Points League Waiver Wire Pickups - Week 2

There is no getting around that playing head-to-head points with weekly matchups is a difficult proposition in a 60-game season. There are only 10 weeks to play so that makes for a regular-season made up of just five or six matchups. Obviously, that will be a roller coaster of insanity for any leagues keeping the status quo in 2020. Other leagues are handling the short season in different ways, including doing multiple matchups per week, switching from head-to-head to total points, or using rotisserie scoring for the season. Some leagues are probably packing it in, too. But you're not!

Drafts may be over but there are still important moves to make because the world has changed you drafted your team. New players, new injuries, and new values. There's plenty of time to make trade offers and hit the wire, taking advantage of league-mates that haven't properly adjusted their evaluations. And in a season where any player could appear on a vague IL at any time, the waiver wire is going to be the best friend of those who can persevere and win in the end.

With that in mind, I'll be doing a weekly roundup of point league happenings, with waiver-wire targets and streaming pitchers being evaluated in terms of the different scoring systems of ESPN, Yahoo, CBS, and Fantrax. Player values can vary wildly from platform to platform, so we'll make sure to highlight where players are the best and worst fit at.

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Playing For Points Through a Pandemic

While the number of games has changed, the way points are scored on each platform has not. You must account for, as precisely as possible, how a player performs under your particular scoring system. Don't be fooled into believing you can just make rough adjustments in your head, bumping up guys with high on-base percentages and low strikeout-rates. Every point, in every category, counts. For example, ESPN and Fantrax are virtually identical in their scoring for hitters and roster size. The only difference is that stolen bases are worth one more point on Fantrax and ESPN subtracts one point per strikeout. That' the difference over Ronald Acuna Jr. being a top-five batter versus a top-25 batter.

If your league uses standard settings, then great! Turn to page 94 and you can skip ahead to the leaderboards. If you play with custom settings, it'll still be fine. Go back to page 43 and look below at the scoring systems of the four major platforms. If you look them over, I bet there's a chance that you'll find that your league's scoring is very similar to one of the four (well, not Yahoo's), even if it's not the platform you actually play on. For example, my home league started on a now-defunct platform before moving first to ESPN and now at Fantrax. But our scoring is basically ESPN standard with a handful of minor adjustments.

 

If you look above, you'll likely find a suitable mirror to your own system. While every point counts, as long as they aren't seismic changes you can get away with some "close enough". IE. If everything is the same except for HBP (or something similar), you're probably fine.

Before we get to some waiver-wire pickups, let's use the final ATC projections to project out the point leaderboards with each platform's standard scoring system, along with what each player ranks at that position (starters, relievers, position players). As the season gets going, these leaderboards will change structure to track total points for each platform, as well as the all-important Pts/PA. The projected and in-season leaderboards are useful for better evaluating how your roster players fit in your scoring systems, as well as possible trade targets. But we'll also go position by position, looking at just players rostered in a lower amount of leagues.

 

Point Leaderboards

Starting Pitchers (2020 ATC Projections)

Starter	Average	ESPN	Yahoo	CBS	Fantrax	NFBC
Gerrit Cole	1.0	1	1	1	1	1
Max Scherzer	2.0	2	2	2	2	2
Jacob deGrom	3.0	3	3	3	3	3
Justin Verlander	4.0	4	4	4	4	4
Shane Bieber	5.0	5	5	5	5	5
Walker Buehler	7.2	6	9	6	9	6
Charlie Morton	7.8	8	8	9	7	7
Luis Castillo	7.8	9	7	8	6	9
Stephen Strasburg	9.0	10	10	7	8	10
Jack Flaherty	9.0	7	6	10	14	8
Patrick Corbin	11.2	13	11	11	10	11
Trevor Bauer	13.2	16	12	13	11	14
Mike Clevinger	13.4	11	15	16	13	12
Blake Snell	13.8	12	14	18	12	13
Yu Darvish	15.8	14	13	17	19	16
Zack Greinke	15.8	15	19	12	18	15
Jose Berrios	16.4	17	18	14	15	18
Lucas Giolito	16.4	18	16	15	16	17
Lance Lynn	18.4	20	17	19	17	19
Clayton Kershaw	20.2	19	22	20	20	20
Aaron Nola	20.8	21	20	21	21	21
Chris Paddack	23.0	22	23	22	26	22
Matthew Boyd	23.0	26	21	23	22	23
Brandon Woodruff	24.8	24	24	24	28	24
Sonny Gray	26.6	27	25	27	27	27
Corey Kluber	27.4	28	27	25	29	28
Tyler Glasnow	27.6	25	26	31	30	26
Max Fried	28.0	30	30	28	23	29
German Marquez	29.6	31	29	26	32	30
Robbie Ray	31.2	32	28	41	24	31
Mike Minor	33.6	38	31	30	37	32
Kenta Maeda	33.6	33	32	36	33	34
James Paxton	34.6	29	35	45	31	33
Frankie Montas	35.4	34	38	35	35	35
Zac Gallen	36.0	36	34	38	34	38
Hyun-Jin Ryu	37.0	35	42	32	40	36
Dylan Bundy	38.8	45	33	37	39	40
Kyle Hendricks	39.4	40	44	29	47	37
Mike Soroka	39.8	37	47	34	42	39
Jake Odorizzi	40.0	41	39	42	36	42

Relievers (2020 ATC Projections)

Reliever	Average	ESPN	Yahoo	CBS	Fantrax	NFBC
Josh Hader	1.0	1	1	1	1	1
Ken Giles	2.8	3	5	2	2	2
Liam Hendriks	3.0	2	3	3	4	3
Edwin Diaz	3.4	4	2	4	3	4
Kirby Yates	5.2	5	4	6	6	5
Brandon Workman	7.0	8	6	8	5	8
Taylor Rogers	7.6	6	9	7	9	7
Roberto Osuna	7.6	7	13	5	7	6
Brad Hand	9.6	10	10	11	8	9
Raisel Iglesias	9.8	9	11	9	10	10
Kenley Jansen	11.4	11	14	10	11	11
Nick Anderson	12.4	13	8	14	13	14
Aroldis Chapman	12.6	12	12	13	14	12
Archie Bradley	13.6	14	17	12	12	13
Hector Neris	15.0	15	15	15	15	15
Hansel Robles	16.4	16	18	16	16	16
Joe Jimenez	17.6	18	16	18	18	18
Alex Colome	17.8	17	21	17	17	17
Craig Kimbrel	19.2	19	19	20	19	19
Ian Kennedy	20.2	20	22	19	20	20
Mark Melancon	22.4	21	28	21	21	21
Sean Doolittle	22.4	22	24	22	22	22
Freddy Peralta	22.6	27	7	28	24	27
Keone Kela	23.6	23	26	23	23	23
Giovanny Gallegos	25.2	24	27	25	26	24

Hitters (2020 ATC Projections)

Name	Average	ESPN	Yahoo	CBS	Fantrax	NFBC
Christian Yelich	1.8	4	1	2	1	1
Cody Bellinger	2.0	2	2	1	2	3
Mookie Betts	4.2	3	5	3	5	5
Juan Soto	4.6	4	4	5	4	6
Ronald Acuna Jr.	5.2	11	3	7	3	2
Francisco Lindor	6.0	6	7	6	7	4
Alex Bregman	6.2	1	6	4	6	14
Jose Ramirez	8.6	6	10	8	9	10
Mike Trout	8.6	9	9	9	9	7
Nolan Arenado	9.6	8	11	9	11	9
J.D. Martinez	11.2	12	12	12	12	8
Bryce Harper	12.2	19	8	11	8	15
Rafael Devers	12.6	10	14	13	14	12
Anthony Rendon	32.2	17	39	29	38	38
Trea Turner	16.4	26	16	14	15	11
Trevor Story	17.6	33	13	16	13	13
Ozzie Albies	18.8	21	21	16	19	17
Pete Alonso	19.2	27	15	19	15	20
Freddie Freeman	16.2	13	17	15	17	19
Xander Bogaerts	20.6	17	22	18	22	24
George Springer	20.8	23	20	20	19	22
Manny Machado	22.8	22	24	20	23	25
Paul Goldschmidt	24.8	33	18	27	18	28
Ketel Marte	25.8	15	32	22	32	28
Jose Altuve	26.4	19	35	25	33	20
Kris Bryant	27.8	29	23	31	23	33
Anthony Rizzo	27.4	13	34	24	33	33
Josh Bell	30.4	24	29	26	28	45
Rhys Hoskins	31.0	29	19	29	19	59
Javier Baez	30.8	53	26	34	25	16
Marcus Semien	31.4	25	31	27	28	46
Josh Donaldson	32.0	33	25	32	27	43
Carlos Santana	32.0	15	28	22	28	67
Fernando Tatis Jr.	34.0	63	27	37	26	17
Gleyber Torres	34.8	39	37	35	37	26
Matt Chapman	37.6	41	30	33	28	56
Matt Olson	39.8	48	36	37	36	42
Eugenio Suarez	40.0	53	33	42	33	39
Starling Marte	40.6	43	51	39	47	23
Austin Meadows	40.4	43	43	43	43	30
Nick Castellanos	40.4	46	38	39	38	41
Jose Abreu	41.4	43	45	43	43	33
Marcell Ozuna	41.6	41	46	39	43	39
Eloy Jimenez	41.8	48	42	49	43	27
Mike Moustakas	44.4	29	52	36	51	54
Andrew Benintendi	46.8	46	40	43	40	65
Eddie Rosario	47.0	36	61	48	59	31
Keston Hiura	49.8	76	44	58	40	31
Bo Bichette	50.6	56	49	53	49	46
Max Muncy	51.0	56	41	51	40	67
Jeff McNeil	51.6	29	66	46	66	51
Nelson Cruz	51.6	55	58	56	56	33
Jorge Polanco	52.0	38	54	46	52	70
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.	53.2	36	59	49	61	61
Aaron Judge	55.8	74	47	60	47	51
Jorge Soler	57.6	70	48	60	49	61
Kyle Schwarber	57.6	63	50	60	52	63
Eduardo Escobar	58.0	48	57	55	56	74
Michael Brantley	59.2	28	76	51	76	65
Whit Merrifield	59.4	56	64	57	61	59
Michael Conforto	60.2	60	56	59	56	70
Max Kepler	61.2	39	67	53	66	81
Yordan Alvarez	63.4	61	70	66	71	49
Paul DeJong	63.8	70	55	63	55	76
Giancarlo Stanton	64.0	78	64	69	61	48
Charlie Blackmon	65.2	52	77	65	77	55
Franmil Reyes	65.4	77	63	70	66	51
Tommy Pham	65.6	70	68	64	70	56
Victor Robles	65.8	78	69	67	66	49
Yoan Moncada	68.8	94	60	75	59	56
Tim Anderson	68.8	83	74	73	71	43
Carlos Correa	70.0	63	73	67	74	73
J.T. Realmuto	71.8	68	78	72	78	63
Joey Gallo	72.6	108	53	80	52	70
Adalberto Mondesi	73.2	123	71	78	61	33

 

Infielders

Brian Anderson, 3B/OF (Rostered: Yahoo 25%)

2020	G	PA	HR	R	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	wOBA
ATC Projection	53	222	8	27	26	2	0.265	0.789	0.336

Anderson is a classic example of a player slipping through the rostered-rate cracks on a platform. You're obviously not likely to find him on most wires but Anderson is only 25%-rostered on Yahoo. Ridiculous. Partially because of his boring profile and partially because of where he plays, Anderson is underrated in just about every format. In fact, not only is Anderson the least-rostered on Yahoo but that's the platform where he scores the best!

Even if you can't grab Anderson off the wire, he's the type of trade target that I love in points. For example, upgrading another position by disaggregation via trading a third baseman with a bigger name for Anderson and your upgrade. Let's compare the projected hitter rank of Justin Turner (above 90% rostered on every platform) to boring old Mr. Anderson:

ATC	ESPN	Yahoo	CBS	Fantrax
Anderson	94	86	90	88
Justin Turner	63	106	84	104

When you understand how players (even the boring ones) perform in your particular scoring system, it can unlock all-new pockets of market-inefficiencies. Winning players exploit them every chance they get.

Cesar Hernandez, 2B (Rostered: Yahoo 45%, ESPN 45%)

2020	G	PA	HR	R	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	wOBA
ATC Projection	54	226	4	29	22	4	0.272	0.739	0.320

He's a bargain in roto and is even more so in points, getting on base a ton and striking out very little. Hernadez will also be leading off for a potent Cleveland offense, followed by Jose Ramirez, Francisco Lindor, Carlos Santana, and Franmil Reyes. Render unto Cesar piles of plate-appearances, runs, and RBI.

How well-suited is Hernandez to the different platforms? He has an average platform ranking of 101.6, being immediately preceded at second base by Jonathan Villar and DJ LeMahieu. Here are the projected points for all three players on the four different platforms, along with their average ADP:

ADP	Name	Avg Rank	ESPN Pts	Yahoo Pts	CBS Pts	Fantrax Pts
79	DJ LeMahieu	79.4	131	385	148	164
43	Jonathan Villar	86.4	103	410	143	176
225	Cesar Hernandez	101.6	116	374	139	159

Given his team, lineup position, and skills, I don't expect Hernandez to make many appearances on this list. He's going to get snapped up fast and you should grab him before he does.

Kyle Seager, 3B (Rostered: Yahoo 5%, ESPN 25%)

2020	G	PA	HR	R	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	wOBA
ATC Projection	51	212	9	23	28	1	0.241	0.746	0.313

While we were talking about the underrated Brian Anderson, somewhere Corey's big brother was seething. Only 25%-rostered on ESPN and 5%(!) on Yahoo? Silliness. While nothing in the above projection is exciting, Kyle Seager has the baseball skills that are suited for points play, posting a solid walk-rate and below-average K-rate. He also plays...And plays, and plays, and plays. Seager only managed 106 games in 2019 but played in at least 154 games in the previous seven seasons.

He should pile up enough plate-appearances to compete with his more talented peers batting further down in the order. Here are the third basemen ranked above and below Seager in average platform ranking:

ADP	Name	ESPN Rank	Yahoo Rank	CBS Rank	Fantrax Rank
120	Miguel Sano	143	82	103	82
384	Kyle Seager	100	112	103	113
159	J.D. Davis	117	124	119	126

Seager is on a Mariners team that's going nowhere in 2020 but he's locked into batting third and has zero competition that will press him for time. Put that together with his durability track record and you end up with a steady player who will play most of the season's games while batting in a fantasy-friendly spot in the order. Sign me up.

 

Outfielders

David Peralta, OF (Rostered: ESPN 35%)

2020	G	PA	HR	R	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	wOBA
ATC Projection	50	209	7	25	28	1	0.277	0.798	0.337

Peralta's rostered rate is only a travesty on ESPN, rostered in 66% of Yahoo leagues and 94% on Fantrax. His profile fits with every platform, though, with Peralta's hitter ranking only having a spread between #89 - #98. And this is another case of points-irony, with Peralta being rostered the least on the platform where he ranks highest.

Platform	ESPN	Yahoo	CBS	Fantrax
Hitter Rank	89	96	95	98

He also doesn't do it just through plate-appearance accumulation, for those worried about his value heavily depending on how many games he plays. Peralta's point-per-PA scoring rates track favorably compared to his higher-rostered peers, especially on platforms that carry a strikeout penalty. His 0.56 Pts/PA on ESPN is the same as Jorge Soler and higher than Joey Gallo and Adam Eaton. And on CBS, Peralta's projected 0.66 Pts/PA is higher Luis Robert, Oscar Mercado, and Danny Santana.

Teoscar Hernandez, OF (Rostered: Yahoo 4%, ESPN 10%, Fantrax 61%)

2020	G	PA	HR	R	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	wOBA
ATC Projection	50	197	10	25	26	3	0.233	0.759	0.318

The 10% rostered rate on ESPN is totally justified, given their full-point penalty for strikeouts and Hernandez's love of striking out (career 31.8% K-rate). He's projected as just the 178th hitter on ESPN but Hernandez is actually quite useful on Yahoo and Fantrax, even though you have a better chance of restoring him on the former platform.

ATC projects Hernandez to be the 107th-hitter on Yahoo and 110th on Fantrax but 10 HR is probably more of a floor if he gets full-time at-bats. Because the power is for real; Hernandez hit 26 HR in 464 PA in 2019, with a 91.2 mph average EV and 41.5% Hard%. He might whiff a lot but definitely doesn't get cheated when he actually connects. While he is batting near the bottom of the Jays order, that could change if Rowdy Tellez or Travis Shaw struggles early.

 

Pitchers

Alex Wood, SP (Rostered: 30% Yahoo, 25% ESPN)

Those roster rates are pretty criminal and if Wood is available in your league you should hurry and snatch him up before he inevitably gets hurt. Because that's really the only issue with Wood, as the 29-year-old leftie hasn't pitched more than 152 innings since 2015. But when he's healthy, he's pretty solid, posting ERAs in the mid-3.00's and strikeout-rates in the mid-20s. Plus, he has a rotation spot locked up on one of baseball's best teams. That's never a bad thing. Grab him now and reap the benefits until ship him back to the wire following some sort of strain.

	ESPN	Yahoo	CBS	Fantrax
Projected Starter Rank	87	98	94	97

Chris Bassitt, SP  (Rostered: Yahoo 15%, ESPN 9%, Fantrax 61%)

Bassitt had himself a mini-breakout in 2019, posting a 3.81 ERA and 1.19 WHIP over 144 innings, with 10 wins and 141 strikeouts. However, that didn't get anyone excited in draft season, and with a path to the rotations blocked by Jesus Luzardo and A.J. Puk, Bassitt hovered around a 400 ADP and being drafted in only the deepest of leagues. But Luzardo and Puk were both sidelined (Luzardo with COVID issues and Puk with an ominous-sounding shoulder strain) Bassitt finds himself as Oakland's number-four starter.

He's not giving you anything that exciting but he does bring the steadiness I'm craving in this short season. Bassitt rarely got rocked last season, allowing more than three earned runs in only four of his 25 starts. After comments he made earlier in summer camp, there are worries that Bassitt won't be able to go deep into games his first times through the rotation. However, his start to the season isn't overly difficult on paper, starting with an Angels team that's likely to be without Anthony Rendon, before taking on a Mariners team that's likely to be without much offense. Grab him now because Bassitt will likely be a very popular streaming pick and one who might not make it back to the wire soon.

Brandon Kintzler, RP (Rostered: Yahoo 44%, ESPN 18%)

I know he plays for the lowly Marlins but Kintzler does currently have Miami's closing job. That means he should probably be rostered, even if the save chances are few and far between. But don't be surprised if the Marlins end up being one of this year's scrappy losers; just good enough to stick around for close games. Kintzler won't get a lot of strikeouts, although his 21.1% K-rate in 2019 was his highest mark in seven seasons.

Pablo Lopez, SP (Rostered: Yahoo 5%, ESPN 15%)

Elieser Hernandez, SP (Rostered: Yahoo 1%, ESPN 1%, Fantrax 25%)

Why end an article with two Marlins when you can end with three? Let's double up on Miami starters, as Lopez and Hernandez are in similar boats. Neither pitcher is anything special but both have two-start weeks coming up and one of those starts is against the even lowlier Baltimore Orioles.  The Marlins also are at their pitching-haven home stadium all week, welcoming the Nationals into town after the Orioles fly back north.

You might want to hold off on starting the duo against the defending champs (although, the lineup is obviously weaker without the presence of Juan Soto) but matchups against Baltimore are too juicy to resist. With only 10 weeks to play, every streamer must be considered. And I'm usually going to consider anyone that faces the Orioles.

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