2018 Fantasy Baseball Week 5 Waiver Wire: National League Time to Shine

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Happy Acuna Week! It is time for Acuna’s time to shine for the Braves and for the majors to see what this kid is made of. If you were the lucky owner that was able to draft him and hold onto him this long, now is your time to shine as well.

Other players are already shining in the majors and I like to promote the National League this week in my waiver wire article. Sometimes noted as the none-dominant league, especially in hitting because of not having the DH, the National League does feature players that should not be overlooked.

2018 Fantasy Baseball Week 5 Waiver Wire

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Hitters

All percentage ownership numbers come from Yahoo

Kurt Suzuki, C, Atlanta Braves (36% owned)

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I don’t often write about catchers, so consider yourself lucky this week. Suzuki not really known for his offense and more for his defense has been pretty productive in the Braves lineup this week. The Braves lineup as a whole really hasn’t been that bad in the early parts of the 2018 season.

With Tyler Flowers not feeling well lately, Suzuki has seen an increase in his at-bats as well as his production. You could say Suzuki is one of the reasons why Matt Harvey is now being pushed back to the bullpen for the Mets after hitting a two-run bomb off of him on April 19th in the first inning. You could say he is on pace to hit 25 home runs, while he has already hit four in the 2018 season.

Or you could say that expectations shouldn’t be this high on Suzuki for a long time. I would ride what he is doing right now though. His walk rate is already doubled since last season and his strikeout rate is a third of what is was in 2017. His current average is .327, which would be a career high if the season were to stop right now. Suzuki would be at best a catcher to be used in a two-catcher league as well as a multiple type utility spot in a fantasy lineup.

FAAB Bid: 1%

Michael A. Taylor, OF, Washington Nationals (39% owned)

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I enjoy watching Michael “A” Taylor play especially by the home MASN announcer for the Nationals. He always has to mention is “A” middle initial and I give Taylor an “A” for an excellent effort this week to boot.

With a team poised with a lot of All-stars and many injuries this early in the season, Taylor is becoming the second best hitter on his team (behind Harper) right now.

In the past week, he has on OBP of .409 to go along with five runs, two home runs, five RBI and three stolen bases.

Taylor is a rare fantasy athlete that is cheap right now to cover all of the major hitting categories. His most viable attribute is still his speed for me though. He has a total of nine stolen bases that should be trending upward. He has just as many stolen bases as Trea Turner at this point in the season.

FAAB Bid: 2-4%

Pitching

Zach Davies, SP, Milwaukee Brewers (25% owned)

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I have always been a fan of Davies. In fact, I drafted him in one of my deeper leagues entering the year. He did not have a promising start in his first couple times on the mound.

His ERA through his first three starts this season was 6.75 and his first four starts last year was 8.24. He was able to turn things around last year and I see it happening again in 2018.

In his last two starts, against the Reds and Royals, he won both games while pitching two quality starts. He went six innings or more in both starts and collected two strikeouts in each game. He has now lowered his ERA to 4.45.

Although facing very weak foes, it is a great sign for Davies. He will look to continue pitching well against the Chicago Cubs in his next start.

FAAB Bid: 7-8%

Deep Dives

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

Jacoby Jones, OF, Detroit Tigers (5% owned)

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Maybe I was a year too late on this guy, but Jones has shown some promise in the early part of the 2018 season. In the past week, he is hitting .375 with six runs, two home runs, five RBI and a stolen base.

With nothing riding on this year’s Tigers season too much off the get-go, it looks like Jones is going to be a regular starter as long as he hits.

With his combination of speed and power, I believe he is worth a look in most deeper leagues.

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