If your fantasy baseball team is off to a slow start, you had better hit the waiver wire and see what’s out there.
There’s more out there than you probably think. A lot of players are off to surprisingly hot starts this season, and relatively few fantasy owners have picked them up yet. Some are worth adding, and some aren’t.
Here’s a rundown of players who are worth adding.
Kyle Drabek, SP, Toronto Blue Jays
Talent has never been an issue when it comes to Kyle Drabek. The question regarding him was whether or not he could be consistent.
So far, so good this season. Drabek has won both of his starts, and he has a 1.42 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP. He has 10 strikeouts in 12.2 innings pitched.
Drabek has excellent stuff, so it’s no real surprise that he’s striking hitters out and holding them to a .200 batting average. He had just one walk in his most recent start against the Baltimore Orioles, in which he went 7.1 innings.
Despite his hot start, Drabek is owned in just 18 percent of Yahoo! leagues and in just 3.4 percent of ESPN leagues. Given his high ceiling, he should be owned on a lot more teams than that.
Chris Iannetta, C, Los Angeles Angels
The perfect fantasy catcher is one who hits for both average and power.
Meet Chris Iannetta. Every fantasy owner should know who he is by now, but a lot of owners apparently haven’t noticed that Iannetta is hitting .308 with a pair of home runs and eight RBI.
Both of Iannetta’s dingers came at Yankee Stadium, as well as four of his RBI. However, he was off to a hot start even before the Angels got to New York.
With catchers, you oftentimes have to be content to ride the hot hand. Until further notice, Iannetta has a hot hand, and he’s owned in just 31 percent of Yahoo! leagues and 4.3 percent of ESPN leagues.
Nolan Reimold, OF, Baltimore Orioles
The entire Orioles offense has been on fire to start the season, and Nolan Reimold has been right in the middle of it.
So far this season, Reimold is hitting .353 with three home runs and a .706 slugging percentage. He enters Tuesday with a seven-game hit streak.
Reimold’s hot start is not a huge fluke. Remember, he had a solid rookie season in 2009, when he hit .279 with 15 home runs. He had issues in 2010 and 2011, but he’s looked every bit like the player we expected he would be back in 2009.
Reimold is owned in just 21 percent of Yahoo! leagues and 2.5 percent of ESPN leagues.
Jordan Schafer, OF, Houston Astros
Need speed? I recommend giving Jordan Schafer a look.
Schafer is already up to five stolen bases this season, and he’s also scored nine runs. He isn’t hitting for a high average, but he’s doing a good job of drawing walks to get on base.
Schafer won’t do much besides steal bases and score runs, but those are two categories that a lot of owners tend to overlook. Schafer can help you there, and he’s particularly valuable in NL-only leagues.
Schafer is owned in 43 percent of Yahoo! leagues and 43.3 percent of ESPN leagues.
Jake Westbrook, SP, St. Louis Cardinals
Jake Westbrook has lasted exactly seven innings in each of his first two starts, and he’s allowed exactly one earned run.
Westbrook isn’t doing anything fancy. He’s not striking hitters out, but he’s getting a ton of ground balls, as he is wont to do. His sinker is working again after it abandoned him in 2011.
Westbrook is obviously not going to be able to maintain a 0.64 ERA. His numbers are going to level out. However, it must be kept in mind that Westbrook has the National League’s best offense at his back, so picking up him is a chance to get some cheap wins.
Westbrook is owned in 12 percent of Yahoo! leagues and 11.1 percent of ESPN leagues.
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