High Fives: Souza dancing on the Week 9 wire
As we head into Week 9 of the fantasy baseball season, Brandon Funston, Dalton Del Don and Andy Behrens offer their top-5 takes on those players bucking for employment in fantasy leagues. Each week, we'll take a trip around the diamond to uncover the best help that your FAAB dollars can buy. Let's get to it ...
Top 5 corner infield pickups among the under 50% owned crowd | ||
1. Ryan Howard - Offers the most power you'll likely be able to find, and there's no questioning its legitimacy | 1. Adam Lind - He has eight homers over 136 ABs with a .909 OPS against right-handed pitchers | 1. Mitch Moreland - Serious power, guaranteed at-bats and a friendly park. |
2. Adam Lind - He's had his share of struggles in May, but the big picture still looks good (8 HR, .857 OPS) | 2. Ryan Howard - He has nine home runs over 134 ABs against RHP | 2. Ryan Howard - His power potential is well documented, but he's a severe drain on AVG |
3. Alex Guerrero - A bit more liberated now that Uribe is in ATL - has hit 3 HR in past 5 games | 3. Justin Morneau - He has a history of concussion problems but worth stashing on your DL for now | 3. David Freese - Still hitting in the heart of a very good batting order; six hits over his last four games |
4. Chris Colabello - Mashing both LHP and RHP - the wave started a while ago, but might not be too late to catch it | 4. Alex Guerrero - With Juan Uribe traded, there's a chance he gets more regular playing time | 4. Adam Lind - Ability to crush right-handers; he'll finish the year with 25-plus HRs |
5. Joe Mauer - You know my thoughts on Mauer by now - for those in need of trusty, if only serviceable BA and RBI numbers | 5. Maikel Franco - He's a solid prospect who should be owned in most leagues right now | 5. Justin Bour - Homered in each of his last two games, seeing regular playing time. |
Top 5 middle infield pickups among the under 50% owned crowd | ||
1. Addison Russell - After a choppy start to his MLB career, his vast talent has started to take hold in May (.839 OPS) | 1. Jung Ho Kang - He looks like the real deal and should be owned in all leagues at this point | 1. Jung Ho Kang - Crushing the ball lately, he offers uncommon HR upside for his position(s) |
2. Carlos Correa - Still think there's a very good chance he punches his MLB ticket sometime in the next 2 weeks | 2. Addison Russell - He's more advanced than I expected and should only improve from here on out | 2. Addison Russell - I certainly did not expect him to be this reliable at the plate, this quickly |
3. Brandon Phillips - Even amidst an 0-for-15 slide, the veteran has still been a top 13 MI over the past 30 days | 3. Brandon Phillips - He's been a top-200 player overall this year | 3. Brett Lawrie - He and I are on a break in seasonal leagues, but I've been using Lawrie quite a bit in daily |
4. Brett Lawrie - Have long had a (mostly unwarranted) soft spot for Lawrie - has homered in 2 of past 3 games | 4. Zack Cozart - For what it's worth, he's on pace to finish with 20 homers, 71 runs, 71 RBI and 10 steals | 4. Andrelton Simmons - Really nice bounce-back year in progress; another cheap, reliable DFS play |
5. Andrelton Simmons - Riding 8-game hit streak - one of only four MIs with at least 30 Runs and 20 RBI | 5. Chase Utley - I still believe in buying him low | 5. Carlos Correa - Elite prospect, arriving soon. He'll do his hitting in a terrific home park |
Top 5 outfield pickups among the under 50% owned crowd | ||
1. Steven Souza - I guess his wrist is fine - HR in each of the first two games back after the injury | 1. Steven Souza - He's on pace for 29 homers and 23 steals despite a .226 BA that should improve | 1. Billy Burns - He's getting two hits per night, batting .333 with five steals last two weeks |
2. Marlon Byrd - Power is always the toughest commodity to find on the wire - Bryd has it, and he flaunted it in May (8 HR) | 2. Billy Burns - He's now looking at a starting job from here on out, which should result in 35+ steals | 2. Preston Tucker - His ownership percentage is a joke (6%). Wake up, gamers. |
3. Billy Burns - Sorry, Delino and Rajai, but Burns is now the best speed play on the wire | 3. Marlon Byrd - After a slow start, Byrd has hit eight homers with a .933 OPS in May | 3. Chris Colabello - Raking lately, and we know the power is mostly real |
4. Adam Eaton - Been plagued by slow starts in his career, but things are trending the right way | 4. Rajai Davis - He's tied in all of basebal with the sixth most steals | 4. Adam Eaton - Bat is starting to come around. Favorable lineup position with decent speed |
5. Leonys Martin - He was a top 50 OF last year, and he's raised his average 30 points in past 11 games | 5. Andre Ethier - He's batting .303/.406/.550 against southpaws and has been a top-175 player overall so far | 5. Steven Souza - Sure, I'll jump on board. Nice power/speed combo player, though I doubt the AVG will ever be decent |
Top 5 pitcher pickups among the under 50% owned crowd | ||
1. A.J. Ramos - He's closing, which should be all you need to know, nevermind that he's posting top 100 roto numbers | 1. A.J. Ramos - He's close at 49% but still no idea why a closer isn't owned in all formats | 1. A.J. Ramos - Still sitting on the wire in roughly 50 percent of Yahoo leagues, despite excellent ratios and role |
2. Clay Buchholz - Has an arsenal that doesn't belong on the wire - more Ks than IP, and four straight Quality Starts | 2. Clay Buchholz - He has a 62:16 K:BB ratio over 60.1 innings this season | 2. Brad Ziegler - Another guy who's closing and posting terrific numbers, yet not owned heavily enough around these parts |
3. Carlos Rodon - The BB total is ugly, but the talent is vast and he's posted a Quality Start in three of his past four turns | 3. Eduardo Rodriguez - He's an interesting prospect with upside worth stashing right now | 3. Eduardo Rodriguez - He was a Closing Time favorite who spun a gem in debut. Gets Minnesota next |
4. Jesse Chavez - Best roto numbers among SPs owned in under 50% of leagues - good pitching environment and coming off solid '14 campaign | 4. Jesse Hahn - Low K rate but he's a good pitcher with a 1.16 WHIP | 4. Pat Neshek - As of this writing, his WHIP is 0.64, which is just silly. Striking out a batter/frame, too |
5. Nathan Karns - In eight of his past nine outings, you'd have been happy with the returns | 5. Brad Ziegler - This is bizarre considering he's a closer now | 5. Carlos Rodon - Overpowering stuff, and the walks won't continue at recent rate |
If the MLB were forced to contract, which five teams would you vote to eliminate | ||
1. Tampa Bay - Just load the team up in that spaceship of a stadium and fly them off to the intergalatic league | 1. Los Angeles Dodgers - Please put them out of their misery (says the Giants fan) | 1. Tampa Bay - Just so we're clear, I do not support contraction. But this park is kind of a disaster |
2. Miami - Sorry, Florida fans, but the attendance figures in your state are deplorable, and you at least have spring training | 2. Tampa Bay - It's a shame the location of its stadium | 2. Miami - Billy the Marlin can stay, as can Stanton. They'll be reassigned |
3. Arizona - Like Florida, spring training offers consolation that other teams don't have, plus it's too damn hot in the summer | 3. Miami - New stadium (and Stanton!) has still resulted in poor attendance numbers | 3. Philadelphia - Again, I do not support contraction of ANY TEAM. But there have been some vile fan actions here |
4. Toronto - What, we are going to contract five teams from "America's Game" our "National Pastime" and leave in the only Canadian team? No can do. | 4. LA Dodgers - This team really needs to go away | 4. St. Louis Cardinals - After three straight division titles and a whole mess of World Series appearances, GIVE SOMEONE ELSE A CHANCE, you guys |
5. Colorado - Sorry, Rockies fans, but it's all about the air up there | 5. LA Dodgers - OK fine I might be a bit biased but don't all of their fans leave every game in like the fifth inning? | 5. San Francisco Giants - This team has done quite enough winning, too. Just go away for a couple seasons, maybe |