Top Fantasy Baseball Waiver Pickups for the Week of May 2nd
These are the top 10 waiver wire trends for the week of May 2nd. This week includes Sean Manaea, Jose Berrios, Michael Fulmer, Kendall Graveman, Victor Martinez, Josh Tomlin, Odubel Herrera, Jed Lowrie, Chris Carter, Jordy Mercer. These Waiver Alerts have already gone out to our members over the past past week as soon as we spotted them.
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OAKLAND – As far as major league debuts go, Sean Manaea gave the A’s a chance Friday night as the big left-hander with bushy black hair pitched into the sixth inning before departing with the score tied. But the prized… Continue Reading →The post Postgame: Yonder Alonso caps A’s rally with walk-off HR appeared first on Inside the A's.Manaea is set to be recalled Friday and start that night for the A's against the Astros, The San Francisco Chronicle reports.
According to the the Chronicle, Jesse Hahn was penciled in as Friday's starter but a blister on his pitching hand will prevent him from taking the mound, so the A's are set to promote their prized pitching prospect. Manaea, the uber-talented left-hander that came over to Oakland from Kansas City in last summer's Ben Zobrist trade, has been dominant in his first three starts at Triple-A this season. He's gone 18.0 innings, notching 21 strikeouts against just four walks while working a 1.50 ERA. He'll be facing a strikeout-prone Astros lineup Friday and he'll be opposed on the mound by Mike Fiers.
Manaea allowed four runs in five innings while striking out three in his major league debut on Friday night against the Astros.
Manaea allowed one run through the first five innings, but ran into trouble in the sixth inning allowing three straight batters to reach base without getting an out. His line got uglier after Sean Doolittle entered the game and allowed two inherited runners to score. Manaea looked good in the first five innings, but the four walks allowed are a concern. He is expected to stick in the A's rotation and will next take the mound on Wednesday against Seattle.
Own Percentage Change Compared to Last Week: +445.94%
The Minnesota Twins have called up pitcher Jose Berrios and the top prospect will make his major league debut on Wednesday. Berrios, drafted out of Puerto Rico in 2012, ranked as Keith Law's No. 26 prospect heading into the season, a 6-foot right-hanJose Berrios showed flashes of why he's considered one of the top pitching prospects for the Twins in recent years, but his Major League debut ultimately didn't go as planned.
Right-hander Jose Berrios made his much-anticipated MLB debut for the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday night. The Cleveland Indians chased him after 4+ innings and won, 6-5.
Own Percentage Change Compared to Last Week: +129.70%
The Tigers will promote right-hander Michael Fulmer to make his Major League debut against the Twins on Friday, reports MLive.com’s Chris Iott (via Twitter). He’ll make his first big league start in Minneapolis against the Twins. Fulmer, acquired from the Mets last summer in the trade that sent Yoenis Cespedes to the Mets, rated as the game’s…The Detroit Tigers' Michael Fulmer will make his debut against the Minnesota Twins Friday.
One start does not make a career, but it does make a first impression. And Michael Fulmer made a pretty good one.
Own Percentage Change Compared to Last Week: +419.07%
A's right-hander Kendall Graveman won after yielding a run on three hits and three walks with eight strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings on Wednesday against the Yankees.
Spin: Graveman has allowed two runs or fewer in each of his three starts and now sits with a tidy 2.04 ERA and 0.91 WHIP. The 25-year-old is likely due for some regression as his .170 BABIP rises, but he is at least worth a flier in deep fantasy leagues. Despite the hot streak, Graveman should be avoided in mixed formats on April 25 against the Tigers in Detroit.Kendall Graveman was superb in Wednesday's 5-1 win over the Yankees, allowing just one run on three hits over 6 1/3 innings.
Outside of a solo home run by Didi Gregorius in the second inning, Graveman put the clamps on the offensively-challenged Yankees. He struck out eight and issued three walks on the evening. After three starts, the 25-year-old righty holds a strong 2.04 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and 15/6 K/BB ratio across 17 2/3 innings. He will try to stay on the nice early roll when he tangos with the Tigers in Detroit next time out.
Kendall Graveman (1-1) picked up a win over the Yankees Wednesday, going 6.1 innings and allowing just one run with eight strikeouts.
A second-inning homer by Didi Gregorius was the only blemish of the night for the 25-year-old. The right-hander has pitched well this season, but didn't have any wins to show for it heading into Wednesday. He's given up just four total runs in three starts and now has 15:6 K:BB.
Own Percentage Change Compared to Last Week: +252.28%
Tigers designated hitter Victor Martinez went 4-for-5 with a home run, a double, three runs and two RBIs against the Twins on Friday.
Spin: The Twins had no answer for Martinez, who had a huge game out of the cleanup spot. The 37-year-old has put last year’s disappointing season behind him with a fast start, batting .319 with 12 extra base hits and 17 RBIs through his first 22 games. As long as he’s healthy and hitting in the heart of Detroit's potent lineup, he should continue racking up runs and RBIs.Martinez went 2-for-4 with an RBI double and run scored in Saturday's 4-1 victory over the Twins.
The veteran switch hitter continued tearing up Twins pitching, and he's gone 6-for-9 with three doubles, three RBI and four runs scored over the first two games of the series. After he delivered an impassioned tongue-lashing to teammates last week, the Tigers offense has been much improved, and Martinez has helped spearhead the attack. He's now slashing .329/.393/.645 over 76 at-bats this season.
Victor Martinez went 1-for-2 with a three-run homer and two walks on Wednesday against the Athletics.
Spin: Martinez brought his average up to .302 with Wednesday’s effort. He has four homers, eight runs scored and 15 RBIs, but the big piece is his six walks to five strikeouts. He is seeing the ball very well right now and should be valued closer to “2014 V-Mart” rather than last season’s version.
Own Percentage Change Compared to Last Week: +23.25%
Josh Tomlin continued his early season success pitching 6.2 innings of four hit beisbol, allowing just one run and striking out four for his second win of the year. Josh is now 2-0 through his first two starts with a 1.54 EAR, 0.77 WHIP and 10 strikeouts. He's available in over 90% of ESPN leagues. Am I missing something? Tomlin was part of my championship pitching staff last year. No. I didn't win, but I still made the finals, so that counts as a championship team, right? Tomlin finished 2015 especially strong giving up just 14 runs in 49.3 IP with a 44/3 K/BB rate, and two complete games. Can he keep it up? Let's look at the stats. First, Josh's ESPN player page photo looks a whole lot like Bradley Cooper. Second, Tomlin's .219 BABIP for 2015 was laughably low, and he's not exactly a strikeout machine. That said, he doesn't walk anyone either. Doode throws strikes, and his 3.2 BB% from 2015 is no fluke. If we look further into the advanced stats (NERD!), we see Josh doesn't induce a lot of ground ball outs either, and his fly ball percentage was 46.2 last year. Basically, he could give up a lot of long balls. Or not, what do these numbers know anyway. I'll tell you what I know. Josh Tomlin has been pitching very well dating back to last September and he has a juicy match up with the Twins next week. He's certainly a worthy streaming option in the right match up and I'd give him a chance next week in Minnesota.Here's what else I saw Friday night in fantasy baseball:Marlon Byrd's go-ahead home run leading off the seventh inning continued Cleveland's success against longtime nemesis Justin Verlander, who was outdueled by Josh Tomlin for a 2-1 Indians win Friday night at Comerica Park.
Indians right-hander Josh Tomlin won after allowing five runs (four earned) on six hits and one walk with one strikeout in 5 1/3 innings on Wednesday against the Twins.
Spin: If it weren’t for Jose Berrios struggling in his Major League debut, Tomlin very well could have ended up in the loss column. He pitched to contact and did his best to induce groundouts, but the Twins pounced when he missed his spots. Tomlin is effective when his off-speed pitches are generating ground balls, but he’s prone to homers and needs to be used judiciously in mixed leagues. His next start is scheduled for May 3 versus the Tigers.
Own Percentage Change Compared to Last Week: +102.14%
After briefly sneaking into the Rookie of the Year conversation and finishing just shy of hitting .300 last year in his Rule 5 season, Odubel Herrera took a break from baseball. He left Philadelphia to return home to Venezuela in October and didn't play again until January. He enjoyed his time...Chritian Yelich was a first-round draft pick. Odubel Herrera was a rule-five draft pick. Since Herrera's debut last season, they've been eerily similar. Which one would you rather have?
If not for last year's historic crop of rookies Odubel Herrera would likely be, if not a household name, one that most fans would recognize. Even still, his 3.9 fWAR tied him with Jung-ho Kang, who placed third in NL Rookie of the Year voting, for fourth among all rookies last season. Of course, playing for last year's hapless Phillies didn't help his exposure, but if you look over the past ten years, Herrera's performance ties him for 19th among position-player rookies. This is a pretty impressive debut for someone the Rangers exposed two offseasons ago, and a shrewd parting gift from Ruben Amaro Jr. to the team he once oversaw
This year, Odubel Herrera is an everyday player, and only two players in baseball have drawn more walks. On its own, maybe that doesn’t convey its real significance, so consider that, last year, Odubel Herrera was an everyday player, and 193 players in baseball drew more walks. Herrera today has more than twice as many […]
Own Percentage Change Compared to Last Week: +58.15%
Lowrie collected a double and a triple while driving in a run and scoring a run in Wednesday's 9-4 loss to the Tigers.
It was another solid game for Lowrie, who now has a six-game hit streak going. He's never hit higher than .290 in a season, so it's not likely that his average will stay at the .312 mark it is at now. Still, Lowrie has ben a solid producer this season in the middle of the Oakland lineup.When Jed Lowrie played for the A’s in 2013 and 2014 he really wanted to beat the Red Sox and the Astros, the two teams he’d played before arriving in Oakland. Last year he was back with the Astros, and… Continue Reading →The post A’s Jed Lowrie geared up for Astros arrival this weekend appeared first on Inside the A's.
Jed Lowrie (calf) is back in the starting lineup Monday against Detroit.
He's listed as the starting second baseman and clean-up hitter for Monday after the ailment caused him to miss Sunday's game against Toronto.
Own Percentage Change Compared to Last Week: +109.87%
Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell lauded Ryan Braun and Chris Carter for how they’ve anchored the heart of his batting order.Carter went 6-for-11 (.545) with a home run, four doubles and two RBI in the Brewers' three-game series with the Phillies over the weekend.
Carter entered Friday's game with an .897 OPS, but exited the weekend at 1.050 -- the sixth-best mark in the National League. He has hit in only the fourth and fifth spots in the order for the Brewers this year, and will no doubt continue to do so while he's hot.
Chris Carter started last season with the Astros mired in a slump that included a .122 average. After a two-hit night Friday he is hitting .259 while leading the Brewers with four homers and 14 RBI.
Own Percentage Change Compared to Last Week: +32.44%
In June 2008, the Los Angeles Angels called Jordy Mercer. They wanted to draft the two-way player out of Oklahoma State in the third round, and they wanted to draft him as a pitcher.Mercer is out of Saturday's lineup against the Diamondbacks.
He is coming off a game where he hit a 466-foot homer off Patrick Corbin, and he got his batting average over .300 in the process. Sean Rodriguez will get a rare start at shortstop, hitting eighth Saturday, but Mercer should be back in the fold Sunday.
Pirates shortstop Jordy Mercer, a DraftKings Daily Pick, is primed to be a terrific performer against the Rockies on Tuesday.
Spin: With a mediocre career .259/.311/.379 slash line, the shortstop could provide cost-effective production at a premium position when he brings his lifetime .882 OPS against left-handers (.635 vs. righties) into a matchup with southpaw Jorge De La Rosa (career 4.62 ERA, 1.44 WHIP) at hitter-friendly Coors Field. Mercer could also excel against a Rockies bullpen that ranks 29th in the Majors with a 5.62 ERA.
Own Percentage Change Compared to Last Week: +323.09%
These are just some of the trends over the past week. We have plenty more real-time Waiver Trends for you to check out.
