With the calendar set to flip to July soon, here are five guys to take a look at on your fantasy baseball waiver wire for the coming week.
5. Houston Astros 1B A.J. Reed
Reed made his major league debut Saturday night, and went 0-for-2 with two walks, an RBI and two runs scored. But he hit 34 home runs between High Single-A and Double-A in 2015, with 11 more round trippers in 59 Triple-A games this year, so Reed is well worth a look in NL-only and deeper mixed leagues.
Yahoo! Ownership: 31%
4. Milwaukee Brewers SP Zach Davies
His last outing was a bit short (three runs allowed over five innings), but Davies has 22 strikeouts and just three walks over his last three starts and he has allowed two runs or less in seven of his last nine starts. His ownership rate is slowly rising in Yahoo! leagues, but Davies is a mixed league asset and there’s still an opportunity to grab him.
Yahoo! Ownership: 47%
3. Tampa Bay Rays SP Alex Cobb
Here’s an add and stash for the week, as Cobb is working his way back from Tommy John surgery and is on track to return in late-July. A slow start is possible, with a pitch count likely to limit how deep is allowed to go in games. But Cobb’s peripherals from when we last saw him in 2014 (8.1 K/9, 56 percent ground ball rate) point to him being a factor for fantasy owners when it matters the most.
Yahoo! Ownership: 12%
2. Philadelphia Phillies SP Jerad Eickhoff
Over five June starts (31.3 innings) , Eickhoff has a 2.01 ERA with 27:9 K/BB ratio. Dating back to mid-May, he has gone at least six innings in seven of eight starts with a 2.50 ERA and a 41:13 K/BB ratio over that span. Piling up wins will be tough pitching for a bad Phillies’ team, but Eickhoff is otherwise in line to be a solid fantasy contributor.
Yahoo! Ownership: 45%
1. St. Louis Cardinals RP Seung Hwan Oh
After blowing a save Friday night, and with an ERA over 14.00 over his last 10 outings, Trevor Rosenthal has been removed from the closer role for the Cardinals. Manager Mike Matheny has suggested a committee approach going forward, with Hwan Oh, Kevin Siegrist and Jonathan Broxton in the mix for save chances. All three should be on radar of fantasy owners, but I’m leaning toward Hwan Oh (51:8 K/BB ratio, 1.66 ERA and 14 holds this season) right now.
Yahoo! Ownership: 37%