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Fantasy Baseball Bests, Busts and Waiver Wire: Aug 6

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

By: Braden Gall | 8/6/12, 10:51 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 (7/30-8/5):

  Name Pos. Team R HR RBI SB BA OPS
1. Albert Pujols 1B LAA 9 6 13 1 .424 1.565
2. Mike Trout OF LAA 11 3 9 2 .300 1.038
3. Adam LaRoche* 1B WAS 6 4 10 0 .478 1.563
4. A.J. Pierzynski C CHW 6 5 11 0 .333 1.567
5. Drew Stubbs OF CIN 10 2 2 3 .348 1.032
6. Matt Holliday OF STL 6 3 10 0 .400 1.284
7. Buster Posey C/1B SF 4 3 9 0 .500 1.558
8. Carl Crawford OF BOS 7 2 8 1 .345 1.057
9. Chase Headley* 3B SD 4 3 9 1 .333 1.175
10. Paul Goldschmidt 1B ARI 5 3 7 0 .435 1.288
11. Jarrod Dyson* OF KC 3 0 2 5 .526 1.263
12. Melky Carbrera OF SF 10 1 5 1 .345 1.096
13. Kendrys Morales* 1B/OF LAA 5 3 8 0 .391 1.288
14. Chris Johnson* 3B ARI 3 3 10 0 .382 1.292
15. Jose Reyes SS MIA 7 0 1 3 .429 1.073
16. Prince Fielder 1B DET 6 2 7 0 .421 1.362
17. Ian Kinsler 2B TEX 8 2 4 0 .393 1.112
18. Angel Pagan* OF SF 7 1 4 2 .350 1.085
19. Yadier Molina C STL 4 0 3 3 .500 1.091
20. Omar Infante* 2B DET 5 1 6 1 .471 1.362
21. Alex Rios OF CHW 7 2 4 0 .407 1.074
22. Scott Hairston* OF NYM 7 2 3 1 .333 1.035
23. Ryan Ludwick* OF CIN 2 2 11 0 .364 1.144
24. Carlos Beltran OF STL 6 2 4 1 .333 1.037
25. Ben Revere* OF MIN 5 0 2 3 .407 .874

* - less than 70% owned in Yahoo! leagues

Opportunity Knocks

If you need a late season push in stolen bases, it appears that there are plenty of names to be had on the waiver wire. Ben Revere was a highly-touted prospect who gets on base with regularity and will make plenty of things happen when he gets on (61 career SB in 781 ABs). Jarrod Dyson, Angel Pagan, Rajai Davis and Juan Pierre (especially, if he gets moved to a contender) are all owned by less than 70% of leagues.

I am not buying into the Chase Headley surge but I do like what Yonder Alonso has been able to do of late. He has two homers and eight doubles over his last 41 at-bats and has dual 1B-OF eligibility.

The entire Diamondbacks line-up appears to be blossoming finally. Justin Upton is showing signs of life and Paul Goldschmidt has been smacking the ball around. Aaron Hill shouldn't be on your waiver wire either. Chris Johnson, however, might be the sneaky pick-up at one of the worst positions in the game. He has three dingers and 10 RBIs over the last week and could be on the team that wins the NL West.

Some other call-ups to watch are Texas do-everything infield slugger Mike Olt, Cleveland outfielder Ezequiel Carrera (7-12 over the weekend) and the Phillies' Dominic Brown (5-18 since being called-up). The Cubs' Brett Jackson made his major league debut on Sunday and the outfielder could be an intriguing power-speed option, and teammate and hot corner prospect Josh Vitters should also take his first hacks in the big leagues at some point this week. Monitor closely and don't be afraid to add quickly.

Top 20 fantasy Starting Pitchers of last two weeks:

  Name Team IP W K ERA WHIP
1. A.J. Burnett PIT 25.0 3 20 1.44 0.56
2. Josh Johnson MIA 19.2 2 22 0.92 0.71
3. Chad Billingsley LAD 20.1 3 13 0.89 0.89
4. Scott Feldman* TEX 22.2 3 14 1.19 0.93
5. Felix Hernandez SEA 23.1 2 16 1.54 0.77
6. David Price TB 22.0 1 26 1.64 0.86
7. Wei-Yin Chen* BAL 19.1 2 21 1.40 1.03
8. Adam Wainwright STL 22.1 2 19 2.01 0.90
9. Doug Fister* DET 24.0 2 19 1.88 0.96
10. Mike Minor* ATL 18.2 1 14 1.45 0.75
11. Matt Latos CIN 20.1 3 16 1.77 1.18
12. Jason Vargas* SEA 15.0 2 9 1.80 0.67
13. Tim Hudson ATL 20.0 3 10 2.25 0.95
14. Hiroki Kuroda NYY 21.1 1 17 1.69 0.94
15. Jake Peavy CHW 14.0 2 14 1.29 1.07
16. Paul Maholm* ATL 21.2 1 20 2.08 0.97
17. Ian Kennedy ARI 20.1 3 17 3.10 1.08
18. Scott Diamond* MIN 16.1 1 9 1.65 0.67
19. Matt Moore TB 11.2 2 12 0.00 1.29
20. Bartolo Colon* OAK 13.2 2 8 0.00 1.17

* - less than 70% owned in Yahoo! leagues

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

1. Jonathon Niese, NYM: Miami (Tues.) 54% owned
One of the worst offenses in the majors will face one of the NL's pleasant surprises. He has gone at least 7.0 IP in six of last seven starts (five quality starts) and has six walks over that span. 

2. Ben Sheets, ATL: New York Mets (Sun.) 62% owned
The former Brewer who hasn't pitched in two years has been a god-send for the Braves. He's throwing in the lower 90s, gone at least 6.0 IP in all four starts and has allowed a total of 4 ER.

3. Ross Detwiler, WAS: at Houston (Tues.) 30% owned
Tossed a gem the last time out against the Phillies (W, 7.0, 0 ER, 3 K) and when he is on, he can be elite. And the Astros can't beat Stony Brook.

4. Paul Maholm, ATL: at New York Mets (Fri.) 46% owned
Has been lights-out since moving south to the A.T.L. Is the No. 16-rated SP over the last two weeks and has a 2.08 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and 20 Ks over his last 21.2 IP.

5. Erik Bedard, PIT: San Diego (Sun.) 27% owned
Before his blow-up on Tuesday, he had two elite starts in a row (15 K, 2 ER). He has basically a 9.0 K/9 rate and has a 1.63 career ERA against the Fathers of Southern Cal.

Top 20 fantasy Relief Pitchers of last month:

  Name Team IP W SV K HLD ERA WHIP
1. Aroldis Chapman CIN 16.1 0 16 34 0 0.00 0.55
2. Craig Kimbrel ATL 11.0 0 8 21 0 0.82 0.45
3. Fernando Rodney TB 13.0 0 8 12 0 0.00 0.92
4. Huston Street* SD 10.0 0 5 13 0 0.00 0.40
5. Kenley Jansen LAD 12.1 1 6 16 0 1.46 1.05
6. Jonathan Papelbon BOS 13.2 1 6 18 0 1.98 1.10
7. Jason Motte STL 9.2 1 5 14 0 0.93 0.83
8. Tom Wilhelmsen* SEA 10.1 0 8 12 0 2.61 0.87
9. Joel Hanrahan PIT 9.2 0 10 15 0 3.72 1.34
10. Joel Peralta* TB 12.1 1 0 18 7 1.46 0.57
11. J.J. Putz ARI 8.0 0 5 10 0 0.00 0.63
12. David Phelps* NYY 9.0 1 0 13 0 0.00 0.33
13. Vinnie Pestano* CLE 14.0 0 0 18 8 0.00 0.71
14. Greg Holland* KC 15.0 3 1 17 1 2.40 1.20
15. Kevin Jepsen* LAA 11.0 2 1 9 4 0.82 0.82
16. Brad Lincoln* TOR 15.1 0 1 13 3 0.59 0.72
17. Rafael Soriano NYY 10.1 0 6 13 0 2.61 0.97
18. Steve Cishek* FLA 8.2 0 5 9 1 0.00 0.92
19. Casey Janssen* TOR 10.0 0 3 12 0 0.90 0.70
20. Sean Marshall* CIN 11.1 2 0 12 7 0.79 1.06

* - 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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