RADIO
The year's biggest video game event, E3, is going on during Week 11 of the fantasy baseball season, bringing with it more than its share of surprises. A new Spider-Man game, a game starring The Walking Dead's Norman Reedus called Death Stranding and a new Dead Rising game all took this writer by surprise.
The AL-only fantasy world saw a similar surprise recently when the White Sox made the first big trade of 2016, bringing starting pitcher James Shields into our player pool from San Diego. As much as owners plan and prepare with player acquisitions based on what's available, one could wake up to a new big fish beached outside. The following players are not big fish, but they are available in 25% or less of Flea Flicker leagues.
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American League Targets - Hitters
Chris Young (OF, BOS) - 4% Owned
Outfielder Chris Young has been bumped up to the top of Boston's left field depth chart, and he has responded well to the increased at-bats. He's hitting .326 with five home runs, 10 RBI and two stolen bases over the past 28 days. The 32-year-old hasn't found the fountain of youth as much as he's hitting right-handers well for him and left-handers even better. Young has another week or two minimum before Blake Swihart comes back, giving fantasy owners in need of a quick offensive jolt an option.
Marwin Gonzalez (1B/2B/SS/3B/OF, HOU) - 6% Owned
Hopes were high for Marwin Gonzalez after he hit in the .270s two seasons in a row. But 2016 didn't start out well for him, much as it didn't for quite a few Astros. His fortunes have been turned around as of late, hitting .326 with four stolen bases. There is a facet of his game that has yet to show up though, and that is his power as Gonzalez has only one home run the past month. Eligible to play just about everywhere around the diamond, he can help out AL-only owners in a variety of ways.
Robbie Grossman (OF, MIN) - 3% Owned
Outfielder Robbie Grossman should have made this list a week or two ago. But after being cut by the Indians earlier this season, a team in need of outfield offensive, it seemed likely he was headed for a repeat of the disasterous 2015 that saw him hit .143 in 49 at-bats. Instead, Grossman has been a revelation in Minnesota, slashing .325/.464/.623 with five home runs and 15 RBI. At only 26 years of age, this may last longer than expected. Drive this car to the ground.
Dae-Ho Lee (1B, SEA) - 6% Owned
Byung Ho Park isn't the only Korean slugger making a name for himself in the AL this year. The Mariners' backup first baseman Dae-Ho Lee has hit 10 home runs in only 108 at-bats has slowly earned him more playing time. AL-only owners should hop on this bandwagon immediately as his current stat line of a .296 average, those home runs and 24 RBIs is not only in line with his career averages, but well on the way to an above-average year by his standards. Even with limited at-bats, there is no denying those results.
Pedro Alvarez (1B/3B, BAL) - 7% Owned
Infielder Pedro Alvarez has finally come to live after a trying first two months of the season. For the month of June, he's hitting .355 with four home runs and eight RBI. He's been doing it exclusively against right-handers, as he is hitting .111 versus left-handers this year. How long that will keep going is going to be tied to how often Alvarez faces those dastardly lefties. With him facing at least two more this week, it serves as a reminder he is going to fizzle more often than preferred throughout the rest of the season. But with the power to club at least 15 more homers, AL-only owners won't find many other waiver wire options with that potential.
American League Targets - Pitchers
James Paxton (SP, SEA) - 22% Owned
Filling in for injured ace Felix Hernandez, starting pitcher James Paxton is flashing the skills that earned him a place among the brightest prospects in the game in the past. After a rough first start, he's settled down the next two, giving him an 0-2 record, 2.25 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 16 total innings this season. As great of a start as that is, Paxton hasn't been truly dominant since his first taste of the Show in 2014. But with The King confirmed out for another 4-6 weeks, he'll have plenty of chances to prove this isn't an illusion.
Mychal Givens (RP, BAL) - 4% Owned
Despite giving up three runs in his last outing, relief pitcher Mychal Givens should still be on fantasy radars. He's 2-0 with a 3.38 ERA, 1.00 ERA and 11 strikeouts in eight innings so far this month as he helps pick up the slack since Darren O'Day went on the disabled list. The second-year player now has a career 7-0 record, 2.21 ERA and 119 strikeouts in 88 career innings, including this year's 5-0 record, 2.61 ERA and 44 strikeouts in 31 innings. Givens is far from saves at this point, but the production everywhere else makes up for it.
Blake Snell (SP, TB) - 24% Owned
The big-time prospect is back up in the Majors as the Rays called up starting pitcher Blake Snell, bumping the competent Matt Andreise to a swing role. He has been great at Triple-A so far this year, going 3-5 with a 3.29 ERA and 90 strikeouts in 63 innings. Snell will make his second start of his career Thursday against the Mariners, who have a long history of being dominated by rookie Rays' starters. One of the top prospects in the game, he should be owned in most leagues, not just AL-only.
Jason Grilli (RP, TOR) - 9% Owned
Relief pitcher Jason Grilli returned to the American League two weeks ago in a trade with the Braves. After putting up dismal numbers in Atlanta, he has been a solid setup man for the Blue Jays in his time there so far, putting up a 1.93 ERA, 10 strikeouts and one save in 4.2 innings. While Roberto Osuna is fully entrenched as the team's closer, Grilli has already become his handcuff and should be owned in all AL-only leagues.
Tim Lincecum (SP, LAA) - 11% Owned
The former Cy Young winner will make his first start of the year Saturday against the Athletics. He has been solid in Triple-A so far, going 0-2 with 2.65 ERA and 0.76 WHIP in 17 innings. Though he hasn't pitched like a Cy Young Award winner in some time, his 4.13 ERA last year in 15 starts does give some hope he can be worthwhile in AL-only leagues. Don't expect the world from Lincecum and he should impress.
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