Fantasy Waiver Wire: Week 14

In Commentary And Analysis by GW

Trade season kicked off this week, so pour one out for all those unfortunate single-leaguers who lost Jeff Samardzija or Addison Russell. Jason Hammel owners get no sympathy from me, since they have been playing with house money. For mixed leaguers, the change in venues  from this week’s trades didn’t really affect fantasy values much. Samardzija and Hammel move to …

Fantasy Waiver Wire: Week 13

In Commentary And Analysis by GW

Mookie Betts The Red Sox pulled the trigger on Betts yesterday after struggling to find production in the outfield all year long. He will likely be better for them than your fantasy team, but he should help in batting average and steals. In approximately 2 full seasons worth of minor league plate appearances, he has stolen 88 bases, but only …

Fantasy Waiver Wire: Week 12

In Commentary And Analysis by GW

The waiver wire is getting fairly thin. The Super-2 callups have mostly passed. Kris Bryant and Joey Gallo aren’t seeing any time in the majors this year. FWW favorites Corey Dickerson and Alex Wood are owned in most leagues. As a result, I’m skipping the position players this week, and some of the SP’s might be deeper than is typical. …

Fantasy Waiver Wire: Week 11

In Commentary And Analysis by GW

Starting Pitchers Andrew Heaney Heaney has almost everything I look for in a pitching callup. He’s a premium prospect. He has a track record of high strikeouts, low walks, and reasonable groundball rates. If and when he gets the call for the Marlins, he’ll be pitching for a National League team in a good park for pitchers. The only hesitation …

Fantasy Waiver Wire: Week 10

In Uncategorized by GW

Position Players Kendrys Morales The Twins picked him up as soon as the draft pick compensation disappeared. Target Field suppresses power somewhat, but only slightly less so than Los Angeles of Anaheim, and not quite as much as Safeco. In short, there’s not much reason to change expectations. The Twins let go of Jason Kubel to make room for him …

Fantasy Waiver Wire: Week 9

In Commentary And Analysis by GW

The Waiver Wire team returns after a holiday weekend. Position Players Gregory Polanco Well, I was wrong about the Pirates sacrificing some arbitration dollars to boost their meager playoff odds when I recommended Polanco about a month ago. The super-two cutoff is on it’s way, though, so your chances to pick him up are slipping away if you were wiser …

Fantasy Waiver Wire: Week 7

In Commentary And Analysis by GW

After complaining last week about the lack of impending callups last week, they have started to come quickly. Starting Pitchers Rafael Montero Called up by the Mets. Though not thought to have premium stuff, he has been consistently successful throughout the minor leagues with good strikeout rates and great control. He’s a flyball pitcher, but should be able to get …

Fantasy Waiver Wire: Week 6

In Commentary And Analysis by GW

Previous editions are here. This week, I’ll focus mainly on starting pitchers. Starting Pitchers Josh Beckett I understand that some find owning older, injury-prone veterans like Beckett distasteful, but he should really be on a roster in every league right now. His velocity is up, he’s throwing his curveball as frequently as he did in his prime, he plays in …

Fantasy Waiver Wire: Week 5

In Commentary And Analysis by GW

My apologies for the late (and short) offering. I was indisposed today. Plenty of my previous rec’s are still widely available, given that these tend toward the deeper options. Dallas Keuchel An Astros starting pitcher? Really? Believe me, I’m as shocked as you are. And I don’t blame you for passing; he’s not likely to help your win totals, after …

Fantasy Waiver Wire: Week 4

In Commentary And Analysis by GW

Previous editions are here. As a reminder, with rare exceptions, I will highlight players at less than 30% ownership levels in Yahoo and ESPN leagues. Starting Pitchers Marcus Stroman Dustin McGowan was an intriguing fantasy bet in 2007 and 2008. In one of my leagues, I added him to my watch list after he was hurt 2008, and he’s been …