FANTASY FOOTBALL ADD/DROPS

Week 16 working the waiver wire: Chase that championship

Joshua Jordan
Dec 17, 2019, 4:43 pm
Mike Nowak/Chargers team site

Congratulations, if you're reading this article you've had a good fantasy season. Adding free agents should be easier with many teams already done for the season. Also, be aware that other owners that are in the playoffs will be looking to block you from picking up any players that can help you, so go all-in if you need a certain player this week. Owners in the consolation game might be looking to add players this week too, so don't just assume your opponent in the championship game is your only competition on the waiver wire.

Keep in mind the owner % mentioned is for 10-team standard ESPN PPR leagues. Good luck!

QB

Ryan Tannehill: He's still only 63% owned, and he continues to come through for fantasy owners. He plays the Saints this week, and they're a middle of the road matchup for QBs over the last 4 games.

Philip Rivers: He's only rostered on 43% of leagues and should have a great game since the Raiders are the 3rd best matchup a QB can face over their last 4 games.

Desperation play:

Ryan Fitzpatrick: You can use him against the Bengals if you're desperate. The matchup isn't as good as you might think. Don't look now, but the Bengals are the 5th worse matchup for QBs over their last 4 games.

RB

Adrian Peterson: Peterson was my top player to add last week, and he didn't disappoint. You have to love the volume he's getting and a home matchup against the Giants isn't scary. He's still only rostered in 55% of leagues.

Mike Boone: This is a tough week for RBs on the waiver wire. Hopefully, you're playing in your fantasy Super Bowl because you have good RBs. Boone could be a league winner if Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison sit this week, but there's no way of knowing that this early in the week. The matchup against the Packers is tasty, so keep your eye on the Vikings' practice reports. This will be tricky because the game is on Monday night, so add Boone and play him if he's the starter.

Kerryon Johnson: He could be back this week, but who knows how much work he gets. If you're in a keeper league, and he's out there, he might be worth picking up for next year.

WR

Breshard Perriman: You have to love his upside playing with Jameis Winston who will face a Texans secondary that can be exploited. He's only rostered in 9% of leagues. He has 3 straight games with 70 yards receiving or more, so he's worth a shot for sure. You can't expect another 113 yard performance with 3 TDs, but he should good again.

Darius Slayton: He didn't put up big numbers, but he did score again. His matchup against the Redskins isn't great, and we'll see if Eli Manning plays again this week. Slayton comes with some risk this week, keep that in mind. He's rostered in 65% of leagues.

Anthony Miller: I've been one of the last people to back Miller this year, but you can't ignore how good he's been lately. He's produced in fantasy for 4 straight weeks, but his matchup couldn't be worse this week, so be aware. The Chiefs have given up the least amount of points to WRs over their last 4 games. He's rostered in 25% of leagues.

Greg Ward: He's getting a lot of targets because Carson Wentz doesn't really have many other options. Ward faces the Cowboys defense this week, and they're a Top 10 matchup for WRs over their last 4 games. He's available in 97% of leagues.

TE

Tyler Higbee: He's only rostered in 39% of leagues, and he has 3 straight games with over 100 receiving yards. PICK HIM UP. Even if Gerald Everett returns, you have to love Higbee.

O.J. Howard: His matchup against the Texans is beautiful, and Jameis should target him heavily. He's rostered in 52% of leagues and should be owned.

DEF

If you need a defense this week, the Chiefs look like a good option against the Bears. Kansas City is playing a lot better on defense as of late, and they're only rostered in 34% of leagues.

Okay, that will do it. 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. Good luck this week!

@JoshJordan975

@Moneyline975

@JerryBoKnowz

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Baseball did Astros no favors this week, but here's how they can make it right

Ryan Pressly and Kyle Tucker are representing the USA in the WBC. Composite image by Brandon Strange.

I’m hearing voices in Houston sports media calling for the end of the World Baseball Classic – or at least a boycott by the Houston Astros – because Jose Altuve suffered a broken thumb during the Venezuela vs. USA game, will require surgery, and is out for 8-10 weeks.

I know, it sucks that our star second baseball and team leader will miss about a third of the 2023 season. But it wasn’t the World Baseball Classic that threw the 96 mph fastball that struck Altuve in the hand – it was a pitch that got away from Colorado Rockies reliever Daniel Bard – a respected MLB veteran, former first-round draft pick and winner of Comeback Player of the Year in 2020.

It just happened to one of our guys. It happens.

Blaming Altuve’s injury on the World Baseball Classic makes no more sense than pinning Lance McCullers’ latest injury on MLB’s traditional spring training. McCullers was diagnosed with an elbow strain after throwing a bullpen session at Astros camp in West Palm Beach, Fla.

At least Altuve incurred his unfortunate injury facing an experienced MLB veteran in a game that meant a lot to the Astros’ future Hall of Famer. It wasn’t during a meaningless game in Florida against a minor league pitcher with control problems wearing No. 92 on his uniform with no chance of making the parent club.

I like the World Baseball Classic. Judging from TV ratings on Fox Sports channels and large crowds, the event was a success. Teams from 20 countries participated – that’s 14 more countries than sent baseball teams to the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo.

The WBC is growing in popularity and participation. Twenty countries sent teams to the WBC this year, up from 16 last time. Great Britain, the Czech Republic, and Nicaragua sent teams for the first time. They joined squads from traditional baseball powerhouses like the USA, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Mexico, Japan, Puerto Rico, Venezuela and The Netherlands. Yes, The Netherlands. They take baseball very seriously there.

China and Chinese Taipei played together on the same field. Israel sent a team, including Bellaire Little League product Josh Wolf.

Baseball needs the WBC if it wants to expand its footprint globally like the NBA has, and the NFL is trying to do.

Some are saying, fine, the WBC has its merits but springtime isn’t the right time. Players are out of shape, at least not in midseason baseball shape, and the event is competing for media coverage with March Madness, NFL free agency, and the NBA’s playoff push.

While that’s true, any time of year you picked for the WBC would clash with other big-time sports events. Sports is a yearlong obsession worldwide.

A reasonable rescheduling might be during the middle of the MLB season, during what is now the All-Star break. Soccer takes midseason breaks for tournaments. Sure it will be weird at first for baseball, but the All-Star Game isn’t the attraction or honor it once was. Now players make suspect excuses to avoid playing in it.

Doing away with baseball’s All-Star Game and slotting the WBC in its place might be a good idea. The NFL has all but killed its Pro Ball and replaced it with a silly flag football game that nobody cares about. The NBA All-Star Game is a joke 3-point contest with even less defense than the actual 3-point contest.

And while baseball players may not be in midseason form during the WBC now, it’s not like the old days when players needed spring training to lose winter flab and wake up their muscles from hibernation. Most baseball players stay in shape all year. They have personal trainers, private chefs and workout rooms in their swankiendas. Back when, baseball players worked at local breweries and sponsors’ businesses during the winter to make ends meet. Not today.

Spring training, come on, really is a little ridiculous. The Astros will have played 30 practice games before Opening Day this season. NFL teams play only three preseason games. NBA teams play only four. College football teams play only none.

The championship game of the World Baseball Classic has the USA with its superstar lineup including Mike Trout, Mookie Betts, Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, and many more against Japan with some guy named Shohei Ohtani. How perfect is that?

The WBC truly is a “world series” for the sport. It may take a little tinkering but baseball needs it. Even if it hurts at first – more precisely at second if you’re the Astros.

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