Let’s keep making these weekly adds and drops, folks. We can’t get complacent. Ignore the standings — none of you have won anything just yet. When you signed up for fantasy baseball, you committed to six months of hardcore roster maintenance. It’s time to get to work…
Ben Rice, 1B, New York Yankees (42% rostered)
Rice has hit either first or second in the Yankees’ lineup in each of his last six starts, with a hit in each game. He has three homers, two steals and nine runs scored so far this season, and the man is hitting rockets. Rice’s Statcast page is blazing red. Breakouts don’t get much more breakoutier than this. Add him wherever you can use a power and run-scoring boost. Rice reached base at a .399 clip in the minors, so he can definitely stick at the top of the order.
Jacob Wilson, SS, Athletics (38%)
Hey, Fred Zinkie tried to tell us, but, unfortunately, not everyone listened. Wilson simply does not swing and miss, ever. He’s struck out only twice in 48 plate appearances to date and he’s batting .396. His contact-rate is an absurd 96.3%. Wilson isn’t much of a walker, which is unfortunate in reality but certainly plays well in standard 5X5 fantasy leagues — in our game, we love a .300-plus hitter who piles up at-bats.
We aren’t likely to see significant power numbers from Wilson, but he has the profile of a future batting champ.
Matt Wallner, OF, Minnesota Twins (24%)
Wallner just cleared the fence for the first time this season on Wednesday, and, notably, the homer came against a left-hander. That’s an unambiguously great sign. There’s plenty of swing-and-miss in Wallner’s game, but he showcased serious power in the high minors. He launched 19 bombs and slugged .544 at Triple-A last season over 67 games. Wallner is basically the antithesis of Wilson as a hitter, but both can clearly help us in fantasy.
Sal Frelick, OF, Milwaukee Brewers (20%)
It may not be accurate to say that Frelick was a best-shape-of-his-life guy in the spring, but he was definitely in the biggest shape of his life. He added 25 pounds of mostly muscle in the offseason, and, so far, he’s showing modest ...
