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 23 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
Tyler White (1B, HOU) - 24% owned
The Houston Astros have found a solid designated hitter, but luckily for fantasy teams Tyler White is eligible as a first baseman. White is hitting .317 this year, and has an outstanding .440 wOBA. The Houston Astros lineup is very potent, and that should give White a lot of chances at RBI. He has a .57 BB/K, which means he is only swinging at good pitches, thus leading to his good home run numbers. White hit eight homers in August in which he hit .338. He has 27 RBI in 40 games, but expect those numbers to go up as the Astros lock in to keep their small lead of the division.
Jonathan Villar (2B, BAL) - 20% owned
The new Baltimore Oriole Jonathan Villar has a high ceiling for points, and his recent success stealing bases offers him a safe floor for the fantasy playoffs. Villar has four stolen bases in his last five games. He has a .265/.327/.387 slash line this season. His slugging is nothing to write home about, but his 10 home runs this season are about average for him. He still has a month to play, and he gets the benefit of one of the most hitter-friendly ballparks in all of baseball. He gets to bat at the top of the order or in the middle, so either way he's in a prime spot for fantasy points.
Adam Frazier (2B/OF, PIT) - 5% owned
I really like the idea of picking up the Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Adam Frazier for a few reasons. The first reason is that he offers versatility in your lineup with both infield and outfield eligibility that most players on waivers don't offer. The main reason I like Frazier is that he has been playing well lately. Frazier is batting .344 during the second half of the season. Frazier has a good .62 BB/K, and at such a low ownership he's almost guaranteed to be available in your leagues. He has a good chance of batting in the top of the order which will give him more plate appearances.
Points League Pitchers to Stream
Lucas Giolito (SP, CWS) - Tuesday 9/4/18 vs. TEX - 17% owned
Lucas Giolito has been really solid during his last four starts for the Chicago White Sox. He has won three of those games, and pitched at least six innings in all of them. He has only given up two runs on five hits in his last two games. He has a two-start week, and he has a favorable matchup against the Detroit Tigers who he had success against this year. Giolito has an unimpressive 5.66 ERA on the season, but he has a better 3.86 ERA in August. He has a safe floor with a high ceiling this week.
Trevor Williams (SP, PIT) - Monday 9/3/18 vs. CIN - 40% owned
Trevor Williams has been very steady lately, and has been one of the Pittsburgh Pirates best pitchers. Williams has only given up four runs over his last eight starts. He has a two-start week, and should have a near guaranteed win against the Cincinnati Reds. Despite just a 6.21 K/9, Williams has a 3.30 ERA this season. His ERA is an extremely low .84 in the second half, and opponents are hitting just .204 against him in that time. He's pushing the point of being to highly owned, but he's well worth putting in this article in case he's available in your league.
Wade LeBlanc (SP/RP, SEA) - Tuesday 9/4/18 vs. BAL - 27% owned
The Seattle Mariners and starting pitcher Wade LeBlanc will have an easy matchup this week against the Baltimore Orioles. It should guarantee points for a win, and he also has a second start this week. LeBlanc has a lower ceiling than other options, but has one of the safest floors of anyone this week. He should be combined with a higher risk pitcher this week. He has a 3.71 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP this season. LeBlanc is one of the most boring pitchers this week because none of his numbers jump off the page. However, that's part of why he's on the list. He has no red flags going up on him this week, and could be what you need to advance in the playoffs.
Points League Players to Drop
Paul DeJong (SS/2B, STL) - 50% owned
Paul DeJong hasn't been terrible by any means, but with other bats being much hotter on the St. Louis Cardinals, he finds himself hitting at the bottom of the order. If you have deep lineups you can hold onto him, but if you have shallow leagues don't be afraid to cut ties. DeJong has a .229/.308/.419 slash line, and he's highly home run dependent. He could put up big points with a big home run stretch, but given that slash line it's not worth the risk of him putting up multiple nights of zero points.
Ian Happ (2B/3B/OF, CHC) - 30% owned
Ian Happ has been most affected by the Daniel Murphy move to the Chicago Cubs. Once Kris Bryant makes it back to starter status from injury, that only leaves outfield playing time for Happ as Ben Zobrist, David Bote, and Addison Russell could all fill in for an open infield spot. Happ will most likely assume a pinch hitting role. Happ hasn't really played that great either. He has a .238/.355/.409 slash line this year. August has been a tough month as he has only hit .180 this month. His ownership shouldn't be nearly as high as it is.
Max Kepler (OF, MIN) - 35% owned
Max Kepler has just five hits for the Minnesota Twins in the last 10 games. His slash line is just .227/.316/.425 this season. The Twins have nothing to play for, so they may opt to give Kepler some rest and let him clear his head. There are just too many questions about Kepler over the next few weeks to go along with a fairly low ceiling. There are plenty of better outfield options for the rest of the season. It's important to note that he still has value in dynasty formats, but not in redraft leagues.
