Smart Late-Season Fantasy Baseball Pickups
In fantasy sports it’s important to pick up average players who happen to be on hot streaks or are entering favourable situations which can help out your team. Here are the players who are due for some serious fantasy baseball production if available in your league:
Bud Norris: Norris has been having a pretty rough season, with an ERA of 5.97, but has been hot throughout July. So far this month Norris has an ERA of 3.07 with WHIP of .95. This weekend he will be facing the stagnant offence of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates are 32-60 as of now and rank amongst the dregs of the MLB with a team hitting average of .240.
After that, Norris goes on to finish out the season against relatively marginal National League teams. He is not going to be a major contributor in the end, but is a good addition for the time being.
Omar Infante: Infante somehow made the NL All-Star team, but that is a topic for another time. Infante has been hitting .332 on the season and .643 in the last week. He can also help fill a variety of utility slots and is also a quality stopgap at a thin position, both of which are useful fantasy characteristics.
J.P. Arencibia: Arencibia is a great prospect for the Toronto Blue Jays organization and should be receiving a call-up sometime very soon. He currently plays for Triple-A Las Vegas, where he is hitting .319, with 25 HR, and 64 RBI on the season. He has a great future ahead of him, and his stock should only rise, be sure to pick him up as soon as he becomes available.
Alfredo Simon: Simon in an interesting pickup. He is a full-time closer, albeit for the pathetic 29-63 Baltimore Orioles. Regardless, the Dominican big man is a worthy roster addition because he is going to generate points regardless. He has also recently been on a hot steak, and has three saves within the last week.
Rodrigo Lopez: Admittedly, Lopez is not a very good pitcher. Luckily, this is fantasy sports and he is not actually being purchased for a season or to actually lead a team. Lopez had a good showing against the Marlins with 7 innings pitched and 5 base runners last week. However, he has a very favourable situation ahead of him as his two next starts are against the San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants. He will most likely not come out 2-0 from that situation, but neither team’s offence is particularly intimidating and Lopez should have good numbers.
Bill Hall: Hall has been getting a lot of playing time for the Red Sox due to infield injuries. This may be bad for baseball in general, but extra production can never hurt in the fantasy realm. Hall is currently hitting a respectable .286 in July, with 1 HR and 5 RBI, with an on-base percentage of .344. Most importantly, as a utility player Hall is eligible all around the diamond and can be a simple way to bolster fantasy production on a slow playing day.
Vin Mazzaro: Mazzaro is a good prospect for the Oakland Athletics and with the injuries to their pitching staff has been unexpectedly successful for fantasy leagues. When Dallas Braden and Brett Anderson return, Mazzaro may not be on the roster for a bit.
However, Ben Sheets will likely get injured soon and Mazzaro will be pitching for the A’s once again. He is currently 1-0 in 14 innings pitched with a 2.51 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP.
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