Happy Wednesday everyone, hopefully everyone out there is healthy and safe after injuries ravaged the baseball world on Tuesday night.
We’re back at it again trying to scour the available options on the waiver wire to find you the impact additions – both short-term and long-term – that can help to propel your fantasy squads to greatness in 2023.
As a reminder, our Pickups of the Day column is designed to help fantasy managers find a handful of widely-available targets. It could be a prospect stash, an injury replacement, a pitcher with a favorable matchup or week, a player who is due some better luck, or any other number of scenarios. If there’s value to be found on the waiver wire, we will uncover it and bring it your way.
Here are a pair of under-the-radar players who have gotten off to tremendous starts in 2023 that could have more to offer than the most fantasy managers are willing to admit.
PICKUPS OF THE DAY
Chas McCormick, OF, Astros
Available in 85 percent of Yahoo leagues
Fantasy managers as a whole are a wise lot. They’re always on the lookout for certain things, combinations of skill sets, lineup indicators, anything that can lead us to believe a player will deliver consistent value to our fantasy squads.
That’s why it’s puzzling to me that Astros’ outfielder Chas McCormick is still sitting on the waiver wire in 85 percent of all Yahoo leagues. The 27-year-old has seized the Astros’ starting job in center field, has started each of the team’s last six contests and has hit out of the leadoff spot in each of their last four. With no real threat to his playing time on the horizon, there’s to reason to expect his opportunity – or his newfound premium lineup slot – to change anytime soon.
McCormick has also displayed a terrific blend of power and speed in the early going, crushing a pair of home runs and swiping three bases in his first nine games. For the season, he’s slashing .250/.341/.516 with five runs scored and nine RBI. His Statcast pages leaves much to be desired, but it’s hard to argue with the opportunity and the results that he has had so far.
He probably isn’t a nightly start in leagues that only utilize three outfielders, but in deeper formats McCormick could wind up being a nice discount across-the-board contributor.
Drey Jameson, SP, Diamondbacks
Available in 79 percent of Yahoo leagues
Drey Jameson was awfully impressive in four starts for the Diamondbacks in September, going 3-0 with a 1.48 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and a 24/7 K/BB ratio over 24 1/3 innings. Most believed he would parlay that into a spot in the club’s Opening Day rotation to begin the 2023 season – but his struggles in Cactus League play cost him that opportunity.
Jameson still made the big league roster – as a multi-inning weapon out of the bullpen – and all he has done in that role is register a 2.16 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and an 8/5 K/BB ratio over eight innings while nabbing two victories. Now, due to injury and ineffectiveness of the hurlers ahead of him in the Diamondbacks’ rotation, the 25-year-old right-hander will get another chance to start.
He’ll take the ball on Wednesday against the Brewers and the time to strike is now. If you wait until after he has a quality start on Wednesday, he’s going to be much more difficult to acquire off the waiver wire – or you’ll at least have more competition to fight with for him. Scoop him up now – even if you don’t deploy him for Wednesday’s start – and you could wind up with a very nice asset for the remainder of the season.
