One of our most cherished and fundamental freedoms as Americans is the right to kick any underperforming player off our fantasy teams at any time. In fact, it is your duty as a citizen to continually prune and replenish your list. Let’s get to it, folks.
Here are seven widely available players who can help any team…
Finally, we finally We got the good news we’ve all been waiting for about one of MLB’s biggest prospects…
Sources: James Wood will be called up to debut in DC with the Nats on Monday. The long wait is over. Wood will play his first major league game against the Mets at Nats Park in three days.
One of the top prospects in baseball, Wood is hitting .346 with a 1.036 OPS at Triple-A.
-Grant Paulsen (@granthpaulsen) June 28, 2024
Wood is slashing an absurd .346/.458/.578 in Rochester with 10 home runs and 10 steals, so there isn’t much left for him to prove at any minor league level. He’s a potential five-category contributor who shouldn’t worry about playing time – he’s crushing lefties and righties equally well — and probably won’t be buried at the bottom of the batting order. Wood was probably already rostered in bigger competitive leagues and now deserves a spot in any format. It is a potential difference maker, an automatic aggregator. Go get it.
Mark Vientos, 1B/3B, New York Mets (38%)
This gentleman hit three homers in two games this week against the Cubs and Yankees, respectively, and was yet only rostered in about a third of Yahoo leagues. This is pure negligence, folks. If you’re not already a believer… well, we’re running out of talking points. Vientos offers multiple position eligibility, significant power upside and is currently batting .298. He has driven in five runs in the last three games and has hit nine bombs on the year. If you don’t like this type of player, you’re probably enjoying a ridiculously successful fantasy season.
Bader is in crisis right now for a team they seemingly can’t lose. He is 6-for-12 with two steals, two homers and five runs scored over the last three games, increasing his average to .275. He is up to 11 steals on the year and should have 10-12 more to go. We would certainly prefer to see him bat higher than ninth in the batting order, but he has managed to stay productive. Add if you’re looking for a power/speed combo plate.
Horwitz has become a recurring cast member in our exemption feature because A) he just keeps raking it in and B) few of you seem to care.
He’s reaching base at an absurd rate for the Jays, delivering an on-base percentage well north of .400, which is actually in line with his recent minor league history – he was hitting .335/.456/.514 at Triple-A before your promotion. Horwitz has respectable power and is in a prime position in the batting order, just ahead of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. He is a must-have player for anyone in a league that uses OBP, or for any manager looking for a boost in the middle from Camp.
OK, this might be a bad idea, so I apologize in advance if it doesn’t work. Garver has struck out 80 times in 69 games this season and is batting just .178. Not good. There are definitely some problems here.
But Garver also hit safely in four consecutive games, with two home runs included, serving as Seattle’s DH. He’s always been the type of player who hits home runs in droves, so we may be in the early days of a binge. Furthermore, we should also note that he has been a very best second-half hitter (.896 OPS) throughout his career. Let’s not give up on him yet.
In fact, Olson scored a rare victory – just his second of the season – in his most recent start against the White Sox. But his 2-8 record doesn’t accurately reflect the level of his year-to-date performance. Olson was simply a victim of woeful race support. He’ll carry a 3.35 ERA, a 1.19 WHIP, and a respectable 20.7 K% into his next weekend against the Angels, so he certainly deserves fantasy consideration. Olson currently ranks among the MLB leaders in ground ball rate (51.2%) and HR/9 (0.43), so there’s a lot to like about his profile.
Sean Manaea, SP, New York Mets (22%)
Manaea is coming off a scoreless but messy 5-inning win against the Yankees on Wednesday (2 H, 5 BB, 3 K), dropping his ERA to a respectable 3.89. The Mets are obviously rolling these days and the veteran lefty is striking out one batter per inning as usual. The schedule is about to take a friendly turn for this team; Manaea’s next four games should be against the Nationals, Pirates, Rockies (in NY) and Marlins.
