Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Adds: Week 4
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.
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.
Roenis Elias - Seattle Mariners (RP)
When closer Hunter Strickland hit the injured list, the Seattle Mariners' closing situation got a bit murky, but after the last few days, Roenis Elias looks like he has grabbed the job.
Elias has earned four saves so far this season, but rostering him comes with a word of caution. If you are looking for a high-leverage reliever who can provide a ton of strikeouts, this ain't your man. Over 13 2/3 innings pitched, he's recorded a below-average 17.5% strikeout rate paired with a 10.9% swinging-strike rate.
But saves are a commodity you can't ignore, so if you're light on saves, peep Elias.
Ryan McMahon - Colorado Rockies (1B/2B)
If Ryan McMahon of the Colorado Rockies is on the waiver wire in one of your leagues, run immediately and pick up this lefty masher.
In his first game back (Thursday) from the injured list, he launched two long balls and drove in five runs. He is sporting a robust .242 isolated power (ISO) early on this season, and his 13.2% walk rate provides plenty of cover if you're playing in an on-base percentage (OBP) format.
Back and hitting in premium spot in the Rockies order, go grab McMahon, just know that he probably won't see much time against lefties.
Frankie Montas - Oakland Athletics (SP)
Yahoo Ownership: 40%
Need some starting pitching help? Me and you both, brothers and sisters. While the more-heralded Jesus Luzardo grabbed the headlines this offseason for the Oakland Athletics, Frankie Montas is the one stealing the show during the season.
Over 23 1/3 innings, spanning his first four starts, Montas has been brilliant with a 3.78 skill-interactive ERA (SIERA), including a solid 21.7% strikeout rate and 6.5% walk rate. Montas posted some monster strikeouts rates in the minors, so this isn't totally out of nowhere.
Diving into Montas's pitch mix, his off-speed offerings have been downright unhittable. Featuring a slider and splitter, Montas has allowed only a .125 ISO on his slider and an even-better .071 ISO on his splitter, including a silly 16.4% swinging-strike rate.
With so many balls flying out of the yard these days, inflating staff ERA's across fantasy, Montas seems like a legit arm we want to own.
Caleb Smith - Miami Marlins (SP)
Let's stay focused on pitching and turn our attention to another hurler. He may not get many wins due to his team, but Caleb Smith of the Miami Marlins is putting on a show in the early goings of 2019.
The lefty sports a 2.35 ERA over 23 innings pitched. But just wait -- Smith provides the multi-category goodness we crave out of starting pitching as he owns a 33.3% strikeout rate, 14.8% swinging-strike rate, and 30.8% hard-hit rate.
If you're having trouble buying in, let his numbers do the talking. Among qualified starting pitchers, Smith ranks seventh in strikeout rate, eighth in SIERA, and 11th in swinging-strike rate. He posted a 27.0% strikeout rate, 11.6% swinging-strike rate and 4.08 SIERA across 77 1/3 frames in an injury-shortened 2018 campaign, so he's flashed before.
Nothing about his current profile screams fluke, so if Smith is floating around on your waiver wire, go fix that.
