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Fantasy Baseball: Three Early Season Pickups

By Ben Renner

Apr 18, 2016; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Colorado Rockies first baseman Ben Paulsen (10) is congratulated by teammates after hitting a three-run home run against the Cincinnati Reds during the eighth inning at Great American Ball Park. The Rockies won 5-1. Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 18, 2016; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Colorado Rockies first baseman Ben Paulsen (10) is congratulated by teammates after hitting a three-run home run against the Cincinnati Reds during the eighth inning at Great American Ball Park. The Rockies won 5-1. Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports /
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In fantasy baseball, the early weeks of the season are usually the best time to find those waiver wire pickups that others forgot to draft. Here are three suggestions to boost your team.

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My fantasy baseball season just started this week due to a lazy commissioner. To my consternation, we all had to autodraft our teams. While I still obsessively set my pre-draft player rankings to get the best players I could (please, anybody but Elvis Andrus), I found some very interesting pickups in the waiver wire pool in my ten-team league. Here are some names you should consider who are still floating around in most Yahoo leagues in the early weeks:

  • Ben Paulsen. COL 1B/OF. 21% owned. Some fantasy baseball managers might be scared off by Paulsen’s platoon status for the Rockies, sharing at-bats with veteran Mark Reynolds. But when Reynolds gets hurt or whiffs too many times, I would think the first base job will be his. As with many Colorado Rockies players, he’s worth an addition to the lineup whenever he plays at home in Coors Field. He’s off to a torrid start, slashing .324/.378/.559. You can’t start him every day in weekly head-to-head leagues, but in games at home against a lefty, he’s as good a bet as they come. I expect him to earn more at-bats as the season progresses.

    • Rajai Davis

    . CLE OF. 9% owned. Davis was last seen blasting a home run against the

    Mariners

    . He’s not going to hit home runs often, but he can be a source of cheap speed. Last season, Davis stole 18 bags for the Detroit Tigers. It was the lowest stolen bases total for Davis since 2008. This year, he already has five stolen bases. He’ll be pretty one-dimensional but he’s a guy who can run and he costs you much less than it took to draft

    Billy Hamilton

    .

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  • Hector Santiago. LAA SP. 47% owned. Santiago’s ownership tag is skyrocketing on the strength of his start to the season in which he has gone 1-0 with 20 strikeouts in 20.2 innings and posted a 2.61 ERA. His Fielding Independent Pitching mark, according to Baseball Reference, is a troubling 3.85, suggesting some luck was involved, but if you need starting pitching, why not try to ride that luck a little longer? Santiago ended up with decent numbers last season in 32 starts despite allowing a league-high 29 home runs. He has already allowed three this year, but if he can keep a few more balls in the park in 2016, he’ll be a useful starter in fantasy baseball.

    • Next: Three Surprising Mariners Stats

    I hope these three fantasy baseball contributors will help you in your quest to win your league (unless you play in Super Cool). All three could very well be useful contributors all season long and they certainly warrant a look for their recent performances as well.

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