If your fantasy baseball team is off to a slow start offensively, don’t worry too much yet.
There’s still hope residing on the waiver wire. Fantasy baseball’s waiver wire offers tremendous upside in that players can get hot for a period of time, giving top-notch production to your lineup that is rarely seen in fantasy football.
The downside of fantasy baseball, though, is players are on the waiver wire for a reason, so the consistency is not there. When the production goes downhill, it goes quickly.
If you’re in the market for some waiver wire action, check out these three position players on the week 4 fantasy baseball waiver wire.
Teoscar Hernandez, OF, Toronto Blue Jays
This could be just a minor blip on the fantasy baseball radar, but it’s hard to ignore Hernandez in recent days.
In just eight games, he has three home runs, 10 RBI and is batting .343.
That’s an incredible eight-game run that is unlikely to remain at that level, but Hernandez offers hope in that he’s young, and he could come close to that production on a consistent basis.
This is only his third season in the Major Leagues, so there’s not enough evidence to know how drastic the downturn will be. If he can stay relatively close to those numbers for a decent duration, he’s an easy add on the waiver wire.
Marcus Semien, SS, Oakland A’s
Oakland’s offense is hot, so it’s natural to consider some A’s in fantasy baseball.
Semien has been one of the best shortstops this season in terms of overall production, notching three homers, 13 RBI, two stolen bases and scoring 20 runs. His 20 runs are the most by any shortstop this season.
When he last played a full season (he missed almost half of last year) he tallied 27 home runs, 75 RBI and 72 runs. It’s not out of the ordinary for him to be productive in multiple categories.
His career batting average is .248, so his current mark of .270 will drop, but he’s been one of the better shortstops out of the gate and is only owned in 36 percent of fantasy baseball leagues on ESPN.
Michael Brantley, OF, Cleveland Indians
When healthy, Brantley is a high-average, multi-category producer in fantasy baseball.
The problem in the past few years is that he hasn’t seen the field, so be cautious with this early production.
Brantley has been hot to start the season, hitting .320 to go along with eight RBI in just 12 games. If he can stay on the field, his lifetime batting average of .293 is a nice number off the waiver wire.
At his best, he’s an over .300 hitter, who can not only score runs, but also drive in runs and hit homers. Even if we expect a little less, he’s a definite add on the waiver wire. Just don’t expect him to suit up for the entire year.
