2018 Fantasy Baseball Week 12 Waiver Wire: Father’s Day Tribute

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At the start of next week, on Sunday, we celebrate all the Fathers out there.

From personal experience, many fathers introduce us to the great game of baseball. I remember getting my first glove from my dad, having my first catch and continuously asking him to go outside to hit the ball with me growing up. It’s a great tradition that many big leaguers probably have felt sometime in their lifetime which motivates them to become professional athletes as their career.

Many dreams are filled when you look at all of the players that are in the majors right now. Player’s different pasts are what makes being the majors unique. There are a few of those unique individuals that I will talk about this week that have put themselves above others that are available on the waiver wire.

2018 Fantasy Baseball Week 12 Waiver Wire

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Hitters

Ketel Marte, 2B/SS, Arizona Diamondbacks (18% owned in Yahoo)

Ketel Marte Sr. loves having his son Ketel Marte Jr. in the majors. Jr. lost his mother last July in a vehicle accident in the Dominican Republic. The relationship that Marte Jr. has with his father now is stronger than ever as Sr. cheers for, prays for, and adores the MLB path that he is creating in the big leagues.

Ketel Marte Jr. is making a huge mark that he could be National League Player of the Month. Marte is quietly putting together a four game hitting streak. During this streak, he has scored five runs, hit one home run, has six RBI and a stolen base. Marte is not known for his power, but being in the middle of the resurging Diamondbacks lineup seems to be helping with those types of stats.

In my two higher paying leagues, he was just picked up on Wednesday. I was going to pick him up especially because of my downfall at second base right now. Just be aware that Marte is not playing on a regular basis, but with the way he is playing it is going to be hard for the Diamondbacks to keep him out of the lineup.

Scott Schebler, OF, Cincinnati Reds  (22% owned in Yahoo)

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When first being drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers, Schebler recalls calling his parents at 1:30 am to tell them the news. His father, Jeff Schebler, explains, “When the phone rings at 1:30 in the morning, and you are the parents of two 20-year-olds, you think you know what it’s about. But it turned out to be something else.” A phone call at any time of the day is a testimony to fatherhood.

Scott Schebler is currently hitting at the top of the Reds lineup and has increased his fantasy value within the past two weeks. In the past seven days, though, he is hitting .387 with one home run and four RBI. He is more known for his power, but this seems to not be so significant this season thus far. As long as he stays on top of the lineup, he can be considered a useful fantasy commodity.

Pitching

Mike Montgomery, SP/RP, Chicago Cubs (17% owned in Yahoo)

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Growing up in California, Mike Montgomery’s father was a big influence on what type of career path he had. David Montgomery was a baseball player at Temple Tennessee College and provided the right environment for Mike to help him flourish as he got older. David often coached some of the sports teams Mike was on as he was growing up.

Mike Montgomery is making a strong statement lately of why he should be staying in the Cubs rotation. On Wednesday he took a tough loss against the Brewers. He struck out four, gave up one walk, and his only mistake was giving up a home run to Lorenzo Cain. He received no run support from his offense. Montgomery has been exquisite since moving to the rotation posting an ERA of 1.14 with 14 strikeouts and three walks while pitching 23 2/3 innings. He will look to continue this streak against the Dodgers on Tuesday.

Dylan Covey, SP, Chicago White Sox (16% owned in Yahoo)

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Dylan Covey’s father probably received one of the most important phone calls of his life. Shortly after Covey was drafted, the doctor’s called his father about his physical. He was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. They told his father if they did not receive this information that Dylan would have probably died. This is very scary stuff.

Luckily, Dylan is able to get the treatment he needs and is currently being successful in the majors. Entering Wednesday, Covey pitched 11 innings in the past 14 days and has not given up a run during this time. His WHIP has been 1.00, collected 14 strikeouts and a quality start. One of his last impressive starts was against my Red Sox when he didn’t give up a run and collected the win. What we are seeing is a far cry from his numbers from 2017, when he posted a 0-7 record and an ERA of 7.71.

Another interesting fact about Dylan Covey is that he was college roommates with Kris Bryant at the University of San Diego.

Deep Dives

These are players who are better suited to be owned in 14-plus team leagues or deeper roster leagues.

Ehire Adrianza, 3B/SS/OF, Minnesota Twins (2% owned in Yahoo)

I have been really diving deep into this category lately and I say, why not keep the tradition alive? A guy who is owned in only 2% of Yahoo leagues, satisfies three different positions and who has been in the top 50 in hitters in the last two weeks? I am game for picking him up (especially in deeper leagues). Ehire Adrianza offers all of this and more.

For the Twins, he is considered a 'super utility' that has been getting plenty of playing time this year. Entering Wednesday, he has a three-game hitting streak going while scoring three runs, hitting one home run, five RBI, and stealing one base. As an AL team, the Twins do offer different types of scenarios for their lineup and Adrianza can be useful in fantasy lineups at this time.

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