10-team leagues
Miles Mikolas , STL SP (55% ownership), FAAB Bid - $14 - There is no denying the fact that Mikolas has flashed great upside this year. The 29-year old that hasn’t started more than 11 games in his career and is almost halfway there as he’s already started five this season. In those five appearances, he has three straight quality starts and four of the five have gone for at least 6.1 innings. Mikolas’ K-rate of 20.5-percent is decent and that number has been on the rise as he’s struck out six and seven hitters in back-to-back outings. For someone who has pitched in the big leagues since 2014, Mikolas is doing a damn good job making sure he’s a staple in the Cards rotation for the remainder of the year.
Yonder Alonso , CLE 1B (27% ownership), FAAB Bid - $11 - Alonso is really heating up and is back to hitting for the type of power we saw him hit with last year. Just in the last two weeks Alonso has belted five bombs giving him seven for the season. His SLG is back up to .488 which is right on par with his mark of .501 from last season. Alonso is really going to contribute in the runs, home runs and RBI categories when he’s got his bat going like this and should be owned in every format.
Walker Buehler , LAD RP (54% ownership), FAAB Bid - $15 - Obviously we’re talking redraft leagues because in any dynasty format Buehler is long gone. The Dodgers top prospect flashed the upside he’s shown throughout the minors in his first start punching out five over just five scoreless innings. There has only been one stop in Buehler’s professional baseball career in which he didn’t average at least a 10 K/9 and that was at Single-A stintd in which he only pitched two games. Buehler’s potential hasn’t even been fully tapped yet and if he can cut down on some walk problems he seems to have at times, we could be looking at one of the best pitchers in the game sooner rather than later.
12-team leagues
Michael Wacha , STL SP (56% ownership), FAAB Bid - $10 - If looking for someone contributing in the wins category, look no further than Wacha. He’s available in almost half of Yahoo’s leagues and already has four wins on the year. He has a respectable ERA under four and the .240 AVG against is 20 and 40 points lower than it’s been over the last two seasons. He’s a nice SP3/4 with SP3 upside for the long haul as long as the Cards keep scoring runs during his starts and he keeps winning them.
Delino DeShields , TEX OF (43% ownership), FAAB Bid - $9 - DeShields has been back from the disabled list for six games and has swiped two bags already. With the category so slim thanks to the fact that nobody seems to run anymore, we need to pick up the ones that do when they become available. Deshields hit .269 with a .347 on-base percentage last year and if he can get back anywhere close to those numbers this year, he’s almost a must own.
Aaron Altherr , PHI OF (14% ownership), FAAB Bid - $7 - It’s starting to become way more clear that Altherr is seemingly games away from being the full-time right fielder with Nick Williams struggling so horribly. Altherr’s average is still under .200 but just in the last two weeks he’s driven in 12 runs and now has 17 on the year. He’s going to continue to hit in the heart of a vastly improved Philly offense and should continue to have plenty of run producing opportunities going forward.
15-team leagues
Marco Gonzales , SEA SP (7% ownership), FAAB Bid - $5 - In back-to-back starts, Gonzales has looked sharp not allowing any earned runs while striking out eight batters in both games. Gonzales’ 27.6-percent K-rate this year is 10-percent higher than last year’s mark which is crazy to see. He also has a 2.76 FIP which is an elite mark and let’s us know he’s not performing well based on luck, he’s just flat out pitching. He’s worth an add in all AL-only leagues and most 15-team formats, especially if he continues to miss bats the way he has recently.
Mac Williamson , SF OF (10% ownership), FAAB Bid - $4 - Currently, Williamson is on the disabled list, but it’s only the seven-day concussion protocol so he’ll be back before we know it. Before the concussion, he had homered three times in five games and has a least one hit in those same five games. Williamson had a 1.026 SLG at Triple-A before being called up so this power surge is real. He’s a very nice source of power when he returns and it’ll cost you virtually nothing.
Matt Adams , WAS 1B, OF (1% ownership), FAAB Bid - $2 - In 15-team and NL-only leagues, Adams is a nice addition to one’s team. He’s been productive in limited time but has begun to see more regular playing time of late both in the outfield and at first base as well. He has three homers and 10 RBI which for a platoon player, is on par with some of the everyday players around baseball. He’s worth the add if looking for some run production plus power.
*ownership percentages courtesy of Yahoo
** FAAB bids based on $100 budget