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Fantasy Baseball Bests, Busts and Waiver Wire: Aug 20

Athlon Sports takes a look at what took place this past weekend on the fantasy baseball diamond.

By: Braden Gall | 8/20/12, 10:29 AM EDT

Athlon Sports takes a look at what took place this past weekend on the fantasy baseball diamond.

Stay tuned each week to Athlon Sports for a 2012 Fantasy Baseball Weekend Waiver Wire every Monday.

Top 25 fantasy baseball hitters of last week (8/13-8/19):

  Name Team Pos. R HR RBI SB BA OPS
1. Nick Swisher NYY OF 6 4 11 1 .370 1.285
2. Mike Trout LAA OF 8 3 5 3 .370 1.267
3. Jay Bruce CIN OF 9 3 7 0 .429 1.377
4. Todd Frazier* CIN 1/3/OF 8 3 6 2 .370 1.120
5. Albert Pujols LAA 1B 6 4 9 0 .320 1.186
6. Hanley Ramirez LAD 3B/SS 6 3 9 0 .367 1.173
7. Danny Espinosa* WAS 2B/SS 5 3 7 0 .458 1.375
8. Garrett Jones* PIT 1B/OF 3 2 12 0 .423 1.222
9. Aaron Hill ARI 2B 7 3 5 1 .364 1.326
10. Miguel Cabrera DET 1B/3B 7 2 6 0 .476 1.387
11. Ryan Braun MIL OF 5 4 6 1 .320 1.210
12. Eric Young* COL 2B/OF 6 2 5 2 .370 1.081
13. Ryan Ludwick* CIN OF 6 4 6 0 .348 1.357
14. Alcides Escobar* KC SS 6 0 1 4 .480 1.060
15. Starlin Castro CHC SS 6 1 5 2 .407 1.115
16. David DeJesus* CHC OF 6 3 5 0 .409 1.428
17. Adam Dunn CHW 1B/OF 6 4 7 0 .269 1.136
18. B.J. Upton TB OF 5 3 8 0 .333 1.122
19. Luis Cruz* LAD 3B/SS 5 2 6 0 .458 1.333
20. Chris Young* ARI OF 4 2 6 1 .400 1.229
21. Mark Reynolds* BAL 1B/3B 3 3 7 0 .400 1.355
22. Derek Jeter NYY SS 8 1 3 1 .370 1.026
23. Willin Rosario* COL C 7 1 5 0 .444 1.222
24. Ben Zobrist TB 2B/SS/OF 6 2 6 0 .348 1.114
25. Erick Aybar* LAA SS 4 2 4 2 .346 1.024

* - less than 70% owned in Yahoo! leagues

Trade Dealine Has Passed

Most trade deadlines were this Sunday, which means that the only way you can improve your roster is by hovoring around the waiver wire. While call-ups like Jean Segura in Milwaukee or Manny Machado in Baltimore are high-profile, there are plenty of other sneaky additions to be found. Todd Frazier is a must-add with his position eligibility and pure pop in the bat. In 309 at-bats, he has an .889 OPS and 17 big flies. Joey Votto's absence has given Frazier a chance to prove his worth. He will be in the line-up from here on out. Danny Espinosa is a counting stat machine who will sap your batting average. As long as you understand this, and he can still help, do not hesistate to add the talented MI from Washington. Colorado's Eric Young has some nice value as well is you need speed and scoring.

Who am I not buying? Garrett Jones, Ryan Ludwick, Erick Aybar and Mark Reynolds. They might add some pop (or speed in Aybar's case) to your fantasy batting order, but history keeps me from adding any of the foursome. Chris Young almost falls into this group as well, but I am more comfortable adding the D-Backs outfielder than the rest.

Top 20 fantasy Starting Pitchers of last two weeks:

  Name Team IP W K ERA WHIP
1. Jeremy Guthrie* KC 22.2 2 19 0.00 0.62
2. Cole Hamels PHI 25.2 3 21 1.05 0.86
3. Johnny Cueto CIN 23.0 2 20 1.96 0.61
4. Paul Maholm* ATL 16.0 2 12 0.56 0.69
5. Kris Medlen* ATL 15.1 2 13 0.59 0.72
6. Hiroki Kuroda NYY 23.1 2 14 1.54 0.77
7. Chad Billingsley LAD 21.1 3 14 1.69 0.94
8. Matt Moore TB 19.1 2 20 1.86 0.93
9. Felix Hernandez SEA 16.0 1 15 2.25 0.38
10. James Shields TB 21.0 2 16 2.57 0.76
11. Yovani Gallardo MIL 21.2 3 21 2.08 1.20
12. Chris Capuano LAD 22.1 1 24 2.01 0.94
13. David Price TB 14.0 2 13 1.29 0.86
14. Clay Buchholz* BOS 17.0 2 13 2.12 0.76
15. Clayton Kershaw LAD 14.1 2 15 3.14 0.70
16. Roy Halladay PHI 15.0 1 15 2.40 0.60
17. Jonathon Niese* NYM 21.1 2 1 2.11 1.03
18. Max Scherzer DET 13.0 2 18 1.38 1.23
19. Mat Latos CIN 22.0 0 18 1.23 0.91
20. Jon Lester BOS 19.2 2 20 2.75 1.02

* - less than 70% owned in Yahoo! leagues

Top 5 Spot Starts for the Week (Mon. - Sun.):

1. Chad Billingsley, LAD: MIA (Sat.) 71% owned
Bills might not be on your waiver wire, but if he is, now is the time to jump. He is very streaky and has allowed five earned runs in his last five starts. His last two starts: 15.0 IP, 0 ER, 8 H, 9 K, 3 BB.

2. Jonathon Niese, NYM: HOU (Fri.) 56% owned
The rising star of Queens has been a pleasant surprise for Mets fans. His 3.49/1.15 season ratios play in any league. He has allowed six earnies in his last four starts (3-1) with 22 Ks and five BBs.

3. Patrick Corbin, ARI: SD (Fri.) 14% owned
Since being moved into the rotation, the youngster has allowed eight earned runs and only 19 hits over his last 26.0 innings with 24 strikeouts and a 3-0 record. The lefty gets to face the Padres on Friday.

4. Kris Medlen, ATL: at WAS (Wed.) 44% owned
This guy has always had nasty stuff and loads of upside. He got moved into the rotation four starts ago and has been excellent. He has allowed three total ER, with 22 Ks and 4 BBs with a 3-0 mark in those starts.

5. Trevor Cahill, ARI: MIA (Tues.) 55% owned
While the D-Back righty may never be a fantasy star, he has had plenty of servicable moments. He has allowed three or fewer earned runs in seven of his last nine starts, including two one-run efforts in his last four.

Top 20 fantasy Relief Pitchers of last month:

  Name Team IP W SV K HLD ERA WHIP
1. Aroldis Chapman CIN 15.1 1 13 26 0 0.59 0.78
2. Tyler Clippard WAS 14.0 0 12 16 0 1.93 1.00
3. Fernando Rodney TB 13.0 0 11 12 0 0.69 1.00
4. Kenley Jansen LAD 10.1 1 8 17 0 1.74 0.77
5. J.J. Putz ARI 9.2 0 7 15 0 0.00 0.41
6. Tom Wilhelmsen* SEA 11.0 1 9 13 0 2.45 0.73
7. Huston Street (DL) SD 9.2 0 6 9 0 0.00 0.10
8. Jonathan Papelbon PHI 12.1 1 6 14 0 0.73 0.97
9. Adam Ottavino* COL 24.1 3 0 19 3 2.59 0.86
10. Jason Motte STL 11.2 0 7 19 0 2.31 0.86
11. Rafael Betancourt COL 10.1 0 8 6 0 0.87 0.68
12. Rafael Soriano NYY 12.1 0 7 12 0 2.19 0.73
13. Joel Peralta* TB 14.2 0 0 22 10 0.61 0.55
14. Darren O'Day* BAL 13.2 1 0 15 4 0.66 0.59
15. Jordan Norberto* OAK 17.0 2 0 20 1 1.59 1.00
16. Brandon Lyon* TOR 12.0 1 0 22 4 1.50 0.67
17. Grant Balfour* OAK 11.1 0 4 13 3 0.79 0.71
18. Sean Marshall* CIN 11.2 2 0 13 3 2.31 0.51
19. Greg Holland* KC 14.0 2 5 13 1 2.57 1.29
20. Craig Kimbrel ATL 7.0 0 3 15 0 0.00 0.57

* - less than 70% owned in Yahoo! leagues

Keep up to date all season long with Athlon Sports' Fantasy Baseball Closer Grid

- by Braden Gall

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