Digging Deeper: Week 4 NL Waiver Wire Targets

8 years ago by Max Petrie

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Welcome back to our Week 4 edition of Digging Deeper, our weekly column where we will focus on deep league waiver wire options. My counterpart Tom Bellucco will be handling the American League while I focus on the National League.

For those that have played in limited size leagues, you are well aware that at-bats and innings are the precious commodities. You are not going to find a top-100 player on the wire at any point this season. In fact, top-150 is a stretch. And as the year goes on, the options are going to get uglier and uglier. Players in shallow standard formats who are here because they love fantasy baseball (thanks for reading!) will find some of these players apprehensive. But at the end of the day at-bats and innings are key, and that's where our attention will be.

Last week we hit big on Austin Hedges, Aaron Altherr, and Jose Martinez. Let's see if we can uncover more options that help you fill key gaps and get you the counting stats necessary to compete. Let's get going.

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Digging Deeper: Week 4 Pickups - NL

I'm going to be real here. The pitching options are rough this week. If Archie Bradley or Alex Wood are still sitting out in your league, I would highly suggest him before the options below.

Jacob Barnes (RP, MIL)

2% owned in Y! Leagues

I mentioned we won't be featuring players who end up in the top 150 year-end. Jacob Barnes may be an outlier. Barnes has been fantastic in 11 appearances for Milwaukee, allowing no runs with a 14/4 K/BB ratio. The Brewers have already thrown him into a save situation, which he executed aside from a walk. Neftali Feliz is home run prone and is an ideal trade target come July. If Feliz (5.87 ERA) continues to struggle, the Brewers may accelerate putting Barnes in more save opps. Barnes is a must add in deeper formats.

Tim Adleman (SP, CIN)

21% owned in Y! Leagues

This is for owners looking for innings. Adleman made his first start of 2017 last week and is scheduled to start again Friday against the Cardinals. Adleman, 29, isn't a flashy prospect or have a nasty tool-set. What he does bring is solid command (2.58 BB/9 in 2016) and the ability to make hitters miss (9.4% SwStk% in 2016) with limited stuff. His fastball tops at 90 mph but he incorporated his changeup in his first start to good success. Again, Adleman won't win your league, but 4.00 ERA/1.20 WHIP will play in deeper formats.

Ty Blach (SP, SFG) - 9% owned in Y! Leagues

One man's loss is another's gain, although Madison Bumgarner owners won't see things that way. With Bumgarner out for at least two months, Ty Blach is the main beneficiary. Blach as a sleeper in NL drafts this offseason, thanks to his 1.06 ERA in 17 innings combined with the anticipation of Matt Cain's demise. Blach doesn't strike many batters out (5.29 K/9 last year) but he does limit base runners effectively. His first task of 2017 was dueling Clayton Kershaw, in which he pitched five innings and allowed two runs on four hits and one walk. Chances are Blach returns to a long relief role when Bumgarner returns, but he remains an excellent innings eater for the time being.

Cody Bellinger (1B/OF, LAD) - 1% owned in Y! Leagues

The jewel of this week's wire, Bellinger got the call Tuesday morning to replace Brett Eibner while Joc Pederson recovers from a groin strain. You've probably heard the hype by now -- Bellinger is the Dodgers' No. 1 prospect and the heir to first base when Adrian Gonzalez leaves. Bellinger has experience in the outfield, where he will play during this stint. He was hitting .343/.429/.627 before the call-up with five home runs. In 2016 he hit 26 home runs between AA and AAA.

If there is one flaw to Bellinger's game, it's the strikeouts. He struck out 28.6% of the time before the call-up, which is in line with other young power hitters such as Aaron Judge and Joey Gallo. This will limit him from hitting above .265 anytime soon, but his willingness to draw a walk (12.7% BB% in 2016) should keep him away from the rough rookie seasons we've seen from other power hitters, including Gallo and Javier Baez. There is risk that the Dodgers send him back down when Pederson returns, but the Dodgers win-now mentality could force their hand if Bellinger gets off to a hot start. He's a must-add in NL-Only and deeper formats.

John Jaso (1B/OF , PIT) - 1% owned in Y! Leagues

The Pirates thought they had a plan in place when Starling Marte got busted for PEDs, but Adam Frazier (hamstring) fudged all that up. Now the Pirates have been deploying John Jaso and Jose Osuna in right-field, and I'd like to focus on Jaso. Jaso, 33, is edging towards the end of his career but he remains a solid cog to any roster. In the past five years his average has been between .268-.286 while also drawing walks above a 15% clip. He's an empty average player, but the Pirates have not had much success with Josh Harrison and Jordy Mercer in the leadoff spot. If the Pirates give Jaso and his excellent plate discipline a crack there, he can be a contributor in the runs department. Nothing sexy, but players with real at-bat opportunities are hard to come by in deep formats.

Kike Hernandez (SS/OF, LAD) -

The Dodgers are masking as an infirmary in April, with Andre Ethier, Franklin Gutierrez, Logan Forsythe, and Joc Pederson all on the DL. This has opened up playing time for Cody Bellinger, as previously discussed, and ultra utility man Kike Hernandez. Hernandez has started nine of the last 11 games at multiple positions (2B, 3B, CF). He's performed well (.265/.342/.618) and continues to show excellent plate discipline (10.5% BB%).

Hernandez was horrendous in 2016 (.190/.283/.324) but he played hurt for most of the year. His line drive and hard hit rates are closer to his strong 2015 campaign when he hit .423 versus left-handed pitching. His playing time will diminish when Forsythe and Pederson return, but he will see at-bats in the meanwhile and continue to be a strong super utility play.