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12-Team Mixed

David Peralta, OF, Arizona Diamondbacks

After seeing some time on the bench because of a little end-of-April slump, Peralta has triple slashed .317/.377/.633 in May and now has a .290/.346/.580 line for the year. The converted pitcher can really hit and has shown his ability to do so with lots of line drives and hard contact in 2015. While there are currently too many bodies for all of Arizona’s outfield spots between Mark Trumbo, A.J. Pollock, Peralta, and Ender Inciarte, Peralta has been playing consistently against righties of late. When he does play, Peralta has been batting fourth behind Paul Goldschmidt and his .454 on-base percentage. With Trumbo and Pollock heading towards arbitration and their injury histories, a trade or injury could spell even more playing time for Peralta in the second half.

Rubby De La Rosa, SP, Arizona Diamondbacks

The stuff has never been a question for De La Rosa, but he is finally throwing strikes with some consistency. While his pitch mix is virtually unchanged from last season, he is attacking the zone more and doing so with increased velocity on his four-seam fastball and slider. And while his 4.38 ERA and home field might still be scaring away some owners, his 24.8 percent strikeout rate and 1.16 WHIP indicate potential for improved future performance. Sometimes it takes a while for pitchers with big stuff to harness that stuff or at least figure out how to make it work at the major-league level. De La Rosa might never do so, but the upside and recent indicators make him worth a flier in 12-team leagues if the need is there.

15-Team Mixed

Jung-Ho Kang, SP, Pittsburg Pirates

Jordy Mercer and Josh Harrison have been bad and Kang has been good—albeit in only 53 plate appearances. While this may not mean everyday playing time for Kang, it should mean regular or at least near-regular playing time. The power he displayed in Korea have not shown up yet, but he has managed a very nice .318/.367/.455 triple slash that is backed by an 8.2 percent walk rate and a 20.4 percent strikeout rate. Given the current state of the shortstop position, there should be teams in 15-team mixed leagues giving Kang a look.

Chase Anderson, SP, Arizona Diamondbacks

Anderson’s last two starts—13 innings of one run ball against the Dodgers (in LA) and Padres (in AZ)—have dropped his ERA to 2.97 and WHIP to 1.10 for the year. This also means that Anderson was less effective earlier in the season, which seemingly made him a popular drop candidate given his current ownership rates. While his strikeouts are down a touch in 2015, this has been more than offset by a decrease in walks. The ERA is likely to regress into the mid 3s, but that still makes for a useful pitcher in 15-team mixed leagues.

AL-ONLY

Chris Colabello, 1B/OF, Toronto Blue Jays

With Michael Saunders’ knee still not 100 percent, Colabello was called up from Triple-A this week and has done nothing but rake, going 7-for-12 with a home run, three RBI and four runs scored in his three starts. Colabello has a recent history of being a streaky fantasy waiver wire find, as he posted 27 RBI last April with the Twins from relative obscurity. Colabello can hit, so be prepared to spend a decent portion of your FAAB for him this week.

Matt Andriese, SP, Tampa Bay Rays

Andriese was called up to start against the Rangers on Saturday when Jake Odorizzi was unable to toe the rubber as he was ill with the flu. Now that Drew Smyly is back on the disabled list, Andriese has an opportunity to stick in the Rays rotation for the time being. Andriese will not over power hitters, but has an array of plus pitches and has shown the ability to induce groundballs and limit the free passes. He was pulled in the 4th inning of Saturday’s start after giving up a two-run home run to Carlos Peguero so he was not involved in the decision. The Rays have a track record of producing serviceable arms, so Andriese is certainly worth a flier in deep AL-Only formats.

Other AL-Only FAAB options: Eddie Rosario, OF, Minnesota Twins; Carlos Perez, C, Los Angeles Angels; Joey Butler, OF, Tampa Bay Rays; Preston Tucker, OF, Houston Astros; Jose Pirela, SS, New York Yankees; Chasen Shreve, RP, New York Yankees; Tony Sipp, RP, Houston Astros; Will Harris, RP, Houston Astros

NL-ONLY

Austin Hedges, C, San Diego Padres

It’s yet another thin waiver-wire week in the NL from a position-player perspective, so Hedges warrants some interest. Hedges has been regarded as one of the top catching prospects in the game the past couple of years, but that notion has been primarily based on Hedges’ defensive prowess behind the dish, and not for his skills with the bat. That said, he’s not a bad flier if you need a second catcher, especially in keeper formats.

Seth Maness, RP, St. Louis Cardinals

If you have been reading my material on the site, you know I love my middle relievers. I have written about Maness on a few occasions here on the BP site, so I am more than happy to remain on my soapbox preaching about the virtues that middle relievers bring in -only leagues. Maness is the type of reliever you would think would have more value in real baseball than in our world, yet the sinkerballer has earned $17 in standard NL-Only 5×5 formats the past two seasons, showing he brings fantasy value as well. Maness has already picked up two saves this year, and with Jordan Walden on the DL for the next 6-10 weeks, he could be in line for more if Trevor Rosenthal needs a breather. Maness is an unassuming but effective reliever who does not allow many free passes, with strong grounder rates leading to solid ERA and WHIP totals. If he can grab a few more saves, that’s just gravy.

Other NL-Only FAAB options: Eddie Butler, SP, Colorado Rockies; Tyler Lyons, SP, St. Louis Cardinals; Zach Rosscup, RP, Chicago Cubs; Dale Thayer, RP, San Diego Padres; Jean Machi, RP, San Francisco Giants; Paco Rodriguez, RP, Los Angeles Dodgers.

Thank you for reading

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johnklein
5/11
Any chance this series could be posted Sunday morning? My league, along with lots of others, hold their FAABing on Sundays. Very frustrating to read about someone after the fact.
majnun
5/12
Yes please
Teenwolf
5/11
Seconding this request for one day earlier... everybody I read about on this list was usually FAABed the day before.
sintner
5/11
Thirding (yeah, I know it isn't a word) the request to have available before Sunday night.
Dgalloway15
5/11
Is Kang really SP eligible?
asstarr1
5/11
Do you prefer Kang over Gennet or Owings for NL only MI?
kjgilber
5/11
Monday timing makes the list all but moot for my purposes as well.
davinhbrown
5/11
We all know there is limited new content posted on the weekend.
Perhaps Friday is best for the column.
Robotey
5/13
Quick suggestion to those who want their FAAB a day earlier: move your FAAB to Monday nights. Teams often do their moves first thing Monday, so to wait until Monday night to have your FAAB works better. The CBS site allows you to choose your day(s) for your FAAB;I imagine other sites should too.