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. Julio Rodriguez 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.

Starting Pitcher

Alex Faedo, Tigers: Faedo has been getting stronger with each outing since rejoining the rotation early this month, tossing a quality start against the Cubs on Monday – although, to be fair, he needed a couple unearned runs to meet that bar. Over three August starts the right-hander has a 2.87 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and 15:5 K:BB through 15.2 innings, and with Matt Manning potentially getting banged up in his last start, Faedo's spot in the rotation seems even safer. 12-team Mixed: $1; 15-team Mixed: $3; 12-team AL: $7

Mason Miller, Athletics: Surprisingly, there aren't a whole lot of injured players in the American League who a) are clearly on track to come off the IL when rosters expand in September and b) might be worth stashing ahead of their activation. Miller's on that short list – his triple-digit heat gives him the upside to potentially put up useful numbers down the stretch, and Oakland needs all the rotation help it can get. If he stays on turn based on his minor-league rehab schedule, his return to the big-league rotation will come next Sunday at home against the Angels. 12-team Mixed: $1; 15-team Mixed: $2; 12-team AL: $5

Cal Quantrill, Guardians: Quantrill made his final rehab start Saturday for Triple-A Columbus and delivered 7.1 solid innings, so I think it's safe to say he'll come off the IL right on the dot of Sept. 1. The right-hander was struggling badly before he was initially shut down in late May and his two starts after his abbreviated return in late June went no better, but he had a 4.06 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and 29:15 K:BB through 51 innings to begin the season. That's probably about the level of performance you should expect from him over the final month, and if he happens to return to his 2021-22 form, so much the better. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $1; 12-team AL: $4

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

Jhony Brito, Yankees (at DET, at HOU)
Xzavion Curry, Guardians (at MIN, vs. TB)
Zack Greinke, Royals (vs. PIT, vs. BOS)
Michael Kopech, White Sox (at BAL, vs. DET)

Relief Pitcher

Aaron Bummer / Jimmy Lambert, White Sox: The focus of save-chasers this week is going to be on the Baltimore bullpen (he says, wincing, while looking at his Felix Bautista keeper-league shares), but that could create some bargain-hunting opportunities in Chicago. Gregory Santos has been tagged for three-spots in two of his last three appearances, blowing saves each time, and given his high-90s heat his stint as closer is looking like the Reynaldo Lopez days all over again. If Santos gets moved down the depth chart, Lambert (who got a loose save in early August) and Bummer (the team's top lefty reliever) would seem to be the top options to take over in the ninth. Neither has closer-quality stuff, and neither's pitching all that well – Lambert has a 3.97 ERA and 1.41 WHIP in August with a 12:5 K:BB through 11.1 innings, while Bummer's numbers on the month are a 4.85 ERA, 1.54 WHIP and 18:9 K:BB through 13 frames – but somebody's going to get those occasional save chances if Santos doesn't. Both – 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $2

Yennier Cano, Orioles: Bautista's elbow trouble is terrifying, both for the O's and for fantasy GMs, but Cano was able to step up Saturday and get the job done in the ninth in his place. The breakout reliever is back to begin the late-inning lock he was to begin the season, and he has yet to allow a run in August while posting an 11:1 K:BB through 10.2 innings, so if Bautista is lost for the rest of the year and beyond, Cano's value shoots through the roof. In theory, Baltimore may want to put DL Hall into the ninth-inning mix too, and the lefty topped out at 98.9 mph with his fastball Saturday while working the eighth ahead of Cano. He could be worth a buck as a dart throw, but Brandon Hyde's bullpen usage the last couple years indicates he prefers having a set closer if there's someone deserving of the job, and Cano has certainly earned that chance. 12-team Mixed: $11; 15-team Mixed: $21; 12-team AL: Rostered

Jose Leclerc, Rangers: Texas' closer situation is looking shaky too as Will Smith has lost his feel for the strike zone in August. Aroldis Chapman is the most likely next man up, but his roster rates are still sky high wherever I looked (95 percent in the TGFBI, to pick one example) so he's probably unavailable for you. Leclerc, on the other hand, is the forgotten guy in the bullpen despite being in and out of the closer role ever since 2018. He's struggled with his control over the years too, but the 29-year-old righty is locked in right now, posting a 1.80 ERA, 0.80 WHIP and 16:4 K:BB through 15 innings since the All-Star break. Leclerc's best viewed as a ratio saver middle reliever option for the stretch run, but don't rule out him sneaking in a save or two down the stretch. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $3

Catcher

Korey Lee, White Sox: Yasmani Grandal continues to age rapidly, which probably has anyone who's still rostering him feeling like they chose poorly. Lee had a huge power year at Triple-A for Houston in 2022, but this season at Sugar Land he traded that power for batting average while getting passed convincingly on the organizational depth chart by Yainer Diaz. That made the 25-year-old – nine years younger than Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, if you're keeping track at home – expendable, and Lee got flipped to the White Sox at the deadline for Kendall Graveman. Chicago has absolutely no reason not to give him the starting job down the stretch to see what he can do with it, although Carlos Perez could also be back up in September to compete for it, and Seby Zavala should be healthy by then too. I guess I should rephrase that earlier statement, and say Chicago has absolutely no reason to give Grandal, a free agent this winter, any more playing time at all. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $3

First Base

Ryan Noda, Athletics: Noda came off the IL at the beginning of the week and immediately began raking again, going 7-for-18 with four walks and a homer. (Three HBPs were a nice bonus in OBP leagues too.) His strikeouts will always make him a batting average risk, but guys with his power/patience profile can have solid value, and the A's have been using him in the leadoff spot against righties. The biggest worry here is Noda's platoon role, really. Otherwise, he should give you exactly what you pay for in September. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $2; 12-team AL: $5

Second Base

Vidal Brujan, Rays: As per usual, Brujan got called up just to sit on the Tampa bench, and he's got basically no value in redraft formats. I'm listing here only for keeper league GMs, who may want to stash him in the hopes he gets traded in the offseason to a team that has room for him – on the right roster, he could be to the 2024 fantasy landscape what Esteury Ruiz was this year, and Jorge Mateo and Jon Berti were in 2022. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1

Jose Caballero, Mariners: Speaking of steals, Caballero has five in the last two weeks despite only getting 28 plate appearances. The rookie has a .571 OBP over that stretch thanks to three walks and an incredible five hit-by-pitches, and while that's obviously an unsustainable pace for many reasons, there are worse uses of a roster spot in deep AL-only formats. Unless Josh Rojas slumps again though, Caballero will be stuck on the short side of a platoon at second base. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $2

Josh Rojas, Mariners: Speaking of Rojas, he's found his groove on the strong side of that platoon. The 29-year-old infielder has a Julio Rodriguez-esque 12 hits in his last six games with two homers, three steals, six RBI and nine runs, and he's now slashing .300/.333/.483 since being acquired by the M's in the Paul Sewald deal. Rojas teased some intriguing upside the last two years in Arizona, and it wouldn't be a huge shock if he carried this hot streak straight into September. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $2; 12-team AL: Rostered

Donovan Solano, Twins: Speaking of, uhh... utility infielders (not sure how much longer I can keep this bit going for), Solano has been making good contact again since sitting out four games in the middle of the month due to a minor knee issue. Prior to an 0-for-4 showing Saturday, he's batted .310 (13-for-42) over his prior 10 games, albeit with just three doubles, three RBI and three runs. While he's hot, the 35-year-old has some deep-league value as as a batting average booster, but should Alex Kirilloff ever get healthy, Solano's main path to playing time at first base would be closed off. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $2

Lenyn Sosa, White Sox: The surest sign that the White Sox are committed to their rebuild is the fact that they've given the second-base job to Sosa instead of keeping retread Elvis Andrus in that spot. Andrus is still getting too much playing time in a utility role, mind you, but at least it's not at Sosa's expense. The 23-year-old has started five of the last six games, facing both lefties and righties, and over his last eight contests he's batting .308 (8-for-26) with three homers and eight RBI. Considering his career .282/.330/.490 slash line at Triple-A in about a season's worth of plate appearances, that pace may not be too far above Sosa's head. 12-team Mixed: $2; 15-team Mixed: $5; 12-team AL: $11

Shortstop

Osleivis Basabe, Rays: The Wander Franco situation has forced the Rays to turn to Basabe perhaps earlier than they might have liked, but the 22-year-old has held his own as the starting shortstop, slashing .286/.333/.429 through his first 12 big-league games with three doubles and a homer. However, I'm reluctant to fully endorse him, as Taylor Walls should come off the IL in September, and he's both a switch hitter and a defensive whiz. A platoon between the two, with Basabe on the short side, is plausible, as is the usual Rays approach of shuffling guys around every night based on the recommendations of their analytic sorcery department. At least at the moment though, Basabe looks like better offensive option of the two, if that's the team's priority. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $2; 12-team AL: $5

Oswald Peraza, Yankees: The Yankees are inching closer to going full youth movement in September around Aaron Judge, and honestly, doing so might even improve their chances of a miracle wild-card finish. Peraza's started five straight games since his latest promotion, four at third base and one at shortstop, but he's gone just 2-for-18 with eight strikeouts. The 23-year-old has shown intriguing power and speed at Triple-A the last two years – 34 HR and 51 SB in 170 career games for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre – and he hasn't had serious contact concerns coming up through the system, so odds are he'll figure it out. Whether the Yankees give him the playing time to do it in September when DJ LeMahieu is no longer needed at first base is the real question. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $1; 12-team AL: $4

Taylor Walls, Rays: Walls is on track to return from his oblique injury Sept. 1, and the 27-year-old was seeing consistent playing time before he got hurt in late July. He wasn't doing a lot with it, slashing .211/.318/.246 over his last 20 games before being sidelined with four steals, four RBI and eight runs, but his slick glove kept him busy. It's hard to imagine him getting less playing time with Franco unavailable, and he has had a couple hot streaks this season, including a 12-game run in late April/early May in which he posted a .316/.381/.711 line with four homers. Maybe the time off recharged his batteries? It probably won't cost much to find out given his overall numbers, so if you're hurting at middle infield and need to gamble, Walls could be your best option. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $2

Outfield

Wilyer Abreu, Red Sox: Abreu got called up Tuesday, had a four-hit, four-RBI game Thursday that included his first big-league homer... and he's barely gotten off the bench since, seeing only one pinch-hit opportunity. You can see why a team 12.5 games out of the division lead and just kind of hanging around the fringes of the wild-card conversation (the Red Sox are 3.5 games out of the final spot, but would have to leapfrog both the Blue Jays and at least one of the losers of the three-horse race in the AL West to make the playoffs) would want to give 34-year-old Adam Duvall more playing time in center field rather than the kid a decade younger. Abreu had a .271/.388/.535 slash line at Triple-A with 22 homers in 86 games when he was promoted and deserves a shot, but to be fair the April version of Duvall has shown up again and he's got four homers and four doubles in his last six games. Meanwhile, 38-year-old DH Justin Turner is slashing .333/.407/.625 in 12 games since coming off the IL. OK, maybe Abreu does have to wait his turn, at least until the Red Sox are more clearly headed for an early offseason. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1

Trey Cabbage, Angels: Cabbage got called back up Friday when Mike Trout was returned to the IL, and while he was up got most of his playing time at first base during his last stint with the Halos, Nolan Schanuel's presence probably cuts off that path to playing time this time around. (Schanuel was actually out of action Saturday due to food poisoning, and there's definitely a joke there involving Trout and Cabbage, but I'll leave that as an exercise for you, the reader, to tease out.) Cabbage has enjoyed his time at Salt Lake's hitter-friendly PCL environs this season, but it's not clear if he can come close to those kind of numbers in the majors and in a more neutral park. His 50 percent strikeout rate so far in the big leagues is a strong sign he won't, though. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1

Parker Meadows, Tigers: Austin's younger brother made it to the Show on Monday and has started five straight games, going an impressive 6-for-17 (.353) and making his first homer especially memorable by launching a walk-off shot Friday against Astros closer Ryan Pressly. Like his older sibling, Meadows offers power and speed with a questionable hit tool, but his defense figures to keep him in the lineup even if the quality of his contact declines. It doesn't look like the Meadows boys will share an outfield in 2023 as Austin deals with his anxiety issues, but Parker should get a chance to establish himself as a regular over the final weeks. 12-team Mixed: $2; 15-team Mixed: $5; 12-team AL: $11

Everson Pereira, Yankees: Called up at the beginning of the week along with Peraza, Pereira made his big-league debut Tuesday and has also struggled a bit, going 2-for-18 with seven strikeouts while starting five straight games in left field. The 22-year-old's .312/.386/.551 slash line through 35 games at Triple-A is impressive though, and he even slightly improved his strikeout rate from Double-A earlier in the year. Pereira offers more power than speed but should still contribute in steals, and the quality of his contact allowed him to run high BABIPs in the minors. There's five-category upside in his profile, and while he probably needs a bit of time to reach it, he could also move the needle in September if he starts to figure things out. 12-team Mixed: $3; 15-team Mixed: $7; 12-team AL: $15