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 upside on an A-E scale, prioritizing skills and talent above role and playing time outlook. Gunnar Henderson would have been an "A" grade player last year – that mark will be reserved for similarly high-impact prospects that could thrive in 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

Jonathan Bowlan, Royals: Alec Marsh's elbow bruise opens up a spot in the KC rotation in the short term, and while we currently have Daniel Lynch penciled in, Bowlan seems the more likely candidate to me – he had his turn in the Triple-A Omaha rotation skipped this weekend, so he could be brought up and plugged in at any time. The 27-year-old righty has also been pitching better than Lynch. A lot better, in fact. Bowlan sports a 2.57 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 21:5 K:BB through 21 innings over four starts, and the 6-foot-6 hurler profiles as a prototypical mid-rotation workhorse, firing heavy mid-90s sinkers while mixing in a slider and changeup. Whoever gets the call could slot into a two-start week right from the jump, although it's not an easy one (at Toronto, then home against the Rangers). Lynch (6.46 ERA, 1.98 WHIP in five starts for Omaha) would be a pure desperation play in that scenario from a fantasy perspective and lumped in with the other $1/$1/$1 guys below, but Bowlan might actually be worth rolling the dice on. The Royals' rotation doesn't have anyone in obvious need of upgrading right now though, so this is probably just a temp job no matter who gets it. 12-team Mixed: $1; 15-team Mixed: $2; 12-team AL: $3

Kyle Bradish, Orioles: I didn't expect Bradish to be available in enough leagues to write up, to be honest, but I guess enough people's pitching staffs have been gutted early in the season that he was the least painful option to drop for some folks. The 27-year-old righty had a solid rehab start Friday at Triple-A, and O's manager Brandon Hyde indicated Bradish will rejoin the big-league rotation this week. A partial UCL tear this spring after his breakout 2023 is a big red flag, but Baltimore will try to get as many pitches out of him as it can this season. 12-team Mixed: $5; 15-team Mixed: $11; 12-team AL: $21

Taj Bradley, Rays: Bradley is poised to begin a rehab assignment any day now as he completes his recovery from a pectoral strain, and a mid-May season debut with Tampa seems possible. The 23-year-old struggled in his first look at big-league hitters last year, but he's got ace-level upside if he can tighten up his his command, and he's in the right organization to help him make that jump. 12-team Mixed: $2; 15-team Mixed: $5; 12-team AL: $11

Mike Clevinger, White Sox: The veteran righty lasted 3.1 innings and 60 pitches in his first start at Triple-A on Thursday, putting him on track to join the big-league rotation this coming weekend. Clevinger is a shell of his peak Cleveland self, but he did give the White Sox respectable ratios over 24 starts in 2023 despite a mediocre 20.0 percent strikeout rate. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $2; 12-team AL: $5

Erick Fedde, White Sox: Fedde has had a strong start to his first campaign with Chicago, posting a 2.73 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 30:9 K:BB through 26.1 innings. He's only got one win and one QS in five starts, which is to be expected for a member of the White Sox rotation, and he's served up multiple homers in two of his outings, which is at least a yellow flag that he could be in for a bumpy summer. If he's flown under the radar in your league though, Fedde at least should have some streaming value. 12-team Mixed: $1; 15-team Mixed: $3; 12-team AL: Rostered

Jon Gray, Rangers: The best of the likely two-start options this week, Gray lines up for a home start against the Nats before a trip to Kansas City, and the veteran right-hander has a 2.92 ERA and 32:11 K:BB through 24.2 innings. The issue with Gray is whether he can last long enough to take advantage – he's completed five innings in only two of his five starts, although one of those had the extenuating circumstance of coming after he was needed in long relief on his throw day right before that outing. Still, the ratios and opponents are appealing, even if he'll head right back to waivers or your bench afterward – the Rangers are at Coors Field for his next start after those two. 12-team Mixed: $2; 15-team Mixed: $5; 12-team AL: Rostered

Emerson Hancock, Mariners: I remain skeptical about Hancock's ability to keep it up given his somewhat lackluster arsenal, but the 24-year-old righty has reeled off three straight quality starts, delivering a 2.00 ERA and 12:3 K:BB over those 18 innings, and one of those outings even came in Colorado. He faces Atlanta this week though, and Bryan Woo could return from his elbow injury after that, so the window to get value out of Hancock might have already closed. Even so, he's at least proven to Seattle that he's a reliable next man up, and who knows if or when another starter might go down. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $1; 12-team AL: $4

Cole Irvin, Orioles: With Bradish and John Means poised to rejoin the roster, Irvin is doing his best to give Baltimore a tough decision on what to do with its rotation. The lefty has produced two straight scoreless outings, with the O's bullpen finishing off the combined shutout each time. Irvin was a Driveline client this offseason, and while his velocity hasn't ticked up, his fastball is showing more movement. A six-man rotation is possible when the reinforcements arrive, even if it's just in the short term to ease the other arms back in. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $3

Ben Lively, Guardians: Lively also might be pitching over his head, but a 2.38 ERA and 14:1 K:BB through 11.1 innings in his first two starts is hard to overlook. The 32-year-old right-hander might also have a clearer path to a long-term spot in the rotation than Hancock does in Seattle after Gavin Williams' setback, making him the safer pickup. 12-team Mixed: $1; 15-team Mixed: $3; 12-team AL: $7

Alek Manoah, Blue Jays: This is a 'break glass in case of emergency' sort of add. Manoah hasn't looked particularly good on his rehab assignment at Triple-A Buffalo, but his 30 days run out May 6, and the Jays don't want to push Yariel Rodriguez too hard in his MLB debut. That could force Manoah into the big-league rotation in a couple weeks, whether he seems ready or not. He was a fringe Cy Young candidate in 2022, so it's not like his period of big-league success is ancient history, and if he truly is healthy, maybe things will begin to click again for him. I wouldn't invest a lot to find out, but if my staff were in rough enough shape, it's the kind of upside play that might make sense. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $3

John Means, Orioles: Means seems a little further behind Bradish on the road back to the O's rotation, but it's possible his rehab start Sunday for Triple-A Norfolk is his last one. The veteran lefty got stretched out to 79 pitches and 4.1 innings Tuesday, so his activation might depend more on performance than workload. He also has less perceived upside than Bradish, but that could be misleading – while he won't get the Ks, Means has a 1.05 WHIP over his last 377 MLB innings dating back to 2019, 12th in the league over that stretch among pitchers with at least 300 innings and ahead of guys like Zack Wheeler and Spencer Strider. 12-team Mixed: $3; 15-team Mixed: $7; 12-team AL: $15

Albert Suarez, Orioles: I meant to write up Suarez last week, but perhaps it's just as well I didn't as he'll get bumped from the rotation when Bradish and means return. Suarez's first two big-league starts since 2016 couldn't have gone better, and the 34-year-old appears to still have big-league stuff, but he seems headed for a swingman role unless more injuries crop up for Baltimore. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $2

Simeon Woods Richardson, Twins: Woods Richardson has looked good in two big-league starts this season, and while the White Sox and Tigers weren't the toughest competition, a 2.45 ERA and 11:2 K:BB in 11 innings is pretty snazzy. With Louie Varland kicked back to Triple-A, SWR will get a look as Minnesota's fifth starter, and his upcoming schedule is favorable – another start against the ChiSox this week, followed by a two-step to begin May. He doesn't have electrifying upside, but he could hold down a rotation spot the rest of the year. 12-team Mixed: $1; 15-team Mixed: $4; 12-team AL: $9

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

Joe Boyle, Athletics (vs. PIT, vs. MIA)
Hunter Brown, Astros (vs. CLE, vs. SEA)
Griffin Canning, Angels (vs. PHI, at CLE)
Carlos Carrasco, Guardians (at HOU, vs. LAA)
Cooper Criswell, Red Sox (vs. SF, at MIN)
Yariel Rodriguez, Blue Jays (vs. KC, at WAS)

Relief Pitcher

Shawn Armstrong / Garrett Cleavinger / Manuel Rodriguez, Rays: Pete Fairbanks and Colin Poche both landed on the IL this week, and while neither injury is thought to be serious at the moment, elbow and back troubles both carry their own risks. Jason Adam also hasn't been moved into a closer role since Fairbanks was placed on the shelf, and while he'll probably get a save or two at some point, he doesn't look like he'll be The Guy. Cleavinger has two saves since last weekend and appears to be the top option against lefty-heavy lineups. Armstrong hasn't seen much high-leverage work yet but has arguably the best numbers in the Tampa bullpen this season with a 17:6 K:BB in 13.1 innings and zero homers allowed. Rodriguez is the wild card. Called up Friday, he hasn't appeared in a game yet, so how manager Kevin Cash plans to use him isn't clear, but the 27-year-old righty has the raw stuff to close and posted a 13:2 K:BB in 8.1 innings for Triple-A Durham, showing the improved control and command he needed to take the next step. If Rodriguez gets a chance in the ninth, he could seize the closer role and never look back. Armstrong – 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $2 / Cleavinger – 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $1; 12-team AL: $4 / Rodriguez – 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $2

Naoyuki Uwasawa, Red Sox: The 30-year-old Japanese import has a spring so rough, the Rays traded him away rather than simply stashing him at Triple-A, but he's been much better at Triple-A Worcester since the game began to count. Through three starts and 15 innings, Uwasawa sports a 17:4 K:BB, and that was good enough to earn him a promotion. He's expected to begin in the bullpen for Boston, but it may not be long before he breaks into a rotation that currently has four guys on the IL. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1

Catcher

Korey Lee, White Sox: Lee hasn't yet wrested the starting job away from Martin Maldonado, instead working in a timeshare with the glove-first catcher, but it seems only a matter of time. Lee's .774 OPS is Silver Slugger material compared to Maldonado's .304 OPS (yes, seriously), and the White Sox are playing for the future anyway. If you need help in your second catcher spot, you might be better off grabbing Lee on the upswing rather than chasing the hot hand. 12-team Mixed: $1; 15-team Mixed: $2; 12-team AL: $5

Jake Rogers, Tigers: Rogers also fell into an unexpected timeshare this season with Carson Kelly, but he might be heating up at the plate just as Kelly slumped and then suffered a minor rib injury. Rogers' numbers on the season are still woeful, but he's got four hits and two walks in his last four starts. The starting gig should still be his in the long run, and his 21 homers last year weren't a fluke. 12-team Mixed: $1; 15-team Mixed: $3; 12-team AL: Rostered

First Base

Garrett Cooper, Red Sox: With Triston Casas out for months and not weeks, picking up Cooper on the cheap made a lot of sense for Boston after he got squeezed off the Cubs' roster. The 33-year-old has always been a capable hitter, and his .270/.341/.432 slash line this season is an almost exact match for his career numbers. Bobby Dalbec has also proven fairly conclusively he's not an asset, so Cooper has a clear path to a nearly everyday role, and a swing tailor-made for rattling balls off the Green Monster. 12-team Mixed: $2; 15-team Mixed: $5; 12-team AL: $11

Carlos Santana, Twins: The 38-year-old had a brutal start to the season, but he's snapped out of it with homers in three straight games and hits in six of his last seven, a stretch in which Santana is slashing .308/.400/.731 with eight RBI. His patience always makes him a little more appealing in OBP formats, but Santana's got value in standard leagues too while he's hot. 12-team Mixed: $2; 15-team Mixed: $5; 12-team AL: Rostered

Third Base

J.D. Davis, Athletics: Davis looks set to begin a rehab assignment Sunday and could be just a few days away from rejoining the big-league roster. The question is, where does he play? Tyler Nevin's gotten hot in his absence, and the 31-year-old Davis is just a player to be flipped before the trade deadline, and who was slashing a meager .196/.255/.373 when he strained his groin. There's likely a starting workload waiting for him in Oakland, but he might bounce between 3B, 1B and DH rather than settling into one spot in the lineup. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $2; 12-team AL: $5

Tyler Nevin, Athletics: Meanwhile, Nevin has become a super-utility player for the A's, starting nearly every day but shifting between the infield and outfield corners and spotting in at DH once in a while, and over his last 14 games he's slashing .319/.373/.426. The power he's occasionally teased in the minors hasn't shown up, and maybe it never will, but the 26-year-old actually has some hypothetical future value, and the return of Davis shouldn't impact his playing time much. 12-team Mixed: $1; 15-team Mixed: $3; 12-team AL: $7

Ramon Urias, Orioles: Jackson Holliday's (temporary?) demotion opens up some playing time on the Baltimore infield, and Urias should get some piece of it. Also working in his favor is that there's no obvious platoon candidate for him at third base – even if Coby Mayo gets a look, they both hit right-handed, although if that happens Mayo is getting most of the ABs. Urias hit a career-high 16 homers in 2022 but couldn't match that power production last season, and he doesn't offer any speed, so he really only has value in deep formats where playing time is king. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $1; 12-team AL: $4

Shortstop

Darell Hernaiz, Athletics: If Hernaiz got dropped last week after his demotion, he's worth a look following his quick return to Oakland with Zack Gelof now on the shelf. Hernaiz has gone 3-for-8 with two walks and a steal in three games, starting twice at third base against LHP and once at shortstop against a right-hander. The 22-year-old could ultimately be just a short-side platoon option, but the A's will give him every chance to prove he can be an infield regular, and his numbers last year in the high minors (.319/.384/.454 between Double-A and Triple-A, with nine homers and 13 steals in 131 games and a strong 13.4 percent K rate) are still enticing. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $2; 12-team AL: $5

Danny Mendick, White Sox: Chicago's Wheel of Bench Guys landed on Mendick last week, and he hit the ground running following his addition to the lineup with three multi-hit performances in six starts. He went 0-for-the other three games though, and his .242/.297/.353 career slash line in the majors highlights his limitations. That said, he slugged eight homers in 19 games for Triple-A Charlotte prior to his promotion and had 11 in 91 games last year in the Mets' system, so maybe the 30-year-old gets a longer look than expected if the White Sox think he's figured something out. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1

Vaughn Grissom, Red Sox: Grissom could make his Boston debut this week after going 6-for-19 (.316) with two doubles and four walks in his last six rehab games at Triple-A. The 23-year-old should immediately slot in as the starting second baseman on an injury-ravaged infield, which should have the spillover effect of shifting the Enmanuel Valdez-Pablo Lopez platoon over to shortstop more often, and allowing Ceddanne Rafaela to play center field more often, which is where the team wants him. Basically, if Grissom's return is bad news for anyone, it might be Wilyer Abreu and Rob Refsnyder. (Then again, three more guys could get hurt before it becomes clear what the lineup looks like with Grissom in it.) His defense at short cost him his chance in Atlanta, but he still has a .287/.339/.407 slash line through his first 236 big-league plate appearances, and he has 20-20 potential at his peak. 12-team Mixed: $3; 15-team Mixed: $7; 12-team AL: $15

Outfield

Jo Adell, Angels: Is Adell finally putting it together? He's started five straight games for the Halos, and over his last 10 appearances – a couple of those as nothing more than a pinch runner – he's batting a blistering .423 (11-for-26) with two homers, two steals, five runs and six RBI. There are still plenty of rough edges to be sanded down, and he's somehow been caught stealing four times during that recent hot streak, but the 25-year-old is still dripping with upside, and players like Mickey Moniak and Aaron Hicks aren't. LA needs to find out right now whether Adell can really be a part of the team's future or not, so he should get a long look. 12-team Mixed: $1; 15-team Mixed: $3; 12-team AL: Rostered

Addison Barger, Blue Jays: With Kevin Kiermaier sidelined for a couple weeks with a hip issue, the Jays elected to call up Barger to join the utility player party at 2B/3B/corner OF rather than bring up Orelvis Martinez. Barger was posting strong numbers himself for Triple-A Buffalo, slashing .314/.435/.586 through 85 plate appearances with a 14:15 BB:K, and it's not hard to see him as a better version of Cavan Biggio down the road. In the short term though, Barger's gone 0-for-11 with three Ks in his first look at big-league pitching, and his stay with Toronto may not be a long one. He's got more appeal as a keeper stash than a redraft play. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $2

Joey Loperfido, Astros: I've hesitated to write up Loperfido given his 30.8 percent strikeout rate at Triple-A this season, but the 24-year-old has gone yard 12 times in 24 games, which is tough to ignore. More importantly, Jose Abreu's starting job at first base in Houston seems to be hanging by a thread given his .104/.164/.119 start to the season. Loperfido's best defensive position is DH, but he's not dislodging Yordan Alvarez and if the Astros want to get him into the lineup, benching Abreu makes the most sense. If you need power, he's worth stashing. 12-team Mixed: $1; 15-team Mixed: $2; 12-team AL: $5

Dylan Moore, Mariners: The 31-year-old has been doing his usual thing this season, stealing five bags in six attempts while batting .196 over 51 ABs, but with J.P. Crawford out of action Moore should get full-time at-bats as the primary replacement at shortstop. He swiped 21 bags as recently as 2022, so he should be able to provide a short-term boost in that category over the next few weeks, but any other contributions would be a surprise. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $1; 12-team AL: $4

Tommy Pham, White Sox: Added to the 26-man roster Friday, Pham immediately went 4-for-10 in two starts as the center fielder. The 36-year-old offers more fantasy appeal than the other veteran outfielders the ChiSox have been collecting, but Pham would be getting little help from the roster around him even if he does still possess 15-15 or even 20-20 potential, and Luis Robert could be a few weeks away from returning. 12-team Mixed: $1; 15-team Mixed: $3; 12-team AL: $7

Designated Hitter

Jonathan Aranda, Rays: Hey, neat, I finally have some guys who only qualify at DH/Ut to write up. Aranda began a rehab assignment at Triple-A Durham on Friday, so he could rejoin the Rays by next weekend. The 25-year-old was expected to fill a strong-side platoon role this season wherever the team was comfortable parking his glove, but his bat has always been his biggest selling point and he slashed .339/.449/.613 with 25 homers in 95 games for Durham in 2023. None of those skills have translated to the majors yet, but Tampa isn't giving up on him after only 190 PAs. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $3; 12-team AL: $7

Heston Kjerstad, Orioles: A .349/.431/.744 slash line at Triple-A Norfolk left the O's with little choice but to bring up Kjerstad, but the issues that cost him an Opening Day roster spot still remain – namely, where does he play? Ryan O'Hearn is still killing RHP with a .988 OPS to begin the season, and Colton Cowser has claimed the starting job in left field. Baltimore remains a team in desperate need of a trade to clear some of the logjam, but until that happens, Kjerstad will try to stay locked in at the plate with sporadic playing time. His upside is through the roof, but until a path to a full-time role opens up, he's still more of a keeper stash than a player who can help you right away. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $3