While trades are a great way to acquire the best batters for your fantasy baseball team, the waiver wire and free agent pool are also a great source for finding key contributors and batters that will help your team win on a weekly basis. From batters currently on a hot streak to players expected to breakout or produce in a better situation, here are the most-added batters from Week 16 of the 2012 fantasy baseball season.
Monday, July 23: 2B/SS Danny Espinosa, Washington Nationals, 18,013 adds*
Since the middle of the month, Espinosa has been a much-improved batter, particularly when it comes to making contact and collecting hits. In 19 games since the start of the month, he has collected 24 hits.
Other top adds of the day: New York Yankees OF Ichiro Suzuki (6,741 adds), Detroit Tigers OF Brennan Boesch (5,705 adds), Kansas City Royals SS Alcides Escobar (5,019 adds)
Tuesday, July 24: 2B/SS Danny Espinosa, Washington Nationals, 7,048 adds
With two more hits by Espinosa on July 24 against the New York Mets, he now has a 10-game hit streak. With a more consistent bat for the Nationals, he is becoming a solid starter in mixed leagues.
Other top adds of the day: Colorado Rockies SS Josh Rutledge (5,985 adds), Brennan Boesch (4,223 adds), Minnesota Twins C/OF Ryan Doumit (3,848 adds)
Wednesday, July 25: OF Lorenzo Cain, Kansas City Royals, 14,083 adds
Now healthy and with opportunities to start regularly, Cain is once again being targeted by fantasy owners. A top prospect in the outfield, Cain has been a decent contributor since his return from injury.
Other top adds of the day: Danny Espinosa (8,019 adds), Pittsburgh Pirates OF Starling Marte (6,588 adds), Pittsburgh Pirates 3B Pedro Alvarez (5,253 adds)
Thursday, July 26: OF Starling Marte, Pittsburgh Pirates, 19,971 adds
The newest elite prospect to make his major league debut this season, Marte was promoted to the Pirates' major league roster this week. Given the starting left field spot, owners picking him up are banking on him replicating his great minor league numbers.
Other top adds of the day: Danny Espinosa (5,463 adds), Milwaukee C Jonathan Lucroy (5,136 adds), Ryan Doumit (4,263 adds)
Friday, July 27: OF Starling Marte, Pittsburgh Pirates, 12,309 adds
In the first career game on July 26, Marte hit a couple hits, including his first home run off of rookie Dallas Keuchel.
Other top adds of the day: Milwaukee Brewers OF Carlos Gomez (5,732 adds), Danny Espinosa (4,742 adds), Jonathan Lucroy (3,620 adds)
Saturday, July 28: OF Carlos Gomez, Milwaukee Brewers, 7,042 adds
The hottest hitter of the week, Gomez had three home runs in Week 16, elevating his status from fringe NL-only player to viable starter in deeper mixed leagues.
Other top adds of the day: Danny Espinosa (4,440 adds), Oakland Athletics OF Coco Crisp (3,200 adds), Houston Astros 3B Chris Johnson (2,962 adds)
Sunday, July 29: OF Carlos Gomez, Milwaukee Brewers, 7,608 adds
Gomez ended his hot week with two more hits on July 29 against the Washington Nationals. He is hitting .346 with 10 RBIs in his last seven games.
Other top adds of the day: New York Mets 1B Ike Davis (6,486 adds), Cincinnati Reds OF Ryan Ludwick (3,808 adds), Josh Rutledge (3,682 adds)
*Adds numbers according to Yahoo! Fantasy Baseball Transaction Trends Research Tool.
Sources:
Danny Espinosa Game Log, Yahoo! Sports
Starling Marte Game Log, Yahoo! Sports
Carlos Gomez Game Log, Yahoo! Sports
Transaction Trends Adds, Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Baseball
More from this contributor:
Fantasy Baseball 2012 - Week 16 Top Performers, July 23-29: Fan's Review
Fantasy Baseball 2012: Week 17 Waiver Wire Pitchers, Deep League Pickups
Fantasy Baseball 2012: Week 17 Waiver Wire Batters, Deep League Pickups
Fantasy Baseball 2012: Week 17 Pitchers, Waiver Wire Pickups
Fantasy Baseball 2012: Week 17 Batters, Waiver Wire Pickups
Austin Chang is a lifelong baseball fan, San Francisco Giants supporter, and fantasy baseball player since 2005 who has been a Top 3 finisher in 70% of the leagues he has played in. Follow this contributor on Google+ and Twitter @_austinchang.
