The grind of the 2018 fantasy baseball season continues. Here’s a look at this week’s must-adds to your respective fantasy baseball roster by way of trade or the waiver wire.
1B Yuli Gurriel (Houston Astros) – Owned in less than 50 percent of most fantasy leagues, Gurriel possesses a powerful bat that could make a dramatic impact to your roster moving forward. This is a guy that hit 18 home runs and batted .299 in 529 at-bats last season. He went mostly undrafted due to breaking his hand during spring training. He has since returned to the active roster and collected three hits in nine plate appearances. One of them reached the cheap seats. Look for his ownership to increase dramatically over the next week. Don’t get left sitting on the sidelines.
CRUSHED. Yuli Gurriel with a big 3-run homer for the @astros pic.twitter.com/Nft9S0Yi68
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) April 14, 2018
OF Franchy Cordero (San Diego Padres) – With both Manuel Margot and Will Myers on the DL, the Padres were forced to call Cordero back up to the big league club in need of outfield help. It could be a blessing when it’s all said and done considering how poor an offensive start the Friars have gotten out to. Save for hitting the long ball, San Diego has struggled at the plate to the tune of a 3.5 run per game scoring average and a .229 team batting average. Launch angle revolutionaries have already fallen in love with Franchy’s ability to hit balls hard into the air. A prime candidate to hit home runs paired with an ability to swipe bases has the fantasy needle pointed up for Franchy!
Why Franchy Cordero is a fantasy sleeper you need https://t.co/qywWbtkBhm
— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) April 14, 2018
OF Teoscar Hernandez (Toronto Blue Jays) – The Randall Grichuk experiment isn’t panning out north of the Border. Upper management has already grown tired of his unproductive ways enough to call the youngster up from Triple-A where he’s produced 20 and 30 stolen base seasons. He also swings a heavy stick, so the possibility of a 20 steal and 20 home run campaign is in the cards provided he receives enough playing time. If you play in a 5-man outfield fantasy league, Teoscar is a no brainer must add for depth if nothing else.
https://twitter.com/BerniePleskoff/status/984978822222065664
3B Nick Senzel (Cincinnati Reds) – The Redlegs start to their 2018 campaign has been nothing short of gross. Competing with the Brewers, Cardinals and Cubs was nothing more than an afterthought heading into it, but now the Pirates have also shown they’ll be a factor. Bottom line, Cincy is going nowhere this season. Heck, maybe for a couple seasons. It’s time to bring up some of the young talent from the farm, and Senzel looks destined to get the call in short order. Especially with Eugenio Suarez out of commission due to a fractured thumb. If you’re in the market to possibly land the next Cody Bellinger for next to nothing, stash him on your fantasy roster now while his ownership percentage is around 10 percent.
#Reds’ third baseman are 1-for-25 with three errors since Suarez got hurt.
— John Fay (@johnfayman) April 15, 2018
SS Aledmys Diaz (Toronto Blue Jays) – If you were unable to land Dansby Swanson or Scott Kingery over the last couple weeks, Diaz could fill-in as a capable waiver wire add should you be looking to fill or improve any of your middle infield spots. Diaz was once a stud playing shortstop for the St. Louis Cardinals, but saw his output take a quick turn for the worse. He looks to have rediscovered his mojo in Toronto, as he now checks in as the No. 12 ranked fantasy shortstop in the game. Before rain shortened the Blue Jays series in Cleveland, he had gone yard in back-to-back games. If in immediate need of a replacement for Elvis Andrus or Xander Bogaerts, you could do a lot worse than this diminutive hot hitter for the time being.
One swing from Aledmys Díaz and the #BlueJays are right back in it.
Watch Blue Jays vs. Indians live on Sportsnet NOW: https://t.co/nDY773b341 pic.twitter.com/atfYrHo1NZ
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 14, 2018
2B Jonathan Schoop (Baltimore Orioles) – The O’s 2-bagger is no doubt currently on someone’s fantasy roster right now. However, he being on the DL has seen him get dropped at a near five percent rate. If he’s not on your league’s waiver wire, you might want to think about sending a semi-enticing offer to his owner and see if they’ve already given up on what I believe to be one of the top-six second baseman the league has to offer. Schoop is dependable in that he puts forth a solid floor. He won’t kill you, and he won’t light things up. If looking for a steady player to add to your roster, Schoop is it and his asking price is currently the lowest it will be all year.
The Orioles have recalled RHP Alex Cobb from Double-A Bowie and placed INF Jonathan Schoop on the 10-day disabled list (right oblique strain). #Birdland
— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) April 14, 2018
Add To Watch List: Aaron Hicks, Francisco Cervelli, Joe Mauer, Jose Pirela, Luis Valbuena, Gleyber Torres, Michael Taylor
