This week’s hot add was Mike Fiers (+62%). The Brewers hurler has posted a 9.5 K/9 and a 1.8 BB/9 since filling in for Matt Garza in the Milwaukee rotation. The strikeouts are no fluke, as he posted a K/9 of 11.4 in Triple-A this season. While his FIP is a run higher than his current ERA and Steamer is projecting a 3.60 ERA from this point forward, Fiers remains a great pickup for the stretch run. It will be interestinge to see what Milwaukee does with their rotation when Garza returns since both Fiers and Jimmy Nelson have been solid in his absence. It’s likely that Nelson will be the odd man out and moved to the bullpen while Fiers remains in the rotation. He has certainly earned it. Fiers has won all four of his starts, striking out 32 batters in 28 innings and allowing only four earned runs. As some starters begin to see their innings limited or fade due to fatigue down the stretch, Fiers can help fantasy teams finish strong.
Here are this week’s other big adds and drops in 2014 fantasy baseball…
Oswaldo Arcia – 34% owned (+31%)
Arcia has been on a tear lately, hitting seven of his 14 home runs in the month of August. The major blemish is the strikeouts. He’s striking out at a 31% clip in 2014, which is the 12th highest mark in the majors for batters with at least 300 plate appearances. Don’t worry though – that still ranks two spots higher than Houston’s Chris Carter who enjoyed a major hot streak himself this summer. I’m all over Arcia for 2015, but I’d be careful to expect a repeat performance from the young outfielder in September. Still, you have to ride the hot hands, and Arcia is one of the hottest right now. Arcia is a must start against right-handers with a 132 wRC+ against them. Against lefties it’s a different story, as he has posted a wRC+ of only 57 against southpaws. With a line that looks awfully similar to Juan Francisco don’t be scared to swap him for another hot hand at the first signs of a slump. Total treasure in keepers, but be wary ROS in redrafts. TRASH.
Tim Hudson – 65% owned (-15%)
This is usually the part of the post where I proclaim that a player being dropped at a high rate is actually a treasure, but I can’t do it with Hudson. In his last six starts, he’s lasted more than six innings only once. He has also struck out three or less in all but one of those starts and has posted a K/9 under 6.0 on the season. At 39 years old, he looks like he is wearing down as the season draws to a close and I would not be afraid to cut him for an arm like Fiers that can provide more strikeouts for the stretch run. Steamer is projecting a 3.97 ERA for the remainder of the season and that could prove disastrous for teams trying to hang in close playoff races or H2H matchups. It would be easier to swallow if he was giving you big strikeout numbers but he’s not. I wouldn’t drop him for a streamer, but if you have your eye on a fresher arm with that strikeout upside I might make the switch. TRASH.
