Week 6 is over with Tyler Glasnow heading to the DL for a forearm strain and Cody Bellinger still batting .399. If you are itching to make a move or just need some sound waiver wire pickups, I’ve got some pointers that I think may help inch you closer to a championship. It may be a two-start SP streamer with hot matchups, a guy to keep on waiver wire speed dial, a minor league call up, or a change in the depth chart/lineup. I’ll have the info for you every Saturday morning. Now let’s dive into Week 7
View your league’s top available players with My Playbook 
#1 You’ll want to grab Clevland hitters if you need to fill in a spot
The Indians’ lineup is terrible without a question but their opponents lined up for the week are even worse if you can believe it. First, they’ll travel to Chicago to take on Reynaldo Lopez and Manny Banuelos before ending the week in Baltimore against Dylan Bundy, John Means, David Hess and Andrew Cashner. Truly, if you were trying to craft a perfect week for opposing matchups, it would look pretty close to that. Their top hitters to pick ups are Jake Bauers (27% owned), Carlos Gonzalez (3%), Leonys Martin (3%), Tyler Naquin (1%), and Robert Perez (0% owned). You better believe I’ll be stacking them all week in DFS contests.
#2 Brad Peacock is the two-start pitcher to target
Fantasy owners started dropping Peacock after a 7 run blowup in Minnesota so he is still available in 63% of leagues. He should be owned everywhere, though, as he just twirled a 12 strikeout gem at home against the Royals Wednesday. On the season, he still has a 1.09 WHIP which should come as no surprise since he has a better SIERA than Noah Syndergaard, Patrick Corbin, Trevor Bauer and Zack Greinke over the last two and half seasons. In fact, Peacock’s 30.4% K-rate is better than Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole and Stephen Strasburg in that time. He travels to Detroit and Boston this week and should be locked into your lineup for both outings.
#3 Tyler Mahle is the breakout pitcher no one is talking about
I get it, no one wants to believe in the guy with a 1.59 WHIP and 4.98 ERA last season but the fact of the matter is that Mahle has been (gulp) among the best pitchers in baseball to start the year. His 3.06 xFIP is top 10 in baseball ahead of even Luis Castillo and Chris Paddack. Mahle isn’t going to strikeout 200 guys, but he is over a batter per inning and has cut his walk rate from 4.3 per 9 innings to just 1.8! I’m not saying he is an all-star or anywhere along those lines but he is just 3% owned right now and that won’t last long after he dismantles the Giants’ offense in San Francisco Sunday afternoon.
#4 Alex Verdugo is my favorite waiver wire target of the week
With A.J. Pollock on the IL, the Dodgers have finally allowed Verdugo to play every day. He has hit the ground running with a .337 batting average, 4 HRs and 19 RBIs in his first 100 at-bats. He won’t hit .300, but his prospect profile makes .280 is likely. We aren’t talking about someone with the power upside of Vlad Guerrero Jr. or Eloy Jimenez, but 20 to 25 homers and tons of runs in a great Dodgers lineup will certainly pay off. I’m looking at him as someone like Eddie Rosario assuming he continues to earn everyday at-bats in L.A. He won’t cost your entire FAAB budget but I’m certainly willing to put in a 20% bid to make sure and secure him.
#5 Owning pitchers like John Gant can win your league
I know what you are thinking, “Who the heck is that?” You’ve looked at the closer depth charts and you know who is in the rotations and Gant’s name is nowhere to be found. The same was true of Chris Devenski in 2016 when he was on his way to becoming a top 15 fantasy relief pitcher and eventually an all-star in 2017. Gant is the new Devenski. He is on pace for nearly 100 innings with the Cardinals and has been devastating hitters. As of now, he carries an 0.81 ERA and just an 0.63 WHIP with 23 Ks. Like Devenski, he pitches in the middle of games, often picking up wins, and with today’s closer landscape, you can bet he’ll add onto his 2 saves as well. Our player rater has him having been more useful so far than Kirby Yates and Blake Snell. That won’t keep up, but you can bet he’ll help your team more than a questionable 6th or even 5th starting pitcher who drags down your ratios.
#6 Your time is running out to buy one of the best hitters in baseball.
At this point, I’d say most people agree that top three hitters in baseball are pretty clear with Mike Trout being, well, Mike Trout, Christian Yelich on pace for 65 homers, and Cody Bellinger still batting .399. J.D. Martinez absolutely belongs in that elite tier, however. Over the last three years, only Trout has a higher wOBA. Martinez is top 3 in HRs, RBIs and batting average in that time which no one else can even close to claim. You may be able to grab him at a second round trade value since he is “only” hitting .308 with 5 homers but the quality of contact stats suggest he should be hitting .342 and that he has been among the most unlucky hitters in terms of slugging percentage. Martinez is still a legitimate Triple Crown contender so acquire him before his owner catches on.
#7 On the flip side, Rhys Hoskins has been extraordinarily lucky
This isn’t to take anything away from Hoskins, who is an excellent player, but to suggest his 1.026 OPS is going to keep up is just misguided. Rather, we are looking at someone with the same old 28% K-rate who just so happens to carry an outrageous .351 BABIP. To put that into perspective, he was at .241 and .272 the past few years, as is often the case with slower hitters. Baseball Savant actually suggests that Hoskins’ quality of contact typically warrants a .230 batting average and just .446 slugging percentage which is in the neighborhood of what we’ve seen the last few years from Randal Grichuk. While not bad at all, this is why every projection model was claiming that you might as well wait 100 picks for a similar type of player. Now is the time to sell high on Hoskins before those underlying metrics catch up.
#8 Byron Buxton is on a record pace
In 1931, Earl Webb knocked 67 doubles. Since then, no one has topped that or even come close with Todd Helton making a run at the record with 59 back in 2000. Buxton is on pace for 68. Granted, doubles don’t count in roto or head to head leagues, but for points leagues, you may not have noticed that Buxton has actually been quite good at the plate. More importantly, this is a note to those who are looking at that .240s batting average and contemplating cutting him lose. After all, he is just 61% owned. If Buxton continues to get at that clip, you can expect him to move to the top of that dangerous Twins lineup which should translate to a load of runs and stolen base opportunities. I’m buying right now where I can.
#9 Chris Paddack will likely throw fewer innings the rest of the season than Luis Severino
It is easy to get caught up in the hype for a hot young rookie who is terrorizing the league. And why not? He is carrying your fantasy rotation after all. I was fortunate to draft him in nearly every league but I’m selling everywhere right now because he is on an innings limit. After bouncing back from an injury, Paddack only threw 90 innings last year and is expected to throw around 135 this year with San Diego likely not competing. For those of you counting at home, that is just 95 more or the same amount Walker Buehler threw from late June on. While we haven’t seen Severino yet, it is probable that a durable beast like him, or perhaps even a minor leaguer like Alex Reyes, may toss more innings over the rest of the season when they return than Paddack.
#10 Dinelson Lamet is worth keeping an eye on
Don’t worry, you don’t need to pick him up now or anytime soon, but over the second half, Lamet may prove to be a fantasy league winner. He is recovering from Tommy John surgery and was placed in extended spring training where reports have him as even better than before. For those who don’t remember, Lamet had one of the most dominant rookie campaigns baseball has ever seen. No, the ratios weren’t quite there but in terms of being flat out unhittable, Lamet joined Kerry Wood, Doc Gooden, Jose Fernandez and Hideo Nomo near the top of the list with 10.9 K/9 and just a .207 batting average against. More than likely, when Paddack’s innings are cut off, Lamet will fill right in and may be every bit as good to close out the season.
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Play | SoundCloud | Stitcher | TuneIn
Import your team to My Playbook for instant Waiver Wire advice
