Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Adds: Week 5
It's waiver time. One of the keys to any fantasy success is not only nailing your draft, but scouring that waiver wire for players who can give your team a boost. Even though fantasy baseball can be a really long season, it's key to scour those waivers and take it week-by-week to cement your fantasy status.
The four players below are all owned in fewer than 50% of Yahoo leagues and could give your team a lift as you start off the season. It's never too early to consider some adds and drops for your team.
Michael Chavis - Boston Red Sox (2B/3B)
Even if Michael Chavis weren't a stud baseball prospect, his name alone would make him worth owning:
Not enough people talk about the fact that Chavis’s middle name is Scott, making him Michael Scott (Chavis). pic.twitter.com/yXbk6bMJkq
— Boston Red Sox (@RedSox) April 27, 2019
All of that aside, dude can ball. The Boston Red Sox needed someone at the key stone position with the 1,000-year-old Dustin Pedroia hitting the Injured List, and the baseball-smashing Chavis is ready to step in as part of a potent lineup.
If you are unfamiliar with Chavis, peep these minor league numbers -- and 89-run, 31-homer, 94-RBI season in 2017, and he blasted nine more jacks in an injury-riddled 2018 season, spanning just 194 plate appearances.
Chavis has flashed a solid batting eye as well, and he's already walked six times across 27 plate appearances in the bigs. If you need help at third base or corner infield, look at Chavis.
Mike Tauchman - New York Yankees (OF)
As part of a very quiet trade just before the regular season started, Mike Tauchman was traded to the New York Yankees. Who knew how key that small trade really was.
So far, the Yankees have had a veritable All-Star team on the Injured List -- Luis Severino, Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Hicks, Didi Gregorius, Clint Frazier, and Miguel Andujar are all on there today, and Gary Sanchez just returned from an injury.
In steps the slugging Tauchman, who can provide plenty of juice to fantasy lineups. In Triple-A as part of the Colorado Rockies organization, Tauchman ripped 20 homers in 471 plate appearances, and added 12 steals for good measure.
If you are struggling to field a healthy lineup, Tauchman is a great option.
Emilio Pagan - Tampa Bay Rays (RP)
Yahoo Ownership: 26%
Another week, and another spin on the closer carousel. With Jose Alvarado dealing with some arm issues (although he did actually pitch last night), Emilio Pagan recorded his third save for the Tampa Bay Rays this week as the Rays have sprinted out ahead in the AL East.
Some deets about Pagan -- he's got all of the peripherals you beg for in a closer. He has a silly strikeout rate (34.8% this year) and an absurd 19.2% swinging-strike rate.
He does allow a lot of fly-balls (55.2% career rate), but he sports a solid 5.8% career walk rate, so any home run could be of the solo variety. Pitching on a team that looks primed to win a lot of baseball games, Pagan is an easy add right now if your bullpen needs some help.
Mike Soroka - Atlanta Braves (SP)
In the blood bath known as the NL East, the Atlanta Braves are trying to keep pace with their fellow juggernauts, and they've called up pitching ace Mike Soroka to help shore up their rotation.
Soroka has posted strong strikeout numbers along his minor league career, besting 19.9% in each one. In a small sample size this season the righty owns a 26.5% strikeout rate and 11.1% swinging-strike rate. That supports his 10.4% swinging-strike rate across 25 2/3 innings in a cup of coffee in the majors last year.
Soroka also owns elite control numbers -- he has a career big league walk rate of 7.4%, and in every stop of the minors, he was below 6.0%. That's cray.
Now don't ignore the risk of Soroka getting sent down, either -- Braves management appears a bit fickle in naming their rotation, as both Bryse Wilson and Touki Toussaint have been shuffled to Triple-A Gwinnett following poor starts.
If your rotation needs some help though, Soroka could be a nice add.
