10-Team Leagues
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Mike Clevinger (SP – CLE): Going to piggyback off Grande from earlier this week. Clevinger’s ownership is spiking quite a bit because he’s been pitching so well lately. Friday night against Baltimore he spun six shutout innings striking out seven while picking up the win. The Indians are rolling and they’re arguably the hottest team in baseball. Almost all their pitchers are startable with the run support the offense has been getting them. Clevinger has been exceptional and deserves to be owned. His ownership is creeping above 50%.
Kevin Kiermaier (OF – TB): Lingering injury issues? Away with you! Kiermaier is back baby! Since coming off the DL on August 18th he’s slashed .360/.395/.613! He’s got four HR’s and three steals since coming back as well. He even has nine multi-hit games since coming back also so it looks like he’s doing just fine. The only concern is that he’s only walking at a 4.9% rate and striking out 18.5% of the time. Regardless, he can really help out your playoff team.
Kendrys Morales (1B, OF, UTIL – TOR): Morales may frustrate owners at times, but if you absolutely need power go grab either him or Joey Gallo (mentioned a couple weeks back when his ownership was dipping). Morales’s slash line since August 26th is hilarious: .241/.263/.630! The SLG% certainly stands out the most. Note the slight difference between the OBP and AVG. This should signal that he doesn’t walk much, and he really doesn’t. He strikes out much more than he walks. But he has six home runs in his last 13 games. He’s hitting in the heart of the order with the Jays. He’s a nice addition this late in the year.
Scooter Gennett (2B, 3B, OF – CIN): This is will be brief because he may not even be available in your league, but he’s worth mentioning. Gennett is around 75% owned on most sites and he’s hitting pretty close to .300 with 24 HR’s and 85 RBI’s. He’s not a big household name, but he’s put up great numbers on the year and needs to be owned across all formats.
12-Team Leagues
Jose Reyes (2B, 3B, SS – NYM): Need more help replacing the steals you lost from Billy Hamilton’s injury? Give Jose Reyes some consideration! Hamilton will likely be out the next week-and-a-half and considering the Reds aren’t really in contention right now, there’s no benefit to the Reds to rush him back. So if you need help getting steals or want a player with multi-position eligibility that is stroking it right now go chase Reyes. Since August 27th he’s hitting .342 with five steals. He’s walking 19.1% of the time and striking out just 6.4%. He’s available in less than 30% of leagues.
Doug Fister (SP – BOS): Fister was featured in last Saturday’s Waiver Wire piece in the 12-team section. Not sure why, but he’s still roughly 30-35% owned and he’s been great over his last four starts as Boston charges toward October. Since August 22nd he’s gone 3-1 and gone at least seven innings in each start. He owns a 1.50 ERA over that span with 8.10 K/9 and 2.40 BB/9. He gets Oakland next week if you need a spot start for your playoff run.
Mitch Haniger (OF – SEA): Outfield depth is pretty easy to find, but Haniger may offer a lot of help at the position in 12-team leagues. Over his last eight games he’s hitting .455 with five multi-hit games over that span. He can give you some surprise power if he’s healthy (something he’s struggled with this year). Haniger entered 2017 as a late-round sleeper after getting glowing reviews from coaches in spring training. He’s returning to that early season form he was in to start 2017. And he looks to end his season that way also. Haniger is just under 20% owned.
15-Team Leagues
Dillon Peters (SP – MIA): Little Dillon Peters can help you in a BIG way. Lil Dill has two starts under his belt in the big leagues and his first start was studly against the Phillies and he followed it up with a decent showing against Washington. Peters draws the Phillies again next week. In his last start against Philly he tallied eight strikeouts over seven innings. His fastball isn’t great, but he mixes in his curveball very well and misses a lot of bats. He’s a very intriguing pitching option next week.
Victor Robles (OF – WSH): Is Robles worth picking up? Sure. He’s a young outfielder with a ton of promise. Pick him up in deeper leagues, but don’t hang on to him if the Nationals continue to favor starting Alejandro De Aza over him. They’ve used Robles off the bench just once so far after he slashes .300/.382/.493 across the minors this year. He possesses power and speed, but he needs to prove he can consistently make it in the lineup.
Jose Martinez (1B, OF – STL): Like Robles, Martinez needs to get in the lineup. Unlike Robles, Martinez has been getting more plate appearances and he’s really taken the torch and run off with it (80% sure that’s how that saying goes or something like that). He’s got a hit in nine straight games since being moved into the starting lineup as a regular. It’s a small nine-game sample size, but if you need help with batting average, OBP, SLG, OPS, etc. then Martinez can really help your team. He’s got some pop and has been slotted in the four-spot the last six games for the Cardinals.
Player News
Willi Castro (oblique) could return to the Twins’ lineup this weekend.
Castro has been sidelined with an oblique injury since April 16th and was finally placed on the IL late last week. He has been swinging the bat right-handed and plans to swing left-handed on Tuesday. If his body responds well to that, the Twins could bring him back for this weekend’s series against Boston, which could cut into the playing time for Brooks Lee or Edouard Julien.
Royce Lewis (hamstring) will play 10 innings in a doubleheader on Tuesday and could return to Minnesota on May 6th.
Lewis will play 10 innings as the team’s designated hitter during a doubleheader for Triple-A St. Paul on Tuesday and then play a full game at third base on Wednesday, assuming Tuesday goes well. Even though that could mean Lewis returns this weekend, The Athletic’s Dan Hayes suggests “it’s likelier Lewis will play several more games over the weekend and return when the Twins open a homestand on May 6.”
Matt Wallner (hamstring) just started jogging on the treadmill on Monday.
Wallner has been out with a Grade 3 hamstring strain since April 15th. He has yet to swing a bat and will be re-evaluated by the Twins when they return home next week. We won’t have a firm timeline for Wallner’s return until he starts swinging, but it sounds like there’s a chance we don’t see him back until late May or early June.
Twins trainer Nick Paparesta said Luke Keaschall (forearm) will rest and won’t be re-evaluated “for at least a month.”
Keaschall suffered a non-displaced fracture in his right forearm, which halted his impressive MLB debut. The injury won’t require surgery, but the Twins will take time to allow it to heal on its own. “It’s probably going to be a couple of months before he’s back into playing games,” Paparesta said. When he does come back, there’s no guarantee he slots right back into the Minnesota lineup, so we may not see Keaschall back in the big leagues until the end of the summer.
Shane Bieber (elbow) is set to throw simulated games in the Arizona Complex League.
Bieber has said that he’s feeling healthy but is being deliberate in his rehab to ensure that he doesn’t come back too soon. The veteran’s target date had always been sometime around the All-Star break, so this would keep him on schedule. After Bieber throws simulated games, he would likely make a few rehab starts before returning to Cleveland. If all goes well, he could be back by the end of June.
Tony Gonsolin (back) will return from the injured list and start for the Dodgers on Wednesday against the Marlins.
Gonsolin missed the entire 2024 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery and was then sidelined by a back injury in spring after just three innings. The 30-year-old had a great season in 2022 and has been a solid starter for the Dodgers over his career. His lack of strikeouts limits his fantasy value a bit, but his velocity has been up in his rehab outings, so he could be worth a stash in deeper formats while he remains in the Dodgers’ rotation.