Ottoneu Most Added Players

Niv, creator and grand poobah of all things ottoneu, was gracious enough to share with me some data regarding the most added ottoneu players over the last 30 days(across all league types). I thought it would be interesting to take a look at the hot pickups in ottoneu, so here we go!

Without further ado, here are the top ten most added players over the past 30 days, all of whom have been added in at least 47% of leagues since last month:

I have to admit I was a little surprised to see Trayce Thompson at the top, but I probably shouldn’t have been given how well he has hit (.366 wOBA this year, .373 in his small sample career) and his current opportunity with the Dodgers given the DFA of Carl Crawford and the injuries to Andre Ethier and Yasiel Puig. It is probably too late, but I think he is a good speculative pickup.

I was less surprised by the player tied with Thompson, since Michael Feliz has pitched like a Betances doppelganger (2.16 xFIP with 12.89 K/9). He’s not getting many holds chances in the Astros bullpen right now, but I expect he will have a late inning role solidified very soon. Add him even in a 4×4 league.

Much has been made of Matthew Shoemaker’s recent streak of excellent pitching, and given how desperate teams can be for quality starting pitchers, it’s probably less surprising that he has been added in so many leagues and more surprising that he is still unowned in 32% of leagues. He should be owned everywhere.

James Paxton is not only the fourth most added player over the past 30 days, but is also the most added player over the past seven days (+50.3%). Paxton may have had some poor results in his first start replacing King Felix, but he has added a few ticks to his fastball (97.3 this year vs 94.1 last year) and looks like the long awaited breakout is here. It’s only been three starts, but Paxton looks like he is for real, and is probably a top 45 SP ROS.

He’s hitting for more power than anyone expected, but even with an ISO regression Eduardo Nunez should be an acceptable starting option given his shortstop eligibility. There is very little upside here, but Nunez is definitely a player that should be added everywhere.

Leonys Martin is the first name on this list I can’t really advocate as a pickup. He’s hit well this year (.341 wOBA), but owns a career .300 wOBA and is coming back from a hamstring injury.

Diamondbacks catcher Chris Herrmann is another player who is a hot pickup due to early season success (.379 wOBA), but prior precedent shows this is likely just a fluke (.272 career wOBA). The good news is he plays in Arizona, so benefits from a favorable home park, but right now he is a backup catcher who has hit well but probably won’t continue to do so.

Danny Duffy has excelled in his shift from the bullpen to the rotation, with a 3.36 xFIP and 11.03 K/9 versus 1.45 BB/9. Duffy has so far carried over the performance he had in the bullpen early in the year to his new starting pitcher role, and while I’m much less confident in him than I am Paxton and Shoemaker I think he is a strong speculative add.

Will Harris has four saves in his last four appearances, and has pitched well enough (2.70 xFIP) to carry on with the closer role in Houston going forward. He’s already owned in almost all leagues, but in the 7% of leagues he’s not he should be added right away.

The tenth most added player is Jose Ramirez, who like Nunez has shortstop eligibility (plus 2B/3B/OF), although he has not hit quite as well. Ramirez is a defensive stalwart who has played all over the field for the Indians, including left field. He is very likely to lose shortstop eligibility for next season due to the presence of Francisco Lindor, and I don’t think he hits enough to be used at any other position, so he wouldn’t be a target of mine right now.

Any names you were surprised to not see on this list? Who do you think will be the most added players over the next 30 days?