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Pickups of the Week

Brandon Funston

This week, Yahoo! Sports fantasy expert Brandon Funston looks at seven intriguing fantasy baseball players still available on the waiver wire in more than half of Yahoo! fantasy leagues.

Adam Eaton
Adam Eaton

Arizona prospect's blazing trail in '12 has extended to the majors

Adam Eaton (OF) Arizona Diamondbacks
Eaton started the year in Double-A Mobile, where he was promoted after hitting .300 with six steals in his first 11 games. At Triple-A Reno, Eaton tore up PCL hitting to the tune of a .381 batting average, to go with an astounding 119 runs, 46 doubles and 38 steals in 119 games before his call-up to Arizona last week. And Eaton hasn't stopped hitting despite facing the highest level of competition, recording a base hit in each of his first five games with the Diamondbacks, including multiple hits in four of those games. Eaton has also scored a run in each game and picked up his first MLB steal on Sunday. Eaton has been a line-drive, contact machine in his short professional career and it's easy to imagine that he'll make a strong three-category speed impact (BA, R, SB) leading off for Arizona the rest of the way.

  • Y! %1%

  • Y! rank1192

  • AVG .400

  • HR0

  • RBI0

  • R6

  • SB1

Russell Martin
Russell Martin

Martin hoping to make strong last impression in a disappointing '12 campaign

Russell Martin (C) New York Yankees
Martin was streaky in his first season in the Bronx in '11, twice posting a monthly OPS split above .930 and twice recording a mark of .570 or less. In his second tour in pinstripes, he's been much more consistent, in a bad way. But he's currently in the process of putting lipstick on his piggish '12 campaign, hitting .429 with two home runs, eight RBIs, six runs and a steal in his past six games. For those shuffling between hot bats at the catcher position, you want find a hotter backstop right now than Martin.

  • Y! %26%

  • Y! rank 809

  • AVG.208

  • HR16

  • RBI44

  • R41

  • SB5

Tyler Greene
Tyler Greene

The grass has been greener for Greene in Houston

Tyler Greene (2B/SS/OF) Houston Astros
Mentioned in this space as an intriguing power/speed combo utilityman shortly after his move to Houston from St. Louis, Greene has delivered on the lumber side of the equation, at least. In his past 24 games as an Astro, he's slammed six home runs, ranking 18th in the league in that department over the past month. All told, Greene is one of only 10 shortstop-eligible players to have at least 10 home runs and 10 steals, and he has 200-plus fewer at bats than the others, save Ian Desmond. Greene is not much of batting average bet, but his Triple-A track record supports his 10/10 club efforts.

  • Y! %2%

  • Y! rank 891

  • AVG .231

  • HR6

  • RBI22

  • R14

  • SB3

Logan Forsythe
Logan Forsythe

Logan's impressive run extends back to early August

Logan Forsythe (2B/3B) San Diego Padres
A former first-round pick ('08) that has shown lots of patience and a little bit of speed upside in his pro career should garner some deep league attention, especially when you add in the fact that he's hit .351 over the past month for the Padres. There's not much power upside with Forsythe but, as mentioned, the speed is serviceable, the runs out of the No. 2 spot in the San Diego order (22 in 37 games) have been solid and he's swinging a scorching bat at the moment. Again, that's a recipe that should pique the interest of at least the deep league crowd.

  • Y! % 1%

  • Y! rank 924

  • AVG .283

  • HR4

  • RBI19

  • R31

  • SB7

Dewayne Wise
Dewayne Wise

It's unwise to ignore this ChiSox outfielder any longer

Dewayne Wise (OF) Chicago White Sox
Wise has been barking for the attention of the fantasy community for the past month, as he ranks as a top 25 offensive commodity in that span. But, just like in this forum, Wise has mostly been turned away by the masses to this point. But withy the quality 5x5 production he's laid on the table since mid-August, it's ill advised to turn a blind eye any longer. And, while speed is his meal ticket, his power hasn't been a complete dead end – seven home runs in a mere 159 at bats. And fantasy owners will be especially rewarded if they have the flexibility to use him solely against right-handed pitchers.

  • Y! % 6%

  • Y! rank 788

  • AVG.283

  • HR7

  • RBI22

  • R25

  • SB15

Matt Harvey
Matt Harvey

Mets Harvey having little problem adjusting to major league competition

Matt Harvey (SP) New York Mets
Harvey returns to the POW list for the third time in the month-and-a-half since being called up from Triple A. In that span, he ranks as a top 35 fantasy pitching commodity, clocking in at 18th in strikeouts. He's been no worse than serviceable in seven of his eight starts and has limited opposing hitters to just three home runs in 47.1 innings pitched.

  • Y! %38%

  • Y! rank 293

  • ERA3.04

  • WHIP1.18

  • W3

  • SV0

  • K/910.08

Glen Perkins
Glen Perkins

Closing time no longer a two-part harmony in Minnesota

Glen Perkins (RP) Minnesota Twins
What do Ryan Roberts and Carlos Santana have in common? They are the only two batters to be walked by Perkins since June 20, a span of 30.2 innings pitched. In that stretch, he's whiffed 28. And in his past 12 innings, he hasn't allowed a run and has yielded just four hits. But the biggest reason to support his fantasy employment is the three saves he's earned in September – Jared Burton, his closer "platoon partner," hasn't recorded a save in over a month. It's to the point that manager Ron Gardenhire has pretty much handed the reins to Perkins. Said Gardenhire, "I've said we'll use [Jared] Burton on days when Perkins can't go, the rest of this year, but I've got no problem with Perk being the closer. I like it. I like handing him the ball and seeing him go out and wing it -- lefties or righties it doesn't matter." That should be music to your ears if you in need of saves in one of the seven of 10 leagues that aren't currently rostering Perkins.

  • Y! %30%

  • Y! rank 172

  • ERA2.54

  • WHIP1.11

  • W2

  • SV11

  • K/99.85