Today, we are going to take a quick glance at some series this weekend where there is some post-season hope at stake for both teams involved (as defined as having at least a 20% chance to make the post-season. We will give a quick glance at what’s at stake for both teams and highlight a player from each team who has recently been getting an increase in Fantasy Baseball attention. With that in mind, here is the 8-28-15 Waiver Wire Report.
St. Louis Cardinals (99.8% Chance) vs. San Francisco Giants (33.1% Chance)
What’s At Stake:
The Cardinals are looking to hold off the Pirates & Cubs for the NL Central lead and the Giants are chasing the Dodgers in the NL West and looking to make up some ground in the Wild Card Race.
Player Spotlight:
Stephen Piscotty, 3B, OF, St. Louis Cardinals
Piscotty has been hitting the cover off the ball since being called up from Triple-A. In 33 games, he is hitting .316 with four HR and a 140 wRC+.
Despite the strong start, there are a couple of red flags indicating that he may be in for some regression. His BABIP is currently at .384 and in the minors, his batting averages were solid but not as spectacular (typically in the .275-.300 range).
One thing that sticks out as a red flag is that he has not drawn very many walks so far as he has a 4.3% Walk Rate. It is possible this could improve as he gains experience as he had much higher Walk Rates in the minors. However, this will be something that will need to be watched closely. One thing he has done well is hit the ball hard. His Hard% currently stands at 37.8. With enough plate appearances to qualify, that would put him 14th in the majors, right above Ryan Braun.
Ryan Vogelsong, SP, RP San Francisco Giants
If the Giants are going to play their way back into the playoffs, they will likely need Vogelsong to have a strong finish to this season. So far, he has put up underwhelming results overall as he has a 4.05 ERA/4.66 FIP and he will need to pitch better than he did in his last start against the Pirates.
The silver lining is that he could be utilized in Fantasy based on the matchup for any given start. He has pitched well at home this season, where he has a 2.88 ERA and despite his last start, he has a 3.33 ERA since the All-Star Break.
Chicago Cubs (85.9% Chance) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (72.2% Chance)
What’s At Stake: The Cubs are looking to tighten their grip on the second Wild Card spot while the Dodgers are looking to hold off the Giants in the NL West.
Player Spotlight:
Chris Coghlan, OF, Chicago Cubs
While much of the spotlight on the Cubs hitters has been on the emergence of young players such as Kris Bryant and Kyle Schwarber, Coghlan is quietly having a solid season. While he is only hitting .249 he has already reached career highs in HR (15) and SB (11).
His power his picked up lately as he has seven HR in 119 PA since the All-Star break. In terms of what can be expected going forward, he could be solid source for stolen bases as he has shown strong totals in this area in the minors. However, his HR/FB rate if 16.1% is well above his career total of 8.7% indicating that the power numbers are likely to slow down at some point.
Chase Utley, 2B, Los Angeles Dodgers
One of the many moves made down the stretch by the Dodgers was to trade for Utley. It is safe to say that this season has not gone as planned for Utley as he is only hitting .213 with five HR. Part of this can be explained by bad luck as he has a BABIP of .224 this season (career total is .300).
However, before going aboard the bad luck, BABIP train, it also needs to be noted that this is also being combined with the effects of aging. On the power side, this is the second straight season where is HR/FB rate has been slightly below 6%, indicating that his decrease in power last year was not a fluke. Even more concerning, the quality of contact he has made has also decreased, his hard contact rate of 26.6% is on pace to be his lowest total since 2003.
Houston Astros (96% Chance) vs. Minnesota Twins (26% Chance)
What’s At Stake: The Astros are looking to hold off the Angels and Rangers for the AL West and the Twins are in the midst of the AL Wild Card Race
Player Spotlight:
Mike Fiers, SP, Houston Astros
In the trade that brought Carlos Gomez and Fiers to the Astors, the spotlight was primarily placed on Gomez. However, Fiers has made a positive impact since coming over to the Astros as he has a 2.42 ERA this month and is coming off a No-Hitter against a very strong Dodgers team.
While his ERA/FIP numbers are respectable but not great (3.63 ERA/3.73 FIP), you should not be scared off by these totals. These numbers are inflated by a slow start to the season (5.79 ERA in April). On a month by month basis, his ERA has improved consistently as the season has gone on. Even if he does give up some runs, he will at least help you with strikeouts as he has a K/9 of 9.13.
Byron Buxton, OF, Minnesota Twins
Buxton is one of the many promising prospects coming up through the Twins system. His career got off to a slow start as he hit .189 in 11 games in June. However, things have gone better during the month of August as he has hit .300 in six games this month.
Buxton is still only 21 years old and has a bright future ahead of him. However, I’m not convinced that he will help your team in the short term. First of all, his plate discipline has left a lot to be desired so far as he has only walked in 4.2% of his plate appearances while striking out in 32.4% of his appearances. In addition, he has a BABIP of .364 despite only hitting .239 and while he did steal lots of bases in the minor leagues, he has not hit for very much power.
Main Photo
