X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Join the Best Live Fantasy Chat Community!

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


LINEUP RESOURCES

Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Pickups & Streamers
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

Deeper Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 5

As we continue to move along in this 2020 season and a little bit of the craziness winds down, teams are finally starting to click, and roles are being ironed out. For fantasy purposes, that means that the waiver wire is going to be busier than ever, and in deep leagues, there is still a lot of good value to be found.

This is the time for managers to be proactive.

This will be a look at players that are under 15% rostered in Yahoo leagues that are options to be considered in deeper leagues, or in the case of the Year of Coronaball, injury replacements with upside that have the possibility of sticking on rosters even beyond a few games or couple of weeks.

Featured Promo: For this week only, take 50% off any full-season or yearly Premium Pass on the site! Just enter discount code THANKS when checking out. Thanks for being a reader, and Happy Holidays! Sign Up Now!

 

Willy Adames (SS, TB)

13% Rostered, Recommended Move: Add for the long haul

Other than Austin Meadows, the only other Tampa Bay Ray with guaranteed, locked in playing time is Adames, and that means he should have good fantasy value. Adames should be rostered in more than 13% of leagues, especially with a .284/.377/.522 triple slash. The Rays are not going to be taking this bat out of the lineup any time soon.

While his profile is not a perfect one, Adames' .239 isolated power mark is easily a career-high, and he is walking at a 13% clip, which is also a career-high. He is also striking out a career-high 33.8% rate, which is definitely a little worrying, but when he gets the bat on the ball, he is doing good things. His hard-hit rate is up 13 percentage points from last season, sitting at an excellent 48.8%, which is among the best in baseball. He is also pulling the ball a whole lot more, up to 46%, which should be an explanation for the power increase. Either way, Adames is killing it right now, and definitely worth rostering in deeper leagues.

 

Brian Goodwin (OF, LAA)

11% Rostered, Recommended Move: Add for the long haul 

Goodwin is mostly a platoon bat at this point, but the good news is that he is on the stronger end of the platoon, and should be in the lineup most days. In leagues that allow for daily lineup changes, Goodwin would be an excellent option to just slot him in there when he is playing and enjoy the results.

Goodwin is not all that exciting on the surface, but the results speak for itself. He's slashing a monstrous .302/.371/.603, resulting primarily from a super strong 17.8% barrel rate, and a ton of line drives. That barrel rate places him in the 97th percentile of all hitters, and his line drive rate is a whopping 40%. Combine that with a pull rate of nearly 50%, and we have all of the ingredients for a power breakout. Don't bet the house on this sticking, but even if he reverts to his expected stats (.506 xSLG, .351 xwOBA), he would still be a fine option, especially when he is being plucked off of waivers for free.

 

Aaron Hicks (OF, NYY)

11% Rostered, Recommended Move: Add and stash for a couple of weeks

Advertising

In OBP leagues, Hicks is most-likely rostered, with his 22.5% walk rate and .408 OBP. That doesn't mean he is useless in standard leagues, though. Hicks already had an everyday spot hitting in the top third of the Yankees lineup, but now with the latest batch of Yankee injuries, he is going to stick there for the time being. His .236 batting average and just two home runs may look a little underwhelming, but the main appeal for rostering Hicks is for the cheap runs scored, of which he already has 11.

But there is also upside in some of his Statcast metrics. His hard-hit rate of 45.5% is the best of his career, and his expected batting average is 20 points higher than his actual one, which suggests that he has experienced some bad luck, and better batted-ball luck may be in his future. At just 11% rostered, it's worth it to find out.

 

Jake Cronenworth (1B/2B/SS, SD)

10% Rostered, Recommended Move: Add and stash for a couple of weeks

Cronenworth was featured here last week as well and has just seen a one percentage point increase in roster rate. It looks like some fantasy managers are asleep at the wheel because Cronenworth is still hitting well, and receiving consistent playing time.

He only has a .693 OPS in the past week, but nobody expected him to maintain his strong performance for the whole season, but one mild slump is not enough of a reason to let him go. The reasons why he was considered for addition still apply here. He's still not striking out much at just 15.5%, his average exit velocity of 90.3 miles-per-hour still looks good, and he is still hitting a lot of line-drives. He started the last three games against left-handes pitchers, so playing time does not look like an issue right now, especially with Tommy Pham hitting the injured list. Individual fantasy team depth will likely dictate if he's in starting lineups for managers, but as a nice, versatile, bench piece with upside, Cronenworth should remain a solid option.

Todd Frazier (1B/3B, TEX)

10% Rostered, Recommended Move: Add for the long haul

Another player that was recommended last week that makes another appearance here is Frazier. Recommended for his boring, yet solid production, he is somehow not more rostered than last week, but has actually seen his roster rate drop from 11% to 10%, which looks a little confusing.

It doesn't have to do with performance, as Frazier contributed a nice .286/.412/.429 line in the past week and his overall line still sits at a solid .303/.387/.500. He did miss two games in the past week though, but he is back and has been sitting in the middle of the Rangers lineup all season, and it doesn't look like he'll be bumped any time soon. Frazier is not all that exciting, but that means that he should remain under-rostered, and can provide nice stability to a lot of fantasy teams.

 

Erik Gonzalez (SS/3B/OF, PIT)

3% Rostered, Recommended Move: Ride the hot streak

There haven't been many bright spots for the Pittsburgh Pirates so far this season, but the performance of Gonzalez through 43 plate appearances is one of them. Gonzalez had a 59 wRC+ a season ago. This year, he is rocking a 144 mark, on the back of a .349/.349/.558 slash line. Yes, his on-base percentage is the exact same as his batting average, which means he hasn't walked a single time yet, which is a little concerning but the rest of his performance has been purely great.

Advertising

Gonzalez is towards the top of nearly every offensive Statcast category at the moment. The lowest Statcast metric of his in terms of percentile ranks is his barrel rate, which is in the 85th percentile. That shows just how strong the rest of his game is. Most notably, his hard-hit rate is in the 98th percentile. He's hitting the ball hard, and keeping more ball off the ground, which all looks very good and is a good recipe to follow to get good results.

Look, don't expect this to last. Nobody should be claiming Gonzalez as this type of hitter on a true-talent basis yet after just 43 plate appearances, but take him now through this hot streak. As an added bonus, he has multi-eligibility, which is always nice. So many players are getting injured, so as a short-term fill-in through this incredible run, Gonzalez is a good option.

Looking Back on Last Week's Picks

At the end of each week's post, we'll end with a brief look back on last week's picks along with a brief recommendation on what to do with the said player for the future.

Asdrubal Cabrera (2B/3B, WAS)

Last week: 12% rostered. This Week: 28% rostered. 

It looks like the secret is finally out on Cabrera. After doing nothing but hit through the early part of the season and remain under-rostered, Cabrera finally saw a surge in roster rate and is now ineligible for selection here, and is not likely to return anytime soon. He is still hitting extremely well and has gotten a bump to the number three or four spots in the Nationals lineup.  As long as he's hitting, you're not dropping him. Current Recommendation: Hold.

Touki Toussaint (P, ATL)

Last week: 10% rostered. This Week: 7% rostered. 

It wasn't a great week for Toussaint. He rightly struggled against the Yankees, but he also struggled against what should have been the easier matchup against the Nationals, as he walked six, and allowed four runs in just three innings. His SIERA and xFIP are still more encouraging at 4.11 and 4.14, respectively but if you want to drop him, it's completely understandable. The pitching landscape isn't any clearer right now though, and the reasons thatmade him an attractive target are still there. If you have the depth, then it's definitely a drop, but watch for a favorable matchup, as he could come in handy. Current Recommendation: Drop. 

Jesse Winker (OF, CIN)

Last week: 5% rostered. This week: 53% rostered. 

Hopefully, you didn't miss the boat on this one. A lot of managers overreacted and dropped Winker after a slow start, but he is making them look like fools right now. Winker looks great at the plate and we all know that. Not much needs to be said here, but it is unfortunate that the Reds are having some games postponed due to COVID-19 right as this hot streak for Winker is happening. It's tough, but you're definitely not dropping him. Current Recommendation: Hold. 

Dominic Smith (1B/OF, NYM)

Last week: 3% rostered. This week: 62% rostered. 

Another player that is scorching hot right now, Smith saw a whopping 59% jump in roster rate this week on the back of a great week where he hit .393/.469/.964 with four home runs in seven games. An out-of-this-world performance for Smith. Like Winker, not much needs to be said here. He is not leaving the Mets lineup anytime soon, and he is not leaving yours either. Current Recommendation: Hold. 

More 2020 Fantasy Baseball Advice

Advertising



LINEUP RESOURCES

Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Pickups & Streamers
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

WIN MORE IN 2024

Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Pickups & Streamers
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

ROTOBALLER PLAYER NEWS

RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

MORE RECENT ARTICLES

 
Alexis Diaz fantasy baseball closers rankings draft sleepers waiver wire pickups

MLB Closers and Saves: Fantasy Baseball Depth Charts

Saves are an important component for many fantasy baseball leagues. Closers are one of the most volatile positions in fantasy baseball, and one of the highest turnover positions in MLB. Each year, closers drop like flies and many MLB teams make in-season changes due to injuries or poor performance. In addition to closers and saves, relief... Read More


Do These Prospects Matter for Fantasy Baseball?

The 2023 fantasy baseball season has been highlighted by the promotion of nearly two-dozen top prospects to the major leagues to impact fantasy rosters. This week's edition features one player who was called up as the piece was being written. Will these strong performers join the ranks of those who have moved to the majors... Read More


clayton kershaw fantasy baseball rankings draft sleepers MLB injury news

articles report test

this is a test


Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire Pickups for Fantasy Baseball - Week 24

Welcome back! It's Week 24 of our fantasy baseball Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire Pickups series! There are just two precious weeks left, and every start is becoming more and more important as most of the fantasy baseball world is in playoff matchups. If you've made it this far, there's a good chance you don't really... Read More


Aaron Nola - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, MLB Injury News, DFS Lineup Picks

Starts & Sits for MLB Week 23 - All Starting Pitcher Matchups for Fantasy Baseball

Welcome back RotoBallers! Big week in fantasy leagues as we approach the end of the season and playoffs! As always, we are here with our starting pitcher starts and sits series to help you set those winning lineups for the week ahead! For those who are not familiar, RotoBaller puts out a weekly grid of... Read More


Gunnar Henderson - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, MLB Prospects, Draft Sleepers

Points League Hitters: Waiver Wire Pickups for Fantasy Baseball - Week 24

Welcome to Week 24 and our fantasy baseball waiver wire hitters. We'll be doing this roundup of points leagues every week here at RotoBaller, 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,... Read More


Brayan Bello - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Draft Sleepers, Waiver Wire Pickups

Two-Start Pitcher Streamers for Fantasy Baseball - Week 24

Yo, it's Jon Anderson, continuing to run the show here in terms of late-summer fantasy baseball writing. There are just two weeks left of streaming pitchers, so let's make it count! This weekly fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups column aims to identify starting pitchers expected to make two starts in the upcoming fantasy baseball week,... Read More


Fantasy Baseball Week 24 Injury News and Updates: Tyler Glasnow, Ozzie Albies, Starling Marte, Anthony Rizzo, Zack Wheeler

September is now more than half over. The baseball season is slowly coming to a close. At this point, fantasy players are pushing for their league titles or just playing for pride. Major League Baseball teams continue to do the same and injuries continue to happen, now with the dreaded term "done for the season"... Read More


Joe Musgrove - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Draft Sleepers, MLB Injury News

Free MLB Betting Picks - Today's Best Bets, Expert Predictions, Odds (9/17/22)

Happy Saturday, RotoBallers, we're back for another weekend of MLB betting picks! Make sure you're following my Twitter, as I can't guarantee that I'll always be able to get the added plays written here in the article, but I will typically add whatever else I'm playing throughout the day. The entire RotoBaller team has been... Read More


DraftKings, FanDuel Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks (9/17/22): Today's Top MLB DFS Lineups

Today's MLB slates are split up as is the norm for September baseball. Half the guys I think will play will not, so you have to be as flexible as Gumby to play MLB DFS in September, but that also means that there is a lot of money out there should you dare to dive... Read More


Max Fried - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Draft Sleepers, MLB Injury News

Free MLB Betting Picks - Today's Best Bets, Expert Predictions, Odds (9/15/22)

Happy Friday, RotoBallers, we're back for another weekend of MLB betting picks! Make sure you're following my Twitter, as I can't guarantee that I'll always be able to get the added plays written here in the article, but I will typically add whatever else I'm playing throughout the day. The entire RotoBaller team has been... Read More


Robbie Ray - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, MLB Injury News, Draft Sleepers

DraftKings, FanDuel Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks (9/16/22): Today's Top MLB DFS Lineups

Fridays are big MLB DFS days and offer a nice respite from the NFL, who command our attention on Thursdays, Sundays, and Mondays. This slate, like most Friday slates, is a big one as all MLB teams are in action today and 28 of those teams are on tonight's 14-game DFS slate. This was a... Read More


kyle farmer fantasy baseball rankings draft sleepers MLB injury news

Top Hitter Streamers and Starts for Fantasy Baseball - Week 24

There are only two weeks left of fantasy baseball! It's going to be very sad when the season comes to an end, but the impending end of the season means that these are the most important, and therefore most fun weeks of the year – for those of you still competing, at least. I have... Read More


TODAY’S MOST VIEWED PLAYERS

rotating JS ad test

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF

MORE RECENT ARTICLES

 
derrick henry fantasy football rankings news NFL DFS lineup picks

test publish 5 mins in future

Hello everybody and welcome! The 2022 NFL season is finally underway and that means our friends over at PrizePicks have a TON of great props we can look to take advantage of. PrizePicks is a great DFS picks site where you can choose to select plays in terms of fantasy points or single stats. The... Read More


PrizePicks NFL DFS Picks - Monday Night Football

Hello everybody and welcome! The 2022 NFL season is finally underway and that means our friends over at PrizePicks have a TON of great props we can look to take advantage of. PrizePicks is a great DFS picks site where you can choose to select plays in terms of fantasy points or single stats. The... Read More


D'Andre Swift - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL DFS Lineup Picks

Fantasy Football Injury Reports For NFL RBs: Updates for Aaron Rodgers

Warning: Undefined array key "amp_post_template_footer" in /var/www/rotoballer.com/wp-content/plugins/php-code-for-posts/Classes/Shortcode.php(91) : eval()'d code on line 6 Warning: foreach() argument must be of type array|object, null given in /var/www/rotoballer.com/wp-content/plugins/php-code-for-posts/Classes/Shortcode.php(91) : eval()'d code on line 6 Featured Promo: Get any full-season NFL Premium Pass for 50% off and win big in 2022. Exclusive access to our Premium articles, 15 lineup... Read More


derrick henry fantasy football rankings news NFL DFS lineup picks

PrizePicks NFL DFS Picks - Monday Night Football

Hello everybody and welcome! The 2022 NFL season is finally underway and that means our friends over at PrizePicks have a TON of great props we can look to take advantage of. PrizePicks is a great DFS picks site where you can choose to select plays in terms of fantasy points or single stats. The... Read More


Justin Jefferson - Fantasy Football Rankings, DFS Lineup Picks, NFL Injury News

NFL DFS Prop Picks for Monkey Knife Fight - Monday Night Football

Welcome to NFL Monday Night Football, where we have two games scheduled between the Minnesota Vikings vs. Philadelphia Eagles and the Tennessee Titans vs. Buffalo Bills.  Monday's games mean our friends at Monkey Knife Fight are offering some fantastic props for us to play once again! The good people at Monkey Knife Fight offer some... Read More


D'Andre Swift - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL DFS Lineup Picks

Fantasy Football Injury Reports For NFL RBs: Week 2 Updates for Najee Harris, J.K. Dobbins, D'Andre Swift, Alvin Kamara, Mark Ingram

Below you will find our fantasy football injuries report for running backs in Week 2, as of September 17. The injury statuses for various NFL running backs are up in the air for Week 2 including D'Andre Swift, Najee Harris, Alvin Kamara, J.K. Dobbins, and more. The fantasy football season may be just getting underway,... Read More


michael pittman jr. fantasy football rankings NFL DFS lineup picks

Fantasy Football Injury Reports For NFL WRs: Week 2 Updates for Michael Pittman Jr., Mike Evans, Tee Higgins, Allen Lazard, Julio Jones

Welcome to Week 2 of the fantasy football season and the Saturday edition of our WR injury reports! Below you will find our fantasy football injuries report for wide receivers in Week 2 as of September 16th. The injury statuses for various NFL wide receivers are up in the air for Week 2, including Michael... Read More


justin herbert fantasy football rankings NFL DFS lineup picks

Fantasy Football Injury Reports for QBs: Week 2 Updates for Dak Prescott, Justin Herbert, Jameis Winston, Mac Jones

Below you will find our updated fantasy football injuries report for quarterbacks in the days before Week 2 of the 2022 NFL season as of Friday, September 16. There are a few NFL QBs dealing with injuries, including Dak Prescott, Justin Herbert, Jameis Winston, and Mac Jones. Being up-to-date on NFL injury news can give... Read More


Trey Lance - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL Injury News

Key Starters and Tough Calls - Lineup Spotlights for Fantasy Football Week 2

Every week, I share some of my favored choices and players to go with when dealing with challenging lineup decisions. These selections are based on my Premium Weekly Lineup Rankings, available as part of the RotoBaller NFL Premium Pass. Enter promo code KING at checkout for a discount and get access to my ranks in all formats, plus... Read More


Saquon Barkley - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL Injury News, Draft Sleepers

Week 2 NFL Pick Em Selections for No House Advantage

Hello everybody and welcome! The 2022 NFL season is underway and that means our friends over at No House Advantage have a TON of great DFS plays we can look to take advantage of. No House Advantage is a unique DFS prop picks site where you do not have to play against the house to... Read More


Wide Receiver Matchups to Target in Week 2: Greg Dortch, Terry McLaurin, Christian Kirk

Week 1 made some things come to light as we got some clarity on some murky situations. Unfortunately, many of our WR targets for DFS last week were victims of this. Robert Woods finished the game with one reception for 13 yards, as the Titans used the rookie receivers much more than him. Brandon Aiyuk... Read More


Carson Wentz - Fantasy Football Rankings, Waiver Wire Pickups, Draft Sleepers

Thunder Dan's NFL Betting Picks for Week 2: Top NFL Player Props Bets

Football season is back! Whether you like to bet game totals, sides, or player props, I have something in here for you, and try to cover a little bit of everything! This year, I started my own free sports betting newsletter, and the good people here at RotoBaller are allowing me to share my picks... Read More


Fantasy Football IDP Injury Reports For NFL Defensive Players: Week 2 Updates for T.J. Watt, Jamal Adams, Jalen Thompson, Ed Oliver

T.J. Watt owners, you know the feeling... I had T.J. Watt in my home league last season. He was constantly checking out of games early with nagging minor injuries, but he must have led every IDP manager who started him to the playoffs. I went back to the well and drafted him early this year.... Read More