This article is part of our Fantrax Waiver Wire series.
Ahead of each Premier League gameweek, I'll take a look at sub-50 percent rostered players on Fantrax whose situations may have changed or improved, and assess whether or not they are worth a pickup in season-long leagues.
GOALKEEPER
Jason Steele (19-percent rostered): Steele was back in net this weekend after yielding two starts to Bart Verbruggen (11 percent), posting five Fantrax points during Saturday's 3-1 win over Manchester United. This is already a frustrating situation, but I'm happy to roster Brighton's goalkeeper, whoever it is, in almost any matchup. Similarly, David Raya (51 percent) made his first start for Arsenal, posting a 12.25-point performance during a shutout win over Everton. There's no guarantee he starts moving forward, either, but he's worth a speculative pickup on waivers before needing to figure it out this weekend.
DEFENDERS
Timothy Castagne (21 percent): Making his first start since joining Fulham, Castagne had a 14-point performance on the back of a clean sheet during Saturday's 1-0 win over Luton Town. Castagne offers upside from full-back as he crossed twice, created a chance and made four tackles in the match and gets a good matchup in Gameweek 6 against Crystal Palace if Antonee Robinson remains out injured.
Tariq Lamptey (10 percent): Speaking of upside from full-back, Lamptey showed his tantalizing talent with two assists from two chances created during Saturday's win over Manchester United. It was his first start of the season after recovering from a knee injury which kept him out of the majority of the back half of last season. The question with Lamptey is whether the minutes will be there, as he only started at left-back because Pervis Estupinan was rested following international duty. Lamptey has just 19 starts out of his 50 league appearances in the previous two seasons.
MIDFIELDERS
Gustavo Hamer (35 percent): Hamer left Saturday's match against Spurs with an injury, so monitor the severity of that, but before subbing off, he scored 18.5 points with his second goal of the young campaign. Hamer has scored double-digit points in three of his four starts and has plenty of talent in his boots after a 21-goal involvement season for Coventry City in the Championship last season.
Fabio Vieira (42 percent): Vieira made his first start of the season, replacing Kai Havertz in the starting XI during Sunday's 1-0 win over Everton. I wrote up Vieira after having two assists as a substitute in a 18.5-point performance on Aug. 26 against Fulham. Havertz hasn't played well to start the season but came with a big price tag, so it's no guarantee that Vieira will continue to take starts over the German. That said, this is also the last chance to pick him up if he does carve out a starting role.
FORWARDS
Hee-Chan Hwang (13 percent): Hwang scored Wolves' lone goal during Saturday's 3-1 loss to Liverpool and now has three goals in five appearances. The forward has started just two matches, but his goal returns should see him in a starting role moving forward for a team who is desperate for someone who can score. Throw in a matchup against Luton Town at the weekend and Hwang becomes an excellent stream before going back to the bench or wire next week against Manchester City.
Carlos Vinicius (28 percent): This is more of a speculative add for now, but Vinicius could be set to take over starting No. 9 duties for Fulham after scoring the lone goal as a substitute during Saturday's 1-0 win over Luton Town. It was Vinicius' first appearance of the season, but starting forward Raul Jimenez has done next to nothing and sadly hasn't been the player he was following a severe head injury.
Vinicius was in a bunch of rumors to move elsewhere over the summer and now that nothing happened, it looks like he's an option for Marco Silva again. Vinicius scored five goals and provided two assists last season as a backup to Aleksandar Mitrovic and could get a run of starts in the near future at a thin position on Fantrax.
