RADIO
Blake Sullivan dives into weekly Points League strategy for your fantasy baseball leagues and looks at MLB players to target on the waiver wire or drop in week 18 of the 2018 season.
Welcome back for another week of advice for points league waiver wire moves. This segment will include waiver wire adds, drops, and streaming pitchers for the upcoming week. This article will be geared specifically toward points leagues. Every points league is different, so keep that in mind. Walks and extra base hits are more valuable, whereas AVG and ERA are not important, so consider that as well.
Some players will be suggested as streamers (while they are hot), or as rest-of-season adds (ride them all year).
As always, feel free to follow and message me on Twitter @BlakeSullivanFF for any fantasy advice or for further reasoning with this segment. Without further ado, let's take a look at some players that you should either add or drop.
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Points League Players to Add
Kole Calhoun (OF, LAA) - 16% owned
Los Angeles Angels outfielder Kole Calhoun had an awful start to the season. He only hit .187 in the first half of the season, but has been more productive of late. He's hitting a much better .300 in the month of July. Calhoun has turned on the power with eight home runs in July. That brings him to 11 on the year. His run and RBI totals have improved just as dramatically. He put up 18 runs and 17 RBI in July, both of which account for over half of his totals in those categories. The Angels have been hitting much better as a team, so Calhoun has been contributing to their success while also benefiting from their success. He isn't a long-term addition due to poor numbers for the season, but he should be added for the upcoming week while he rides a hot streak.
Marcus Semien (SS, OAK) - 37% owned
The Oakland A's shortstop Marcus Semien has been very consistent lately. He has gotten a hit in 10 of his last 12 games. Semien has 57 runs and 39 RBI. He only has seven home runs, but he makes up for his lack of power with 10 stolen bases. He has a below average .298 wOBA, but the shortstop position as a whole is typically lower than the other positions. Semien has a .44 K/BB which is not great, but definitely high enough to score you some points from walks. However, most of his points will come from scoring runs. The A's have been the hottest team in baseball of late. Expect Semien to continue to produce on a hot offense.
Ryon Healy (1B/3B/DH, SEA) - 37% owned
Ryon Healy has been the Seattle Mariners primary first baseman. Robinson Cano is due back from his suspension in three weeks, and he's set to begin taking first base playing time. The team wants to leave Dee Gordon at second base, and don't want to bench DH Nelson Cruz. This could cut into Ryon Healy's time, but he's still a great stream for his few weeks left as an everyday starter. Healy has 21 home runs with 54 RBI. He's slashing .249/.280/.476 with a .322 wOBA. Don't expect to get many walks from Healy because he only has a .17 K/BB. That being said, power is generally more important in points leagues than walks.
Points League Pitchers to Stream
Ervin Santana (SP, MIN) - Monday 7/30/18 vs. CLE - 30% owned
Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Ervin Santana has only been back from his finger injury for one game. Santana most like wont last long on waivers once people notice he's back. He doesn't have the most favorable matchup against the Cleveland Indians, but he has a better matchup against the Kansas City Royals. He owns a career 4.02 ERA which isn't great, but he should still put up solid points on a nightly basis.
Trevor Cahill (SP, OAK) - Tuesday 7/31/18 vs. TOR - 22% owned
Oakland A's starting pitcher Trevor Cahill has a very favorable two-start matchup this week. He has one of the best matchups against the Toronto Blue Jays. He may not be a great rest of season addition, but he should at least be picked up for this week. Cahill has a 3.43 ERA and a 8.43 K/9. His command has been much better as he has a career low 2.86 BB/9. He gets the benefit of a super-charged offense, so he should be able to pick up some wins this week. He has only played 11 games this year, but he has shown signs of being successful.
Vince Velasquez (SP, PHI) - Friday 7/3/18 vs. MIA - 44% owned
Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Vince Velasquez has the best matchup this week against the Miami Marlins. He has been pretty successful lately. Velasquez has an outstanding 10.38 K/9. His high strikeout rate will work well against a Marlins team that strikes out often. Velasquez could easily be a rest of season addition, but he should at least be picked up for his one start this week. He hasn't given up a single run in his last three appearances. Velasquez looks to further improve his 4.05 ERA and his 1.19 WHIP.
Points League Players to Drop
Billy Hamilton (OF, CIN) - 57% owned
Cincinnati Reds outfielder Billy Hamilton hasn't been producing very much lately. He's six for his last 43 at bats. He's slashing just .221/.299/.303. His wOBA is just at .271. Hamilton only has three home runs this year, and he only has 19 RBI. His points come from stolen bases and scoring runs. He has 22 stolen bags and 53 runs. Hamilton has been lucky to avoid injury this year, but his slump has been almost as bad as missing games. He should be dropped until he manages to get out of his slump.
Eduardo Nunez (2B/3B/OF, BOS) - 50% owned
Boston Red Sox utility man Eduardo Nunez doesn't have as much value as he did at the beginning of the year. Nunez occasionally loses time to Brock Holt. He also hasn't been playing as well as he did at the beginning of the year. Nunez is hitting .246 in the month of July, and he has only scored six runs. He has a poor .21 K/BB this year. Nunez has six home runs and just 26 RBI. His wOBA is only at .273. Nunez gets to play in a great offense, but that's the only reason for holding onto him at the moment.
Kyle Tucker (OF, HOU) - 21% owned
Kyle Tucker hasn't really produced like the Houston Astros or fantasy owners would like him to. Kyle Tucker has a .154/.233/.231 slash line. His wOBA is just .213. I'm not advising dropping him in dynasty leagues, but he has little value in redraft formats. Tucker has just two extra-base hits with none of them being home runs. Tucker has potential for stolen bases, but he hasn't been getting on base enough to steal them. You can drop Kyle Tucker in all redraft leagues.
