This is the last category analysis that you’ll read before all hell breaks loose. When next week’s column drops, the trade deadline will be over, and familiar faces will be in new places. Last week, I took a look at players who could benefit from the trade deadline to try to help you get the jump on the rest of your league. This week, I’m going back to the original format and highlighting 10 players who can help you in the traditional roto categories. I would be lying, though, if I said I didn’t have Twitter up to check every five minutes while writing this to see if I should pivot on which players to include just in case a big trade or two happens.

See, what makes this deadline interesting is that there is only one trade deadline this year — July 31…that’s it. The August deadline is no more, which means that all teams have until next week to decide if they are buyers or sellers. It should make for an interesting deadline, whether it’s exciting or completely boring.

For instance, as of the time I’m writing this, there is only one team that is comfortably out of the playoff race in the National League, which is the Marlins at 15.5 games back of the second wild-card spot. The rest of the teams in the National League are all within seven games. With 60 games or so left, that’s plenty of time to make up ground. In the American League, it’s more cut and dry, as there are six teams who are at least 11 games back of Oakland for the final playoff spot. Let’s dive into some players who can help you across the board.

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Runs

Luis Urias (2B – SD): 21%
The Padres finally called up Urias, who was just torching the PCL this year. He, like many others, improved his power numbers in the minors with the new baseball in play. His calling card is his bat, but so far in his major league career, he’s failed to impress. But now that he’s up, he should be scooped up if you need a middle infielder. He’s hitting toward the bottom of the lineup now, but if he performs like we all expect him to, it won’t be long before he’s up toward the top of the batting order.

RBIs

Alex Dickerson (OF – SF): 13%
All of a sudden, Madison Bumgarner and Will Smith aren’t locks to be traded. The Giants are only two games out of the final playoff spot thanks to a recent hot surge. One of the catalysts for their play lately is Dickerson. 

The 29-year-old is slashing .351/.406/.691 with six homers, 22 runs, and 24 RBIs in 37 games this year. The potential has always been there for Dickerson, but the health and playing time haven’t. I’m buying in — albeit not to this level — in five-outfielder leagues.

Average

Oscar Mercado (OF – CLE): 50%
There are two people in this list that make me scratch my head at their rostership percentage. Mercado is the first one. He, along with the recent resurgence of Jose Ramirez, have put the Indians back in the American League Central race, and they’ve kept Mercado in the second spot in their lineup. He’s not going anywhere, and as a five-category contributor, he needs to be rostered in all fantasy leagues right now.

Home Runs

Garrett Cooper (1B/OF – MIA): 36%
The other player I’m surprised about regarding his ownership number is Cooper. Is it because he’s on the Marlins? Probably. Is it because he kind of came out of nowhere? Yeah, also probably. 

However, if you look at his numbers, there’s really nothing that he’s doing that makes you think that he’s going to crash and burn. He offers no speed, but he is slashing .304/.376/.493 with 11 home runs, 40 runs, and 37 RBIs. That’ll play, Cooper. That’ll play.

Stolen Bases

Manuel Margot (OF – SD): 17%
Margot was the odd man out from the Padres’ outfield to start the season, and rightfully so. He was downright horrible. But of late, Margot has been playing more and more, and it’s been Wil Myers who has been riding the bench.

Since July 1, Margot has been hitting .313 with three home runs, 13 runs, five RBIs, and three stolen bases in just 15 games. The outfield logjam will hopefully be cleared out by a trade of Hunter Renfroe or Franmil Reyes, so Margot should get all of the playing time he needs. If it isn’t, it’s up to Myers to prove that he has something to offer before he gets regular playing time again.

Wins

Ryan Yarbrough (SP/RP – TB): 37%
Yarbrough may be one of the most under-rostered assets in fantasy. He’s especially valuable in points leagues where you can slot him into a relief spot. He’s been especially effective following an opener, which has allowed him to rack up eight wins so far this season after notching 16 in 2018. He won’t help you in quality starts leagues, but whether he’s starting or he’s used as an opener, he can help you out to make one of the most unpredictable categories a little bit more predictable.

ERA

Merrill Kelly (SP – ARI): 42%
Yes, I know. Kelly’s start Tuesday against the Orioles was horrible. It was supposed to be a slam-dunk outing, but it instead resulted in Kelly giving up seven runs in 2.1 innings. Before that, though, Kelly had a 2.67 ERA and 0.92 WHIP in his previous nine starts. I’m still looking to grab him off the wire if I can, or try to trade for him as an add-on piece. He gets Miami and Washington in a two-start week next week.

WHIP

Asher Wojciechowski (SP/RP – BAL): 4%
Now, this is one that I struggle with. Woj (I’m going to butcher his name if I keep typing it) is a 30-year-old journeyman who has never been fantasy relevant until…now. He opened eyes with his performance against the Red Sox Sunday where he struck out 10 over 7.1 innings. Fluke? Possibly, but then you realize that Woj had 23 swinging strikes. Then you look at his past outings this year and realize he has a 12.13 K/9 and a 1.04 WHIP.

Is Woj likely to be a star? No. But he’s worth at least grabbing and putting on your bench to see what you have. His relief eligibility adds even more value.

Strikeouts

Jose Urquidy (SP – HOU): 9%
With Rogelio Armenteros getting demoted to the minors and Brad Peacock not guaranteed a rotation spot when he returns from injury, Urquidy has a huge opportunity in front of him. After striking out nine Rangers in seven innings, Urquidy will get another opportunity Friday against the Cardinals in St. Louis. If he can once again put together an impressive outing, he could have an extended stay in the Astros’ rotation. I’m picking him up wherever I’m able to for the upside.

Saves

Hunter Strickland (RP – SEA): 20%
There are going to be a lot of names that I can put in the saves category for next week’s column after the trade deadline. Strickland is a forgotten name, though, who is expected to be activated from the injured list any day now. If you recall, he was a hot pickup during the first week of the season before getting hurt. He’s a cheap source of saves as a back end RP2.

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Michael Waterloo is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Michael, check out his archive and follow him @MichaelWaterloo.