AL FAAB Factor: Waiver Pickups of the Week

This is our weekly look at American League free agents. We have two goals for this article:

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. Shohei Ohtani would have been an "A" grade player last year – that mark will be reserved for similarly 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

Matthew Boyd, Tigers: There have been some, frankly, weird numbers posted so far – there always are in the early going – but Boyd's might be the weirdest of all. He isn't throwing harder, and his pitch mix isn't appreciably different than it was last year, but somehow the southpaw with a sub-8.0 K/9 for his career has gone out and rung up 23 batters in 11.1 innings to kick off his campaign. I mean, that's not sustainable for anybody, but it's especially not sustainable for someone like Boyd. In a shallow league, though, you don't care whether he keeps it up into the second half, you just care if he can produce once or twice more after you scoop him off the waiver wire. If he fades back to his usual level, you can throw him back in the water. If he somehow doesn't, though... 12-team Mixed: $5; 15-team Mixed: $11; 12-team AL: Owned

Alex Cobb, Orioles: Cobb got a late start to the season due to a groin injury, but he rejoined the O's rotation Thursday and didn't embarrass himself. The veteran right-hander had an awful first campaign with Baltimore last year, and his lack of dominance makes him little more than a bulk innings guy in deep formats. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $3

Mike Leake, Mariners: The 31-year-old is one of those boring veteran starters who usually falls through the cracks in shallow league drafts, but a 13:2 K:BB through his first 12.1 innings will land him on radars in a hurry. Like Boyd, Leake's very much a "ride him while he's hot then don't look back" kind of pickup, but his upcoming schedule is AL Central-heavy, so you could get some solid innings from him before he inevitably pumpkins. 12-team Mixed: $2; 15-team Mixed: $5; 12-team AL: Owned

Jonathan Loaisiga, Yankees: Other than as a keeper-league stash, there's very little reason to actually pick Loaisiga up right now. He was on a short leash in his first start, faces the Astros in his next start, and then will probably get bumped aside for CC Sabathia before he really has a chance to get going. Still, the 24-year-old has talent and upside, and if another Yankees starter breaks down before CC is ready – not an outrageous possibility given how their season's been going – grabbing Loaisiga now could end up looking prescient. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $1; 12-team AL: $4

Daniel Norris, Tigers: Norris returns to the rotation due to Matt Moore's knee injury, and it tells you how far the one-time top prospect has fallen in Detroit's eyes that he couldn't even beat out another top prospect-turned-mediocrity for a starting spot. Norris has a 2:3 K:BB in 5.1 relief innings so far, so nothing's changed here. If you roster him, you're basically praying for a miracle. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1

Thomas Pannone, Blue Jays: After a strong relief effort against the O's on April 1, Pannone joined the rotation Saturday and flopped hard against Cleveland. The 24-year-old is basically a crafty lefty starter kit, so he could have his moments against the right opponents, but for now he's just keeping a starting spot warm for Clay Buchholz. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1

Adrian Sampson, Rangers: The 27-year-old takes Edinson Volquez's rotation spot, because the Rangers have no better options right now. Sampson's track record doesn't suggest he'll be at all useful for fantasy purposes – he had a 6.1 K/9 at Triple-A last year – and his upcoming schedule over the next couple of weeks (vs. OAK, vs. HOU) is the opposite of enticing. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1

Ervin Santana, White Sox: The veteran righty will join the White Sox rotation Tuesday, but if you grab him now you're really stashing him for next week, when he gets about as good a two-start period as you could ask for (vs. KC, at DET). Last season's 8.03 ERA disaster still looms large, but if his finger is 100 percent, there's little reason to think he can't become the solid fantasy contributor he was the four years before that. 12-team Mixed: $2; 15-team Mixed: $5; 12-team AL: $13

Dan Straily, Orioles: If you're working in the Baltimore front office, do you ever stop for a second and think, "We're picking up rotation castoffs from the Marlins now? How did things get this bad?" It's not yet clear when Straily will officially join the roster, but he signed a major-league deal so it shouldn't be long, and he should slot into the rotation spot currently occupied by Nate Karns as an opener. Rostering a flyball pitcher joining the AL East for the first time is playing with dynamite, but it's not like either the Yankees or Red Sox are at peak mashing capacity at the moment. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $3

Trent Thornton, Blue Jays: While Thornton's early-season performance may look like a total fluke, and it probably is, remember he's a product of the Astros' system and hasn't had a chance to unlearn what they taught him yet. Sure, the 25-year-old's been feasting on the AL Central, but a 15:2 K:BB in 10.2 innings is too good to dismiss completely, and the Jays have nothing to lose by giving him a long run in the rotation and seeing what happens. 12-team Mixed: $1; 15-team Mixed: $3; 12-team AL: $7

Relief Pitcher

Blake Parker, Twins: We're, possibly, starting to get some clarity on how Rocco Baldelli is going to use his bullpen. Trevor May is the high-leverage, multi-inning stalwart who gets used anywhere from the seventh to ninth innings when things gets the hairiest. Taylor Rogers is the tough lefty who can still be trusted against RHB and also works high-leverage spots. That leaves Parker to be the guy who comes in and reaps the glory of a save after those two have done the hard work, and that's the guy you want on your fantasy roster in most formats. The 33-year-old has a 1:2 K:BB in 3.1 innings, but you're not picking him up expecting dominance. You're picking him up expecting him not to completely blow it and lose his cushy gig. 12-team Mixed: $5; 15-team Mixed: $13; 12-team AL: Owned

Anthony Swarzak, Mariners: With Hunter Strickland out of the picture for now, Swarzak appears to be the M's top closing option. He recorded a two-out save in his first appearance off the IL, but that was Tuesday and he hasn't pitched since, which is actually a good sign that he's being reserved for ninth-inning work by Scott Servais. If you believe in the Saberhagen Theory, Swarzak's alternated good (or at least decent) ERAs with bad ones throughout his career, and this lines up to be a good year. 12-team Mixed: $12; 15-team Mixed: $21; 12-team AL: $35

Catcher

Willians Astudillo, Twins: Much as Astudillo is a unicorn in real-life baseball terms for his "Zero True Outcomes" approach (to be fair, he does occasionally homer) as a hitter, he's also a unicorn for fantasy purposes, in that he's a guy who qualifies at catcher who can contribute offensively while getting used as a utility player and thus seeing a lot more playing time. The 27-year-old has appeared in four games so far – two behind the plate, one at third base and one in left field. If he's adequate enough defensively to keep that up, he'll earn a spot in just about any format, even if he won't see the pure volume of at-bats that's preferable in shallower formats. Plus, he's basically the new Bartolo Colon in terms of meme-worthiness. Astudillo's the kind of guy you end up naming your fantasy team after because he's just so dang lovable. Like, I dunno, Astunoon Dillolight or something. 12-team Mixed: $3; 15-team Mixed: $7; 12-team AL: Owned

First Base

Steve Pearce, Red Sox: Last year's World Series MVP (that still doesn't look right when I type it out) rejoined the Red Sox Thursday, and will slide back into the short side of a platoon with Mitch Moreland at first base. That's not the most fantasy-friendly role in season-long formats, but you know at least he should produce when he is in the lineup – once he's shaken off the rust, that is. He's fanned four times in seven at-bats since coming off the IL. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $3

Second Base

Alen Hanson, Blue Jays: Two weeks ago I joked that Hanson would join all the other Pirate middle infield exiles in the AL Central. Well, geographically speaking, I was right – Toronto is closer to Detroit than it is any of its AL East rivals. Already a journeyman at 26, Hanson put up some intriguing SB totals in the minors but has never gotten on base enough to show whether he could be a real threat in the bigs, and that's not likely to change now. He's just a free talent add for a rebuilding roster, and one of a seemingly endless parade of versatile but limited infielders the Jays snap into their lineup like Lego bricks. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1

Tyler Wade, Yankees: Is it the Curse of Derek Jeter? Shortstops keep breaking down in the Bronx, with Troy Tulowitzki being the latest casualty, and as such Wade is the next man up. He did have that one big half-season at Triple-A in 2017, but otherwise his minor-league resume is about what you'd expect – erratic batting averages, no real power, some speed. He'll get regular at-bats for the Yankees until someone better gets healthy, though. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $2; 12-team AL: $5

Third Base

Christian Arroyo, Rays: The 23-year-old took Joey Wendle's roster spot Monday but has only made one start since, which tells you where he is in the Rays' pecking order. Arroyo's profile doesn't offer any kind of fantasy upside even if he were getting consistent at-bats. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1

Rio Ruiz, Orioles: Ruiz has surprisingly been Baltimore's everyday starter at third base to begin the season, shunting Renato Nunez to DH. If the 24-year-old hangs onto the starting gig, though, it'll be because of his glove and not his bat. Ruiz's minor-league numbers suggests he could hit double-digit homers in the majors, but it'll come with a weak batting average. In deeper leagues, at-bats are at-bats, but he's got plenty to prove before he shows up on shallow-league radars. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $2; 12-team AL: $5

Gio Urshela, Yankees: The 27-year-old is primarily a third baseman, but he's played enough shortstop too that he can be useful on the bench for the Yankees given their current circumstances. Urshela's impressive minor-league batting averages have never translated to the majors in 500 plate appearances, and he doesn't offer anything else from a fantasy perspective, so he's purely roster fodder for now. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1

Shortstop

Freddy Galvis, Blue Jays: The glove-first shortstop is off the blazing start at the plate for the Jays, hitting .333 with three homers in 10 games. Galvis will play every day and does have a 20-HR campaign on his resume, so while the batting average will probably droop sooner rather than later, he could remain productive for quite a while. 12-team Mixed: $2; 15-team Mixed: $5; 12-team AL: Owned

Tzu-Wei Lin, Red Sox: A scratched cornea has sidelined Brock Holt and opened up a temporary roster spot for Lin, one he'll hold until Dustin Pedroia is ready to jump (gingerly) back into the fray. He did hit .307 in 68 games for Triple-A Pawtucket last year, but Lin's a defensive shortstop, not a fantasy asset. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1

Outfield

Socrates Brito, Blue Jays: Toronto has Circle-K's now, so maybe it's only fitting that the Blue Jays bagged So-crates. Brito's still only 26 and did have nice numbers at Triple-A Reno last year, but stats compiled in PCL desert parks are like dust in the wind, dude. He'll probably only stick around until the club decides it's time to give Anthony Alford a real look. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $2

Clint Frazier, Yankees: With Giancarlo Stanton out and Aaron Hicks not ready to rejoin the lineup, Frazier is finally getting a chance at a starting job with the Yankees. The upside is still there – he had a .963 OPS with 10 homers in 48 games for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in 2018 – but this is purely a short-term assignment unless one of the regular starters has a serious setback. Then again, Brett Gardner is 35, and if Frazier rakes the Yankees could easily decide to transition him to a fourth outfielder role and let the kid run with the left field gig. Letting top prospects win starting jobs and not let them go has kind of been their thing the last couple of years. 12-team Mixed: $3; 15-team Mixed: $7; 12-team AL: $15

JaCoby Jones, Tigers: Jones is just about ready to rejoin the Tigers' lineup after going 3-for-8 with a couple of doubles in his first two rehab games at High-A. That would put a merciful end to Mikie Mahtook's stint in center field – he's 0-for-19 with nine strikeouts – but it's not like Jones is a fearsome fantasy force. The 26-year-old will chip in double-digit homers and steals, but at the cost of a weak batting average. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $3; 12-team AL: $7