The early season fantasy baseball waiver wire is never a reliable source for continued production during the season.
The Major League Baseball season is a long, winding road of ups and downs, and the players who didn’t get drafted before the season began, can provide hope with a hot start. Some will provide the longevity desired by fantasy baseball owners.
Some will not. Here’s three early waiver wire players to pump the brakes on before putting them on your roster.
Kevin Pillar, OF, Toronto Blue Jays
I love speed for my fantasy baseball team. And Pillar is no stranger to stealing bases.
The problem with Pillar, and the reason why he was passed over in fantasy baseball drafts, is that he can’t get on base. He has three stolen bases already this season and has an on-base percentage of .412.
That’s why he’s being gobbled up at an alarming rate from the waiver wire this season. Is it sustainable? No, because he can’t get on base.
He has a career on-base percentage of .303, with a batting average of .264. If he could get on base or if he played a different position, he would be worth a look on the waiver wire. But he’s an outfielder, surrounded by the deepest talent pool in fantasy baseball.
He may have some moments of producing in the stolen bases and runs category, but it’s not consistent enough to be a regular starter for your lineup.
Yasmani Grandal, C, Los Angeles Dodgers
I’ve been down the Grandal fantasy baseball road before. It’s a scary ride of low batting average, low production and too many strikeouts.
I don’t want to go on that ride again.
Grandal has been good out of the gate for the Dodgers so far this season, hitting .438. He’s even added some production with a home run and three RBI.
Before you jump down that rabbit hole, we have plenty of evidence to show that he’s a strikeout machine and has a lifetime batting average of .241. I know nobody cares about batting average anymore, but that’s still pretty low.
He’s worth keeping an eye on, but I’m not placing him on fantasy baseball rosters just yet with this early season explosion.
Nick Markakis, OF, Atlanta Braves
He’s a great early season story in baseball. Markakis, at the age of 34, already has five RBI in just four games.
At his peak, Markakis was an RBI machine, totaling more than 100 RBI in two of three seasons…10 years ago.
He hasn’t really been that RBI machine since that time, other than a brief moment two years ago with 89 RBI. He’s not bad in batting average or on-base percentage, but that’s about all he can provide for value in fantasy baseball.
If he played a different position, maybe he would be worth an early season flier. He’s stuck in the outfield, though, so there’s just too many other players who can be top-tier in at least one category, diminishing Markakis’ value.
