It is officially Summer today, and we at Fighting Chance Fantasy are doing our little happy dance! Nothing sucks worse in the winters of New York and Michigan than the cold bitter temps and lots of snow. When the temperature heats up, so does the competition in fantasy baseball which makes the waiver wire even more important every week. Whether it be on the hitting side or pitching side we have a few selections for you that can help move your team closer to first place so you can enjoy the upcoming All-Star Break. So sit back, crack a cold one, and stay inside because it is too damn hot. Hell, have five or six and check out our waiver wire picks for the upcoming week.
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Waiver Hitters
Devon Travis, 2B-Toronto Blue Jays. Travis’ shoulder injury cost him the beginning of the season, and when he was set to return there was a lot of buzz around fantasy baseball. However, the first part of June was really unfriendly for him. From June 1st through the 11th he collected just three hits, and even though two of them were for extra bases, Travis was sent to the waiver wire by a lot of fantasy players. The Blue Jays are being a little cautious with him and giving him a day off a week, but he still has really turned it on in the last week. Since the 12th of June, Travis has five multi-hit games including five doubles, two homers, and drove in ten runs over that time. He proved last season that he could hit, and looks like he might have just been fighting off some rust earlier this month but really has it kicked into gear now.
Jonathan Schoop, 2B- Baltimore Orioles. He still might not see too many pitches that he doesn’t want to swing at, but Schoop is still having a very successful 2016. He has three 3 hit games as well as three home runs in the last week raising his season total to 12 homers and is hitting over .275. He is due to slow down for sure, but Schoop is going to obliterate is career high of 16 home runs and should have that topped in a couple of weeks. So, please explain to me how this guy is only owned in 48% in ESPN leagues and 43% of Yahoo leagues???? Second base isn’t exactly the gem position in fantasy baseball, go grab this guy up now even if it is just for insurance.
Steven Moya’s first @MLB homer got out in a hurry, 109 mph exit velo. https://t.co/8BlwT7tfde #Statcast pic.twitter.com/UOe7PhfKUd
— #Statcast (@statcast) June 19, 2016
Steven Moya, OF-Detroit Tigers. When J.D. Martinez broke his elbow, an opportunity opened up for an outfield spot for the next six week to two months. There are two things you need to know about Moya. The first is he hits a lot of home runs. He had 13 dingers in 50 games before being called up from the Minors for the second time this season and had 58 in his previous two seasons before that. The second, and this goes for a lot of young hitters, is he strikes out…..a lot. In 2015 he whiffed 175 times in 135 games, and 161 times in 133 games in 2014. He should get a nice extended run of opportunity to stick with the big club with Martinez out, and has a chance to have a very nice fantasy impact and perhaps stay with the big club even after the injuries are cleared.
Waiver Pitchers
Zach Davies, SP-Milwaukee Brewers. Over his last five games, Zach Davies has been on fire. He is 4-0, averaged more than six strikeouts per game and hasn’t given up more than two earned runs over that span. He has shown improvement as the season as gone on as his ERA in March/April was 8.78, increased to 3.81 in May and so far it’s at 0.96 in June. He may lack top end velocity, but he has the movement to make batters miss and he’s looking impressive at the moment. Until he cools off, Davies should be owned in most mixed leagues.
As a Cards fan, Fighting Chance originator Ryan Hallam is getting a little “chubby” over Oh. In the words of the great, George Takei, “Oh myyyyy”!
Seung-Hwan Oh, RP-St. Louis Cardinals. Right now, Cardinals’ closer, Trevor Rosenthal is struggling mightily as he’s given up a total of five earned runs in his last three games. His ERA is now 4.91 on the season and his WHIP is a miserable, 1.91. He’s pitching like he should be playing for the Detroit Tigers and their “cursed” bullpen. Manager, Mike Matheny has stated that Rosenthal is still the closer, but his hold on the job has to be shaky at best. If he does lose his 9th inning role, fellow relief pitcher Seung-Hwan Oh could immediately become a top ten, if not top five, fantasy closer. Oh has been fantastic on the year as in 35.2 innings, he holds a 1.77 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, struck out 49 batters and only given up one home run all season. Even if he doesn’t earn the closer role, Oh still holds value for his strikeouts and can help you in your ERA and WHIP categories. Right now, Oh can help you out and should be a waiver target in hopes that you can land yourself an elite closer should he be awarded the job.
Cody Reed, SP-Cincinnati Reds. Cody Reed was acquired last year by the Cincinnati Reds in the deal that sent Johnny Cueto to the Kansas City Royals last season. He made his major league debut this past weekend and he was impressive, as he struck out nine batters over seven innings. He did give up four runs, but he showed that he could be a nice future piece of the Reds’ rotation. He has a fastball that’s regularly in low nineties, an improved change up and a plus slider which is his best pitch. Right now, he’s a speculative add in hopes he continues to impress, but at the very least, someone who can be a spot start when the matchup is right.
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