10-Team Leagues
José Leclerc RP TEX; FAAB Bid: 10-12% - If chasing saves, it looks like Leclerc could help you out in rotisserie leagues for the time being. There’s a slight chance that Shawn Kelley could regain the closer job now that he’s been activated off the injured list. However, Kelley got knocked around on Friday night so for now the job is still Leclerc’s. Leclerc needs to keep the walks down and he should be in fine shape as he hasn’t been burned too much by the long ball. Brandon Workman also appears to have won the role of the Red Sox closer job. Nathan Eovaldi hasn’t looked anything like his old self from the postseason last year. Matt Barnes and Ryan Brasier haven’t gotten it done and so Workman is the clear cut winner and it shows with two saves so far this week.
Mike Tauchman OF NYY; FAAB Bid: 6-8% - As unlucky as the Yankees have been this season with injuries to key players, they’ve been just as lucky out of the production they’ve gotten out of the less expensive players they’ve brought in. While Troy Tulowitzki may have retired midseason, Mike Tauchman has been a gem of late for the Bronx Bombers. Entering Saturday’s action, Tauchman had six home runs since July 31st with five of those coming in his last five games. He has ten multi-hit games dating back to July 22nd. He’s becoming such a formidable threat for the Yankees that he may have slightly disappointed DFS players on Saturday and that’s only because he finished 1-for-1 with three walks. The Blue Jays have taken notice of his production. Sure, he’s an outfielder, but he’s raking right now and finding ways to produce.
Gio Urshela 3B, SS NYY; FAAB Bid: 10% - Tauchman’s teammate fits the bill for another solid waiver wire find. Urshela has six home runs in his last five games including another bomb on Saturday against Toronto. Urshela’s flaunting a .320 batting average and a .927 OPS with 16 home runs and 59 RBI. He’s already set career highs in most offensive categories and should continue to find his way into the lineup especially with the power he’s been displaying lately.
12-Team Leagues
Jason Kipnis 2B, OF CLE; FAAB Bid: 6-7% - Kipnis isn’t raking necessarily to the likes of Tauchman or Urshela, but he’s been hitting the ball better at the plate. Kipnis is hitting .341 over the last two weeks with four home runs, six doubles, and 17 RBI. Kipnis has been a pretty big reason the Indians are now tied for the division lead in the AL Central and the Tribe will need their unofficial team captain to keep on rolling as the postseason approaches.
Aaron Civale SP CLE; FAAB Bid: 3-5% - Civale gets the nod with a couple of quality starts under his belt. He has 13 strikeouts in a dozen innings of work with five hits and four walks in that span. He gets a tough matchup on Sunday against the Twins, but the Tribe are on a four-game winning streak and the Twinkies are on a four-game losing streak. As of this writing their Saturday night matchup is in a rain delay, but Civale could potentially help the Indians build on their run this Sunday. Civale has some tough matchups coming up against the Yankees and the streaking Mets, but then he’s in line to face the Tigers and possibly the White Sox. These next few matchups will be a nice test for the rookie.
Aristides Aquino OF CIN; FAAB Bid: 3-5% - I will most certainly eat crow regarding Aquino. Not even eight-to-ten hours ago I was predicting he’d cool off and then he goes out and hits three home runs in tonight’s game against the Cubs. I still believe he’ll cool off, but with six home runs in his last four games he’ll need to be rostered going forward. Always aim for the hot bats and he’s got one of the hottest in the league, but don’t worry about cutting bait if he does cool off. He’s shown plenty of power across Triple-A and the majors this season, but I’m still skeptical as he wasn’t exactly a highly-touted prospect for the Reds entering this season.
15-Team Leagues
J.D. Davis 1B, 3B, OF NYM; FAAB Bid: 5-6% - In keeping with the theme of hot hitters, J.D. Davis has been a big part in the Mets recent run that has put them right back in the Wild Card picture. Davis has four home runs since August 4th and entering Saturday, in the last three weeks, he’s hitting .418 with a 1.256 OPS. Davis is hitting comfortably in the middle of the order for the Mets and it’ll be hard for the organization to take him out of the lineup if he keeps hitting, and the Mets keep winning.
Iván Nova SP CHW; FAAB Bid: 7-8% - Over his last four starts, Nova is 3-0 with just two earned runs over 28.0 innings of work. Those two runs each came off solo home runs. He has 14 strikeouts in that span so that strikeout-every-other-inning rate isn’t spectacular by any means, but there is the potential for negative regression for Nova. Nova’s a two-start pitcher next week with the first start coming against Houston and the second coming against the Angels in Southern California. It’s worth noting that the negative regression could be due to the fact that Nova has allowed a career .303 BABIP to opposing hitters and in his last four starts he’s limited hitters to a .175 BABIP. That could change on Tuesday against Houston, but this is why he’s just a deep league recommendation.
Niko Goodrum 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, OF; FAAB Bid: 2-4% - Goodrum offers plenty of position flexibility as he can play pretty much everywhere save for the battery (pitcher and catcher). The Tigers lineup isn’t great by any means, it’s one that likely ranks in the bottom ten, but he’s regularly slotted in the two-hole which means extra plate appearances for him. Since July 18th he has 11 extra base hits with a pair of stolen bases. He has ten home runs and a dozen steals on the season so he has some appeal in head-to-head categories leagues or deep roto leagues.
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