Mid-August is upon us, and here are five players to look to add in fantasy baseball heading into the coming week.
5-Seattle Mariners C Mike Zunino
Zunino has cooled off over the past week, but he still has six home runs and 12 RBI over 52 at-bats with the Mariners this year, and he has become the team’s primary catcher. The former top prospect should not be overlooked down the stretch, particularly in AL-only leagues.
Yahoo! Ownership: 6%
4-Colorado Rockies RP Adam Ottavino
Ottavino made this list a month ago as a speculative add for saves, and he recently stepped into the closer role for the Rockies. Those of you that paid attention in mid-July can thank me later, provided it works out, but there’s still a good opportunity to add Ottavino right now.
Yahoo! Ownership: 46%
3-Baltimore Orioles 3B/1B/DH Pedro Alvarez
Three home runs in two games a little over a week ago put Alvarez on the radar, but he has been a solid power source for fantasy owners this year (18 home runs, .839 OPS over 252 at-bats). Lack of position utility hurts him at the bit on the surface, with just 11 games at third base this season, but carry-over from 2015 makes Alvarez eligible at first base too (124 games).
Yahoo! Ownership: 29%
2-Minnesota Twins RP Brandon Kintzler
Kintzler converted his third save in the last week Saturday night, and he now has 11 saves with a 1.86 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP (24:3 K/BB ratio) over 38.2 innings this season. If the Twins continue to win a fair amount of games, Kintzler can be a difference maker for fantasy owners from here on out.
Yahoo! Ownership: 41%
1-Milwaukee Brewers IF/OF Hernan Perez
Since July 15, Perez is hitting .340 with five home runs, 19 RBI, 19 runs scored and 10 stolen bases (11 attempts). Some good fortune (.397 BABIP) accounts for that breakout, but Perez has been a high-level contributor in the five traditional fantasy categories over the past month , and he’s eligible at third base (43 games this season), outfield (25 games this year) and second base (19 games in 2015) in Yahoo! leagues. Outfielder Domingo Santana may return from an elbow issue sometime soon, but Perez has a spot in the Brewers’ lineup until further notice as his ownership slowly but surely climbs.
Yahoo! Ownership: 61%