MLB Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups: Week 11

Andrew McCutchen was the big injury over the last week, tearing his ACL. Carlos Carrasco also has a serious non-baseball injury, dealing with a blood condition. We wish our best to him and his family. Justin Upton is close to returning, and Aaron Judge has begun swinging a bat. Didi Gregorius is back and starting for the Yankees as they try to get healthy. J.D. Martinez left Thursday’s game with back spasms, so we will need to keep an eye on him.

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Infielders

Travis Shaw – 1B, 2B, 3B – 35% Owned

Travis Shaw is going to have a short leash, and overall his numbers have been down to start the year. Dealing with an injury he is back. He will sit against the occasional lefty, but has had a good track record against right-handed pitching. His last two seasons he has been over 30 strikeouts, and has had over an .800 OPS. Miller Park is a plus ballpark for left-handed power. Shaw has been a little unlucky with BABIP, but his rising strikeout rate hasn’t helped either. His hard-contact and flyball rates are still above average. Shaw also gives you multi-position eligibility.

Jeff McNeil – 2B, 3B, OF – 42% Owned

Jeff McNeil is back off the IL, where he is still available in about 60% of leagues. Unlike Shaw, McNeil was having a strong start to the season. He is in the 92nd percentile in xBA and the 73rd percentile in xwOBA. McNeil isn’t a big power bat, but his OBP is at .400 so far over 112 games. He also has a strikeout rate of 10.2%. The Mets continue to use him up in the order, and his OBP and source of runs can help you out.

Outfielders

Bryan Reynolds – OF – 27% Owned

Bryan Reynolds has been mashing in 41 games with Pittsburgh so far. He has a .345/.404/.549 slashing line to start his MLB career. His batted ball stats are very encouraging. He has a .301 xBA, .356 xwOBA, and 49% hard-contact rate. His strikeout rate is at 20% and walk rate is at 8%. Even with some regression, Reynolds should be picked up for at least a bench outfield option. His switch hitting ability should keep him in the lineup most nights moving forward.

Alex Verdugo – OF – 25% Owned

Going back to talk about Alex Verdugo, since he is still 25% owned, and it has been a while since I have written about him. In now 112 games, Verdugo has a .278/.337/.419 slashing line. He has superb contact skills, sitting with a 13% career strikeout rate. He isn’t a big power bat, but Verdugo is going to continue to chip in across the board within this offense. Verdugo is above average in sprint speed and xBA.

Jarrod Dyson – OF – 12% Owned

If you are looking for stolen bases, Jarrod Dyson has 13 already this season. Dyson also mostly leads off, and has a .354 OBP so far this season. This is a career high if it can stick. He ranks in the 87th percentile in sprint speed, and should close in on 30 stolen bases at this rate. He also is already two runs short of last season’s total where he was more of a bench bat. Dyson is a low-owned outfield option to help out your SB categories and runs.

Pitchers

Pablo Lopez – SP – 9% Owned

The Miami rotation has actually been viable in fantasy, believe it or not. Pablo Lopez doesn’t have overpowering stuff, but he is a strikeout per inning guy and the WHIP is on the way down. He has had some pretty severe splits, with a 6.82 ERA on the road and a 1.84 ERA at home. He has a 28% strikeout rate against right-handed bats this season. Lopez uses his sinker well and has a 49% groundball rate. His ten run outing against New York derails his ERA. He has a 3.85 xFIP and has allowed five earned runs in the last four starts.

Taylor Rogers – SP – 37% Owned

Minnesota has been rotating relievers, but Taylor Rogers has been the stronger arm. He is in at least the 85th percentile in hard-contact, K%, xBA, xSLG, and xwOBA. His fastball velocity is in the 73rd percentile, and his spin rate is in the 78th percentile. He has 37 strikeouts in 28 innings this season, and five saves.

Brandon Workman – SP – 21% Owned

Brandon Workman has been one of the more reliable relievers for Boston. While Alex Cora is going to continue to use a committee, Workman should get more looks. He is in the 97th percentile in K%, and the 98th percentile in xBA and xSLG. With 39 strikeouts in 27.1 innings, Workman has been tremendous. Workman has a sub two ERA at the moment, and hitters have just a 29% hard-contact rate off of him.

Players I’m Watching

– John Means, BAL, 33%
– Felix Pena, LAA, 10%
– Griffin Canning, LAA, 45%
– Tyler Skaggs, LAA, 34%
– Tanner Roark, CIN, 29%
– Cavan Biggio, TOR, 23%
– Spencer Turnbull, DET, 36%
– Trevor Richards, MIA, 27%
– Steven Matz, NYM, 43%
– Marwin Gonzalez, MIN, 38%