The Robinson Cano suspension will be a big loss for the Mariners and for fantasy owners. Dee Gordon’s imminent move back to second base should at least give the Mariners a defensive upgrade, and it gives Gordon’s keeper league owners another year of second-base eligibility.

Understandably, the question of who replaces Gordon in center field has received far less attention than the loss of Cano has. Scott Servais‘ plan is to use Guillermo Heredia as Gordon’s primary replacement, and that’s a development that should not be ignored by fantasy owners, at least in deeper leagues. He headlines this week’s list of five hitters who are widely available on all of the major sites.
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After many years in AL Tout Wars, I finally discovered one of the major keys to success – anticipation. Picking up players before their call up who may have a significant fantasy impact is a wise move. I had written down the names of two of these players last week, but unfortunately I once again forgot that we had moved the FAAB deadline to 1 PM from midnight and therefore failed to make any bids. Naturally, both players were bid on, but it probably didn’t matter for me as I likely would have been outbid.

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Each week through the season, I’ll be looking at the collection of starting pitchers owned in under 15% of leagues (consensus Yahoo/ESPN ownership from Fantasy pros) and pointing out the options to consider if you need an extra arm or two at the end of your staff.

It’s been another week of Fantasy Baseball, and the waiver wire has shifted. Let’s highlight my ten favorites, roughly ordered from top to bottom:

Zach Eflin (Philadelphia Phillies) – Out of nowhere Eflin has impressed in his first two starts of the season, collecting 13 strikeouts and allowing just one earned run in 12.2 IP. Normally we would be hesitant to sign up with this small sample for a pitcher with 5.54 and 6.16 ERA seasons behind him, however there has been one startling change: 1.5 ticks of added velocity on his fastball from 93.7mph in 2017 to 95.3mph across his two 2018 starts. He gets the Mets next over the weekend and it may be wise to jump on board early before this turns into an apparent trend.

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Need a power boost? A Yadier Molina replacement? How about a hitter with multi-position eligibility and a good schedule in the short term or a promising bat you can stash for later in the year? You can fill each of these needs (or wants?) off the waiver wire in the vast majority of mixed leagues. Normally, in this column, I set the cutoff for ownership rates at 33 percent, but I’ve dug a little deeper this week. Each of the five players included is available in at least three-quarters of the leagues on each of the major sites.
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I’ve long believed that ottoneu owners should essentially ignore the league standings through the first month of the baseball season, but that doesn’t mean teams should be resting on their laurels. The first couple months of the season are the best times to pounce on unexpected breakouts, and even if 75% of your pickups end up being duds the one or two studs you might find make the hunt fruitful. Let’s take a look at the players ottoneu teams are picking up and dropping most frequently over the past week:

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It’s an all Mets edition of the deep league waiver wire! I could hear the excitement through my computer screen.

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In the last few days, much of the waiver wire frenzy has been focused on pitchers in general and on Michael Soroka, Nick Kingham and Fernando Romero specifically. If you were able to pick up one or more of these prospects who have just made their major league debuts, that’s a good feeling. If you acquired them without busting your FAAB budget, even better.

Yet while these young pitchers have been stealing the spotlight, a number of more established hitters have been toiling away beyond the gaze of most fantasy owners. Each of the five hitters featured below are owned in fewer than a third of the leagues on CBSSports.com and Fantrax, where deeper leagues are not in short supply. Some of them could provide an upgrade for your deep-league roster right now, while others may be more valuable in the coming weeks and, therefore, are worth a stash.
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Each week through the season, I’ll be looking at the collection of starting pitchers owned in under 15% of leagues (consensus Yahoo/ESPN ownership from Fantasy pros) and pointing out the options to consider if you need an extra arm or two at the end of your staff.

It’s been another week of Fantasy Baseball, and the waiver wire has shifted. Let’s highlight my ten favorites, roughly ordered from top to bottom:

Caleb Smith (Miami Marlins) – This list has plenty of the same names from last week, though I expect there to be more variance as we get deeper in the season as more unpopular entities make changes that few are aware of. Smith could be part of that label after striking out 19 batters in his last two starts, featuring plenty better command of his fastball that we’ve seen before. The question is if there is sustainability here – a 5 ER/6 walk start is still in recent memory – though striking out least seven batters in four of six starts is plenty enough for us to sign up for the price of free.

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You need help in your deep league. I’m here for you.

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