Pickups of the Day: Time To Grab Grissom
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D.J. Short and Eric Samulski dive into struggling offenses to stream pitchers against, highlighting the A's, Giants, Angels, and others as teams to attack over the coming weeks.
Rotoworld's brand-new Pickups of the Day column is designed to help fantasy managers uncover a handful of widely-available targets over the course of the season. It could be a breakout candidate, a prospect stash, an injury replacement, a pitcher with a favorable matchup or week, a player who is due some better luck, or any other number of scenarios. If there's value to be found on the waiver wire, we will find it and bring it your way.
In today’s column, we’re going to look at a dynamic young infielder with another chance at full-time at-bats and another terrific streaming option for Wednesday’s slate of MLB action.
PICKUPS OF THE DAY
Vaughn Grissom, 2B/SS, Braves
Available in 85 percent of Yahoo leagues
As fantasy baseball managers, you never want to root for injuries. When they happen though, the silver lining is that it usually opens up an opportunity for someone else to step up. That’s exactly what we have going on here with Vaughn Grissom.
The 22-year-old had an opportunity to function as the Braves’ regular shortstop earlier this season when Orlando Arcia landed on the injured list with a fractured hand, and he ultimately slashed an empty .277/.314/.308 with zero homers, seven RBI and zero stolen bases in his 70 plate appearances.
How he has performed at Triple-A Gwinnett though, is a completely different story. On the season there, he’s slashing a robust .327/.412/.494 with six homers, 50 RBI, 11 stolen bases (in 13 attempts) and a 58/48 K/BB ratio across 406 plate appearances. With Ozzie Albies shelved with a hamstring strain, Grissom should once again have the opportunity for regular at-bats in one of the strongest lineups in all of baseball. That should lead to ample counting stats to go along with his dynamic blend of power and speed.
Sure, on Tuesday night the Braves opted to roll with Nicky Lopez at second base instead of Grissom – even after he was recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett – but that should be the exception going forward, not the rule. Grissom has the opportunity to be an impact contributor at the middle infield position – at least for a couple of weeks while Albies is shelved.
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Javier Assad, SP/RP, Cubs
Available in 96 percent of Yahoo leagues
The Cubs had planned on rolling out Marcus Stroman in his return from the injured list on Wednesday afternoon against the White Sox, but he was scratched from that start due to soreness in his ribs. That will open up an opportunity for Javier Assad to take another turn through the Cubs’ rotation.
The 26-year-old right-hander has done a nice job overall this season – registering a 3.12 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and a 45/26 K/BB ratio over his 60 2/3 innings of work. He draws a favorable matchup against a White Sox team that lacks punch – especially from the left side – making the blow-up potential very low in this spot. He also should check in as a sizeable favorite to earn a win in the ballgame – squaring off against Mike Clevinger at home in this one.
There also shouldn’t be concerns over Assad’s workload in this one. Sure, he has only made three starts overall on the season – but two of those have come this month. Last time out, he fired seven innings of one-run baseball in a victory over the Blue Jays in Toronto on August 11. The lone downside with Assad is the lack of strikeouts, but when you’re getting quality ratios and a decent shot at a victory, that’s a sacrifice that we should be willing to make.
Stream Assad with confidence on Wednesday and reap the rewards.
