FANTASY FOOTBALL ADD/DROPS
Week 10 working the waiver wire: Shopping for a used Carr
Nov 5, 2019, 2:44 pm
Photo via: Raiders/Facebook
Week 10 is already on the horizon, so let's see which free agents are still available. This week, 6 teams won't be playing so expect this to be a pretty busy week on the waiver wire. Keep in mind the owner % mentioned is for 10-team standard ESPN PPR leagues. Some of these players below are good for the short-term, while others have more long-term value. You have to make the call on what your team needs. Immediate help to start this week, or a player to stash on your bench and hope he breaks out. Let's get started.
QB
Jimmy Garoppolo: He's only rostered in 33% of ESPN 10-team leagues, which makes sense. You'll probably have trouble finding him in 12-team leagues. He faces the Seahawks and Cardinals over the next 2 weeks, so the matchups are good. Plus, he just threw 4 TDs against Arizona, so you there's a good chance he lights them up again in 2 weeks.
Derek Carr: I know it's hard to trust Carr off of name value, but he's been good for fantasy. His rookie RB Josh Jacobs looks like a stud, and Tyrell Williams has been a nice addition. He also has a good o-line and a below average defense, which are both great for fantasy. He's rostered in 37% of 10-team leagues, and he has good matchups against the Bengals and Jets coming up after this Thursday's game. Caution: This week could be tough since he's playing the Chargers, but at least the game is at home and stashing him to use for Weeks 11 and 12 could pay big dividends.
Nick Foles: Foles will be the starter when they play in Week 11. His matchups won't be great having to face the Colts at Indy and the Titans on the road, but if you're desperate he might help you out. He's widely available.
RB
Ronald Jones: Bruce Arians is finally giving Jones a sizable workload getting 20 touches against the Seahawks last week. He's only rostered in 38% of 10-team leagues, and this might be your last chance to pick him up.
Adrian Peterson: He's still out there in 40% of 10-team leagues, and he's clearly more valuable in non-PPR. He has 2 great matchups after the Redskins off week, so he's worth grabbing. Also, he might get dropped since he doesn't play this week, so add him if he's available. We'll see if Guice is ready to return from his knee injury after the off week, so that could change things. We'll have to wait and see.
Derrius Guice: If Guice is ready to return from injury he could make Peterson worthless. It's hard to know what the Redskins will do though. Maybe just stash him and see what happens. His first 2 matchups are great if he returns for Week 11.
Alexander Mattison: This guy could win your league for you if Dalvin Cook goes down. He's worth stashing for sure.
WR
DeVante Parker: I didn't want to trust Parker when I wrote this article last week, but he can't be denied anymore. Which probably means he'll put up a goose egg this week...You can't argue with his production because he's scored in 4 out of his last 5 games. His schedule isn't great though facing the Colts and Bills over his next 2 games. He's only rostered in 23% of 10-team leagues.
Zach Pascal: He's a decent #3 WR until Hilton returns from injury, and he plays Miami this week. He's widely available.
Josh Reynolds: He's worth consideration until Brandin Cooks returns, but he faces tough matchups against the Steelers, Bears, and Ravens. He's available in almost every league.
Josh Gordon: I'm not going to take a flyer on this guy, but if you're desperate for upside maybe he'll prove me wrong. He's rostered in 54% of leagues.
Corey Davis: I'll give him one more shot hoping he does something against the Chiefs' underwhelming defense. If he can't get things going, we might have to label him a bust. He's out there in about half of 10-team leagues
A.J. Brown: Just like Davis, the matchup could help him this week, and he's been the more productive WR for the Titans as of late. You can pick him up in about 85% of leagues.
TE
Gerald Everett: He's likely owned, but grab him if he got dropped during his off week.
Darren Fells: He's been a huge addition for the Texans, and Watson clearly loves throwing to him. Hell, Watson will even throw him the ball blindly as we saw against the Raiders. Fells scored again against the Jags, and he's very much a part of the offense. He's off this week, and gets the Ravens in Week 11. He might get dropped, so keep that in mind.
Noah Fant: I know it was just one big game last week (115-yards, 1TD), but there's a reason he was drafted in the 1st round, and he should continue to get targets with Emmanuel Sanders in San Francisco now. He's widely available.
DEF
The Ravens and Colts are good streaming options this week, and Baltimore's defense is only rostered in 34% of 10-team ESPN leagues. They get the Bengals on Sunday, so it doesn't get much better than that. The Colts play the Dolphins, enough said.
If you have any questions, feel free to hit me up on Twitter. Be sure to check out my show MoneyLine with Jerry Bo on ESPN 97.5FM. We're on every Sunday morning from 10-noon, and we'll talk a lot of fantasy football and NFL gambling getting you ready for kickoff every Sunday.
What looked like a minor blip after an emotional series win in Los Angeles has turned into something more concerning for the Houston Astros.
Swept at home by a Guardians team that came in riding a 10-game losing streak, the Astros were left looking exposed. Not exhausted, as injuries, underperformance, and questionable decision-making converged to hand Houston one of its most frustrating series losses of the year.
Depth finally runs dry
It would be easy to point to a “Dodger hangover” as the culprit, the emotional peak of an 18-1 win at Chavez Ravine followed by a mental lull. But that’s not the story here.
Houston’s energy was still evident, especially in the first two games of the series, where the offense scored five or more runs each time. Including those, the Astros had reached that mark in eight of their last 10 games heading into Wednesday’s finale.
But scoring isn’t everything, not when a lineup held together by duct tape and desperation is missing Christian Walker and Jake Meyers and getting critical at-bats from Cooper Hummel, Zack Short, and other journeymen.
The lack of depth finally showed. The Astros, for three days, looked more like a Triple-A squad with Jose Altuve and a couple big-league regulars sprinkled in.
Cracks in the pitching core
And the thing that had been keeping this team afloat, elite pitching, finally buckled.
Hunter Brown and Josh Hader, both dominant all season, finally cracked. Brown gave up six runs in six innings, raising his pristine 1.82 ERA to 2.21. Hader wasn’t spared either, coughing up a game-losing grand slam in extra innings that inflated his ERA from 1.80 to 2.38 in one night.
But the struggles weren’t isolated. Bennett Sousa, Kaleb Ort, and Steven Okert each gave up runs at critical moments. The bullpen’s collective fade could not have come at a worse time for a team already walking a tightrope.
Injury handling under fire
Houston’s injury management is also drawing heat, and rightfully so. Jake Meyers, who had been nursing a calf strain, started Wednesday’s finale. He didn’t even make it through one pitch before aggravating the injury and needing to be helped off the field.
No imaging before playing him. No cautionary rest despite the All-Star break looming. Just a rushed return in a banged-up lineup, and it backfired immediately.
Second-guessing has turned to outright criticism of the Astros’ medical staff, as fans and analysts alike wonder whether these mounting injuries are being made worse by how the club is handling them.
Pressure mounts on Dana Brown
All eyes now turn to Astros GM Dana Brown. The Astros are limping into the break with no clear reinforcements on the immediate horizon. Only Chas McCormick is currently rehabbing in Sugar Land. Everyone else? Still sidelined.
Brown will need to act — and soon.
At a minimum, calling up top prospect Brice Matthews makes sense. He’s been mashing in Triple-A (.283/.400/.476, 10 HR, .876 OPS) and could play second base while Jose Altuve shifts to left field more regularly. With Mauricio Dubón stretched thin between shortstop and center, injecting Matthews’ upside into the infield is a logical step.
*Editor's note: The Astros must be listening, Matthews was called up Thursday afternoon!
The Astros are calling up Brice Matthews, their top prospect on @MLBPipeline
via @brianmctaggart pic.twitter.com/K91cGKkcx6
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) July 10, 2025
There’s also trade chatter, most notably about Orioles outfielder Cedric Mullins, but excitement has been tepid. His numbers don’t jump off the page, but compared to who the Astros are fielding now, Mullins would be a clear upgrade and a much-needed big-league presence.
A final test before the break
Before the All-Star reset, Houston gets one last chance to stabilize the ship, and it comes in the form of a rivalry series against the Texas Rangers. The Astros will send their top trio — Lance McCullers Jr., Framber Valdez, and Hunter Brown — to the mound for a three-game set that will test their resolve, their health, and perhaps their postseason aspirations.
The Silver Boot is up for grabs. So is momentum. And maybe, clarity on just how far this version of the Astros can go.
There's so much more to discuss! Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!
The MLB season is finally upon us! Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday.
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*ChatGPT assisted.
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