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 (8/20-8/26):
| Name | Team | Pos. | R | HR | RBI | SB | BA | OPS | |
| 1. | Adrian Beltre | TEX | 3B | 7 | 5 | 9 | 0 | .433 | 1.533 |
| 2. | Jason Heyward | ATL | OF | 5 | 4 | 8 | 2 | .393 | 1.254 |
| 3. | Allen Craig | STL | 1/2/OF | 8 | 2 | 9 | 0 | .440 | 1.220 |
| 4. | Giancarlo Stanton | MIA | OF | 7 | 5 | 8 | 0 | .286 | 1.167 |
| 5. | Dustin Pedroia | BOS | 2B | 6 | 2 | 6 | 3 | .357 | 1.133 |
| 6. | Ian Kinsler | TEX | 2B | 7 | 2 | 9 | 0 | .407 | 1.278 |
| 7. | Aaron Hill | ARI | 2B | 5 | 3 | 7 | 2 | .308 | 1.049 |
| 8. | Pedro Ciriaco* | BOS | 2/3/SS | 8 | 1 | 4 | 1 | .464 | 1.126 |
| 9. | Jimmy Rollins | PHI | SS | 5 | 1 | 7 | 3 | .346 | .956 |
| 10. | Mitch Moreland* | TEX | 1B/OF | 6 | 2 | 10 | 0 | .360 | .986 |
| 11. | Andre Ethier | LAD | OF | 7 | 2 | 6 | 0 | .440 | 1.200 |
| 12. | Angel Pagan* | SF | OF | 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | .414 | 1.090 |
| 13. | Michael Saunders* | SEA | OF | 5 | 3 | 6 | 1 | .333 | 1.345 |
| 14. | Freddie Freeman | ATL | 1B | 6 | 3 | 6 | 1 | .296 | 1.116 |
| 15. | Derek Jeter | NYY | SS | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | .357 | 1.129 |
| 16. | Alex Rios | CHW | OF | 6 | 1 | 3 | 3 | .348 | .984 |
| 17. | Edwin Encarnacion | TOR | 1B/3B | 5 | 3 | 6 | 0 | .368 | 1.350 |
| 18. | Matt Holliday | STL | OF | 6 | 0 | 8 | 0 | .444 | 1.111 |
| 19. | Jacoby Ellsbury | BOS | OF | 5 | 0 | 4 | 3 | .379 | .848 |
| 20. | Josh Hamilton | TEX | OF | 6 | 1 | 9 | 0 | .333 | .886 |
| 21. | John Mayberry* | PHI | 1B/OF | 5 | 2 | 7 | 0 | .346 | .910 |
| 22. | Jonathan Lucroy* | MIL | C | 3 | 2 | 7 | 0 | .467 | 1.489 |
| 23. | Will Venable* | SD | OF | 7 | 0 | 3 | 1 | .476 | 1.236 |
| 24. | Jon Jay* | STL | OF | 6 | 0 | 3 | 2 | .407 | .888 |
| 25. | Jose Reyes | MIA | SS | 4 | 2 | 6 | 1 | .300 | .964 |
* - less than 70% owned in Yahoo! leagues
Backstop Help
It is a shame that his wife dropped a suitcase on his hand, because Jonathan Lucroy was assured of his best season of his short three-year career. He is now up to .333 with a .937 OPS on the season with eight dingers in 207 at-bats. But if you need help at catcher for the final title push, the Brewers backstop is a great place to start.
Outfield Speed
If you need some outfield speed, it looks like there are plenty of options on the waiver wire. Will Venable (18 SB, 6% owned), Coco Crisp (28 SB, 43%), Ben Revere (30 SB, 38%), Cameron Maybin (24 SB, 39%) and even Juan Pierre (32 SB, 19%) should be available in most formats and all can provide a bump in one or two categories. Crisp offers the most complete line while Revere will help your team batting average as well.
First Baggers
Mitch Moreland (23% owned), Garrett Jones (56%) and John Mayberry (5%) could all be useful for teams with first base or corner infield concerns. Jones is the No. 5-rated 1B over the last month while Moreland and Mayberry have had great last weeks. All three can offer some pop while not hurting your team in any other way. They are low-risk, high-reward pick-ups.
Top 20 fantasy Starting Pitchers of last two weeks:
| Name | Team | IP | W | K | ERA | WHIP | |
| 1. | Max Scherzer | DET | 21.0 | 3 | 27 | 0.86 | 0.90 |
| 2. | Kyle Kendrick | PHI | 21.2 | 3 | 16 | 0.83 | 0.69 |
| 3. | Felix Hernandez | SEA | 16.2 | 2 | 17 | 0.54 | 0.48 |
| 4. | Hiroki Kuroda | NYY | 25.0 | 2 | 15 | 1.44 | 0.56 |
| 5. | Clayton Kershaw | LAD | 24.0 | 2 | 26 | 2.63 | 0.71 |
| 6. | Matt Harrison | TEX | 22.1 | 2 | 14 | 1.21 | 0.67 |
| 7. | Adam Wainwright | STL | 20.2 | 3 | 19 | 1.74 | 0.87 |
| 8. | David Price | TB | 15.0 | 1 | 16 | 0.00 | 0.53 |
| 9. | Kris Medlen* | ATL | 16.0 | 2 | 13 | 0.00 | 0.81 |
| 10. | Madison Bumgarner | SF | 23.1 | 2 | 21 | 1.93 | 0.90 |
| 11. | Matt Cain | SF | 15.0 | 2 | 11 | 1.20 | 0.73 |
| 12. | Yovani Gallardo | MIL | 14.0 | 2 | 18 | 1.93 | 0.86 |
| 13. | Matt Harvey* | NYM | 13.2 | 1 | 17 | 1.32 | 0.73 |
| 14. | Wade Miley | ARI | 14.0 | 2 | 10 | 0.64 | 0.93 |
| 15. | J.A. Happ* | TOR | 13.1 | 1 | 15 | 1.35 | 0.75 |
| 16. | Cliff Lee | PHI | 21.1 | 1 | 26 | 2.53 | 1.03 |
| 17. | Stephen Strasburg | WAS | 12.0 | 2 | 17 | 2.25 | 1.08 |
| 18. | Mark Buehrle* | MIA | 19.2 | 3 | 11 | 2.29 | 1.07 |
| 19. | Chad Billingsley (DL)* | LAD | 18.1 | 2 | 10 | 1.47 | 1.04 |
| 20. | Zach Britton* | BAL | 13.2 | 2 | 11 | 1.32 | 1.10 |
* - less than 70% owned in Yahoo! leagues
Top 5 Spot Starts for the Week (Mon. - Sun.):
1. Kris Medlen, ATL: at SD (Tues.) 65% owned
I told you to start him last week and he delivered 7.0 shutout innings with a 7:1 K:BB ratio and the win. Now, he gets San Diego.
2. Jonathon Niese, NYM: @ PHI (Thur.) 61% owned
This kid has been lights-out for the Mets of late. The last time he didn't finish the sixth inning was May 28 and has 11 quality starts in his last 15 starts, including three straight. He has allowed three ER in three starts this year against the Phillies.
3. Derek Holland, TEX: at CLE (Sun.) 53% owned
The lefty from Ohio has been frustrating to owners all season with his up and down play. But he has been solid in his last three outings: 1-0, 20.1 IP, 17 K, 3 BB, 8 ER. He also gets the Rays on Monday.
4. Tommy Milone, OAK: at CLE (Tues.) 40% owned
On the year, Milone has useful 3.87 and 1.19 ERA and WHIP season-long ratios. He last time out, he pitched 8.0 innings with one earned run. He has 36 Ks and only 4 BBs in his last six starts. He gets Boston on Sunday.
5. Hisashi Iwakuma, SEA: at Min (Tues.) 21% owned
He hasn't allowed four earned runs in a start since July 15 and has allowed one earned run over his last two outings. He has won three of his last four decisions and gets the Twins offense. He gets the Angels on Sunday.
Top 20 fantasy Relief Pitchers of last month:
| Name | Team | IP | W | SV | K | HLD | ERA | WHIP | |
| 1. | Aroldis Chapman | CIN | 13.1 | 1 | 11 | 19 | 0 | 0.68 | 0.75 |
| 2. | JJ Putz | ARI | 11.2 | 0 | 8 | 16 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.51 |
| 3. | Greg Holland | KC | 14.1 | 2 | 7 | 12 | 0 | 0.63 | 0.84 |
| 4. | Fernando Rodney | TB | 14.0 | 0 | 11 | 12 | 0 | 0.64 | 0.86 |
| 5. | Jim Johnson | BAL | 10.0 | 0 | 9 | 8 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.40 |
| 6. | Jonathan Papelbon | PHI | 12.1 | 1 | 7 | 15 | 0 | 0.73 | 0.81 |
| 7. | Grant Balfour | OAK | 12.2 | 0 | 7 | 13 | 2 | 1.42 | 0.39 |
| 8. | Tyler Clippard | WAS | 13.0 | 0 | 10 | 13 | 0 | 2.08 | 1.08 |
| 9. | Rafael Betancourt | COL | 11.1 | 0 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 0.79 | 0.88 |
| 10. | Kenley Jansen | LAD | 8.1 | 1 | 5 | 13 | 0 | 2.16 | 0.48 |
| 11. | Wilton Lopez | HOU | 12.2 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 1.42 | 0.71 |
| 12. | Rafael Soriano | NYY | 11.2 | 0 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 1.54 | 0.86 |
| 13. | Glen Perkins* | MIN | 11.2 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 1.54 | 0.60 |
| 14. | Jose Valverde | DET | 12.0 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 2.25 | 0.83 |
| 15. | Jason Motte | STL | 9.2 | 0 | 7 | 16 | 0 | 2.79 | 1.03 |
| 16. | Craig Kimbrel | ATL | 8.0 | 0 | 2 | 18 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.50 |
| 17. | Huston Street (DL) | SD | 6.1 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| 18. | Adam Occtavino* | COL | 23.1 | 3 | 0 | 18 | 1 | 2.70 | 1.03 |
| 19. | Luke Gregerson* | SD | 14.0 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 9 | 0.00 | 0.71 |
| 20. | Steve Cishek* | MIA | 11.0 | 0 | 8 | 11 | 0 | 2.45 | 1.18 |
* - less than 70% owned in Yahoo! leagues
Keep up to date all season long with Athlon Sports' Fantasy Baseball Closer Grid
- by Braden Gall
