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.

Starting Pitcher

Reynaldo Lopez, White Sox: The mercurial right-hander is having one of his good stretches, posting a 1.10 ERA, 0.86 WHIP and 35:9 K:BB in 32.2 innings over his last five starts, and Lopez hasn't actually lost a game since the end of July. The schedule doesn't do him any favors to close out the campaign – two home starts against the Cubs and Cleveland – but then again, Cleveland could be in "resting starters for the postseason" mode by then. If Lopez is available in a shallower format and you need one last pitching boost, he's by far your best option. 12-team Mixed: $11; 15-team Mixed: $25; 12-team AL: Owned

Brett Anderson, Athletics: The veteran southpaw returned to the rotation Thursday and got roughed up by the O's, which doesn't exactly give him a lot of appeal. He's got three starts left, though – home-and-home with the Angels sandwiched around a road start in Seattle – and Anderson's certainly capable of giving you some decent innings, and maybe even a win or two as the A's could be trying to chase down the Astros right down to the wire. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $3

Marco Gonzales, Mariners: Gonzales returned to the M's rotation Tuesday with a solid outing against the Padres, but a) it's the Padres, and b) he only pitched five innings, a trend likely to continue with manager Scott Servais saying the left-hander will be on a pitch limit the rest of the year. That restricts his chances at getting a win, but his remaining schedule – at the Angels, then home-and-home against the Rangers – gives him some opportunities for decent outings. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $2

Josh Tomlin, Cleveland: It looks like the veteran will slot back into the rotation to close out the year, bumping Adam Plutko, and while Tomlin's been mostly awful in 2018, the scheduling gods have smiled upon him as he'll face the White Sox twice before closing out the season in Kansas City. Cleveland's already clinched the AL Central, so they could end up coasting to the finish line, but despite his ratios Tomlin might give you a good shot at a win or two down the stretch.12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1

Yefry Ramirez, Orioles: On the bright side, Ramirez struck out seven White Sox over 5.2 strong innings in his return to the rotation Saturday. Before you pick him up, though, take a look at his remaining schedule – at the Yankees, then at the Red Sox. Eep. His 5.50 ERA on the season might be about to see some major inflation. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1

Eric Skoglund, Royals: Skoglund's 6.19 ERA is scary, but his funky remaining schedule has some potential – two interleague road starts against the Pirates and Reds, neither of whom have a lot to play for at this point. The southpaw's a gamble, but there's some plausible reward to go with the risk. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1

Chase De Jong, Twins: The 24-year-old ex-Mariner will get a shot at starting to close out the campaign after posting decent but unremarkable numbers in the minors this year. De Jong will have a tough start in Oakland next weekend before hosting the White Sox in his final start, so you might want to wait until next week if you're really intent on adding him. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1

Dylan Covey, White Sox: Covey gets Michael Kopech's spot in the rotation, but his first turn didn't exactly go well as he got rocked in Kansas City on Tuesday. He does get three more starts, but they aren't ideal – at Cleveland, home against the Cubs, at Minnesota. If you're only worried about bulk innings and strikeouts and less concerned about your ratios, though, he could have value. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1

Spencer Turnbull, Tigers: A second-round pick in 2014, Turnbull has pitched at four different levels already this season and will make it five when he makes his big-league debut Wednesday. His numbers in his one prolonged stop (4.47 ERA, 1.34 WHIP in 98 innings at Double-A) weren't exactly encouraging, but his composite 128:46 K:BB in 114 frames hints at his eventual upside. The 25-year-old is an interesting deep-league keeper stash. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1

Relief Pitcher

Nate Jones, White Sox: Jones returned to the bullpen Tuesday after being out since mid-June, and he notched a save in his second appearance. He'll likely split the closing role with Jace Fry down the stretch, although this being the White Sox just about any reliever could see a random save, so if that category's a priority for you, Jones needs to be a priority add. 12-team Mixed: $3; 15-team Mixed: $7; 12-team AL: $15

Andrew Miller, Cleveland: The left-hander came off the DL on Monday and has looked like his old self, posting a 5:1 K:BB in 2.2 innings over three appearances. Miller probably won't be in the saves mix, but he could give you holds and strong ratios as Cleveland preps for the playoffs. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $2; 12-team AL: $5

Justus Sheffield, Yankees: Possibly the last big-name prospect to get called up in the AL this year (pending the Rays' decision on Austin Meadows), Sheffield won't have much short-term value as a depth arm in the Yankees' bullpen, but he's definitely worth stashing in keeper and dynasty leagues as he could be battling for a rotation spot next spring. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $2

Steven Wright, Red Sox: Wright is getting a look as an eighth-inning man for the Red Sox, mainly because they've tried everyone else already. The knuckleballer will never be what you could call reliable – he has a 3:5 K:BB in six innings since joining the bullpen in September – but he has yet to give up a run in five appearances, and if you need holds, you could do worse than Craig Kimbrel's setup guy. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1

Catcher

Willians Astudillo, Twins: Mitch Garver could be dealing with a concussion after taking a foul tip off his catcher's mask, but even if he were 100 percent Astudillo would be pushing for more playing time given his .379/.400/.586 slash line with two homers through 30 plate appearances in September. The Twins could always use him as a utility player as well if Garver gets cleared, making Astudillo a very intriguing pickup if you're looking for all the offense you can get over the final weeks. 12-team Mixed: $1; 15-team Mixed: $3; 12-team AL: $7

Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Tigers: The veteran backstop will give the Tigers some extra depth with John Hicks out, but don't expect Salty to see much action. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1

First Base

Jose Abreu, White Sox: He's probably not available, but if the phrase "late August surgery" caused Abreu to be dropped in your league, surprise! He's back in the lineup already. He's also gone 0-for-18 over his last four games and if he shows any sign of being less than healthy, the White Sox will probably just shut him back down, but he gives you power potential almost no one else on your waiver wire will. 12-team Mixed: $8; 15-team Mixed: $19; 12-team AL: Owned

Third Base

Josh Donaldson, Cleveland: Donaldson returned to active duty this week but has yet to start back-to-back games, and he might not for the rest of the year as Cleveland focuses on getting him ready for the playoffs. However, while the original plan of Donaldson at third base, Jose Ramirez and second and Jason Kipnis bumped into the outfield mix is still likely the priority, the team does now have another option for getting Donaldson's bat into the lineup – using him at DH, as Edwin Encarnacion tweaked his ankle Saturday. The injury doesn't look serious, but Cleveland has zero reason to take any chances with EE. Donaldson at DH and occasionally 3B is a lot more appealing from a fantasy perspective than a Donaldson limited to the hot corner, and Friday's homer could be the first of... well, a few anyway, if not quite many. 12-team Mixed: $7; 15-team Mixed: $15; 12-team AL: $35

Shortstop

Ronny Rodriguez, Tigers: With Jose Iglesias officially ruled out for the rest of the year, Rodriguez will be the Tigers' starting shortstop. The 26-year-old's .233/.303/.400 slash line in September is no fluke, though, so don't expect much fantasy value despite the playing time. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $3

Pete Kozma, Tigers: Kozma and his .559 career big-league OPS will give Detroit some infield depth for the final couple of weeks. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1

Outfield

Austin Meadows, Rays: The International League season officially ended Saturday night when Meadows' Durham team downed Yankees affiliate Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in Game 5, but while New York has already announced a final wave of promotions as a result, there's been no such news from the Rays front office yet. As such, Meadows still counts as a spec add, but since he's already seen big-league action in Pittsburgh, there's no financial incentive for Tampa not to promote him. The 23-year-old had a huge .347/.400/.779 slash line in 27 games for Durham after coming over in the Chris Archer deal, but even if he gets called up and slots into a starting role down the stretch for the Rays, there's no reason to expect those kind of numbers from him. His .292/.327/.468 line in 49 games for the Bucs earlier in the year is a much more reasonable target, and still plenty useful. 12-team Mixed: $5; 15-team Mixed: $13; 12-team AL: $29

Jorge Bonifacio, Royals: Bonifacio is putting together a strong finish to 2018, slashing .277/.346/.489 in 13 September games with two homers, six RBI and eight runs. The Royals have no reason not to keep him in the starting lineup to see whether the 25-year-old has a place in next year's starting lineup. 12-team Mixed: $2; 15-team Mixed: $5; 12-team AL: Owned

Nick Martini, Athletics: The Oakland front office inexplicably screwed up the option rule at the end of August, somehow thinking the 10-day lock on a player's re-promotion didn't apply if the minor-league season had ended for the player's affiliate, so Martini's September callup got delayed. He's back now, though, and doing exactly what he did before, namely rack up base hits. He's gone 7-for-12 over the last week, and while the 28-year-old doesn't offer any real power or speed, if batting average is a tight category for you, Martini could end up being the difference down at that third or fourth decimal point. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $2; 12-team AL: $5

DJ Stewart, Orioles: A 2015 first-round pick who's been dangerously close to being a bust since, Stewart got called up Wednesday and has gone 0-for-9 in his first taste of the majors. He's got a little power upside, but his contact issues will probably keep him from realizing it. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $2

Myles Straw, Astros: The 23-year-old will probably only fill a Terrence Gore-like pinch-running role on the Houston bench down the stretch after swiping 70 bags between Double-A and Triple-A this year, so hold off on those "Straw stirs the drink for the Astros" headlines. Still, if you need steals and aren't getting anything from an active roster spot anyway, he's worth a shot. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1

Ryan Rua, Rangers: Rua came off the DL on Saturday and will resume his role on the Rangers' bench over the final weeks. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1