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 9-4-15 Waiver Wire Report.
Pittsburgh Pirates (98.4% Chance) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (100% Chance)
What’s At Stake: The Pirates are looking to close the gap in the NL Central while the Cardinals look to extend their lead.
Player Spotlight:
J.A. Happ, SP, Pittsburgh Pirates
Happ was traded to the Pirates at the trade deadline to help bolster their roster for the stretch run. This move has paid off as he is 3-1 with a 1.98 ERA in his first five starts with the Pirates. While he’s unlikely to keep his ERA around this level for the long term, he is more than capable of having an ERA better than the 4.10 total that he has overall this season.
While his K/9 has dipped this season, he hasn’t had the best luck as opposing batters have a .319 BABIP which is 26 points above his career total and his FIP currently stands at 3.81 indicating that even if he cools off, he should still give you some productive starts.
Jaime Garcia, SP, St. Louis Cardinals
The last few seasons has seen Garcia miss a lot of playing time due to injury. This season, he has done his part to make up for this lost time as he is 7-4 with a 2.03 ERA in 14 starts. While Garcia is capable of being an asset to the Cardinals down the stretch (3.02 FIP), he could also be a good sell-high candidate.
Even if he continues to pitch well, his value is unlikely to get any higher than it is today. He has been the beneficiary of good fortune as opposing hitters have a .249 BABIP against him (.300 career) and his strikeout totals have actually gone in the wrong direction (6.19 K/9 this year versus 7.07 for his career). Despite this Garcia is a solid fantasy option; I’m just not so sure he is an elite fantasy option.
Minnesota Twins (30.9% Chance) vs. Houston Astros (88.4% Chance)
What’s At Stake: The Twins are in the middle of the AL Wild Card Race and the Astros are looking to hold off the Rangers for the AL West Title
Player Spotlight:
Eduardo Escobar, SS, 3B, OF, Minnesota Twins
Escobar had himself a very solid month of August as he hit .295 with four HR and has hit well over the first couple days of September. As he starts to get picked up by more owners, you will need to step back and ask whether he can keep the strong performance going into September.
I’m taking a more skeptical look at this and saying no. Over the course of 1,132 career PA, he has not displayed much of an upside as he has a .258 career AVG, has never hit for much power and rarely steals any bases. His recent hot streak is nice but looking at the big picture, there is not much about Escobar from the fantasy perspective that is very enticing.
Lance McCullers, SP, Houston Astros
The emergence of the Astros has been one of the best stories of the season and McCullers has played a role in this process.
Despite his struggles in August, McCullers is having a very strong rookie season. While he is 5-5, there is also much more that goes into wins and losses besides actual performance. His ERA/FIP totals are still very strong (3.21/2.99) and he has been a strong source of strikeouts this season (9.33 K/9).
Prior to August, McCullers had demonstrated enough promise to indicate that his future is extremely bright (he’s only 21) and he has shown enough talent to be an asset to Fantasy Owners as we head into September.
Playoff Odds and Stats through 9/2/15
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