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 6 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 toward points leagues. Every points league is different, so keep that in mind. Walks and extra base hits are more valuable in points leagues. AVG and ERA are not important in points leagues, so consider that as well.
For the purpose of this article, all of the ownership percentages will be based on ESPN points leagues. Percentages should be fairly consistent between league sites. 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 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.
Points League Players to Add
Yolmer Sanchez (2B/3B, CWS)
Yolmer Sanchez looks like a great add for the rest of the season. His .306 AVG ensures that he can get on base almost every game. He doesn't hit many home runs, but he has a high contact rate with plus speed. Sanchez has been hitting in the top three slots of the lineup card, so he has a high run upside with some protection around him in the order. Sanchez has eligibility at two positions and is a switch hitter, so he'll have consistent playing time which is sometimes hard to find from waiver wire players.
Daniel Descalso (2B/3B/OF, ARI)
Daniel Descalso hasn't done anything spectacular this season, but he does have 18 RBI with four home runs. Descalso only has a .259 AVG but he owns a .400 AVG. over his last 14 games. His eligibility at three positions is a great value. He should be in the Arizona Diamondbacks lineup everyday, and will be great for your lineups as well.
Alex Gordon (OF, KC)
Alex Gordon has been on a hot streak since coming off of the disabled list two weeks ago. Over his last 14 games he has a monster .383 AVG with 18 H and eight RBI. All three of his home runs have come over the course of his last seven games, so he may not be available for long. He only has a 4.7% own in leagues, but he's producing at a high rate. The Kansas City Royals have been scoring runs at a high clip which helps his run totals.
Points League Pitchers to Stream
Sean Newcomb (SP, ATL) - Sunday 5/13/18 vs. MIA
Sean Newcomb draws a nice match up against an under-performing Miami Marlins squad. He has 48 strikeouts to go along with a 2.88 ERA. He's a great streaming option, but he has a good potential to be a rest of season type pick up. The Braves give lots of run support, so his 3-1 record looks like it could keep getting higher in the win column. Miami has the worst team batting average in all of baseball with .224.
Drew Pomeranz (SP, BOS) - Sunday 5/13/18 vs. TOR
While he hasn't had an exceptional start to the year, Drew Pomeranz gets a good match up against the Toronto Blue Jays where he looks to keep his improvement streak going. Boston will provide him run support, and leagues where quality starts get points you should do well. He isn't a long term option but he should do well on Sunday
Chad Kuhl (SP, PIT) - Saturday 5/12/18 vs. SF
Chad Kuhl only surrendered one hit in seven innings pitched due to great command. He has the ability to rack up strikeouts, and the San Francisco Giants should do plenty of that. He makes a good streaming candidate that is feeling himself, but that could possibly turn into a longer role on your team. He could help you out a lot in the long run if your pitching staff is depleted due to injury.
Points League Players to Drop
Matt Carpenter (1B/3B, STL)
While Matt Carpenter is having a strange season, his value doesn't look like it will increase anytime soon. Kolten Wong will not be giving up any starts at second base due to his defense and current surge in plate production. Jose Martinez has stepped up at first base. His defense ensures Carpenter wont get regular time there. Martinez is hitting very well too. That only leaves third base as an option for Carpenter, but Jedd Gyorko has been doing extremely well in his limited appearances at the plate. Until further notice, Carpenter is a good drop candidate. He only has 13 RBI this year, which is his main stat. He has never been a huge power hitter, but he only has three home runs as well. The only thing Carpenter has going for him that is more valuable is his plate discipline. He drew 109 BB in 2017, so if you get points he does have some value there, and in an extremely deep format you might consider keeping him. Carpenter is still owned in 65% of leagues, but it's most likely teams with injuries, deeper formats, and loyal Cardinals fans like myself.
Evan Gattis (C/DH, HOU)
Evan Gattis only has a .191 AVG. but that's nothing unusual for him. His home run total is usually where all of his value comes for points leagues, but he only has one this season. Until Gattis can prove that he can produce don't expect consistent playing time from him. As he is only eligible to play as a catcher or utility, there are many better options available. Gattis has a surprisingly high own percentage of 50.3%.
Michael Conforto (OF, NYM)
Michael Conforto has been ice cold as of late. He has a .111 AVG. over his last seven games. The worst thing is that he only has one RBI and one BB. Conforto recently got moved to seventh in the order. This makes his RBI value even worse. Try to trade him first, but if there aren't any suitors you may consider dropping him in shallower formats. Conforto is owned in 62.5% of leagues.
