with every single team in action. 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

Matt Moore – LHP ($7,900) – @ New York Yankees

After one shaky start to kick off the year, Matt Moore seems to have found a groove. After two lost years due to injury, he’s found his 2013 all star form early on in the season. His fastball velocity is actually the highest he’s ever had it in his career (92.6 MPH) and he’s been mixing in an effective knuckle curve. As a team, the Yankees are 25th in total bases (182) so Moore should be able to get to work against a slow-starting New York lineup. (editor’s note be careful of weather)

Carlos Correa – SS ($4,700) – vs Boston Red Sox

With Trevor Story being $400 more, now is a great time to play Carlos Correa in your cash lineups. His isolated power (ISO) is still above .200 and his plate discipline is actually improved (Only swinging at 23.5% of pitches outside the zone compared to last years rate of 32.4%). He just needs one good explosion and against Steven Wright who doesn’t strike many out – Correa should return value tonight.

Stay Aways

Jeff Samardzjia – RHP ($9,300) – vs Miami Marlins

Jeff Samardzjia’s price, combined with his outcome so far this season makes him a trap. While he might get you a win because he plays for San Francisco, he’s not going to strike a ton out and he’s also going to give up his fair share of hits and walks. His velocity is also below 93 MPH for the first time since 2010. All of this equals no value at $9,300.

Tyler White – 1B ($4,400) – vs Boston Red Sox

Tyler White hasn’t had a multi-hit game since April 11th. It seems like if he’s not going yard – he’s not getting value. He has five strikeouts in his last four games to go along with an 0-4 showing on the 21st against Texas. At his price tag, there are tons of safer options out there.

The Bargain Bin

Nick Tropeano – RHP ($6,100) vs Seattle Mariners

Filling in for the injured Andrew Heaney, Nick Tropeano has done an admirable job. He’s only given up one earned run in 10.2 innings of work. In his career against the current Mariners lineup, he’s only given up the long ball once and it was against Nelson Cruz. At $6,100, you save a lot of money and are pretty much guaranteed to hit value.

Russell Martin – C ($3,300) vs Oakland Athletics

Russell Martin has run into a bit of bad luck to start the year. Mechanically, there’s nothing wrong except for the fact that when he hits it hard, it’s always right to an outfielder. Speaking of hitting it hard… He’s hitting the ball hard at a higher percentage this year (34.6%) compared to any year in his career. Don’t forget that he slugged 23 a year ago.

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