AL FAAB Factor: Waiver Pickups of the Week

This is our weekly look at American League free agents. We have two goals for this article:

1. Identify likely free agents and discuss their strengths and weaknesses.
2. Estimate how much of your $100 starting free-agent budget you should bid on them.

We've incorporated grids into the FAAB articles, so users can easily see at a glance how certain players stack up against others and how much they should command in a variety of formats.

The grids, which are sortable by column (click on the header), include a very basic "player grade" column. This serves as a reflection of a player's skills and talent on an A-E scale. Julio Rodriguez would have been an "A" grade player last year – that mark will be reserved for similarly high-impact prospects that could thrive in an everyday role.

As always, if there is a player that was not discussed in the article that you would like to know about, feel free to ask about the player in the comments.

Starting Pitcher

Brandon Bielak, Astros: The right-hander has been effective since rejoining the Houston rotation in early July, giving up two earned runs in 12 innings over two starts, and with Framber Valdez leaving his Saturday start early due to what the team is fervently hoping was just cramping, Bielak's job security inched up another notch. The Astros figure to be busy at the trade deadline grabbing any pitching help they can get, but until they actually add a starter, Bielak will take a regular turn. Note that his start this coming week lines up for a series in Coors Field, so he's better viewed as a stash for the week of July 24, when he gets a potential two-step. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $1; 12-team AL: $4

Alec Marsh, Royals: The 70th overall pick in the 2019 draft, Marsh climbed through Double-A and Triple-A this season to make his big-league debut, but the 25-year-old right-hander stumbled to a 10:7 K:BB through his first nine innings for the Royals and didn't look like he was going to amount to much in the short term. Then he went out Saturday and fanned 11 batters over six innings against the Rays – helping to make history, incidentally, as yesterday marked the first time four different pitchers had each struck out double-digit batters while their team went on to lose the game. There are definitely reasons to think Marsh has more performances like that in him, starting with an eye-popping 94th percentile spin rate on his mid-90s fastball. His slider is also generating solid numbers so far, including a 37.5 percent whiff rate, but those are the only two pitches he uses against RHB. He's got a curve he deploys against lefties to decent effect, but his changeup is getting crushed by opposite-handed batters. Kansas City's recent track record in developing pitchers isn't encouraging, so I'm not sure if they'll be able to turn that arsenal into something more than the sum of its parts, but there's some upside here if you want to gamble on Marsh figuring things out. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $2; 12-team AL: $5

Reese Olson, Tigers: With Alex Faedo kicked back to Triple-A, Olson looks like he's Detroit's top choice to fill the fifth starter role. Frankly, he hadn't done anything to lose his spot, posting a 2.70 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 24:4 K:BB over his last 20 big-league innings. His mid-90s fastball doesn't have a lot of movement, but he's generating whiff rates north of 40 percent on his slider and changeup, and at 23 years old Olson's got room to grow. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $3; 12-team AL: $7

Hyun Jin Ryu, Blue Jays: The veteran lefty is closing in on his 2023 debut after undergoing Tommy John surgery last summer, working five innings and 66 pitches for Triple-A Buffalo on Saturday. There are two big concerns with Ryu as a fantasy stash, though. One, his fastball is still sitting closer to 88 mph than 90, and while that's not a big drop from where he's most effective, it's not exactly encouraging either. The bigger worry is with what the Jays plan to do with him when he returns. If Alek Manoah has truly figured things out, Toronto's five-man rotation has no weak links, as even Yusei Kikuchi's been solid-ish this year. The team could go with a six-man for a while to try and keep everyone rested, and after Monday the Jays do get only one day off until mid-August. It's not ideal, but these things tend to sort themselves out. If Ryu can somehow regain his pre-2021 command and stinginess, Toronto will find innings for him. 12-team Mixed: $1; 15-team Mixed: $3; 12-team AL: $7

Ryan Yarbrough, Royals: Yarbrough made his first start in over two months just before the All-Star break and gave the Royals six good innings, and while nothing about that performance has changed since I wrote him up in last week's column, his upcoming schedule suddenly looks a lot more promising – the lefty's set to face Detroit on Wednesday-ish before a two-step the following week. His upside's limited, but he could be useful in the short term. 12-team Mixed: $1; 15-team Mixed: $2; 12-team AL: $3

Other two-start options, Mon-Sun (12-team Mixed: $1; 15-team Mixed: $1; 12-team AL: $1)

Paul Blackburn, Athletics (vs. BOS, vs. HOU)
Matt Manning, Tigers (at KC, vs. SD)
Luis Medina, Athletics (vs. BOS, vs. HOU)
Jordan Lyles, Royals (vs. DET, at NYY)
Daniel Lynch, Royals (vs. DET, at NYY)

Relief Pitcher

Lucas Erceg, Athletics: Oakland's a mess, but that hasn't stopped Trevor May from collecting six saves since the beginning of June. If he gets dealt, Dany Jimenez could be the next man up if he ever gets healthy, but he's only just beginning to throw batting practice after being out since mid-April with shoulder trouble. After that, the competition is wide open, but Erceg has a fastball that's averaging 97.7 mph and a 31.9 percent strikeout rate this season. He's also got a 12.6 percent walk rate, but his bad ratios are mainly fueled by a .397 BABIP. He's got three holds and a win during that same period in which May's been getting his saves, so he's already being auditioned in a highish-leverage role. He's a better keeper league dart throw than a re-draft option for saves, but he is putting himself on the radar. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1

Jose Soriano, Angels: In looking over the AL bullpens that could get gutted before the trade deadline, it jumped out at me how few alternate save options there are out there. Boston is rumored to be considering a Kenley Jansen trade if they don't make a move up the standings in the next couple weeks, but there's nobody behind him except maybe Chris Martin, who would also be trade bait. If K.C. ships out Scott Barlow, Carlos Hernandez might be the default replacement in the ninth, but his high-90s heat isn't producing as many whiffs as you'd like to see. Oakland I discussed above... and then there's the Angels. Carlos Estevez hasn't shown up on any lists of relievers anyone expects to get moved, but if the front office does wave the white flag and deal Shohei Ohtani, a closer with near-elite numbers signed through 2024 is the kind of asset who could fetch real value from a contender. In the (perhaps unlikely) event Estevez gets flipped, the options to replace him have thinned considerably with both Ben Joyce and Sam Bachman on the shelf. Soriano, the last of the Three Flamethrowing Amigos who got called up in the first half still standing, walks way too many batters but has a 97.7 mph fastball and a 37.5 percent strikeout rate in the majors, so the tools are there for him to be a high-leverage weapon. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1

Catcher

Tyler Soderstrom, Athletics: The A's have been the Bizarro Reds (or Orioles, if you prefer) this season, repeatedly calling up their top prospects only to not give them much of a chance to prove themselves. Now, in Oakland's case, we're talking about guys like Jordan Diaz and not Elly De La Cruz, so "top prospect" is relative. Nonetheless, it's a pattern you should keep in mind before you blow your remaining budget on either of their two most recent promotions. Soderstrom could be the team's catcher of the future, but he's also 21 years old and was hitting just .251 at Las Vegas, which is a little worrying. His defensive reputation also suggests he might end up shifting to another position at some point, although that could be seen as a plus if he gets more playing time at DH/1B. The 18 Triple-A homers in 68 games are very enticing, and in a lot of formats you'll have little to lose by giving him a shot if your second catcher is Mitch Garver or whoever, but Soderstrom is far from a lock to click right away. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $2; 12-team AL: $5

Second Base

Zack Gelof, Athletics: Of the two newest A's, Gelof might have the better chance of making a bit of an impact in 2023, even if Soderstrom's the better prospect in the long term. Oakland's almost at the point of giving Mike Gallego a call to try and fill the void at second base – only Seattle and the White Sox have gotten a lower OPS from the keystone this season – and Gelof was slashing .300/.394/.527 with 12 homers and 18 steals over 68 games in his first extended look at Triple-A pitching. Like seemingly every young Athletic, the 23-year-old has some issues making consistent contact, but he can do some damage when he does get his bat on the ball. His first two hits in the majors both went for extra bases, and he's already got two steals in his first two games. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $3; 12-team AL: $7

Luis Rengifo, Angels: The 26-year-old had something of a breakout 2022, but Rengifo regressed badly in the first half of 2023 and had trouble just hanging onto a utility role. Other Angels kept getting hurt though, so he kept getting playing time, and now he might finally be turning things around. Rengifo's batting .348 (8-for-23) to kick off July with a double and two homers, and he's got four-position eligibility in most formats (2B/3B/SS/OF). That's a heck of a portfolio to have on your bench if he can produce at the plate even close to the way he did last season. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $1; 12-team AL: $4

Michael Stefanic, Angels: Speaking of those other Angels... Brandon Drury, Gio Urshela and (naturally) Anthony Rendon are all currently on the injured list, and the team finally gave up on the idea David Fletcher might be an adequate replacement. That's allowed Stefanic to get another look in the majors. The 27-year-old was doing a credible impression of Luis Arraez for Triple-A Salt Lake, batting .349 with minimal counting-stat production, and while he probably won't repeat that in the bigs, Stefanic's contact-heavy ways could still be useful for the Halos if he gets consistent playing time. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $2

Third Base

Mike Moustakas, Angels: The 34-year-old slugger has quietly settled in as the Angels' strong-side platoon option at first base and acquitted himself pretty well, launching three homers in 13 games since coming over from the Rockies. Moustakas hasn't been consistently productive since he left Milwaukee after the 2019 season, but maybe he's got something left in the tank after all. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $2; 12-team AL: Rostered

Shortstop

Oswald Peraza, Yankees: Josh Donaldson's on the IL again – a shocker, I know – so Peraza will come up to give New York some infield depth. Had this promotion happened in early June, I might have gotten a bit excited as the 23-year-old slashed .386/.426/.895 with nine homers in his first 13 Triple-A games after getting demoted in May, but since then Peraza's got a feeble .172/.310/.323 slash line in 23 games for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The best case scenario here is that he gets showcased a bit with the trade deadline approaching. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1

Outfield

Nick Maton. Tigers: After stumbling to a .499 OPS in June, Maton got sent down to Triple-A Toledo to try and figure things out. The 26-year-old slashed .289/.417/.526 over 49 plate appearances in the minors, which was enough for the organization to give him another chance. Maton started at second base in his return Friday, and it looks like the keystone could become a timeshare between him and Andy Ibanez. If that evolves into a platoon, Maton would be on the strong side, but he sat against right-hander George Kirby on Saturday, so Detroit isn't quite there yet. Neither of those guys really profile as a long-term starting option, so manager A.J. Hinch could end up trying to ride the hot hand rather than strictly play the percentages. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $3

Chas McCormick, Astros: McCormick appears to be the center fielder du jour in Houston, thanks in large part to a surge at the plate that's seen him slash .338/.423/.544 over his last 20 games with three homers, five steals, 11 runs and 12 RBI. The Astros' offense as a whole should get a boost soon from the return of Yordan Alvarez, so while he's not a player you want to get attached to, McCormick got some appeal and might just keep the starting job the rest of the season. 12-team Mixed: $2; 15-team Mixed: $5; 12-team AL: Rostered