RADIO
We are entering the final stretch of the fantasy baseball season. That feels crazy to say but that is where we are at. Let's continue the final push and get you some names to target for your corner infield spots (1B and 3B ) for week 8.
Before we dive in, we need to keep a few things in mind:
- We focus on players rostered in 5x5 Roto formats in Yahoo! leagues.
- Player eligibility will also be determined by the Yahoo! player pool.
- We aim at players rostered in 40% of leagues or less. This allows us to provide names to help leagues of all sizes.
- They will be in order of rostered percentage from highest to lowest.
There has been and will continue to be a ton of turnover. Be quick on the trigger and get your adds in before the next person. Staying a step ahead is key and the goal here is to keep you a step ahead. Now, let's get to those players to add for Week 8.
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First Base Waiver Wire Options
Brandon Belt (1B/OF, SF) - 36% Rostered
Alright, this is now three straight weeks Belt has been on this list and that is because he still remains under 40% rostered and that should be rectified. He has been the 96th best player in 5x5 roto league sover the last month and the 20th best over the last two weeks. He doesn't appear to be slowing down by any means. He has been a four-category producer and slots into the middle of the lineup just about every game. If he is available, there is little reason to leave him available on your waiver wire.
Austin Slater (1B/OF, SF) - 29% Rostered
Slater was coming into his own prior to sustaining an injury. He was just activated and has led off each of the first two games back. However, this was against two straight LHP and he always was in lineups vs LHP. We need to see the usage against RHP return to what it was prior to the injury before I can fully buy back into Slater. The skill set alone is what is intriguing. He has four home runs and six steals. The power and speed will play and it is only really a matter of playing time but if you need upside and a chance for steals with some added pop, Slater could offer that. His plate discipline has been very good this year as well and pair that with an above average contact rate (77.1% and an above average swinging strike rate (9.7%) and you can see why the strikeouts are good and why he is succeeding a bit. He also has hit the least amount of ground balls than ever before (33.3%) and that has helped the power play. The line drive rate of 38.5% could definitively help explain the gains in batting average as well. Again, it is simply a matter of playing time against RHP but there is a lot to like under the hood and he is worth taking a shot on.
Third Base Waiver Wire Options
Jon Berti (2B/3B/SS/OF, MIA) - 38% Rostered
If you need speed, Berti is your guy. He is leading off regulalrly of late and has three stolen bases over the last two weeks. With sprint speed in the 96th percentile, you can count on the speed to play up. Although he is striking out more than we would like to see (27.5%), he is walking at an above average clip (11.9%) and that plays well to the OBP. The OBP is .349 and that is also above league average and will help him get into more positions to steal some bags for you down the stretch.
Tommy La Stella (1B/2B/3B, OAK) - 25% Rostered
After being traded from the Los Angeles Angels, La Stella has found himself hitting atop of the Oakland Athletics Lineup of late and essentially continuing where he left off prior to the trade. This is the high-floor type of player to target for roster stabilization. He ended up on a team that has had frequent postponements of late so he will be playing in a couple more games than the rest of the free agents available so if you are looking for someone who can give you a leg up on the plate appearances and likely add to your batting average in the process, La Stella is just the guy for you. He will chip in a few home runs along the way as well.
Alec Bohm (3B, PHI) - 20% Rostered
Alec Bohm continues to be overlooked on the waiver wire. He is an above average hitter in a solid lineup and home ball park and should be rostered on more teams. He is not flashy, but the skill set will play and he will offer above average power potential. He has a great strikeout rate of just 18.8% (top 10% of the league) and a slightly better than league average walk rate of 8.8%. The batting average has room for growth as does the power. The batting average is .280 and SLG is .427 with an expected batting average of .303 and an expected slugging of .536. This alone suggests there are better things to come for Bohm down the streth run. Further supporting the power and production is the rest of the statcast data:
- Average Exit Velocity: 76th Percentile
- Hard Hit%: 89th Percentile
- xwOBA: 88th Percentile
- xBA 95th Percentile
- xSLG 88th Percentile
- Barrel%: 88th Percentile
- Even the sprint speed is above average in the 64th percentile so there could be some chip in steals if we are lucky.
Overall, he is just a solid fantasy asset and should be rostered and started with confidence.
Deeper-League Dart Throws
These are a few players to go after in your deeper leagues or if you're in a pinch in general. These players will be rostered in less than 10% of leagues.
Ke'Bryan Hayes (3B, PIT) - 8% Rostered
Although the speed has yet to come, the rest of the four categories have made an appearance. I would not expect much in terms of power though, but the solid batting average will likely remain and he is a very solid and safe option for corner infield in deeper formats.
Rowdy Tellez (1B, TOR) - 5% Rostered
The power is real and he is as hot of a hitter as any. It does not hurt that he is hitting in arguably the best hitters park in the AL at the moment as well.
Ty France (2B/3B, SEA) - 4% Rostered
He is starting so far for the Mariners. He has yet to hit a home run with the new club but the power will come and as long as the playing time is there, there is a chance for the power and home runs to come in bunches with France.
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