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 (7/30-8/5):
| Name | Pos. | Team | R | HR | RBI | SB | BA | OPS | |
| 1. | Albert Pujols | 1B | LAA | 9 | 6 | 13 | 1 | .424 | 1.565 |
| 2. | Mike Trout | OF | LAA | 11 | 3 | 9 | 2 | .300 | 1.038 |
| 3. | Adam LaRoche* | 1B | WAS | 6 | 4 | 10 | 0 | .478 | 1.563 |
| 4. | A.J. Pierzynski | C | CHW | 6 | 5 | 11 | 0 | .333 | 1.567 |
| 5. | Drew Stubbs | OF | CIN | 10 | 2 | 2 | 3 | .348 | 1.032 |
| 6. | Matt Holliday | OF | STL | 6 | 3 | 10 | 0 | .400 | 1.284 |
| 7. | Buster Posey | C/1B | SF | 4 | 3 | 9 | 0 | .500 | 1.558 |
| 8. | Carl Crawford | OF | BOS | 7 | 2 | 8 | 1 | .345 | 1.057 |
| 9. | Chase Headley* | 3B | SD | 4 | 3 | 9 | 1 | .333 | 1.175 |
| 10. | Paul Goldschmidt | 1B | ARI | 5 | 3 | 7 | 0 | .435 | 1.288 |
| 11. | Jarrod Dyson* | OF | KC | 3 | 0 | 2 | 5 | .526 | 1.263 |
| 12. | Melky Carbrera | OF | SF | 10 | 1 | 5 | 1 | .345 | 1.096 |
| 13. | Kendrys Morales* | 1B/OF | LAA | 5 | 3 | 8 | 0 | .391 | 1.288 |
| 14. | Chris Johnson* | 3B | ARI | 3 | 3 | 10 | 0 | .382 | 1.292 |
| 15. | Jose Reyes | SS | MIA | 7 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .429 | 1.073 |
| 16. | Prince Fielder | 1B | DET | 6 | 2 | 7 | 0 | .421 | 1.362 |
| 17. | Ian Kinsler | 2B | TEX | 8 | 2 | 4 | 0 | .393 | 1.112 |
| 18. | Angel Pagan* | OF | SF | 7 | 1 | 4 | 2 | .350 | 1.085 |
| 19. | Yadier Molina | C | STL | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | .500 | 1.091 |
| 20. | Omar Infante* | 2B | DET | 5 | 1 | 6 | 1 | .471 | 1.362 |
| 21. | Alex Rios | OF | CHW | 7 | 2 | 4 | 0 | .407 | 1.074 |
| 22. | Scott Hairston* | OF | NYM | 7 | 2 | 3 | 1 | .333 | 1.035 |
| 23. | Ryan Ludwick* | OF | CIN | 2 | 2 | 11 | 0 | .364 | 1.144 |
| 24. | Carlos Beltran | OF | STL | 6 | 2 | 4 | 1 | .333 | 1.037 |
| 25. | Ben Revere* | OF | MIN | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | .407 | .874 |
* - less than 70% owned in Yahoo! leagues
Opportunity Knocks
If you need a late season push in stolen bases, it appears that there are plenty of names to be had on the waiver wire. Ben Revere was a highly-touted prospect who gets on base with regularity and will make plenty of things happen when he gets on (61 career SB in 781 ABs). Jarrod Dyson, Angel Pagan, Rajai Davis and Juan Pierre (especially, if he gets moved to a contender) are all owned by less than 70% of leagues.
I am not buying into the Chase Headley surge but I do like what Yonder Alonso has been able to do of late. He has two homers and eight doubles over his last 41 at-bats and has dual 1B-OF eligibility.
The entire Diamondbacks line-up appears to be blossoming finally. Justin Upton is showing signs of life and Paul Goldschmidt has been smacking the ball around. Aaron Hill shouldn't be on your waiver wire either. Chris Johnson, however, might be the sneaky pick-up at one of the worst positions in the game. He has three dingers and 10 RBIs over the last week and could be on the team that wins the NL West.
Some other call-ups to watch are Texas do-everything infield slugger Mike Olt, Cleveland outfielder Ezequiel Carrera (7-12 over the weekend) and the Phillies' Dominic Brown (5-18 since being called-up). The Cubs' Brett Jackson made his major league debut on Sunday and the outfielder could be an intriguing power-speed option, and teammate and hot corner prospect Josh Vitters should also take his first hacks in the big leagues at some point this week. Monitor closely and don't be afraid to add quickly.
Top 20 fantasy Starting Pitchers of last two weeks:
| Name | Team | IP | W | K | ERA | WHIP | |
| 1. | A.J. Burnett | PIT | 25.0 | 3 | 20 | 1.44 | 0.56 |
| 2. | Josh Johnson | MIA | 19.2 | 2 | 22 | 0.92 | 0.71 |
| 3. | Chad Billingsley | LAD | 20.1 | 3 | 13 | 0.89 | 0.89 |
| 4. | Scott Feldman* | TEX | 22.2 | 3 | 14 | 1.19 | 0.93 |
| 5. | Felix Hernandez | SEA | 23.1 | 2 | 16 | 1.54 | 0.77 |
| 6. | David Price | TB | 22.0 | 1 | 26 | 1.64 | 0.86 |
| 7. | Wei-Yin Chen* | BAL | 19.1 | 2 | 21 | 1.40 | 1.03 |
| 8. | Adam Wainwright | STL | 22.1 | 2 | 19 | 2.01 | 0.90 |
| 9. | Doug Fister* | DET | 24.0 | 2 | 19 | 1.88 | 0.96 |
| 10. | Mike Minor* | ATL | 18.2 | 1 | 14 | 1.45 | 0.75 |
| 11. | Matt Latos | CIN | 20.1 | 3 | 16 | 1.77 | 1.18 |
| 12. | Jason Vargas* | SEA | 15.0 | 2 | 9 | 1.80 | 0.67 |
| 13. | Tim Hudson | ATL | 20.0 | 3 | 10 | 2.25 | 0.95 |
| 14. | Hiroki Kuroda | NYY | 21.1 | 1 | 17 | 1.69 | 0.94 |
| 15. | Jake Peavy | CHW | 14.0 | 2 | 14 | 1.29 | 1.07 |
| 16. | Paul Maholm* | ATL | 21.2 | 1 | 20 | 2.08 | 0.97 |
| 17. | Ian Kennedy | ARI | 20.1 | 3 | 17 | 3.10 | 1.08 |
| 18. | Scott Diamond* | MIN | 16.1 | 1 | 9 | 1.65 | 0.67 |
| 19. | Matt Moore | TB | 11.2 | 2 | 12 | 0.00 | 1.29 |
| 20. | Bartolo Colon* | OAK | 13.2 | 2 | 8 | 0.00 | 1.17 |
* - less than 70% owned in Yahoo! leagues
Top 5 Spot Starts for the Week (Mon. - Sun.):
1. Jonathon Niese, NYM: Miami (Tues.) 54% owned
One of the worst offenses in the majors will face one of the NL's pleasant surprises. He has gone at least 7.0 IP in six of last seven starts (five quality starts) and has six walks over that span.
2. Ben Sheets, ATL: New York Mets (Sun.) 62% owned
The former Brewer who hasn't pitched in two years has been a god-send for the Braves. He's throwing in the lower 90s, gone at least 6.0 IP in all four starts and has allowed a total of 4 ER.
3. Ross Detwiler, WAS: at Houston (Tues.) 30% owned
Tossed a gem the last time out against the Phillies (W, 7.0, 0 ER, 3 K) and when he is on, he can be elite. And the Astros can't beat Stony Brook.
4. Paul Maholm, ATL: at New York Mets (Fri.) 46% owned
Has been lights-out since moving south to the A.T.L. Is the No. 16-rated SP over the last two weeks and has a 2.08 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and 20 Ks over his last 21.2 IP.
5. Erik Bedard, PIT: San Diego (Sun.) 27% owned
Before his blow-up on Tuesday, he had two elite starts in a row (15 K, 2 ER). He has basically a 9.0 K/9 rate and has a 1.63 career ERA against the Fathers of Southern Cal.
Top 20 fantasy Relief Pitchers of last month:
| Name | Team | IP | W | SV | K | HLD | ERA | WHIP | |
| 1. | Aroldis Chapman | CIN | 16.1 | 0 | 16 | 34 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.55 |
| 2. | Craig Kimbrel | ATL | 11.0 | 0 | 8 | 21 | 0 | 0.82 | 0.45 |
| 3. | Fernando Rodney | TB | 13.0 | 0 | 8 | 12 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.92 |
| 4. | Huston Street* | SD | 10.0 | 0 | 5 | 13 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.40 |
| 5. | Kenley Jansen | LAD | 12.1 | 1 | 6 | 16 | 0 | 1.46 | 1.05 |
| 6. | Jonathan Papelbon | BOS | 13.2 | 1 | 6 | 18 | 0 | 1.98 | 1.10 |
| 7. | Jason Motte | STL | 9.2 | 1 | 5 | 14 | 0 | 0.93 | 0.83 |
| 8. | Tom Wilhelmsen* | SEA | 10.1 | 0 | 8 | 12 | 0 | 2.61 | 0.87 |
| 9. | Joel Hanrahan | PIT | 9.2 | 0 | 10 | 15 | 0 | 3.72 | 1.34 |
| 10. | Joel Peralta* | TB | 12.1 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 7 | 1.46 | 0.57 |
| 11. | J.J. Putz | ARI | 8.0 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.63 |
| 12. | David Phelps* | NYY | 9.0 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.33 |
| 13. | Vinnie Pestano* | CLE | 14.0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 8 | 0.00 | 0.71 |
| 14. | Greg Holland* | KC | 15.0 | 3 | 1 | 17 | 1 | 2.40 | 1.20 |
| 15. | Kevin Jepsen* | LAA | 11.0 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 0.82 | 0.82 |
| 16. | Brad Lincoln* | TOR | 15.1 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 3 | 0.59 | 0.72 |
| 17. | Rafael Soriano | NYY | 10.1 | 0 | 6 | 13 | 0 | 2.61 | 0.97 |
| 18. | Steve Cishek* | FLA | 8.2 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 1 | 0.00 | 0.92 |
| 19. | Casey Janssen* | TOR | 10.0 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 0 | 0.90 | 0.70 |
| 20. | Sean Marshall* | CIN | 11.1 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 7 | 0.79 | 1.06 |
* - less than 70% owned in Yahoo! leagues
Keep up to date all season long with Athlon Sports' Fantasy Baseball Closer Grid
- by Braden Gall
