Now that we’re about one month into the season, many fantasy leagues are starting to take shape. The teams at the top have likely avoided the plethora of injuries and were lucky enough to snag a few of those guys who started the year off extremely hot. Pretty much every league I’m in, the teams that roster Byron Buxton or J.D. Martinez are in the top three.
But, I digress. There is still close to 85 percent of the season remaining, so there’s no need to panic! With more than enough time to recover, keep your early picks and replace your slumping, end-of-the-draft guys with one of the highly undervalued players still available on the waiver wire.
Your journey up the standings starts now! And for those looking to boost their slumping lineup, here are 11 players who can assist you in at least one of the ten main categories. Most of these studs are owned in less than 50 percent of Yahoo leagues and deserve to be added ASAP.
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RBI
Jesus Aguilar (1B – MIA): 57%
Are you kidding me? How is this man still available in nearly half of all leagues?! Aguilar is up to 22 RBIs and has five homers over his past six games. Averaging close to an RBI per game, Aguilar deserves to be rostered in all leagues. Add him immediately if you need help in either power or RBIs.
Home Runs
Adolis Garcia (OF – ATL): 46%
I mentioned him last week when he was only owned in four percent of leagues. Now, unfortunately, he is up to 46 percent. The heavy increase came after Garcia clobbered four home runs over five days, upping his home run total to five in only 63 at-bats. He has slowed down a bit over the past few days but should continue to put up above-average power numbers all season. The Rangers have him batting fourth directly behind Joey Gallo and his .422 on-base percentage, so RBI’s should come in bunches as well.
The Cuban star nicknamed El Bombi launched 32 long balls in 2019 for the Cardinals Triple-A squad and could reach that total again for the Rangers. Add him now before it’s too late.
Kyle Higashioka (C – NYY): 14%
Higashioka may not hit a ton of homers, but as a catcher, he’ll be more than helpful. Recently given the title of starting catcher, Higashioka becomes immediately viable in fantasy leagues. He has done nothing but hit bombs for the Yankees dating back to his rookie season. As New York’s regular behind the dish, 20 home runs are within sight.
Stolen Bases
Andrew Benintendi (OF – KC): 44%
Has Benintendi finally returned to his earlier Boston days where he was a perennial 100/20/90/20 threat and tantalized fans and fantasy players with his five-tool abilities? I wouldn’t go that far, but he does have seven knocks in his last 21 at-bats to go along with five runs, four RBIs, a homer, and a stolen base. His Statcast numbers aren’t great, but his K-rate is down, and he’s already shown his willingness to run.
He’s currently up to four stolen bases for the season, and it’s not even May. The Royals perpetually keep the green light on for baserunners, so look for Benintendi to rack up the bags all year long. If he can stay healthy and continue to build on his recent hot streak, the Royals’ new left fielder could be a steal for those who drafted him (or plucked him off the wire).
Runs
Willie Calhoun (OF – TEX): 4%
Calhoun has been leading off for the Texas Rangers when there’s a righty on the mound and is even drawing starts vs. lefties ( just farther down in the order). His everyday ABs have led to a heavy dose of runs scored for the once highly touted prospect. Calhoun has scored a run in five games this week and looks to be back to being a productive hitter. He’s up to a .306 batting average since his activation (10 games) and is backed by some solid underlying metrics.
He should continue to hit in the leadoff spot for the Rangers in the foreseeable future, considering they don’t possess a better option, and he seems to thrive in the position. In weekly leagues with a heavy dose of left-handed pitching, you may think twice about starting him, but so far, he’s been a steady run-scoring contributor.
Batting Average
Kolten Wong (2B – MIL): 49%
Wong has been on a tear lately, hitting in six straight, totaling 12 hits since returning from the injured list. His average is now up to .318 while consistently batting leadoff for the Brew Crew. Wong hit .265 last year but produced a robust .285 batting average over 148 games in 2019. Typically known to put the ball in play, Wong is striking out at a career-low rate (13.5%) while upping his walk rate to a career-high of 11.5%. His OPS is .946, and his wRC+ is fantastic at 161.
The back-to-back Gold Glove winner won’t keep up the exceptional numbers all season, but fantasy players should ride the hot streak, which could easily last a while. He’ll throw in a handful of steals and long balls as well, so Wong deserves your attention to help fill out those tough 2B and MI positions.
Wins
Domingo German (SP – NYY): 35%
Domingo German does it again. I told you guys to pick him up last week after he was activated. Since his return, he’s thrown 13 innings, struck out 12, gave up two runs, and earned two victories . His velocity was also up in his last start. It may be wise to consider sitting German in the toughest matchups, but overall, expect the 29-year-old to continue to win games just as he did in 2019 when he won 18 games in just 24 starts. Add German now in leagues where he’s available.
ERA
Luis Garcia (SP/RP – HOU): 2%
This is more for you deeper league combatants, but I believe Garcia is a player who can help in four out of the five pitching categories. I also think he’ll find his way into the Astros starting rotation for at least 12-15 games over the course of the season, if not more. He uses a crafty five-pitch mix to keep hitters off balance and now has 20 k’s in 20 innings. He annihilates righties and is tough on lefties as well and so far has allowed no more than two runs in any of his four starts, including one in Colorado.
I picked him up last week after Jake Odorizzi went down with a forearm strain, and he didn’t disappoint. Garcia went 5 strong against the Mariners, allowing three hits, no walks, one run, and six K’s. His pitch count should increase as the year progresses, and he was likely pulled after five innings because he was actually pitching on only three days rest (Garcia was used in relief on Sunday for an inning and two-thirds). His final season in the minors, albeit it was only Single-A, Garcia struck out a ridiculous 108 batters in only 65.2 innings. The Astros only used him for 12.1 innings last year, where he also faired well, giving up only seven hits to the 49 batters faced.
Garcia is my sleeper of the group, but one I feel could help in the short and long term and could end up being this year’s, Cristian Javier.
Saves
Taylor Rogers (RP – MIN): 63%
Rogers has shot up nearly 10 percent in the last couple of days, but he is still unrostered in nearly 40 percent of leagues. After a few bad outings by the incumbent closer Alex Colome, management announced they are moving away from the ex-White Sox closer in save situations, and for a good reason. Colome has already allowed a whopping 15 runs (8 earned) with a WHIP of nearly 2.00. On the other hand, Rogers hasn’t given up a run in 9.1 innings with only one walk. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what is going to happen here. Add Rogers before you finish this article.
Strikeouts
Huascar Ynoa (SP – ATL): 50%
Huascar Ynoa isn’t messing around. Likely to stick in the rotation for the long term, Ynoa is up to 34 strikeouts putting him one above Lucas Giolito and tying him with Brandon Woodruff. Through five starts, Ynoa has put together four dominating performances. Even with one clunker, Ynoa’s ERA sits at 2.96 with a beautiful 0.91 WHIP. His high 90’s fastball coupled with his plus slider and above-average changeup is more than enough to continue to rack up the K’s. Add Ynoa to your roster where available.
WHIP
Kyle Gibson (SP – TEX): 49%
I don’t know what’s going on with Kyle Gibson, but he’s pitching deep into ball games and not allowing many runs over his last five games. I was extremely hesitant to add him even after his third quality showing in a row, but now doing it again against Boston, I’m forced to buy in, at least temporarily.
Over his last five starts, Gibson has put together three wins, 26 strikeouts, a 0.82 ERA, and a 0.93 WHIP. He also hasn’t given up a single home run on the year. Gibson could have easily fit in any one of the pitching categories (yes, besides saves), but seeing how he’s cut his walk rate and his opposing quality of contact, I chose to place him under WHIP. I’d like to say sit him against powerhouse lineups, but he’s already shut down the White Sox, Blue Jays, and the Red Sox, so perhaps he’s ready to be placed in your starting staff regardless of the matchup.
He has Minnesota on tap, the team that drafted him, so there could be added meaning for the Rangers’ ace. He has never faced them in the past, but any lineup with Nelson Cruz and a healthy Josh Donaldson presents a tough challenge. I’m willing to go out on a limb and say he’s worth starting in the matchup in deeper leagues, but if you want to play it safe, add him now and leave him on the bench next week.
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Austin Lowell is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Austin, check out his archive.
