With just a few days until the trade deadline, this is the last week that the waiver wire will be quiet. With some trades expected over the next few days, a lot of young players will be called up, and some veterans will lose playing time. The waiver wire will be active after the deadline, so be sure to add a few players before the storm. Keep one eye on the wire at all times, because you never know who could be available.
Whether it is a free agent pool, a budget-based system, or weekly waivers, playing the wire is a key element to winning your fantasy baseball leagues.
Without further ado, let’s play the waiver wire:
With the waiver wire running thin and most teams having their teams set, there are only a few players worth adding for the stretch run. Josh Reddick is one of them.
Since returning from the disabled list, Reddick has been one of the better hitters in fantasy baseball. He has 13 hits in 15 starts for a batting average of well over .300. He has raised his season average over 30 points since he returned to the A’s lineup, and he will be an important part of the Athletics’ chances of winning a World Series.
So far this season, Reddick is hitting .259 with 31 runs scored, eight home runs, 31 runs batted in and he has stolen one base. But since his return from the disabled list, he has four home runs, five doubles, seven runs batted in and 10 runs scored in 39 at-bats. Is he finally healthy? It seems like it, but why will he help you win your league?
Reddick is available in over 60 percent of fantasy leagues, and in the outfield there is no one left on the waiver wire that has outplayed him since his return from the disabled list. Also, in his last 39 at-bats, there are only a few players with a higher batting average in the same time frame. We know he has power, we know he will score runs, he has the ability to drive runs in to. But the question is not his potential, can he do it?
Reddick is hitting the ball hard at a rate of 20.6 percent, which is right around his career average. He is also hitting ground balls at a rate of 33.7, which is very low relative to other hitters in the game. His BABIP is below .300, which is greatly attributed to his fly ball rate, and even high infield pop up rate, which is a high 13.8. What does that mean for the future?
Considering Reddick has been a different player since returning from injury, his line drive percentage is higher, his BABIP is higher, and his production is higher. Hitting in a lineup that reaches base at a .327 clip as a team will help Reddick in terms of driving runs in, and considering the A’s are hitting .272 with men on base will help Reddick score a lot of runs. The one category he will not help is stolen bases, but there are plenty of other options that can fill that void. Add Reddick as your fourth or fifth outfielder, and reap the benefits of a four-category player off the waiver wire.
