AL FAAB Factor: Waiver Pickups of the Week

1. Identify likely free agents and discuss their strengths and weaknesses.
2. Estimate how much of your $100 starting free-agent budget you should bid on them.

We've incorporated grids into the FAAB articles, so users can easily see at a glance how certain players stack up against others and how much they should command in a variety of formats.

The grids, which are sortable by column (click on the header), include a very basic "player grade" column. This serves as a reflection of a player's skills and role on an A-E scale. Rafael Devers would have been an "A" grade player last year -- that mark will be reserved for similar high-impact prospects stepping into an everyday role.

As always, if there is a player that was not discussed in the article that you would like to know about, feel free to ask about the player in the comments.

AL FAAB | NL FAAB

Starting Pitcher

Brian Johnson, Red Sox: Boston finally committed to keeping Johnson in the rotation over Drew Pomeranz, and while the younger southpaw has been tagged for nine earned runs over his last two starts, he's won both of them (thanks, Red Sox offense!) with a 17:4 K:BB in 12 innings. Johnson's upside, especially in wins, should make him a priority target in leagues where he's still available. 12-team Mixed: $5; 15-team Mixed: $11; 12-team AL: Owned

Erasmo Ramirez, Mariners: Ramirez makes his return Sunday after being shut down with shoulder issues in late April. The 28-year-old not only moves into a pennant race – the M's are right on the A's heels for the second wild-card spot in the AL, and they've moved to within striking distance of the battered Astros for the AL West crown as well – but he displaces Seattle icon Felix Hernandez from the rotation, so no pressure. Ramirez tends to be only mediocre over the course of a full season but he tends to put together a hot streak at some point, so he could be worth a stash even in shallower formats. 12-team Mixed: $1; 15-team Mixed: $4; 12-team AL: $9

Sean Reid-Foley, Blue Jays: The Jays have kicked off a youth movement, with Reid-Foley joining the rotation Monday and catcher Danny Jansen getting called up Sunday, That's mainly good news for everyone out there patiently waiting for their Vlad Guerrero Jr. shares to pay dividends (.441/.535/.853 in 11 games for Triple-A Buffalo now with homers in four straight. I mean, come on), but the lesser prospects in question still have some appeal of their own. Reid-Foley has a 3.50 ERA and 94:27 K:BB in 82 innings since a promotion to Buffalo, and he gets a cushy debut against the Royals in Kansas City. He could in theory get sent back down afterwards, but Toronto is desperate for rotation help so if he looks good, SRF should stick around. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $3; 12-team AL: $7

Kohl Stewart, Twins: Stewart's prospect status has dimmed significantly since he was a first-round pick in 2013, but he'll make his big-league debut Sunday in place of Adalberto Mejia, and the Twins aren't exactly flush with better options if Mejia is out for a while. Stewart did strike out better than a batter an inning in 68 frames at Double-A this year – the first time he's done that at any stop on his way up the ladder – but the 23-year-old's fantasy ceiling still seems very limited. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $3

Artie Lewicki, Tigers: Lewicki is this week's streaming special. He'll move back into the Tigers' rotation and appears set to fall into a juicy two-start week, facing the White Sox at home Monday before a Saturday start in Minnesota. There isn't much in the 26-year-old's minor-league profile to suggest he's a great long-term add, but even in deeper mixed leagues that schedule has plenty of appeal. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $2

Relief Pitcher

Mychal Givens, Orioles: Givens has saves in his last two appearances, and as expected he seems to be the man in the ninth inning for Baltimore, not that the O's offense generates a ton of save chances. If he's still available in shallower formats and you need bullpen help, this is probably your last chance to pick him up. 12-team Mixed: $11; 15-team Mixed: $25; 12-team AL: Owned

Roberto Osuna, Astros: Despite the package of talent Houston gave up to get him, the team doesn't seem to be in any rush to plug Osuna into the closer role. This is par for the course with the organization's bullpen philosophy – they did the same thing a few years ago after acquiring Ken Giles, remember – and Hector Rondon hasn't done anything to cost himself the assignment, so it might be time to downgrade Osuna's projected value to close out 2018. It still seems likely he gets into the closer mix once he's shaken off the rust, but it's maybe not as likely as it seemed a week ago. 12-team Mixed: $8; 15-team Mixed: $19; 12-team AL: Owned

Addison Reed / Trevor Hildenberger / Trevor May / Taylor Rogers / Matt Magill, Twins: Man, and I thought the White Sox bullpen was a mess. None of these guys are particularly appealing options to replace Fernando Rodney, but it's not like Rodney was a particularly appealing closer anyway, so the Twins are at least consistent. Reed's the early favorite due to his experience in the role, but his numbers this season have been well below his usual standards. Hildenberger got the first post-Rodney save and has been suggested as the "closer in waiting" for a couple of years now, but he didn't look good Saturday – in fact, he's been awful lately – and doesn't have prototypical closer stuff, sitting below 90 mph with his fastball and getting by with a deceptive sidewinding delivery. The guy who does have closer stuff is May, but he can never stay healthy long enough to harness it. If the Twins go true committee, Rogers is the most effective lefty in the 'pen. Magill inexplicably got mentioned as an option as well, but I can only assume it's because he was standing right there when manager Paul Molitor was talking about it and the skipper didn't want to hurt his feelings. If I have to back a horse in this race it'd probably be May, but I wouldn't consider any of them as more than lottery tickets for saves right now. Reed – 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $2; 12-team AL: $5 / Hildenberger – 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $3 / May – 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $3 / Rogers – 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $2 / Magill – 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1

Catcher

Danny Jansen, Blue Jays: Oh Danny boy, you're not, you're not Vladito. Jansen's still a nice prospect in his own right, though, especially considering the position he plays. The 23-year-old posted a .275/.390/.473 slash line with 12 homers in 88 games for Triple-A Buffalo prior to his promotion, and his plate discipline (44:49 BB:K in 360 PAs) makes him very intriguing in OBP leagues. The Jays now have a three-headed monster behind the plate, but manager John Gibbons keeps trying to turn Russell Martin into a utility player so he might see extra action out in the field somewhere while he's hitting well. Luke Maile, on the other hand, will probably be stuck with emergency duties while the club takes a long look at Jansen as their potential catcher of the future. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $3; 12-team AL: $7

Grayson Greiner, Tigers: He returns to the majors, filling in for John Hicks as the No. 2 catcher. Greiner managed a whopping .588 OPS in 54 plate appearances his last time up with the Tigers, and there's no reason to expect anything different this time. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1

First Base

Tyler White, Astros: White continues to play and continues to rake, slashing .342/.405/.684 in 11 games since the All-Star break with three homers and eight RBI. Even when the Astros' lineup gets Jose Altuve and George Springer back, there may still be room for the 27-year-old White to gets starts over struggling players like Yuli Gurriel and Marwin Gonzalez, which puts him on the radar in shallow formats. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $2; 12-team AL: $5

Tyler Austin, Twins: With Logan Morrison lost for the season, Austin steps right into Morrison's platoon role at first base and DH, and the former Yankee made a quick splash with a homer Saturday. The 26-year-old has a mediocre .230/.289/.468 career slash line in 86 big-league games, and his Triple-A numbers are merely OK (.270/.345/.489 in 212 games), but he'll at least have a steady gig even if he's not a full-time starter for the Twins. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $3

Jose Miguel Fernandez, Angels: The 30-year-old returns to the Angels' bench while Mike Trout is sidelined, but much like his last stint in the majors, Fernandez probably won't get enough at-bats to show whether or not he deserves to stick around. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1

Second Base

Robinson Cano, Mariners: Cano will re-join the Mariners' lineup Tuesday, and the current plan seems to be to use him as a super-utility player rather than handing him the second-base job back, a scenario designed to keep Dee Gordon sharp at the keystone in case Seattle makes the playoffs (which Cano won't be eligible for). That's good news for Cano's fantasy value if he can pick up some extra position flex, most likely at first base, but that will pale in comparison to how quickly he can shake off his rust at the plate. Given the circumstances, it wouldn't be a huge shock to see the 35-year-old go on a tear to close out the campaign. 12-team Mixed: $15; 15-team Mixed: $35; 12-team AL: $65

Third Base

Eduardo Nunez, Red Sox: Boston's revolving doors around the infield have kept Nunez busy every time it looked like he might revert back to a bench role, and at this point it seems likely that he'll remain effectively a full-time player for the remainder of the season – either due to further injuries to the Red Sox's starters, or in an effort to prevent them. The 31-year-old is enjoying one of his better stretches of 2018 at the plate right now as well, slashing .301/.320/.466 in 18 games since the All-Star break with a homer, two steals, 10 runs and 11 RBI. 12-team Mixed: $3; 15-team Mixed: $7; 12-team AL: Owned

Yandy Diaz, Cleveland: Diaz was called up to replace Edwin Encarnacion on the roster, and while the 27-year-old is probably ticketed for a bench role, he could still see more action than you might expect. Cleveland is still all-hands-on-deck in the outfield, which limits their options to replace EE at DH and opens up a path to regular playing time for Diaz, whether it's at DH himself or in the field while another starter gets a half-day off and only hits. He doesn't have a lot of upside (.293/.409/.388 at Triple-A Columbus this season), but a player with strong contact and on-base skills could rack up some counting stats in a lineup like this. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $2; 12-team AL: $5

Shortstop

Richard Urena, Blue Jays: He got called up to replace Brandon Drury, and since then Yangervis Solarte has also gotten hurt, which might force Urena into the starting lineup until they come up with a better idea (*coughVladitocough*). The 22-year-old looks like a future utility infielder, and his .566 OPS in 56 games this year for Triple-A Buffalo won't set fantasy GMs hearts a-flutter the way, say, the promotion of the top prospect in all of baseball might. AHEM. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1

Outfield

Kyle Tucker, Astros: Tucker returned to the majors Saturday after heating up for Triple-A Fresno, including homers in three straight games earlier this week. He still has significant upside if he can carry that momentum at the plate forward after his promotion, but his price tag should be a lot more reasonable this time around after he flopped in his initial crack at the Show. 12-team Mixed: $1; 15-team Mixed: $4; 12-team AL: $9

Cedric Mullins, Orioles: The 23-year-old switch hitter is what passes for a prospect in the Orioles' junkyard of a farm system, and he'll get a long look in center field over the final weeks of the season. Mullins had a .313/.362/.512 slash line at Double-A Bowie to begin the year, but his .267/.332/.425 line is probably more in line with his big-league upside. He does have wheels, though. He swiped 30 bases in 2016 in the low minors, and was 21-for-22 this year prior to his promotion, which gives him some real fantasy intrigue. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $3; 12-team AL: $7

Renato Nunez, Orioles: The O's have committed to Nunez at the hot corner for the rest of the season after kicking Danny Valencia to the curb, and the 24-year-old has justified their faith in him so far with a .350/.409/.550 slash line in August. Nunez's minor-league numbers strongly suggest the batting average is a mirage – he has a career .249/.311/.457 line in over 1,200 at-bats at Triple-A – but he's got some pop and should fit right in with Baltimore's organizational philosophy on offense, which is built around a Two True Outcomes approach (homers and strikeouts, hold the walks). 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $3; 12-team AL: $7

Eric Young Jr., Angels: Young has been the regular center fielder for the Angels with Trout on the shelf, but the veteran hasn't done much with his opportunity yet, hitting .207 in 11 games with a homer and a steal. The playing time is nice, but Trout won't be out long which makes Young purely a short-term plug-in for fantasy purposes. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $2

Greg Allen, Cleveland: Allen keeps getting promoted, making a mini-splash, then fading into the woodwork until another Cleveland player gets healthy again and he returns to Triple-A. He might hang on this time long enough to make it to September, when roster expansion will guarantee him a bench spot, but until the 25-year-old shows he can hit big-league pitching he's nothing more than a source of occasional steals. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $2

Derek Fisher, Astros: The injuries to the Astros' lineup have kept the drivers on the Houston-to-Fresno shuttle busy. Fisher was called back up Monday but has only seen three at-bats since. I still think he has real upside, but right now he's nothing more than a dynasty-league stash. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1

Johnny Field, Twins: Field seems to have officially joined the ranks of Journeyman Fourth Outfielders, hopping from Tampa to Minnesota to replace one of his fellow JFOs, Ryan LaMarre, who jumped from the Twins to the White Sox earlier in the year on a waiver claim. Field doesn't really offer much at the plate, but being a card-carrying JFO should keep him bouncing on and off big-league rosters straight into the 2020s. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1

Ryan LaMarre, White Sox: See above. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1