AL FAAB Factor: Waiver Pickups of the Week

This is our weekly look at American League free agents. We have two goals for this article:

1. Identify likely free agents and discuss their strengths and weaknesses.

2. Estimate how much of your $100 starting free-agent budget you should bid on them.

We've incorporated grids into the FAAB articles, so users can easily see at a glance how certain players stack up against others and how much they should command in a variety of formats.

The grids, which are sortable by column (click on the header), include a very basic "player grade" column. This serves as a reflection of a player's skills and talent on an A-E scale. Luis Robert would have been an "A" grade player last year – that mark will be reserved for similarly high-impact prospects that could thrive in an everyday role.

As always, if there is a player that was not discussed in the article that you would like to know about, feel free to ask about the player in the comments.

AL FAAB | NL FAAB

Starting Pitcher

Kolby Allard, Rangers: The 23-year-old southpaw has been quietly effective since moving into the rotation at the end of May, posting a 2.70 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and 20:4 K:BB in 20 innings over four starts as he gets stretched out. It's easy to forget Allard had some real prospect cache back in the day – he was a first-round pick for Atlanta in 2015, and while he never put up the kind of strikeout numbers that would have made him elite, he had some solid ratios in the high minors. It's taken him a few years, but Allard might finally be getting the hang of retiring big-league hitters. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $2; 12-team AL: $5

Tom Eshelman, Orioles: Baltimore continues to churn through rotation options, and Friday it was Eshelman's turn. The 27-year-old held the Jays in check over 4.2 innings, which should be good enough to earn him a longer look while John Means and Bruce Zimmermann are sidelined. Eshelman had a 6.41 ERA at Triple-A this year and a career 5.02 ERA in the majors though, and neither of those figures are a product of bad luck. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1

Chris Flexen, Mariners: Flexen has three quality starts and has blanked the opposition twice in his last four starts, but he got tagged for eight earned runs over 12 innings in the other two, which gives you an idea of his volatility. That makes him either a DFS dart throw, or a long-term investment in deep formats, as his 2.67 ERA, 0.85 WHIP and 20:3 K:BB through 27 innings over that stretch are still useful numbers in a lot of fantasy leagues. His lack of K's does limit his upside, however. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $3; 12-team AL: Rostered

Dean Kremer, Orioles: Kremer returned to the O's rotation this week and did alright in his two-step, looking a bit shaky in Cleveland on Monday but then delivering a quality start against the Jays on Saturday only to get denied his first win by a bullpen meltdown in the ninth. His overall numbers in the majors in 2021 aren't good, but the main issue is homers (13 allowed in 49.2 innings, including two Saturday) – he has the strikeout potential to be useful if he figures out how to either keep the ball in the park, or make sure nobody's on base when he does get teed up. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $2

Matt Manning, Tigers: Full disclosure here – I am still a firm believer that Manning will be the best of Detroit's young pitching trio in the long run, ahead of Casey Mize and Tarik Skubal. Even so, I can't deny that he was mostly awful at Triple-A to begin the year, serving up a hideous 11 homers in his first 26.1 innings with Toledo to fuel an 8.07 ERA. Manning looked better in his last Triple-A outing and in his big-league debut Thursday though, and he seems to have found a rhythm with his mechanics that he was lacking in May, not a surprising development for a lanky 6-6 righty. His ceiling is sky high given his power arm, but how much value he provides as a rookie will depend on how well he can keep his delivery locked in, how tight he can keep his curveball, and how effective his still-developing changeup is. The range of outcomes in 2021 for Manning is wide, but if you need an upside play to make up ground in pitching categories, he's worth gambling on. 12-team Mixed: $2; 15-team Mixed: $5; 12-team AL: $13

Eli Morgan, Cleveland: An unheralded 25-year-old junkballing righty, Morgan was pressed into duty in the rotation and has predictably struggled in two outings. His best selling point this week is the potential for two starts, at the Cubs and Twins on Tuesday and Sunday, but Cleveland is desperate enough for innings with Shane Bieber and Zach Plesac both out that Morgan likely has a longer leash that his numbers would suggest. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1

Wily Peralta, Tigers: Detroit's another team scrambling to plug rotation holes, which is why a 32-year-old journeyman like Peralta is getting a look. He hasn't posted palatable numbers as a starter in the majors since 2014, although he did scrape together 14 saves for the Royals a few years ago, and there's no reason to think he's going to have better results this time around. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1

Cal Quantrill, Cleveland: Has Quantrill turned a corner? In two starts this week he managed a 1.00 ERA and 0.89 WHIP despite working on short rest in the second one, although it shouldn't be overlooked that he was facing the O's and Pirates, teams that rank 26th and 25th respectively in wRC+ against righties. He remains on the fringes of sleeper status for a variety of reasons, from his big-league bloodlines to his organization's track record of developing aces, but as yet I'm not sold that Quantrill is really going to amount to anything. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $2

Patrick Sandoval, Angels: Sandoval has worked at least five innings in five straight outings, posting a 2.93 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 30:9 K:BB through 27.2 innings over that stretch. That should be good enough to keep him in the Angels' six-man rotation even once Jose Quintana gets healthy, but then you have to ask why Quintana was even ahead of him in the first place. Sandoval's biggest issue remains homers – he has a career 1.80 HR/9, and a 1.62 mark this year – but he's done a better job lately of keeping the ball in the yard, which would be the key to any kind of breakout for him. 12-team Mixed: $1; 15-team Mixed: $4; 12-team AL: $9

Michael Wacha, Rays: Tyler Glasnow's injury pushed Wacha back into the rotation, but his outing Saturday was an ugly one. The 29-year-old righty doesn't have great strikeout upside and hasn't put up decent numbers since 2018, and while the organization doesn't have a lot healthy alternatives right now, Tampa's more likely to get creative than stick with a struggling Wacha. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1

Other two-start options, Mon-Sun (12-team Mixed: $1; 15-team Mixed: $1; 12-team AL: $1)

Keegan Akin, Orioles (vs. HOU, at TOR)

J.A. Happ, Twins (vs. CIN. vs. CLE)

Jorge Lopez, Orioles (vs. HOU, at TOR)

Jordan Lyles, Rangers (vs. OAK, vs. KC)

Relief Pitcher

Zack Britton, Yankees: Britton made his season debut last weekend and has fired off three scoreless innings since. This is the time of year in many leagues when you want to start stashing relievers who can protect your ratios even if they don't get saves, and Britton easily qualifies even if he doesn't have the elite strikeout upside he used to. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $2

Greg Holland, Royals: The Kansas City Closer Shuffle continues to bleed FAAB budgets as fantasy GMs think they've finally figured out what the con is, only for the Royals to stay one step ahead. Holland cashed in his monthly save Friday, but since Josh Staumont hasn't gotten one in a month, the veteran is going to draw some bids on the assumption he's now the guy. He isn't, or at least Holland has no more claim to the job than Scott Barlow (last save: June 3) or Kyle Zimmer (last save: May 25) does. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $3

Collin McHugh, Rays: McHugh hasn't been the vulture someone like Yusmeiro Petit has been in the first half, managing only one win and three holds, but he's been an absolute rock when it comes to stabilizing ratios. Since the beginning of May, the veteran righty has a 0.43 ERA, 0.86 WHIP and 34:6 K:BB through 21 innings over only 12 appearances. Even beyond him providing a nice supporting piece for your staff, that length could lead to more fantasy value via wins if the rotation spot currently held by Wacha becomes more of a bullpen day. McHugh doesn't need his role to change to be useful, though. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $1; 12-team AL: $4

Nick Sandlin, Cleveland: A second-round pick in 2018, Sandlin was in Triple-A by the following year and made his big-league debut this season, reeling off a 1.86 ERA, 0.67 WHIP and 29:8 K:BB through his first 19.1 MLB innings. The 24-year-old fires a mid-90s fastball and simply vicious slider from a whippy sidearm angle, and so far hitters have been utterly baffled by the combo as he sits in the 95th percentile in max exit velocity against (and try not to wince when you see the pic of his delivery on his Statcast page). He's got no path to closing as long as Emmanuel Clase and James Karinchak are getting the job done, but Sandlin doesn't need saves to have value with those kind of numbers. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $2

Drew Steckenrider, Mariners: Steckenrider was viewed as a possible future closer in Miami a few years ago, but elbow trouble scuttled his 2019 and he wound up signing a minor-league deal with Seattle this offseason. The 30-year-old doesn't have the same heat he used to, averaging 93 mph with his fastball, but he's getting results – he's been scored upon only once in 12 appearances since the beginning of May, racking up a 1.32 ERA, 0.59 WHIP and 11:3 K:BB over 13.2 innings during that stretch. Kendall Graveman still seems to be slightly preferred as the closing option for the M's right now, but he's got a limited track record and Steckenrider got his first save of the season Monday. Given the unsettled nature of the bullpen around him, more could be coming if he stays effective. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $2

Josh Taylor, Red Sox: One final non-closing arm to consider is Taylor. The 28-year-old had a strong 2019 then saw his velocity drop last year amidst shoulder trouble, but he's back to averaging 94.4 mph with his fastball this season and is on some kind of roll – after a brutal beginning to the campaign he hasn't been scored upon since April 24, firing off 15 straight scoreless innings with a 20:5 K:BB since then. Taylor likely sits third in the saves pecking order for Boston behind Matt Barnes and Adam Ottavino, but neither of those guys has exactly been a pillar of consistency in their careers. Even if they don't falter, Taylor's got nine holds and the ratios to provide value in deeper formats. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1

Catcher

Jason Castro, Astros: Castro came off the IL on Tuesday and has gotten one start since as Martin Maldonado continues to shoulder a heavy load. Houston's also keeping Garrett Stubbs around for now, but at some point Castro should settle back into the clear No. 2 role and see enough ABs to have a bit of utility in deep leagues. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1

Ryan Lavarnway, Cleveland: With Cleveland down its top two backstops, the much-traveled Lavarnway gets another shot at a big-league job. The 33-year-old has a career .618 OPS, which actually isn't terrible compared to other journeyman catchers, but it looks like he's taking a back seat to Rene Rivera for now. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1

Rene Rivera, Cleveland: Rivera is four years older than Lavarnway and has a similar .628 career OPS, but his defensive rep gets him the starting nod until Roberto Perez or Austin Hedges get healthy, which gives him a better chance of picking up the occasional counting stat. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $2

Luis Torrens, Mariners: The M's continue to play musical chairs behind the plate, and after about a month at Triple-A, Torrens is back in a timeshare with Tom Murphy for Seattle. The 25-year-old has two homers and a double among six hits in 13 at-bats since his return and does his some offensive upside, but he was only hitting .219 at Triple-A so that hot streak may not last long. The real threat, both to Torrens and Murphy, is Cal Raleigh and his .341/.393/.644 slash line at Tacoma, but as yet the team hasn't been in a rush to start his clock. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $3

First Base

Jake Bauers, Mariners: Seattle was desperate enough for some consistency at first base that they gave Bauers a look after Cleveland cut him loose, and he rewarded the M's with a .333/.366/.436 slash line through his first 10 games with them. That's just a wee bit better than his career .217/.312/.368 line in nearly 1,000 plate appearances, so don't get too excited. Still, with Evan White having a setback in his recovery this week, there's a starting job open for Bauers as long as he contributes something with either his bat or his glove. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $2

Ji-Man Choi, Rays: Choi's had trouble staying healthy this year, but he returned from his latest IL stint Monday and the door remains open for someone to get hot and lay claim to the starting job at first base for Tampa. A 3-for-16 stumble out of the gate since he rejoined the roster won't get it done, though. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $2

Second Base

Luis Arraez, Twins: The 24-year-old rejoined the roster Monday and has started four straight games to close out the week, and the demotion of Willians Astudillo suggests Arraez will be the Twins' main utility guy. He's got a career .316 batting average but doesn't offer much else from a fantasy perspective, but contributing in one category is better than none, and with Andrelton Simmons seemingly always dealing with an ankle issue, there should be plenty of playing time at second base for Arraez when Jorge Polanco shifts over to short. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $3

Robel Garcia, Astros: Alex Bregman could be out until the All-Star break with a quad strain and Aledmys Diaz has a similar timeline to return from a broken hand, creating a void at third base for Houston. Abraham Toro is the most likely candidate to fill it, but Garcia should see his share of playing time as well while handling Diaz's utility role. The 28-year-old did create a bit of a stir with the Cubs in 2019, but since then it looks like big-league pitchers have him figured out, leaving him with minimal upside at the plate. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1

Tony Kemp, Athletics: Kemp has started eight straight games and 11 of the last 12 en route to a .306/.417/.612 slash line in June with three homers, 12 RBI and 15 runs in 15 contests. There's no way the 29-year-old keeps up that pace, but he doesn't need to be that hot to keep a starting job, especially with Stephen Piscotty hurt and Jed Lowrie doing little at the plate. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $2; 12-team AL: $5

Shed Long, Mariners: Long made his season debut a couple weeks ago in a bench role, but he's now started seven straight games, slashing a respectable .280/.333/.440 over that stretch. The 25-year-old doesn't have a homer or a steal yet but he does offer modest upside in both, so he could be very useful in the short term. He could also be back on the bench the moment he cools down. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1

Luis Rengifo, Angels: Rengifo has gone 4-for-11 with a double and a homer since being called up Wednesday, but the 24-year-old doesn't have a clear path to a consistent starting role without an injury on the Angels' infield. He was hitting well at Triple-A when he was promoted, but Salt Lake isn't a tough place to hit, and he still has a lot to prove given his .639 career OPS in the majors. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $2

Third Base

Isaac Paredes, Tigers: The 22-year-old has been bouncing up and down from Toledo this month, but Niko Goodrum's finger injury could give Paredes a path to regular at-bats in the short term. He has more upside than his .579 career OPS in 40 big-league games would suggest, but he might still not be ready. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1

Abraham Toro, Astros: Toro has started two of three games since Bregman went down, going 3-for-6 with a homer and a steal. The 24-year-old has been laying waste to upper-minors pitching since 2019 but hasn't yet clicked in the majors, but a few weeks with consistent playing time could be just what he needs to get going. The stolen base was probably a fluke, but Toro offers some intriguing four-category upside, especially in this lineup. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $3; 12-team AL: $7

Shortstop

Ernie Clement, Cleveland: The 25-year-old took Owen Miller's spot on Cleveland's bench last weekend, and Clement has gotten a couple starts while going 3-for-9 to begin his MLB career. His minor-league numbers don't suggest he has anything more than a bit of upside in steals though. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1

Santiago Espinal, Blue Jays: Espinal has gotten steady playing time since being called back up Tuesday, going 7-for-13 with a double while starting four games. His chances have come at third base with a couple other Jays away from the team on paternity leave though, which has pushed Cavan Biggio to the outfield. Once the likes of Teoscar Hernandez are back and passing out cigars in the clubhouse, Espinal will be back on the bench, taxi squad or Triple-A. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1

Outfield

Daz Cameron, Tigers: The one-time top prospect was scorching the ball at Triple-A, so the Tigers elected to give him another look. Cameron has big-league DNA and elite athleticism, and he's still only 24, so he could easily be a late bloomer. He's also struck out seven times in 26 PAs since his promotion though, so while two homers and a steal is nice, he needs to prove he can solve his contact issues to have any real shot at sticking around. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $3

Brian Goodwin, White Sox: Goodwin finally got called up a couple weeks ago to bolster Chicago's injury-ravaged outfield, and he's started seven of the last eight games. You know what to expect from the 30-year-old when he gets playing time at this point – decent power and an occasional steal, but his batting average tends more towards "could be worse" territory than a fantasy asset. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $2; 12-team AL: $5

Taylor Ward, Angels: Ward has a nine-game hitting streak going, but he's been raking longer than that. The 27-year-old has a .310/.403/.552 slash line with three homers and 13 RBI in June, solidifying right field and buying the Angels more time for one of their outfield prospects to get going at Triple-A. For whatever reason, Ward remains available in most 12-team formats and too many 15-teamers, but his current form demands a roster spot. 12-team Mixed: $3; 15-team Mixed: $7; 12-team AL: Rostered