May will soon blossom, and flipping the monthly calendar — if anyone actually still uses a physical calendar — prompts fantasy managers to conduct a deeper roster inspection. Patience instantly transforms into panic over how much longer one can afford to get dragged down by a laboring 12th-round pick. A closer look at the standings will also reveal weaknesses to address. Some needs may be glaring enough to test the trade waters, but other holes can be filled via the waiver wire.

After loosening the eligibility requirements last week, this installment happens to harbor no players with a consensus ownership rate above 25%, as of Monday. The likes of Luke Weaver, Sonny Gray, Mike Soroka, Matt Strahm, Max Kepler, Carter Kieboom and Hunter Dozier remain unclaimed in far too many leagues, but it’s likely too late to claim them beyond shallow, casual mixed leagues. The following players aren’t nearly as exciting, but they all come with certain charms.

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Priority Pickups – <35% Owned

Vince Velasquez (SP – PHI): 24% Owned
Don’t expect Velasquez’s hot start to last. A 3.97 FIP belies his 1.99 ERA aided by an impeccable — but unsustainable — 96.0% strand rate. With his first-pitch strike rate trending in the wrong direction (52.2%), he’ll need to prove his uncharacteristically low 2.78 BB/9 is more than just a small-sample mirage.

Why bring him up just to be a Debbie Downer? He draws the Tigers on Tuesday night. Squeeze one more strong start out of him, and then consider deploying him for a two-start week (at St. Louis and at Kansas City) before developing an exit strategy. While a quick hook limits his wins potential, less exposure the third time through the order has also helped Velasquez’s numbers everywhere else.

Franmil Reyes (OF – SD) : 23% Owned
And now, your weekly Reyes Statcast update: He’s hitting .205 with a .301 wOBA, but a .319 expected average and .433 xwOBA both make him the unluckiest hitter in baseball. As long as the Padres keep playing him, his fortune will eventually turn.

Diego Castillo (SP/RP – TB): 21% Owned
Emilio Pagan (RP – TB): 19% Owned
Jose Alvarado looked like Tampa Bay’s clear-cut closer early in the season. The last couple of weeks, however, have muddied an expectedly confusing situation. Righties Castillo and Pagan have each accrued three saves this season. Alvarado hasn’t recorded one since picking up his fourth on April 7.

Castillo, who netted some preseason hype by posting a 3.18 ERA and 65 strikeouts in 56.2 innings last season, currently wields a 2.35 ERA and .269 xwOA. He ranks among baseball’s top-10 percent in opposing exit velocity and hard-hit rate. Because of his time deployed as an opener last season, he also carries starting pitching eligibility, which will come in handy in roto and head-to-head category leagues with daily lineup changes. Even if just a part-time closer, he needs to be rostered.

Pagan is a trickier call. Although he amassed a 7.00 K/BB ratio for the Mariners in 2017, he got tagged to a 4.35 ERA in Oakland last year. He obviously won’t sustain the .067 BABIP that has fueled a 1.23 ERA and 0.27 WHIP, but potential investors should make note of a velocity uptick that has led to a superb 18.5% swinging-strike rate. There’s enough intrigue to grab Pagan after procuring all of his saves last week.

Jerad Eickhoff (SP – PHI): 21% Owned
The sample size is small, and it’s impossible to either severely fault him for ceding four runs at Coors Field or reward him too much for blanking the Marlins. There’s not enough data to pencil him in as a top-50 starter, but there’s certainly enough promise to pluck him off the waiver wire.

By now, many may have forgotten that Eickhoff etched out a 3.44 ERA in 41 big league starts from 2015 and 2016. He has since dealt with nerve irritation in his throwing hand and a lat injury. After sitting out most of 2018, he underwent carpal tunnel surgery in October.

Despite struggling to consistently reach 90 with his heater, the 28-year-old has found early success by implementing a cutter that has yielded a .131 WOBA and 17.0% swinging-strike rate. Although a pedestrian heater will likely steer him into some potholes down the road, his plus cutter and curveball could guide Eickhoff to long-term viability in mixed leagues.

Nate Lowe (1B – TB): 17% Owned
One more prospect joined the party on Monday, when the Rays called up Nate Lowe to an already crowded lineup. He started and batted fifth as their designated hitter against righty Brad Keller on Monday night.

He earned this audition by batting .300/.444/.543 in 90 Triple-A plate appearances, and they wouldn’t have promoted the 23-year-old without plans to play him regularly. Look for Willy Adames and/or Daniel Robertson to receive less playing time against righties while Lowe plays regularly alongside Ji-Man Choi, Brandon Lowe, and Yandy Diaz. Tampa Bay’s newest Lowe could provide an immediate power jolt and will especially help in OBP formats.

Ty Buttrey (RP – LAA): 16% Owned
The Angels had already stripped Cody Allen on his ninth-inning gig before placing the fallen closer on the injured list with a back strain. The role remains up for grabs, and Buttrey is the best option on paper. By that, I mean he’s the best reliever who’d make the biggest fantasy impact if stapling names to his portfolio. But because he’s their best reliever, Brad Ausmus prefers to use him in high-leverage spots earlier in games.

Grab the 26-year-old just to be safe. After all, he has proven capable of helping everywhere else with a 1.38 ERA, 18 strikeouts, and three walks in 13 spectacular innings.

Chris Bassitt (SP – OAK): 16% Owned
I was at first hesitant to include Bassitt just because he tossed a gem (7 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 9 K) against the lowly Blue Jays. Then I looked at Oakland’s schedule. He’s in line to make his next starts at Pittsburgh, vs. Cleveland, and at Detroit. He did notch a 3.02 ERA in limited big league work last season, so ride the hot hand as long as the 30-year-old righty keeps lining up against meager opponents.

Reynaldo Lopez (SP – CHW): 15% Owned
Yes, Lopez has a 6.03 ERA and 1.69 WHIP. He also stockpiled 14 strikeouts against the Tigers on Sunday. He has now relinquished three earned runs (four total) with 27 punchouts in his last three turns. They were all against feeble AL Central competition, but that’s the beauty of pitching in that division.

The 25-year-old is a ticking time bomb who has delivered more bad than good during his bumpy career. When it all coalesces, as we’ve seen recently and with last year’s 1.09 ERA in five September starts, he looks like an ace in the making. His last gem could spark a mad dash to the waiver wire, but he’s not a recommended play this week against Boston. Lopez’s next two turns, however, could both come against Cleveland.

Yonder Alonso (1B – CHW): 12% Owned
Struggling in spite of encouraging batted-ball trends, Jose Abreu upped his OPS from .645 to .843 last week. Alonso could be on the verge of correcting a misleading start with a similar tear. He has gone yard in each of his last two starts, but his numbers remain a long way from doing his underlying metrics justice.

Although batting an anemic .190/.320/.405, he has bolstered his contact rate from 77.1 to 82.4% (as of Monday) while tallying one more walk (16) than strikeout. He has never chased fewer pitches off the plate (22.3%) in his entire career.

These improved habits manifest in Statcast’s .269 expected average and .375 expected wOBA, both of which are better than the clips posted during his breakout 2017. The hits will soon come, leading him to a .260, 25-homer campaign that will re-establish Alonso as a viable corner infielder.

Danny Santana (2B/OF – TEX): 11% Owned
Santana has started all three games for Texas since Rougned Odor returned from the injured list on Friday. Just to make sure the Rangers keep using him at first base, he collected three hits each on Saturday and Sunday.

The 28-year-old, who holds a .298 career OBP, won’t keep hitting .345. With just one walk to his name in 2019, he hasn’t made the accompanying gains to support the increase. Yet he has made the most of his fortuitous start by stealing five bases in six tries. If you’re reading this, there’s at least a 90% chance your team can use some more speed.

Deep League Targets – <10% owned

Pablo Lopez (SP – MIA) : 8% Owned
Does he still have a better FIP (3.01) and K-BB% (18.5) than Trevor Bauer? Cool, then I’m going to keep touting Lopez until he graduates from the deep-league section.

Yordan Alvarez (OF – HOU): 6% Owned
Managers who don’t watch to miss out on the next new arrival should consider grabbing Alvarez now before his promotion causes a waiver-wire stampede.

The 21-year-old is eviscerating Triple-A pitching with 11 home runs and a 199 wRC+ in 21 games. Despite his .400 OBP, Tyler White has lost his handle on Houston’s everyday DH job due to his April power outage. Neither White, Tony Kemp, nor Aledmys Diaz should keep Alvarez down in the minors for too much longer.

Tyler Mahle (SP – CIN) : 5% Owned
This is admittedly not the best timing to tout Mahle. He has allowed 25 hits in his last three starts and just coughed up a season-high five runs at St. Louis on Saturday. He also, however, sports a 3.88 FIP with 28 strikeouts in 26 innings. At least keep him in mind as a streamer going forward.

Hansel Robles (RP – LAA) : 4% Owned
Although yet to pick up a save since Allen lost the closer’s job and subsequently went on the IL, Robles has worked the ninth inning in three of his last four appearances. Recent usage suggests he could get the first crack at saves over Buttrey, or at least share the wealth in a timeshare.

Managers nevertheless can’t get too comfortable rostering Robles. While elite stuff occasionally gives off the aroma of a high-leverage reliever, fly-ball woes have saddled him with a career 3.88 ERA and 4.16 FIP. He’s worth a saves and strikeout flier in deeper formats, but there’s enough downside not to chase in shallower leagues unless desperate for saves.

David Bote (2B/3B – CHC): 3% Owned
Batting .279/.371/.525 in 70 plate appearances, Bote has started each of the Cubs’ last three games. Initially perceived as no more than someone who would occupy the short side of a platoon, the burgeoning 26-year-old is faring even better against righties (143 wRC+ as of Monday) in April.

Bote must survive a lineup minefield that sometimes feels like Joe Maddon just runs a random generator. For now, he’s looking more deserving of playing time than Ben Zobrist, Daniel Descalso, and even Kyle Schwarber. He has even been the Cubs’ best third baseman to start 2019.

Jacob Webb (RP – ATL): 1% Owned
Two days after A.J. Minter relinquished four runs in a blown save, Webb shut the door for his first career save. The 25-year-old has yet to allow a run in six outings. Minter, on the other hand, has a 9.35 ERA and 2.08 WHIP. Atlanta’s closer situation could at least turn into a timeshare, which would favor the right-handed Webb.

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