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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
Jeimer Candelario (3B, DET) - 39% owned
Jeimer Candelario has dealt with some injuries early on this year, but he has proven what he is capable of doing. He has a slash line of .363/.518/.881. His .45 BB/K could use some improvement, but is solid for the 24 year old. He is very valuable in dynasty leagues as he has a lot of upside. His power has been on display with nine home runs, three triples, and 15 doubles. He has 32 runs and 27 RBI in 51 games. Candelario could be ready to go on a long streak of solid point production.
Brian Anderson (3B/OF, MIA) - 32% owned
Brian Anderson has played quite well for a team projected to be the worst in the league. Anderson has a 40.9% hard hit rate. He doesn't have a crazy amount of power, but he has 15 doubles and three home runs. Most of his value comes from his .297 AVG that's due to 49 singles in just 62 games. 32 runs and 30 RBI are more than enough to get good value out of a 3B and OF eligible player. He has a hot start to June with a .391 AVG. He has been pretty consistent all year long, so he may not last long of waivers.
Michael A. Taylor (OF, WAS) - 20% owned
Most of Michael Taylor's value comes from stolen bases. He has 16 this year. Taylor has good power for someone that is known for speed. He has five home runs. He already has 15 doubles which has helped his value grow this season. Bryce Harper has found himself in a cold stretch, and the Nationals are still waiting to get one of their most consistent bats back in Daniel Murphy. Taylor will have a better chance to improve on his 26 runs and 19 RBI when they all get going. This is probably only a great add for deep leagues, but some leagues reward speed heavily. If you're dealing with injuries, this could be a great find.
Points League Pitchers to Stream
Marco Gonzales (SP, SEA) - Wednesday 6/13/18 vs. LAA - 46% owned
Marco Gonzales has been a really solid pitcher considering he's available in 54% of leagues. While Gonzales doesn't blow the ball past hitters, he owns a 7.97 K/9. He has done a great job of getting out of jams as he has stranded 75.9% of runners. That's what has helped keep his ERA lower at 3.38. Gonzales has a 6-3 record. He has won his last four contests, and recorded at least 20 outs in each of those games. He doesn't have a two start week, but he looks like a rest of season addition or at least a longer term stream.
Clay Buchholz (SP, ARI) - Tuesday 6/12/18 vs. PIT - 32% owned
Through just four games this season Clay Buchholz has been impressive to say the least. Although his 7.8 K/9 isn't anything special, his 1.88 ERA is quite special. He has kept his ERA low by stranding 94.9% of runners. There's no way he continues to strand runners at that rate, but he hasn't let command put runners on base to start with. He has a 1.13 BB/9, so hitters are having to earn their bases the hard way. Buchholz will be a two start pitcher this week. He will face the Pittsburgh Pirates and the New York Mets. Neither team has been outstanding, so look for a good week from him. If he has at least one good start this week you should hold onto him until his sample size gets a little larger. He has been impressive to this point, and your window to get him may be closing.
Junior Guerra (SP, MIL) - Monday 6/8/18 vs. CHC - 30% owned
Junior Guerra is another two start pitcher. Guerra will draw the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies. He's close to a career high K/9 at 8.35. He has left 81.8% of runners on base this season helping to manage his 2.83 ERA. Guerra is finally looking like he's comfortable at the major league level, and he should be here to stay. Guerra has a 2.67 K/BB. He should be picked up for this week. He could be a long term option if you are somewhat shallow, but the volume he will get this week puts him above a lot of other options.
Points League Players to Drop
Billy Hamilton (OF, CIN) - 56% owned
Billy Hamilton has long been known for his lightning quick speed, but also for his struggles getting on base. With 10 stolen bases, Hamilton is tied for 11th among just outfielders in stolen bases. That is lower than the number of bags he's expected to steal when you draft him. He has a 30.6% K rate. He has a worse slash line than in the past at .199/.287/.285. He has slightly improved his walk rate to 11%. His low .260 wOBA speaks volumes as to his production thus far. Even though he's still owned in over half of leagues, he's expendable with many other replacements that have similar stolen base totals with better power and consistency.
Jay Bruce (OF, NYM) - 42% owned
Jay Bruce has seen a massive fall in his power numbers so far this season. His slump has lasted long enough that it's time to think about dropping him. Bruce has had over 25 home runs in his last three seasons,. but so far this season he only has three. If he were a better contact hitter he would still be fine, but he has a .224 AVG. His RBI total is way down as well, most likely related with the power issues. He only has 15 RBI this year. He has 11 doubles and 20 BB which are the main thing keeping his value as high as it is.
Domingo Santana (OF, MIL) - 33% owned
It can be risky to speculate playing time, but it doesn't look good for Domingo Santana. Jesus Aguilar has been a welcome bat to Milwaukee as he has been on fire filling in for Eric Thames. With Thames on his way back, someone has to sit. Thames has taken reps in the outfield during his rehab games which would allow both him and Aguilar to remain in the lineup. That would mean that the struggling Santana would sit. Santana's numbers can look deceiving. He has a .340 wOBA which is respectable, but the issues go deeper. Even though he has played in a third of the games this year compared to last season, he only has three home runs compared to 30. A lot of that can be contributed to his 50.8% ground ball rate as well. It's hard to get extra base hits off of ground balls. One other thing that is hurting him is a .29 BB/K. Since he isn't playing absolutely awful you may hold onto him and see what the Brewers do with Thames, but regardless there are most likely better options than Santana.
