Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: Week 9

Entering the week of Memorial Day, with a slate of day games on the holiday, here are five players to add in your fantasy baseball league.

5. Justin Bour, 1B, Miami Marlins

Over his last 16 games, Bour is hitting .386 with nine home runs, 16 RBI and a 1.348 OPS. Four of those long balls have come off a left-handed pitcher, so routine benchings against southpaws appear to be on the back burner for manager Don Mattingly.

Bour showed he can be a power asset for fantasy owners in 2015 (23 home runs and 73 RBI over 409 at-bats) and 2016 (15 home runs over 280 at-bats), with only good health (ankle injury last year) and a full-time role standing in the way. His current run is not sustainable, but there’s mixed league value here with a solid average and the potential for 30 home runs when it’s all said and done this year.
ESPN Ownership: 49.6%

4. Brad Hand, RP, San Diego Padres

Hand is off to a nice start this season, with a 2.00 ERA and a 11.7 K/9 rate, and he recently added saves to the mix with two ninth inning lockdowns over the past week. Trade rumors are surrounding the left-hander, which would alter his role if he lands on a contending team, but strikeouts and holds (21 in 2016) give Hand some fantasy value no matter what.

It’s easy to dismiss closers on bad teams from a fantasy perspective, but that is routinely a mistake. Hand is getting save opportunities for the Padres, and even if it’s a short-term thing with a trade looming he is someone to own.
ESPN Ownership: 11.3%

3. Cameron Maybin, OF, Los Angeles Angels

After missing a game with a right knee issue on Friday night, Maybin picked up right where he left off recently on Saturday  (2-for-4, two stolen bases and three runs scored). Over his last 10 games,  Maybin is hitting .436 (17-for-39), 13 runs scored, two home runs, five RBI and three stolen bases.

Good fortune (.469 BABIP) has helped, but Maybin also stepped in the leadoff spot for the Angels at the start of this recent tear. It’s also good fortune to hit in front of Mike Trout, and that puts Maybin in position to produce going forward.

Maybin stands to help fantasy owners in at least two categories (runs scored and stolen bases), provided he can shake the injury bug that has marked his career. He’s absolutely worth adding in AL-only leagues, and mixed league owners should at least have their curiosity peaked.
ESPN Ownership: 21.1%

2. Koda Glover, RP, Washington Nationals

Glover was recently officially put back into the closer role by Nationals manager Dusty Baker, and he’s 2-for-2 in save opportunities since with three saves in the past week. If not for a hip injury in late-April, Glover may have kept things up as Washington’s closer for the past month.

If the Nationals make a trade for a veteran closer, Glover would slot back into to a setup role. That’s all that keeps him from being higher on this list this week, but he could also render a trade unnecessary if he continues to pitch well.

Getting most (if not all) of the save opportunities for a good team is automatic fantasy value. Glover is the man for the Nationals right now, and perhaps for the rest of the season.
ESPN Ownership: 37.6 percent

1. Devon Travis, 2B, Toronto Blue Jays

After hitting just .130 in April, and likely spurred by an adjustment in his batting stance, Travis is hitting .361 with a 1.023 OPS, 15 runs scored and 15 RBI in May. It’s worth noting most of that has come with Josh Donaldson and Troy Tulowitzki out of the Blue Jays’ lineup, but Travis also has an 11-game hitting streak going entering Sunday with 13 RBI over that span.

Travis is sure to settle in somewhere between April and May’s production, but that still means solid fantasy value at a position that can be tough to fill. Add him now in mixed leagues, while he’s hot, then consider selling high in a trade at the first sign of a downturn.
ESPN Ownership: 32.8%

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