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High Fives: Gausman, bird of interest on the wire

The Yahoo Fantasy Baseball '16 season has one month in the books. With that in mind, Brandon Funston, Dalton Del Don and Andy Behrens take a look at the April movers and shakers on the waiver wire that should pique the interest of fantasy owners. Let's get to it ...

Top 5 hitters owned in 50 percent of leagues or less to target right now

1. Odubel Herrera, Phi-  Has some pop, has plenty of speed, and he's seeing the 2nd-most pitches per AB in the league - I like that an awful lot.

1.Zack Cozart, Cin -  Leading off for Cincy, offers power and run-scoring at a premium position.

1. Alex Rodriguez, NYY - Off to a slow start but had 33 homers and 86 RBI last year

2. Brandon Phillips, CinA bit banged up right now, but he's carried over his uptick in SBs from last year and his bat plays nicely as the Reds' cleanup man

2.Jake Lamb, AriHe's still hitting for average, plus he can provide respectable pop. 

2. Delino DeShields, Tex - Still possesses 35+ steal upside

3. Jake Lamb, AriDecent pedigree and friendly home park, but more importantly a current OPS of .945

3.Khris Davis, Oak His power is well known, and the bat seems to be coming alive. Sure bet for 20-plus homers. 

3. Jarrod Dyson, KC - Should be universally owned


4.  Byung Ho Park, Min - 1st two weeks of his MLB career were so bad I almost wrote him off for good, but he's turned it around and found his power

4.Joe Mauer, MinNo power to speak of, but he's raking, delivering a vintage Mauer slash.

4. Melvin Upton Jr., SD - Off to a strong start. Has attempted nine steals in 22 games

5. Ketel Marte, Sea He's seeing time at the top of the M's order and is riding a nice 7-game hit streak at the moment

5. Trea Turner, Was -  Call-up seems inevitable; he'll provide average and steals from a middle infield spot.

5. Byung Ho Park, Min - Odd someone with an .877 OPS is barely owned in 40% of leagues

 

Top 5 pitchers owned in 50 percent of leagues or less to target right now

1. Joe Smith, LAA -  Closer of the moment for Angels while Huston Street is out, which could be several weeks

1.Tyler Glasnow, PitAbsolutely dominating in the high minors, sure to make an impact in the big leagues soon.

1. Drew Pomeranz, SD - Has 31 strikeouts over 22.0 innings. Go pick him up

2. Kevin Jepsen, MinHe's probably the crappiest closer you could employ right now, but all current closers should have a place at the roto table

2.Nate Jones, CWSHe's back to form, shaming hitters. The sort of RP you want to own, even in a non-closing role.

2. Kevin Gausman, Bal - Back now and there's still plenty of potential

3. Kevin Gausman, BalAfter showing nice upside 1st couple season, 25-year-old has obvious breakout potential

3.Kevin Gausman, Bal -  Scary stuff in his 2016 debut, routinely working in the upper-90s. You want him. 

3. Lucas Giolito, Was - Should be stashed in all deeper leagues


4.  Darren O'Day, BalI'll say it again, who can't use 60-70 IP of ridiculous ratios and at least a K/IP?

4.Cingrani-Cotham-Ohlendorf, Cin -  One of these guys is gonna close, because someone has to.

4. Nathan Eovaldi, NYY - His 23.0 K-BB% is top-10 in baseball

5. Drew Pomeranz, SDWas knocked around in his last start, but his numbers since leaving COL have been worthy

5. Joe Smith, LAAHuston Street is headed to the DL with an oblique issue, leaving Smith to close.

5. Luis Severino, NYY - Off to a slow start, but it's come with a 4:1 K:BB ratio

 

Top 5 hitters owned in 15 percent of leagues or less to target right now

1. Michael Saunders, Tor -  He's No. 1 with a bullet for me here as TOR leadoff man that has shown 20/20 skills in past for SEA

1.Chris Owings, AriRegular playing time, eligibility at 2B/SS/OF, and green light on the bases.

1. Jed Lowrie, Oak - He's batting .325 and available at 2B/SS/3B

2. David Freese, PitHe's in the catbird seat of PIT's lineup, following OBP machine McCutchen in the order

2.Coco Crisp, OakAverage hasn't been there just yet, but you can trust him to hit and to steal. 

2. Pedro Alvarez, Bal - Still 30+ homer upside here

3. Chris Owings, Ari He's a nice plug-n-play for the speed needy, especially since he's has some position versatility

3. David Freese, PitContinues to bat third for Pittsburgh (not that he should), in position to drive in plenty of runs. 

3. Chris Owings, Ari - On pace for 34 steals in just 142 games played


4.  Joey Rickard, Bal Like Saunders, you have to be intrigued by a leadoff hitter for one of MLB's top offenses

4. Jed Lowrie, Oak -  A multi-hit machine who offers positional flexibility (2B/3B/SS).

4. Joey Rickard, Bal - Is hitting leadoff in a lineup with a lot of run scoring potential

5. Jed Lowrie, Oak Plays premium position, has 2nd-most RBI among sub-15% crowd and riding a 7-game hitting streak

5. Joey Rickard, Bal -  Another respectable leadoff hitter, available for free.

5. Cameron Maybin, Det - Will be plenty valuable once he's off the disabled list

 

Top 5 pitchers owned in 15 percent of leagues or less to target right now

1. Trevor May, Min - Has 2nd-most Ks (20) among RPs, and probably won't be too long before he overtakes Jepsen for Twins closer role

1. Blake Snell, TBOwnership percentage hovering near 15, but we'll see him again soon enough. Serious K potential.

1. Caleb Cotham, Cin - A real chance to become Cincy's closer

2. Seung-Hwan Oh, StlSet-up man with outstanding ratios and the 4th-most Ks (19) among RPs

2. Cingrani-Cotham-Ohlendorf, Cin -  One of these guys is in line for saves, presumably.  Prioritize as listed here. 

2. Trevor May, Min - Has 20 strikeouts in 12.1 innings and could soon become an option to close in Minnesota

3. Caleb Cotham, Cin About the only Reds RP that's been worth a damn this year, which makes him a leading contender to start earning saves for CIN

3. Nathan Karns, Sea -  Not a guy you use in every start, but the upcoming matchup at Oakland has some appeal. 

3. Alex Cobb, TB - Should be stashed in leagues with the DL option


4.  Hector Neris, PhiAnother set-up man, and like Oh, he's been a dominating one at that

4. Nick Vincent, Sea -  He's putting up excellent ratios in a set-up role, striking out better than a batter per inning.

4. Julio Urias, LAD - Everyone will rush to the waiver wire once he's called up

5. Jhoulys Chacin, AtlHe's a lot more interesting now that he's not in COL, especially with his current 6:1 K-to-BB ratio

5. Hector Neris, PhiSub-1.00 ratios and a ridiculous K-rate.

5. Hunter Strickland, SF - Still in line to pick up saves if something happens to Santiago Casilla

 

Top 5 favorite buy-low candidates

1. Matt Harvey, NYM - His velocity is fine, and his Ks are improving slightly with each outing - I'm not too worried

1. Jose Fernandez, Mia - If you're a frustrated Fernandez owner, please send him my way. I'm here for you.

1. Matt Harvey, NYM - Has a 4.76 ERA and 1.52 WHIP, but I'd still treat him as a top-10 fantasy SP moving forward

2. Justin Upton, DetHas moved a lot in his career and has delivered consistently solid returns at each stop - unusually ugly K:BB rate suggests he's pressing

2. Freddie Freeman, AtlHomered on Wednesday, so act soon if you're interested in buying.

2. Joey Votto, Cin - Hit .362/.535/.617 after the All-Star break last season. He'll be fine

3. Kyle Seager, Sea Has the lowest BABIP among regualrs, and is a notorious slow starter - I'm still expecting the usual .260-.270, mid-20s HR return

3. Charlie Blackmon, Col Returning soon from the DL, and wasn't hitting much before the injury.

3. Max Scherzer, Was - Disappointing first month of the year, but his K rate and SwStr% remain strong


4.  Charlie Blackmon, ColExpected to come off DL soon (toe) - likely to be able to get him cheaper right now than his draft-day value, but no reason to think he won't return his spring price tag the rest of the way

4. Max Scherzer, WasMax's velocity and his swinging-strike rate are still excellent. Not much reason for long-range worry.

4. Dallas Keuchel, Hou - Velocity has been down but his 11.7 SwStr% is easily a career high

5. Chris Archer, TBMight be too late after his dominating 10-K turn his last time out, but he's had the highest BABIP among SPs, so worth buy-low bids

5. Francisco Liriano, PitHe has a get-right start coming up against Cincinnati.

5. Adam Wainwright, Stl - He's been genuinely terrible so far, so there's a real chance you can get him at a major discount at this point