The Weekly Wood Chipper- The Playoff Push (Week 19- Aug. 10-16)
Buying the Wire Hitters and Pitchers That'll (Hopefully) Take You to the Promised Land
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Buying the Wire Hitters and Pitchers That'll (Hopefully) Take You to the Promised Land
Happy post trade-deadline to all who celebrated. I for one did not. Not going to lie, I was pretty bummed that my Braves didn't trade for any pitching talent. I thought with the trades we were seeing they could have gotten some decent talent without giving up a chunk of the farm when a lot of teams were seemingly selling arms for cheap. However, it's hard to be too pressed about it when Jeremy Hefner (Atlanta's pitching coach) is working his magic on the Braves current rotation. Even some of the best baseball fans might have a hard time coming up with the Braves' rotation off the top of the dome. Nonetheless, Atlanta pitching is sitting in 5th place in the league in terms of ERA at 3.60. Chris Sale and the likes of Tyler Mahle, Grant Holmes, Bryce Elder, and Martin Perez have the Braves sitting in 1st place in the NL East with the 3rd best record in baseball (71-47).
I will happily eat my words and wishes that wanted this team to acquire more at the deadline if they somehow pull off a 2021-esque run to the World Series with a rag tag group of arms. Well, with that out of the way, let's get to this special waiver edition of The Weekly Wood Chipper. I want this to be more about helping my fellow fantasy baseball owners out there make the most of their push to make the playoffs and win big!
With that said: These are several of my favorite bats and arms for the playoff push that can possibly be found on your local waiver wire.
Scorchin' Wood- Hot Bats for the Homestretch
- OF/1B Jac Caglianone- looks like he might just be getting hot again folks. Feel free to check out my piece with him and Eldridge earlier this season. Cags can hit. The swing-and-miss has been there, but so is the power. Cags is hitting .406 in August with 3 homers and 9 RBIs.
- 3B Caleb Durbin- Love a player hitting well for a hot team that's making the playoff push. Durbin is that for Boston. He has 10 RBIs already in August, and is hitting .337 over his last 30 days with a 11:13 BB:K ratio to pair with it.
- 2B Bryson Stott- How good has Stott been this year? A .263 BA and a .336 OBP plays, especially at 2B. In his last 30 days, He is batting even better with a .346 average and a .457 OBP. Stott is a super underrated bat at the keystone. Then again, maybe it's just because I play in ESPN leagues as he is 71% rostered in CBS leagues. Even bigger draw for us with Stott is that the Phils have looked to get him some games at the hot corner too with Arraez at 2B. If Stott gains that 3B eligibility watch his ownership continue to rise.
- SS George Lombard Jr.- It's hard for me to ignore a prospect getting the call and performing for a playoff team! Lombard has come up to the bigs for the Yankees, and he has looked the part at shortstop. In his 5 games played since getting the call, Lombard Jr. is batting .294, and he isn't getting overpowered with a 3:5 BB:K.
- OF Cole Carrigg- Who doesn't love a Rockies hitter for the stretch run? I'd especially look for Carrigg if he's available in your leagues during the weeks they play the majority of their games at Coors. He is batting .300 since the start of August, and .297 for the year. Next week would be the week to grab him for since the Rockies play the majority of their remaining home games for the month in this six-game week vs. LAD and CLE. If your league runs deep into September, the Rockies will play 15 home games in the month.
- 1B/2B/OF Kody Clemens- I will be the first to say I haven't given enough attention to Clemens. It's the power and position flexibility that aids our interest in Clemens. He is having a career year for the Twins. He has 20 bombs on the year after hitting 19 last season. He had 6 in July and has 4 in his last 30 days.
- Honorable Mention: Nick Gonzales, Gleyber Torres, Nathaniel Lowe
- STOP & Check Now: Steven Kwan- He has been back to hitting at the top of the Guardians' lineup, and I think one of the best contact hitters in the league might be back.
Sneaky Lumberjacks- Arms for the Playoff Hunt
- SP/RP Brandon Pfaadt- Who else wrote off Pfaadt? I know I did. The once postseason stud for the Dbacks is back to pitching at a high level. He isn't missing a lot of bats, which I don't usually care for with a 20.3% whiff rate and a 15.2 K%. What he is doing is pitching to weak contact, with a 35.4% hard-hit rate and a ground ball rate of 48.9%. Pfaadt has a quality start in his last 4 appearances, and his recent performance is starting to catch my attention especially after his win against the Dodgers (7IP, 2H, 0ER, 2BB, 2K).
- SP Jackson Jobe- What a return for the former top prospect! Jobe is still only 24, and he made a fantastic return from Tommy John against the Giants on Saturday (5IP, 1H, 0ER, 1BB, 4K). My biggest concern is the workload of course. It's wild how the Tigers are only 1GB in the Wild Card race and 3.5 back in the division. Will the Tigers push him after such a long layoff? I'm taking the chance with how good Jobe's stuff is. He's probably better than our favorite last guy on our bench anyways.
- SP Kyle Leahy- Almost added him this past week. The quality starts keep coming with 3 in his last 4, and he has arguably been the Cards' best arm in the rotation to this point. The WHIP remains high, but he has a 24:2 K:BB in his last 4. Watch how the Cards use him given this is his career high in the majors in IP, but if he continues to pitch this deep into games, he will play well for us and the postseason-hungry Cards.
- SP Kade Anderson- Anderson has been many experts' consensus MiLB pitcher of the year. I'm expecting a mid-August promotion. With the video game numbers (128 Ks in 87.2 IP with a .65 WHIP), the Seattle track record with young arms, and Seattle's playoff push, he remains intriguing to me as a great bench stash for the playoffs. I have him stashed if that means anything to you...
- SP/RP Eric Lauer- Playing for the Dodgers is a big bonus for any arm, even Eric Lauer. He struggled with Toronto early on this season, but with the Dodgers he is pitching like a new man. Even with the recent demolition at the hands of the Cubs, Lauer has a 3.72 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, and a 31:13 K:BB. As long as he keeps getting starts, I think he can be a good arm to round out your staff for the playoffs.
- RP Luke Weaver- The Pirates made the trade because they believed in Weaver and they need a closer after Gregory Soto's downfall. Make the move for Weaver if you need saves.
- Honorable Mention: Shane Drohan, Tyler Mahle, Keider Montero
- STOP & Check Now: Ryan Weathers, Ian Seymour- Weathers is pitching really well again. In his last three has allowed just 1ER in 18.2 IP with a 17:5 K:BB ratio. Ian Seymour is also one I'd be making sure isn't available. I think the Rays have to make room for him. My fellow Hokie has a quality start in 3 of his last 4. We know what the Rays can do with their pitchers, and with Jax going down I think Seymour will stay around. Make sure he isn't available.
One theme I hope you pickup from my recommendations is this: Target players on teams that are playing for something to end the season. It's one of my favorite things to do as our fantasy season and the MLB regular season wind down. Playoff aspirations are good to target. We want all of the good vibes to end the year. You want teams to make room for that prospect you have your eye on (like Kade). You should desire closers that close for teams that are still trying to win games (like Weaver for Pitt). Even rugged pitchers like Tyler Mahle for my Braves have value as you stream arms and bats on winning teams playing at a high level this time of year.
The last piece of advice I will give you is the mistake I used to make a lot in my weekly league, and that is not leaving enough room to stream. Streaming two-steps is HUGE in my league format. Even if yours is daily, the flexibility is great to keep on your bench as you aim to maximize your waiver adds, and the innings your pitchers pitch. My hope is that this edition of The Weekly Wood Chipper helped you in some way in your own journey to the "promised land." Good luck, keep on chippin' away, and remember to have fun. It's fantasy. God bless!
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