Week 8 Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: Small Leagues

With the eighth week of the fantasy baseball season upon us, free agents picks are as important as ever.  Below are my week eight free agent pickups for small fantasy leagues:

 

Small Leagues: 8-10 man leagues 

C Jonathan Lucroy, MIL – Lucroy had a monster month, as he has raised his batting average from .263 all the way up to .349 so far through May.  He has also driven in a phenomenal 21 runs in the month, and has become a fantasy monster at historically the thinnest position in the sport.

1B Anthony Rizzo CHC – Rizzo has been getting more and more at-bats with the Cubs and has really made the most of them since being called up.  He has homered twice in his last three games and will be an amazing pickup in dynasty leagues.

2B Joaquin Arias, SF – The veteran continues to swing a hot bat in San Francisco.  He has driven in 4 runs in the last seven games and is worth taking a chance on at a position that is not really known for RBI numbers.

3B Josh Bell, ARI– Bell was just called up and the team is expecting him to be the everyday third basemen moving forward.  Bell was recently brought over from Baltimore before the season started, and he has quickly made an impact for the Diamondbacks.

SS Alcides Escobar, KC – Escobar has really matured as a hitter in the last couple years.  He currently has a respectable .305 batting average and is leading one of the youngest teams in the majors.  He may not offer much in the power department, but his ability to get on base and score makes him a decent fantasy option at shortstop.

OF Will Venable, SD – “Willy V” has crushed two homers in his last seven games and is finally showing the power that fantasy owners have been waiting for all year long.

OF Michael Brantley, CLE – Brantley has raised his batting average over 30 points in the month of May. He may not be providing the speed/ power combo he has last season, but his sudden increase in batting average is certainly worth taking advantage of in fantasy leagues.

SP Andy Pettitte, NYY – Pettitte has been pitching great in his last two outings.  He has pitched at least 7 innings in each of those starts, while racking up 17 strikeouts in the process. The lefty is hitting all his spots and his breaking pitches have looked flawless.  Pettitte is an amazing pickup at this point and will be a leader in the Yankees rotation for the remainder of the year.

SP Tom Milone, OAK – Milone has won three of his last four starts and has really become one of the aces in the A’s rotation.  He may not be the best strikeout pitcher, with only 32 K’s in his 57 plus innings, but his 1.09 WHIP shows that he knows how to get big league hitters out.

RP Brian Feuntes, OAK – Fuetnes is still available in a majority of smaller leagues, despite being handed the full-time closer role last week in Oakland.  He has converted all four of his save attempts in May and is looking like a great free agent closer to grab in 8-10 man leagues.