The final weekend of games before the All-Star break is here and it’s amazing how fast the first half has gone. The lockout seems like a lifetime ago. I can’t stress enough that fantasy owners should take advantage of the few days off as well.
Analyze your roster, see where you need to make improvements via trades or the waiver wire to give you a big push for the stretch run, but then take a couple of days off. It’s been a grind since March. The next two and a half months will be the most important in order to win a championship.
Waiver-Wire Targets:
San Diego Padres Second Baseman Esteury Ruiz — The 23-year-old has been promoted due to Jurickson Profar landing on the injured list. Ruiz has taken advantage through three games. He has already collected four hits, but the most intriguing part of Ruiz’s game is his speed. The youngster had 60 stolen bases prior to his promotion and has already attempted two in his short time in the majors, being successful once. Ruiz did have 13 home runs this season in the minors, but I’m not sure we can rely on the power. The speed is legit and even more important, Ruiz is playing the outfield so should gain eligibility shortly if he hasn’t already in some leagues. The positional flexibility along with the speed makes Ruiz a strong fantasy target.
Texas Rangers Reliever Brett Martin — If you are chasing saves, Martin is a target. The left-hander has earned three saves since July 8 and has not allowed an earned run since May 29. We can’t argue about the production even if the strikeouts aren’t where we would like from a late-inning option. Martin may be one bad outing from losing his role as closer, but for now, we’ll ride the hot wave and the opportunity to earn saves for our fantasy team.
Miami Marlins Starting Pitcher Max Meyer — The Marlins are still in position to make a run for one of the wild-card spots during the next couple of months thanks to strong starting pitching. They look to continue that trend by bringing up their first-round pick in 2020. Meyer was selected third overall that year and has pitched well throughout his brief minor league career. The right-hander was pitching to a 3.72 ERA in Triple-A prior to his promotion and averaged 10.1 strikeouts per nine innings. There’s still debate about whether Meyer eventually ends up in the bullpen, but the 23-year-old has shown the ability to rack up strikeouts and induce ground balls. We know the risks with young players, but the talent is there and the strikeouts should be as well.
Texas Rangers Outfielder Leody Tavares — Another young player who is on the fantasy radar is the 23-year-old Tavares. The outfielder is batting .338 with two home runs, 13 RBIs, 12 runs scored and four stolen bases in 27 games. Tavares struggled in two previous stints in the big leagues but is off to a nice start this season. Tavares has shown the power-and-speed combination in the minors that we like, and I’m not judging what he did in the big leagues at the ages of 21 and 22. I don’t know if Tavares has figured it out, but I’m willing to take a chance and find out about him.