With another new week upon us, here are five waiver wide additions to take a look at in your fantasy baseball league.
5. Curtis Granderson, OF, Los Angeles Dodgers
Granderson made a significant jump up the standings a few days ago, going from the Mets to the Dodgers in a trade. As late as June 1, his batting average was below .200 with four home runs. But since then he’s hitting .255 with 15 home runs and a .997 OPS.
Granderson still can’t hit left-handers very well (.225 with a .706 OPS this year), but the Dodgers sent Joc Pederson to Triple-A to make room for him and he should get plenty of playing time. In his Dodgers’ debut on Saturday “The Grandy Man” started in left field and batted fifth, going 0-for-4 with a run scored.
Granderson has been a useful power hitter in NL-only leagues over the last two months, and now he’s in a better lineup. Mixed league owners should have him on their radar now.
ESPN Ownership: 21%
4. Marcus Semien, SS, Oakland Athletics
Semien returned from a wrist injury on July 6, and he struggled right after being back. But since July 23 (26 games), he’s hitting .299 with four home runs, 13 RBI and 15 runs scored and multiple hits in four of his last five games entering Sunday. Over that stretch, he has raised his batting average 59 points and his OPS has risen from .610 to .733.
Semien showed himself as a useful fantasy shortstop in 2016, with 27 home runs, 75 RBI, 72 runs scored and 10 stolen bases. Those final numbers are obviously not in the cards this year, except for the steals (7-for-7 this year, 3-for-3 since coming back from the DL). But it should be noted Semien has not even attempted a steal during his recent good streak at the plate.
Anyone looking for shortstop/middle infield help down the stretch has to take a look at Semien. Being on a bad team has put him below the radar, so there’s a good opportunity to add him in mixed leagues.
ESPN Ownership: 19.7%
3. Patrick Corbin, SP, Arizona Diamondbacks
Corbin’s ERA is over 4.00 for the full season, but solid peripherals (8.8 K/9, 2.6 BB/9) have bore better fruit recently. Over his last 12 starts (72 innings), he has a 3.13 ERA with a 9.8 K/9 and a 2.3 BB/9. Narrowing a little further, Corbin has a 25:4 K/BB ratio over his last three starts with 16 hits allowed in 21.1 innings.
Corbin’s next start will come against a New York Mets team that is looking toward 2018, trading veterans Jay Bruce and Curtis Granderson in August deals.
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If Corbin’s luck starts to shift (.355 BABIP allowed over his last 13 starts), his recent run could get even better going forward. That upside is worth adding in all fantasy leagues, particularly if your pitching has been hit by injuries.
ESPN Ownership: 35.9%
2. Byron Buxton, OF, Minnesota Twins
Buxton has been on fire in August, with a .339/.385/.593 slash-line, three home runs, five stolen bases and 10 RBI in 18 games. He has also reached base in nine straight games going into Sunday, and a five-game streak with at least one RBI ended Saturday night.
Buxton is still striking out a fair amount (16 times in 59 August at-bats), but he seems to be finding a groove late in the season again and his center field defense will keep him in the lineup.
His batting average is likely to correct some, Buxton can at least supply solid power and speed numbers over the rest of the season. That’s a fantasy asset, but acting quickly to add him is recommended.
ESPN Ownership: 31%
1. Dellin Betances
Aroldis Chapman has been removed from the closer role by Yankees’ manager Joe Girardi, perhaps temporarily, and after David Robertson picked up a save Wednesday night Betances has converted the last two chances.
Betances has struggled with his control more than usual this year (6.3 BB/9), but his strikeout rate (15.5 K/9) has remained elite and he has walked just one batter over his last seven appearances.
Betances and Robertson may split save chances while Chapman is out of the mix, even at a 2-1 ratio like we’ve seen so far. But Betances could also take hold of the job for a while, and that makes him incredibly valuable to fantasy owners.
ESPN Ownership: 68.6%
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