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Fantasy Baseball 2014: ‘Around The Mound’-This week’s Waiver Wire Pickups

Posted by fantasyfurnace on May 28, 2014
Posted in: MLB. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Need to shore up your pitching rotation? How about one of the league’s hottest relievers? Consider these little owned pitchers that are out there on waivers in most leagues. Some of the starters also have very favorable match ups in their next starts…

Jake Odorizzi-SP-Rays- 9% Owned- If you discount Odorizzi’s second game of the season where he got shelled by the Kansas City Royals who collected 7 earned runs on 10 hits against the 24 year old, then his inflated ERA and WHIP won’t look as ominous. He has turned things around by only allowing 4 earned runs over his last four games while striking out 31! Odorizzi will face the Red Sox for the second time in less than a week in his next start after his 8-5 win on May 25th. He only gave up one earned run in the 1st inning on his way to that win. With little run support (the Rays have scored 3 or fewer runs in 7 of his 10 starts), it’s just a matter of time before his wins begin to mount up. Hardly owned, we can highly recommend the youngster in A.L. only and deeper leagues for the time being.

Collin McHugh-SP-Astros- 18% Owned- Now entering his fourth year in the majors, McHugh has been a veritable pinball as he is now with his fourth team in as many years. McHugh has just 22 career starts thus far so it’s hard to get a read on what his potential is. What’s caught our eye is his 50 strikeouts and only 12 walks in 45 innings pitched this season. McHugh has definitely had a handle on his control. He will take his 2.80 ERA and miniscule 0.98 WHIP and face the Orioles in his next start on Sunday, June 1st. He is worth taking out a flier on and should already have been picked up in deeper leagues., McHugh also makes for a very serviceable streamer.

#31 Collin McHugh, although lacking the attention that Dallas Keuchel is getting, still deserves to be considerd in most Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images.

The Furnace thinks that #31 Collin McHugh, although lacking all the attention that teammate Dallas Keuchel is garnering, still deserves to be considered in most leagues. Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images.

Jorge De La Rosa-SP-Rockies- 31%Owned- Any pitcher who has had around 10 starts and is gunning for his seventh when next he takes the hill, should be considered in all mixed leagues. Especially when that next start is against the lowly Arizona Diamonbacks. La Rosa has won his last six out of seven starts and only has given up 8 earned runs during that stretch. Not many pitchers out there as hot as La Rosa. Since the beginning of the 2013 season until now, he has gone a remarkable 22-9! La Rosa is a must add in all mixed leagues.

Dellin Betances-RP-Yankees- 27% Owned- There isn’t much to say about this 26 year old, 8th round pick of the Yankees in the 2006 draft except to show you a few of his numbers: 3-0 1.48 ERA 51 strikeouts 9 walks. He hasn’t been picked up in more leagues because he isn’t a closer, but we know K’s , a low ERA, and WHIP are important settings in most leagues and when you throw in all the injuries to N.Y’s starting pitching thus far this season, it will enable Betances to pick up a fair share of wins before all is said and done There really isn’t any reason not to grab him.

Yankees reliever Dellin Betances has been lights out and given the bullpen a lift while several starters are still on the DL. Photo: ESPN

Yankees reliever Dellin Betances has been’ lights out’ and given the bullpen a huge lift while several starters are still on the DL. Photo: ESPN

 

 

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Fantasy Baseball 2014-Our Top 3 Hot Waiver Wire Pickups of the Week

Posted by fantasyfurnace on May 16, 2014
Posted in: MLB. Tagged: , , , , , , , . 2 Comments

With the Fantasy Baseball season entering it’s eighth week on Monday, May 19, 2014, we have three little owned (all under 25%) ‘Hot’ Waiver Wire Pickups for you to consider…

1. Seth Smith-OF-Padres- 22% Owned- Speaking of ‘Hot Pickups’ this 31 year old outfielder has been one of the hottest! Over the last 10 games, Smith has batted an incredible 17-for-35 (.486) and has hit safely in 9 of the 10 games with 7 being of the multi-hit variety.

Last Saturday, Smith just missed hitting for the cycle by a single against the Marlins in a 9-3 loss. Playing for an offensively challenged Padres team, Smith, the only bright spot in their lineup of late, now has raised his season’s average to a fantasy relevant .336 with a 1.004 OPS. Since Smith is a career .268 hitter, he production will go down at some point but ride him while this streak continues.

#12 Seth Smith has been on a tear amassing 7 multi-hit games over his last 10 and batting just under .500 over that span. Photo: AP

#12 Seth Smith has been on a tear amassing 7 multi-hit games over his last 10 and batting just under .500 over that span. Photo: AP

2. Gerardo Parra-OF-Diamondbacks- 23% Owned- Parra is another hot hitter who has also hit in nine of his last 10 games with five multi-hit games to his credit. The undrafted outfielder, recommended for those in deeper leagues, has scored 24 runs so far this season while tallying 4 homers and 13 RBIs. Currently Parra is just about at his career .277 batting average.

He can steal a base or two and should finish the season with 15 thefts. Parra isn’t for everyone in every league, just a nice hitter who can help in runs and, should your settings include triples, Parra’s been known to hit a few. (He already has two in the young season).

3. Dallas Keuchel-SP,RP-Astros- 22% Owned- With stats like this 26 year old has, even though he’s pitching for the Astros, there is no reason for him not to be in mixed leagues in most formats at this point. For the season, Keuchel has a 4-2 record with a 3.06 ERA to go along with 47 strikeouts against just 11 walks. His control has helped him pitch deep into most of his games especially his last on May 13th when he threw a complete game shut out vs the Rangers, striking out 7 while not allowing a walk.

In his 8 starts this year, Keuchel gave up just 3 runs or less in 6 of them while facing teams with rather potent lineups such as the Rangers (0 runs), the Tigers (2 ER), and the Blue Jays (1 ER). The little owned southpaw who will face the Angels next on May 18th should be someone to consider grabbing.

#60 LHP Dallas Keuchel is just coming off his complete game shutout of the Texas Rangers. Photo: Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images North America

#60 LHP Dallas Keuchel is just coming off his complete game shutout of the Texas Rangers. Photo: Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images North America

  

 

Fantasy Baseball 2014: Waiver Wire Pickups-Week #2

Posted by fantasyfurnace on April 9, 2014
Posted in: MLB. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , . 3 Comments

From 3% to 34% owned, there should be someone for every team owner in this weeks’ waiver wire pickups. If you’re tentative, then at least add some of these players to your ‘watch’ list…fantasy-baseball-waiver-wire-pickups-week-4-960x500

Chris Colabella- 1B,OF-Twins- 29% Owned- Entering week #2, Colabello was the 27th ranked player overall in Yahoo! Fantasy Sports, Currently he is tied for third in RBIs with 11 and has scored 5 runs, has 1 homerun, and is batting a hefty  .370. Worth a look in most formats.

Yangervis Solarte-3B,SS-Yankees- 19% Owned- Narrowly making the team ahead of Eduardo Nunez following Spring Training, the infielder with the hard-to-pronounce name, has been on a tear. Batting .458 (11-24), the youngster is the first player to have recorded six doubles in his 1st seven career games since 1900.

#26 Rookie Yangervis Solarte takes a rip vs the Astros last week. One of our hot pickups this week! Photo: Charles Wenzelberg

#26 Rookie Yangervis Solarte takes a rip vs the Astros last week. One of our hot pickups this week! Photo: Charles Wenzelberg

Avisail McGehee-1B,3B- Marlins- 27% Owned- McGahee is our third entry this week with dual positions. In 2013, McGahee played in Japan and now that he’s back in the major leagues, he has been very productive notwithstanding the small sample so far. He has amassed 10 RBIs in just 5 games, which is more runs batted in than the Braves, Padres, or the Cubs!

Aaron Harang-SP-Braves- 7% Owned- Most starting pitchers have only had two starts at this point in the season so if you’re unsure, add Harang to your watch list, along with his 0.71 ERA and 0.71 WHIP. In his two games over 12 2/3 innings, Harang has given up just 4 hits and struck out 12. A must add in 12+ leagues or more.

Scott Feldman-SP-Astros- 22% Owned- Two starts-Two wins for the ex-Rangers pitcher who signed a nice 4 yr. $32 million contarct with the ‘Stros in the off-season, and given that the entire Astros payroll sits at $45 million, Feldman was their key acquisition. He has never been a high strikeout pitcher (132 K’s last season), but he can be fantasy relevant in deeper leagues as his early 0.66 ERA and 0.66 WHIP has shown.

Jonathan Broxton-RP-Reds- 34% Owned- Just coming off the DL today, the ex-Dodger who had surgery last August, will take over the closing duties for Aroldis Chapman who is not scheduled to return until the middle to end of May. Worth a pickup in all formats.

#50 reliever and now Reds closer Jonathan Broxton takes over the role at least for the next 6-8 weeks. Source: Andy Lyons/Getty Images North America

#50 reliever and now Reds closer Jonathan Broxton takes over the role at least for the next 6-8 weeks. Source: Andy Lyons/Getty Images North America

Adam Ottavino-RP-Rockies- 3% Owned- Just a hunch with this reliever based on his 3 K’s per inning average so far this season; (9 in 3 1/3 innings). With his 0.00 ERA and 0.60 WHIP we strongly suggest you take out a flier on Ottavino. You could do worse…