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

Kolby Allard, Rangers: Acquired from Atlanta in the Chris Martin deal, Allard had been surpassed in his old system by a number of young pitching prospects with higher upsides, but the 21-year-old lefty now has a much clearer path to a spot at the back of the Rangers' rotation. Nothing about him rates as plus, but he has three good pitches (low 90s fastball, curve and changeup, with the latter potentially being his best offering) and good control and command, and in time he could be more effective than the sum of his parts would suggest. A 7:3 K:BB over 4.1 innings in Miller Park with zero home runs allowed during in Rangers debut wasn't bad at all. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $3

Andrew Heaney, Angels: The southpaw missed a little over three weeks of action with shoulder inflammation, but Heaney looked good in his return Saturday, albeit with a somewhat restricted workload. Assuming he avoids any further issues with his wing, he should be a useful pitcher down the stretch, and while he's not an ace, his talent level is better than his 4.89 ERA on the year suggests. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $2; 12-team AL: $5

Edwin Jackson, Tigers: This is what happens when you have gobs of pitching prospects in the minors, but you don't want to start their service clocks at the end of a lost season. Jackson actually looked good in his first start for the Tigers, but it came against the Royals, and the 35-year-old posted a double-digit ERA with the Jays earlier this year for a reason. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1

Brian Johnson, Red Sox: With David Price sidelined, Johnson's spot in the Boston rotation seems fairly secure in the short term. He's shown flashes of upside in the past, but his last two outings were poor and the ennui that seems to have permeated the Red Sox clubhouse isn't exactly conducive to regaining that spark. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1

Mike Montgomery, Royals: Kansas City may have known what they were doing when they asked the Cubs for Montgomery in the Martin Maldonado deal. Now that the southpaw is stretched out and back in rhythm as a starter, he's showing some serious strikeout potential – Saturday's 12-K outing has to be taken with a grain of salt as it came against Detroit, but he whiffed seven Red Sox the start before that. Montgomery now has a 24:3 K:BB through 23.1 innings as a Royal, and that makes him an intriguing arm if you're scrounging for help for the stretch run and/or looking for a possible 2020 stash. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $2; 12-team AL: $5
 

Other two-start options, Mon-Sun (12-team Mixed: $1; 15-team Mixed: $1; 12-team AL: $1)

Brett Anderson, Athletics (at SF, vs. HOU)

Griffin Canning, Angels (vs. PIT, vs. CHW)

Dylan Cease, White Sox (vs. HOU, at LAA)

Tom Eshelman, Orioles (at NYY, at BOS)

Ariel Jurado, Rangers (at TOR, vs. MIN)

Yusei Kikuchi, Mariners (at DET, at TOR)

Ivan Nova, White Sox (vs. HOU, at LAA)

Martin Perez, Twins (at MIL, at TEX)

Zach Plesac, Cleveland (vs. BOS, at NYY)

Jose Suarez, Angels (vs. PIT, vs. CHW)

Drew VerHagen, Tigers (vs. SEA, at TB)
 

Relief Pitcher

Shawn Armstrong, Orioles: Armstrong has gotten two of the last three saves for the O's, with lefty Paul Fry getting the other, so while it's usually folly to get too invested in any one Baltimore reliever, if you're scraping for every save you can he could be worth a short-term add until manager Brandon Hyde starts looking elsewhere in the ninth inning again. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $1; 12-team AL: $4

Anthony Bass, Mariners: Bass never looked more like a closer than when he was terrible in a non-save situation Friday. The right-hander looked solid enough in his first save chance Wednesday though, and in leagues where there was a moment's hesitation to wait and see how the M's bullpen picture actually shook out post-trade deadline, Bass and his new-found 95 mph fastball definitely looks like the guy. 12-team Mixed: $1; 15-team Mixed: $4; 12-team AL: $9

Emmanuel Clase, Rangers: Shawn Kelley is off the IL but is back in a setup role, and hasn't looked that great anyway since rejoining the bullpen. If Jose Leclerc falters as the closer again, the Rangers might decide to give the 21-year-old with occasional triple-digit heat (98.5 mph average fastball so far in the majors) a look in the role instead. Clase's raw stuff hasn't translated into great numbers yet (2:2 K:BB through his first 4.1 innings), but he's only given up one hit so far. Mind you, that hit was a pinch-hit walkoff homer by Eric Thames, but hey, baby steps. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $2

Derek Law, Blue Jays: Ken Giles' elbow is still barking even after a cortisone shot, and an IL stint could be in his future. In his place, Law has gotten three saves in six August appearances and seems to be the ninth-inning option of choice for manager Charlie Montoyo. The Human Trebuchet has earned the role, reeling off 11 straight scoreless outings, and his 51:25 K:BB through 43.2 innings as a Jay has been solid. In the long run he's just another fungible reliever, but for the moment he's got real value. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $2; 12-team AL: $5
 

Catcher

Nick Dini, Royals: Cam Gallagher's dealing with an oblique strain, so the 26-year-old Dini will get his first look at the majors after slashing .296/.370/.565 with 13 homers in 58 Triple-A games this season. The power might just be a product of the overall spike at Triple-A this year, but Dini's supplied a good batting average and OBP at just about every stop up the ladder. The reason he isn't a more highly rated prospect is a poor defensive reputation – basically, imagine Francisco Cervelli's bat combined with Evan Gattis' glove. If he can show that he's improved enough behind the plate to be at least adequate, he's got a chance to eventually carve out a backup role in the bigs. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1
 

Second Base

Luis Arraez, Twins: Arraez has shoved Jonathan Schoop aside at the keystone for the Twins, starting nine of 10 games to begin August. It's easy to see why – the rookie is slashing .345/.419/.443 in 198 plate appearances for Minnesota, and having one player in the lineup focused on getting on base is nice when the other eight are focused on crushing the ball over the fence. Arraez remains criminally underrostered (6.2 percent in ESPN leagues) and while his lack of power or speed, and his spot near the bottom of the Twins' order, does limit his fantasy upside, a surge in runs could be coming if Rocco Baldelli wises up and moves the kid into a table-setting slot. 12-team Mixed: $1; 15-team Mixed: $4; 12-team AL: Owned

Harold Castro, Tigers: It's entirely possible Detroit is way ahead of the curve. With shifts becoming more exaggerated and more prevalent, MLB's future might be something akin to the NBA's, where concrete defensive positions are a relic of the past and the ideal lineup might just be seven athletes who get stationed wherever the analytics say they need to be. The Tigers certainly have a head start in that regard – Castro may not have Niko Goodrum's bat, but the 25-year-old has played every spot on the diamond this season except pitcher and catcher. That versatility has gotten him into the lineup on an everyday basis lately, and that playing time isn't going to dry up with JaCoby Jones now on the IL. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $1; 12-team AL: $4

Dawel Lugo, Tigers: Jeimer Candelario's thumb injury gives Lugo another shot at proving he belongs in the majors, and the 24-year-old hit a tidy .333 (7-for-21) in his first five games back with four RBI. He might just be another utili-Tiger in the long run – even at Triple-A, he's bounced between second and third base – but Detroit needs him at the hot corner for now. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $3
 

Third Base

Rio Ruiz, Orioles: After being exiled to the minors for a couple of weeks, Ruiz got called back to Baltimore and could see semi-consistent at-bats while Renato Nunez is banged up. Ruiz's big-league numbers (.221/.298/.330 with 10 homers in exactly 162 games) aren't encouraging, though. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1
 

Shortstop

Jordy Mercer, Tigers: Mercer has quietly been on fire since the All-Star break, slashing .300/.325/.512 through 22 games with five homers – an even more impressive performance when you consider he's only got six long balls on the year. There's really no reason to think the 32-year-old will keep it up, but you know some light-hitting scrub is going to have a big second half out of nowhere in this offensive environment. Why can't it be Mercer? 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $1; 12-team AL: $4

Wilfredo Tovar, Angels: The 28-year-old was called up to supply infield depth when Andrelton Simmons landed on the IL. Tovar posted some intriguing steals totals during his minor-league career, but his 3-for-9 performance on the basepaths at Triple-A Salt Lake this year suggests you shouldn't get your hopes up in that category. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1
 

Outfield

Greg Allen, Cleveland: With Jordan Luplow out, Allen was called back up to be Tyler Naquin's platoon partner in left field. He's gone 5-for-13 while starting four of five games since his promotion, but unless Allen is stealing bases he doesn't offer much fantasy value, and he's only got two successful swipes in 49 games for Cleveland this year – and they both came in the same game. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $2

Cameron Maybin, Yankees: The Yankees' ability to withstand what should have been a season-ruining spate of injuries has been truly remarkable, and Maybin's performance has been one of the key jigsaw pieces in that puzzle. Even after going 0-for-8 with five strikeouts in the last two games, the veteran has a .319/.393/.528 slash line with seven homers and seven steals in 58 games, and he figures to see regular at-bats while Aaron Hicks is out. 12-team Mixed: $1; 15-team Mixed: $3; 12-team AL: Owned

Mike Tauchman, Yankees: OK, fine, I give in. I've been stubbornly waiting for Tauchman to fade away, but the damn Yankees have clearly made a deal with Mr. Applegate to ensure that no matter who they plug into the lineup, the guy hits like an All-Star. Tauchman's started eight straight games and slugged five homers in the last six of them, and his .305/.387/.588 slash line on the season looks remarkably like his line from last year when he was playing for Albuquerque, who call one of the most extreme hitter's parks in the PCL home. I'm not sure there's a catchy rhyme for Palatine, Illinois the way there was for Hannibal, Missouri, but if the Yankees do go on to do something remarkable this season, Tauchman will probably deserve to have a song written for him. 12-team Mixed: $2; 15-team Mixed: $5; 12-team AL: Owned