With almost a full week of baseball in the books, it’s time to hit the waiver wire again. There weren’t a whole lot of injuries this past week, so the need to replace should only come from a benching or lack of at-bats. Remember, slow starts happen and the last thing you want to do is drop someone who will prove to be productive for someone who may not see steady at-bats moving forward. If you do need to make a move, then here are a few guys to consider, based on your league depth.

10-Team Leagues

Ryan Schimpf, SD 2B/3B (33% ownership), FAAB Bid - $12 – You’d think a starting third-basemen that hit 20 homers in just 330 at-bats last season would be higher than 33-percent owned in fantasy leagues, but here we are. There’s a lot to love about Schimpf. In the second-half of last year’s campaign, he posted a mind boggling 1.832 OPS with runners in scoring position. Yes, you read that correctly. Continuing the second-half of the season trend, he hit 16 homers in 216 at-bats, which averaged out to 13.5 at-bats between home runs, ranking him fifth in the entire National League. Schimpf does strike out a lot, however, as almost a third of his at-bats last year ended in a strikeout. Take a flier on the Padres third basemen in leagues that you’re in need of some power in.

12-Team Leagues

Ryan Zimmerman, WAS 1B (9% ownership), FAAB Bid - $8-10 – Health has always seemingly been Zimmerman’s Achilles heal; He’s come into 2017 with a full bill of health and it’s shown up thus far. He already has two home runs and is hitting a cool .375 at the dish. The most notable part of his game last year was how well he saw lefty pitchers. He had a well-hit average of .259 against southpaws, which ranked him third in all of baseball and he also put 19-of-31 swings in play against them during the second-half of last season, which led the majors. If he simply stays healthy, Zimmerman is a solid option for teams looking for depth at the corner infield position.

Manny Margot, SD OF (24% ownership), FAAB Bid - $15 – Yeah, we know. We have two players from arguably the worst team in baseball on this list, but let us tell you why. The Padres are bad and their young players are going to get every opportunity to play everyday, whether they’re playing well or not. Margot was given a 65 on the 20-80 prospect scale in speed and has elite base stealing ability. Margot has 30-stolen base upside which is absolutely useful in deeper formats.

Matt Bush, TEX RP (31% ownership), FAAB Bid - $11-13 – Sam Dyson is still the Rangers closer, but a 72.00 ERA won’t cut it in many little leagues, let alone the MLB. Bush was fantastic during his rookie campaign in 2016. During the year, righty batters posted a mere .458 OPS against Bush, which was 9th best amongst all qualified relievers. He posted a sub 1.00 WHIP and a 2.75 FIP which are both elite numbers. Bush is first in line if and when Dyson loses his job and is absolutely worth bidding on at this point of the season.

15-team leagues

Wilmer Flores, NYM 1B, 2B, 3B (5% ownership), FAAB Bid - $3 – The addition of Flores is for deep leagues only, but he can be of great value, especially when facing left-handed pitching. Amongst part-time players in the second-half of 2016, Flores ranked first against southpaws in slugging percentage and OPS and third in batting average. For the entire 2016 campaign, he finished with an OPS of 1.093, slugged .710 and his wOBA was at an eye popping .455. Flores versatility also helps his case, as he’s eligible at three infield spots on Yahoo!

 

*ownership percentages courtesy of Yahoo

** FAAB bids based on $100 budget