As the list of names on the disabled list continues to pile up and seemingly never subside, we head into the All-Star break looking for candidates to fill out our roster. For some of the guys we name, it stinks the break is coming because of how hot they are and we simply don’t want them to stop hitting or pitching the way they have been. That said, we can’t do anything about the break, so grab a few of these guys and watch your climb in the standings once the festivities are over!
10-team leagues
Yulieski Gurriel, HOU 1B, 3B (39% ownership), FAAB Bid - $20 – We’re starting to see exactly what we thought we’d see last year when the Astros originally signed him and boy can he rake. Just over the last 30 days, Gurriel is hitting .347 with six homeruns and 19 RBI. Just in June he posted a season-high 39.8-percent hard contact rating and an .841 OPS. The only couple of knocks on him is non-existent walk rating – 2.1-percent for the season – and where he hits in the lineup. The Astros are too deep to move him up so he doesn’t necessarily maximize his chances unfortunately.
Tommy Pham, STL OF (22% ownership), FAAB Bid - $19 – Pham is here and he’s here for good. His average continues hovering around .300 at .295 and has 10 homers and nine stolen bases before the All-Star break after not starting the year with the team! Pham is really touching up opposing pitching as he’s posted a 24.2-percent line drive rate and is making hard contact an elite 36.8-percent clip. Pham is well on his way to a 20-20 campaign even after spending the first month of the year at Triple-A as we previously mentioned.
Sam Dyson, SF RP (44% ownership), FAAB Bid - $10 – We’d suggest proceeding with caution when picking up Dyson because of how horribly awful he was in Texas, but with Mark Melancon on the shelf, somebody has to close out games. Dyson saved 38 games a year ago so he’s familiar with having success, unlike this season. Taking a glass-half full approach, Dyson has had four straight scoreless appearances – two saves – and has struck out six over 4.2 innings. Grabbing a closer at this point of the season is a top priority just don’t overbid or drop anyone of serious value for somebody who could be out of a job a month from now.
12-team leagues
Orlando Arcia, MIL SS (29% ownership), FAAB Bid - $14 – The pre-2016 season’s sixth-ranked prospect according to Major League Baseball is coming into his own offensively, the part of his game that reportedly had some holes in it. He had an awesome month June as he slashed .326/.370/.478 with four stolen bases and a wOBA of .356. Arcia hits in such a deep lineup he’ll be the one that continues to see pitches to hit, which only bodes well for all of his fantasy owners.
Joe Ross, WAS SP (46% ownership), FAAB bid - $11 – Ross didn’t have the best start to his 2017 campaign, but he’s really been sharp over his previous four starts. He’s yielding two earned runs or less in the aforementioned starts but the one thing as owners we have to worry about is the homer. He’s made 11 starts this year and has let up a big fly in each game but one, 13 total this campaign. His K/9 only sits at 8.38 this year but has big strikeout upside as he’s already posted a 12 punch-out game.
Stephen Vogt, MIL C (22% ownership), FAAB Bid - $7 – Although he’s splitting time with Manny Pina, Pina better continue hitting well or Vogt may take over full time behind the dish the way he’s crushing the ball in Milwaukee. After hitting .217 and being waived by the Athletics, Vogt is hitting a robust .333 with three bombs in just six games. He has two seasons of 14-plus homeruns so this power surge isn’t a fluke and on top of that, Miller Park is home of the second most homers (136) in all of baseball, trailing Great American Ball Park by just one. Vogt seems comfortable and back to his All-Star self and this is definitely the time to bolster your likely weak catching position.
15-team leagues
Raimel Tapia, COL OF (7% ownership), FAAB Bid - $6 – Ian Desmond is currently sidelined so Tapia is well worth the add for the time being. Even when Desmond returns, he could be worth holding onto in deeper formats, definitely in all NL Only leagues as well. Tapia doesn’t posses a ton of power as he has one lonely homer on the year, but he did swipe three stolen bases and score 16 runs in June. Tapia still has upside even when Desmond returns because after all, he plays his home games at Coors field.
Andrew Moore, SEA SP (15% ownership), FAAB Bid - $5 – After a solid showing at both Double and Triple-A, Moore has had a nice showing his first two professional starts at the big league level. His ability to go deep into games is what is impressive at first glace. He’s thrown seven and eight innings in his two respective starts while allowing three earned runs in both, notching two quality outings. He’s never been a big strikeout guy, even throughout the minors, so we shouldn’t expect much more than the four he’s posted in each start, but he doesn’t allow much hard contact as he’s kept the opposition guessing allowing an average 29.7-percent HC rate. Moore is worth the gamble if your pitching is depleted, especially in deep formats.
Francis Martes, HOU SP (4% ownership), FAAB Bid - $5 – Between Moore and Martes, Martes definitely has more upside going forward. He’s MLB.com’s 15th ranked prospect in all of baseball and has already shown flashes as to why. He has big strikeout stuff, which is apparent over his 21.1 innings as he’s mowed down 23 batters already. He’s getting a solid 42.9-percent of his outs on the ground as well, so the two things we truly look for he provides us with. He’s young and his 5.06 BB/9 rate is way too high, but those are two things you’d have to put up with for the remainder of the season if you decide to give him a look.
*ownership percentages courtesy of Yahoo
** FAAB bids based on $100 budget