Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Adds: Week 9
It's waiver time. One of the keys to any fantasy success is not only nailing your draft, but scouring that waiver wire for players who can give your team a boost. Even though fantasy baseball can be a really long season, it's key to scour those waivers and take it week-by-week to cement your fantasy status.
Last week, many referred to the waiver wire bidding as FAABageddon. Tons of top prospects were brought up and money was spent, fast and furiously. With things cooled down a bit, let's take a look at how things will shape up?
The four players below are all owned in fewer than 50% of Yahoo leagues and could give your team a lift as you start off the season. It's never too early to consider some adds and drops for your team.
Miguel Sano - Minnesota Twins (3B)
I wish I knew how to quit you, Miguel Sano.
After a brutal 2018 season and a late start to the 2019 campaign, Sano is doing Sano things. In only 33 plate appearances this year, Sano has bashed five home runs thanks to a 44.4% hard-hit rate and 50.0% fly-ball rate.
Is this kind of production sustainable? Heck no. There are plenty of red flags still flying high -- a 33.3% strikeout rate, namely. Strikeouts have always been a big issue with Sano. In 2018, his production was limited by an ugly 38.5% strikeout rate over 299 plate appearances.
But if you are lacking in pop, Sano can help you. He hit 25 and 28 home runs, respectively, in 2016 and 2017, and across multiple levels a season ago, Sano smacked 19 jacks.
He's started seven of eight games since being activated off the IL, so playing time doesn't appear to be an issue. In a red-hot Minnesota Twins' lineup, Sano could have a big rest of the season, and he can give you a lift in the power categories.
Cavan Biggio - Toronto Blue Jays (2B)
The Toronto Blue Jays are officially all in for a youth movement, and the next in that group is youngster Cavan Biggio -- yes, he's the son of former big-leaguer Craig Biggio.
Partially overshadowed by other studs in the organization like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette, the second baseman has a pretty interesting profile. A superstar coming out of Notre Dame, Biggio is a major power-speed threat. In 2017, Biggio posted 11 home runs and 11 steals, and 2018 was when he exploded for a 20-20 season (26 home runs, 20 stolen bases).
In 173 plate appearances in 2019, his first year at Triple-A or higher, Biggio logged a .418 wOBA with six homers and five steals. On top of all that is his batting eye as Biggio recorded a 17.8% walk rate in 2018 and logged an even better 19.7% mark this year.
Biggio is instantly relevant as a middle-infield option, and it's unlikely that the Jays called him up to put him on the bench.
Lance Lynn - Texas Rangers (SP)
Yahoo Ownership: 19%
Over 156 2/3 innings last season as a member of the Minnesota Twins and the New York Yankees, Lance Lynn didn't have his best season. He posted an elevated 10.9% walk rate, which contributed to a poor 4.77 ERA.
But a 4.26 skill-interactive ERA (SIERA) hinted that things might not have been so bad. Lynn's 23.0% strikeout rate was in line with career norms, and his 10.0% swinging-strike rate was a career-best mark.
This season has been around the same (4.67 ERA, 4.19 SIERA), and he's shown enhanced control with an improved 7.2% walk rate. Over his last three starts, he's been outstanding with a 29.6% strikeout rate, and he's logged seven innings in each start.
Lynn isn't safe -- he's allowing a 42.9% hard-hit rate, after all -- but he can be a helpful addition when deployed in the right matchups, and he's slated for a two-start week next week with outings against the attackable offenses of the Seattle Mariners and Kansas City Royals.
Scott Oberg - Colorado Rockies (RP)
At least temporarily, we have a new spin to take on the closer carousel out west with Scott Oberg of the Colorado Rockies. Unfortunately, it's at the expense of a teammate as Wade Davis hit the Injured List, putting Oberg in the ninth-inning role.
Oberg has some head-scratching peripherals we can't ignore -- a 15.9% strikeout rate, 13.4% walk rate, and only a 9.9% swinging-strike rate. With that being said, Oberg has performed far better in these areas in the past -- including a 25.0% strikeout rate a season ago.
At the end of the day, he's a guy who is inhabiting the closer role -- even if it's just for a hot minute -- so he needs to be owned. Go get him if you're in the 72% of leagues in which he's on the wire.
