As the first full week of June gets rolling , here are five players to consider adding off your fantasy baseball waiver wire.
5. San Diego Padres OF Melvin Upton
Upton is carrying the family tradition of striking out a lot (54 times this season, with just 19 walks), and he won’t help much in batting average as a result (.243 this season). But otherwise he has been useful to fantasy owners so far this season, with six home runs, 23 RBI, 24 runs scored and 12 stolen bases.
Yahoo! Ownership: 31%
4. Arizona Diamondbacks 3B Jake Lamb
Lamb hit his 10th home run of the season on Saturday, and he also has 32 RBI, 28 runs scored and a solid slash-line (.277/.359/.538). He has the look of a platoon player (.313 against right-handers, .118 against left-handers so far this season), but Lamb is worth a roster spot in mixed leagues.
Yahoo! Ownership: 48%
3. Milwaukee Brewers RP Will Smith
After a spring training knee injury, Smith made his season debut on Thursday and he has a win and a hold in two appearances. Jeremy Jeffress has 15 saves for the Brewers, but Smith could enter the mix for save opportunities at some point and he’s worth adding now based on that alone.
Yahoo! Ownership: 30%
2. Los Angeles Dodgers SP Julio Urias
Urias has not looked good in his first two major league starts, with a 9.39 ERA, seven strikeouts and five walks over 7.2 innings in two tough matchups against the New York Mets and Chicago Cubs. But he will get another opportunity on Tuesday, and though I can’t recommend deploying him right away the 19-year old is roster-worthy in mixed leagues.
Yahoo! Ownership: 34%
1. Los Angeles Angels SP Matt Shoemaker
Over his last three starts (22.2 innings), Shoemaker has 31 strikeouts, zero walks and a 1.59 ERA. Those three numbers are not very sustainable over the long haul, but fantasy owners can never have enough pitching and Shoemaker is a worthy addition.
Yahoo! Ownership: 34%