Rotoworld’s brand-new Pickups of the Day column is designed to help fantasy managers uncover a handful of widely-available targets over the course of the season. It could be a breakout candidate, 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 find it and bring it your way.
In today’s column, we’re going to take a look at a a former fantasy superstar who has been hot in his return from the injured list and a solid streaming option for Wednesday’s slate that could have some staying power.
PICKUPS OF THE DAY
Josh Donaldson, 3B, Yankees
Available in 93 percent of Yahoo leagues
When you think of intriguing fantasy baseball pickups that could help lead your team to glory this season, Josh Donaldson probably isn’t anywhere near the top of the list. And if you glance at his season-long numbers, you can see why. He’s hitting just .185/.241/.630 with four homers and five RBI in his first 29 plate appearances.
Let’s break that down a bit though. Donaldson had been hitting just .125/.176/.313 with a homer and one RBI before landing on the injured list with a right hamstring strain in early April. Since returning on June 2, he has gone 3-for-11 (.273) in his first three games – with all three of those hits being home runs.
So why do we care about such a small sample size? A couple of reasons. One, is that the 37-year-old slugger has proven to be an extremely valuable fantasy commodity in the past. He has clubbed 24 or more home runs seven different times throughout his career and has always proven to be a viable run-producer when he has been on the field. Two, Yankees’ skipper Aaron Boone has indicated that Donaldson will continue to be an everyday player for as long as he remains healthy, and he’s doing so while hitting in the middle of a potent Yankees’ lineup. Three, his Statcast numbers are intriguing in a very small sample. His average exit velocity of 95.0 mph would be a new career best and his barrel rate has been off the charts so far.
Could this just be a simple hot streak and he’s going to cool off or land back on the injured list imminently? Sure, that’s a very real possibility. But for a guy that’s only seven percent rostered, there’s no harm in scooping him up now and riding the wave, knowing that he’d be an easy drop when the inevitable happens.
Kutter Crawford, SP, Red Sox
Available in 98 percent of Yahoo leagues
Based on the fact that he’s rostered in only two percent of all Yahoo leagues, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that the fantasy baseball public as a whole isn’t recognizing the opportunity that Kutter Crawford has in front of him at the moment.
With Chris Sale (shoulder) sidelined for the foreseeable future, it sounds like the right-hander is going to get a real shot to hold down his spot in the rotation. Crawford has been excellent in whatever role they have utilized him in this season – registering a 3.48 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and a 33/6 K/BB ratio across 33 2/3 innings.
He draws a nice matchup on Wednesday – taking on the Guardians in Cleveland. It’s possible that his pitch count could be limited in this one, as he’s still being stretched back out and went just three innings his last time out. If all goes well, he’ll cruise through five innings with 5+ strikeouts and solid ratios – but the win equity will be lowered a bit in this first start.
As he stakes his claim to his rightful spot in the Red Sox’ rotation though, Crawford has the potential to blossom into a viable mixed league contributor for the duration of the season – and those types of guys aren’t easy to come by.
