Welcome to my weekly waiver wire column which will be available every Wednesday during the baseball season. On The Fantasy Show, we have a segment called ‘pickups of the week’ where we turn to the waiver wire to find valuable players who are owned in less than 30 percent of leagues. The same rule will apply to the players discussed here.
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Striking gold on a waiver wire pick early in the season could very well propel you to fantasy glory. Look no further then J.D Martinez, who came out of nowhere in 2014 to finish a top 50 fantasy player, ahead of Paul Goldschmidt, Evan Longoria, Billy Hamilton and Hanley Ramirez. Our goal is to find you this year’s J.D Martinez.
With that being said, let’s go!
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Mark Canha, 1B/OF (24 percent owned)
Billy Beane really wanted Mark Canha, which can’t hurt. With Coco Crisp and Josh Reddick on the shelf, the 26-year-old has made the most of his playing time, going 11-for-33 with a home run, seven runs and seven RBI. He has a track record of hitting for power and getting on base in the minors, but he’s never had the opportunity to showcase his skills in the majors. He’s been hitting in the two-hole for manager Bob Melvin and even though his playing time could be a problem down the road, he could provide a nice spark in deeper leagues, AL-only leagues and on teams that just lost Alex Rios to a broken wrist.
Adam Ottavino, RHP (24 percent owned)
The Rockies removed LaTroy Hawkins as closer after he blew consecutive saves last week, and though the ageless Rafael Betancourt earned a save on Monday, Ottavino needed rest after pitching on Saturday and Sunday. While manager Walt Weiss hasn’t named a replacement, Ottavino struck out the side Tuesday and picked up the save. The starter turned reliever made strides in 2014, increasing his strikeout rate to 9.69 per nine and lowering his walk rate to 2.22 per nine. Don’t be surprised if Weiss keeps turning to Ottavino from here on.
Jake Lamb, 3B (25 percent owned)
Yasmany Tomas is playing right field in the minors and he’s also apparently overweight, so Lamb, who impressed with his bat and his glove this spring, could keep the third base job all season. He provides 20-homer upside with the ability to take a walk (53 in the minors in 2014) and although he’s not known not to be much of a runner, Lamb has already attempted two stolen bases this year with a 50 percent success rate. He’ll also provide a nice boost for doubles leagues, so ride him while he’s hot.
David Freese, 3B (9 percent owned)
In 2014, David Freese belted his third home run of the season on July 2nd. The third baseman hit his third homer of the season back on Monday and has been a nice spark for the Angels early on. He has never hit more than 20 home runs in a season, so we’re not going to get ahead of ourselves here, but Freese has said he’s in a better place mentally and physically then he was a year ago. Could we be witnessing a bit of a power resurgence after he hit a combined 19 home runs over the last two years? In deeper leagues, Freese present a nice cheap play with counting stats that will not hurt you. Don’t fret about the low batting average; he’s a career .279 hitter and that will normalize over the season.
Jimmy Nelson, RHP (24 percent owned)
The right-hander had a pretty impressive season debut, fanning nine Pittsburgh Pirates on the way to his first win of the season. Nelson pitched through the seventh, needing just 88 pitches to do so. After dominating the minors last year, he was called up in May and struck out three times as many batters as he walked with a 4.93 ERA. Factor in that Nelson has added a new pitch to his arsenal and he becomes that much more intriguing. At this point, I would stream Nelson in shallower leagues but he does face the Pirates again in his next start. I’d be tempted to fire him up.
Brandon Morrow, RHP (12 percent owned)
It didn’t take long for Morrow to grab our attention. He was named the Padres’ fifth starter out of spring training and the early signs are that manager Bud Black made the right decision. Morrow struck out seven Giants in seven scoreless innings in his season debut, facing just three over the minimum. The fastball was up to 95 mph and Morrow allowed just one hit on his off-speed stuff. We know Morrow’s potential and we know he’s injury prone, but seeing as he went undrafted in most leagues, this is a gamble worth taking.
