The MLB trade deadline has led to many players becoming hot commodities on the waiver wire. And we still have the usual mix of red-hot players and those who are heading into favorable upcoming schedules. Here is the best dozen of a large group of players to consider adding in your fantasy baseball leagues ahead of the weekend.
By being traded to Arizona, Bell has plenty of immediate value. He moves from the worst offense in the National League to the best, and he will replace injured Christian Walker as Arizona’s first baseman while also hitting in the heart of the lineup. Bell has also swung a hot bat of late, having homered five times in his past seven games.
Suddenly, Birdsong is a hot commodity in fantasy leagues. The youngster struck out 20 batters in his past two starts (albeit, with both games coming against Colorado), which prompted the Giants to clear space in their rotation by trading Alex Cobb to Cleveland. Among starters on the waiver wire, no one saw their value climb more in the past week than Birdsong.
Eugenio Suárez (3B, Arizona Diamondbacks, 50%)
Suárez is a streaky hitter who strikes out too often, but his performance in July cannot be ignored. The slugger homered 10 times last month, driving in 27 runs, scoring 21 times and batting .333. Suárez was a complete fantasy dud until July started, having accumulated no more than two homers in any previous month, which is a strong indicator that his usefulness will soon end. But until that happens, he needs to be rostered in category leagues (his strikeout rate is prohibitive in points formats).
Although Loperfido’s Minor League success hasn’t yet translated to the majors, it’s far too early to give up on someone with 111 at-bats. After all, we are talking about a player who produced 25 homers, 27 steals and a .880 OPS in the minors last year before logging a .933 OPS in 39 games this season. The Astros didn’t commit to the 25-year-old as a full-time player, which is something the retooling Blue Jays will do down the stretch.
Managers who are looking to stash a player for next week should target Bader. The Mets will play seven games next week, including three contests at hitter-friendly Coors Field against the worst pitching staff in baseball. Bader has been a solid five-category contributor this season, batting .265 with eight homers and 14 steals.
Managers have been slow to add Hays, who is much more valuable now that he is a member of the Phillies. The outfield logjam in Baltimore…