Photo via: Buccaneers.com
What a strange week that was. If you came away with a victory, consider yourself lucky. If you took an L, don't worry, we'll try to find some upgrades on the waiver wire. Also, don't be afraid to send out some trade offers. This is the time of year when fantasy owners tend to get desperate. Alright, let's see which free agents are still available. Keep in mind the owner % mentioned is for 10-team standard ESPN 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
Jameis Winston: I'm surprised he's available in over 55% of ESPN standard 10-team leagues. This is probably your last chance to pick him up if you need a QB. Winston looks like he's getting comfortable in Bruce Arians' system, and he has tons of good options to throw to. Nothing scare about his matchup with the Saints.
Jimmy Garoppolo: Jimmy G is coming off his bye week, so there's a good chance he's out there on the waiver wire. This week he gets the Browns at home for Monday Night Football, and the Browns have several players banged out in the secondary including their 2 starting corners, Denzel Ward and Greedy Williams. Both were inactive against the Ravens. He's available in 66% of ESPN standard leagues.
Jacoby Brissett: I don't love him if T.Y. Hilton is out again this week, but either way he should be chasing points against the Chiefs this week. Plus, he did just have 3 TDs against the Raiders. He's only rostered in 32% of ESPN standard leagues.
Gardner Minshew: A tough matchup this week for Minshew, but he's been getting it done with multiple TD passes in 3 of his 4 games. He's only rostered in 14% of ESPN leagues.
RB
Darrel Williams: If he's still out there, pick him up immediately. He's going to continue to get touches in this high-powered offense until Damien Williams comes back.
Ronald Jones: This offense is starting to come to life and Jones is beginning to figure things out. Jones had more carries than Peyton Barber for 2 straight weeks, so he's worth adding for sure. He's out there in about 60% of 10-team leagues, but this is probably your last chance to add him. He gets the Saints this week.
Frank Gore: If you missed your chance to get him last week, he may still be available. He plays the Titans this week, and we'll see if Devin Singletary is ready to return to action later in the week. But if you need help at RB, Franky Gore's been solid for 3 straight weeks. He's rostered in 57% of leagues.
Jordan Wilkins: Wilkins is a great short-term option if Marlon Mack misses time with his ankle injury. You'll have to keep an eye on the practice reports, but Wilkins should get the goal line work with Mack sidelined. I slightly value him over Nyheim Hines, but in a PPR you could do worse than Hines. All of this depends on Mack's status though. After the Colts play the Chiefs this week, they have a bye before facing Houston. The Colts may very well sit Mack this week, and give him extra time to recover before playing the Texans.
Jaylen Samuels: He does have some independent value for owners that don't have James Conner. If the Steelers continue to limit Mason Rudolph, Samuels will be a nice flex option going forward. He's available in about 80% of ESPN leagues. He faces the Ravens this week, but Nick Chubb shredded them in week 4 with 3 TDs.
WR
Courtland Sutton: Flacco was surprisingly good this week and Sutton certainly has the physical traits teams look for in a WR. He's owned 70% of leagues, so grab him if he's still available.
Golden Tate: He returns from suspension this week, and he's available in 50% of ESPN standard leagues.
Geronimo Allison: Allison should get an uptick in targets with the injury to Devante Adams. Adams hasn't been ruled out yet, but I'm guessing he'll miss a week or two recovering from turf toe. He has a tough matchup against the Cowboys, but he's available in about 70% of leagues if you need him.
Keke Coutee: Kenny Stills looks like he will miss some time with a hamstring injury, so Coutee should step right in and get targets. Coutee gets an incredible matchup against the Falcons' pathetic defense, so start him if you need him. He could be a nice affordable daily option in PPR as well.
Mohamed Sanu: There's nothing exciting about Sanu, but he gets a good matchup against Houston this week. He's not a bad option in PPR if you're desperate.
Deebo Samuel: It's hard to know which 49ers WR to start each week, but I think Samuel has the best chance to breakout. Stash him now and hope he starts producing.
TE
Chris Herndon: You can't use him until week 6, so pick him up now if you need TE help. Adam Gase has a long history of getting his TEs involved in the passing game, so you could do worse. He's widely available.
Jimmy Graham: He's no longer a great player, but he'll be targeted a lot in the red zone especially with Devante Adams set to miss a game or two. He's pretty much TD or bust, but most TEs are this year.
Tyler Eifert: He gets the Cardinals this week who have been dreadful at defending TEs. He's worth a shot this week only because of the matchup.
DEFENSE
With the Dolphins on a bye, you can't start their opponent this week. The Eagles and the Titans have good matchups, so grab them if you need them.
If you have any questions, feel free to hit me up on Twitter or listen to my radio show MoneyLine with Jerry Bo Sundays from 10-noon on ESPN 97.5 FM. We talk all things fantasy football and NFL gambling getting you ready for kickoff every Sunday.
With overnight temperatures dipping into the 20s this week in Houston, it seems good timing to have the warm thoughts of baseball being back, at least spring training games. The Astros have more shakiness about their squad than they have had in nearly a decade, but the Astros still have a nucleus of an American League West contender. With the exits of Kyle Tucker and Alex Bregman, it’s just a notably different nucleus than in recent years.
Jose Altuve is the last remaining mainstay of the greatest era in Astros’ history, and he is one of the biggest stories of their preseason as he for the time being at least is left fielder Jose Altuve. By every indication he is embracing the challenge with class and energy. The obvious impetus for test driving the move is the soon-to-be 35 years old Altuve’s defensive deterioration. It can be tough for the player himself to notice that his range has declined. The voiding of defensive shifts after the 2022 season shined a brighter light on Altuve’s D decline. Still, last season Altuve made his ninth All-Star team and despite also displaying some offensive decline remained the clearly best offensive second baseman in the American League. It’s part of the tradeoff of reducing the defensive workload on Yordan Alvarez, and hoping to upgrade defensively at second with some combo of Mauricio Dubon, Brendan Rodgers, or other.
The natural comparison in Astros’ history of a franchise icon losing his defensive spot and making a late-career position change is to Craig Biggio. Biggio’s All-Star days were behind him when the Astros moved him from second base to center field for the 2003 season because of the signing of free agent Jeff Kent. It spoke to the athlete Biggio was that at 37 years old he could make the move at all. After not quite a season and a half in center, Biggio moved to left when the Astros traded for young stud center fielder Carlos Beltran. Both Kent and Beltran left in free agency after the 2004 season, and Biggio moved back to second for the final three seasons of his career.
Second basemen are often second basemen and not shortstops in part because of their throwing arms. Altuve’s throwing arm will be an issue in left field. Even though Daikin Park has the smallest square footage of fair territory in Major League Baseball because of its left to left-center field dimensions, Altuve’s arm will be a liability. In understandably wanting to put an optimistic spin on things, manager Joe Espada and general manager Dana Brown have talked of how Altuve will be able to get momentum behind throws more so than when playing second. That’s true when camping under a fly ball in the outfield. That is not true when Altuve will have to cut off balls hit toward the left field line, or cutting across into the left-center field gap. There will be balls that would be singles when hit to other left fielders that will become doubles when Altuve has to play them, and baserunners will go from first to third and second to home much more readily. As an infielder Altuve has always been outstanding at running down pop-ups, so there is reason to believe he’ll be solid tracking fly balls in the outfield. However, the reality of a guy who is five feet six inches tall (in spikes) is that there will be the occasional fly ball or line drive that is beyond his grasp that more “normal” sized outfielders would grab. Try to name a good outfielder who stood shorter than five-foot-nine...
Here’s one: Hall of Famer Tim Raines (also originally a second baseman) was (and presumably still is!) five-foot-eight.
Here's another: Hall of Famer Hack Wilson was five-six. Four times he led the National League in home runs topped by a whopping 56 in 1930 when he set the still standing record of 191 runs batted in for a single season.
And another: Hall of Famer five-foot-four “Wee” Willie Keeler. Who last played in 1910.
Just a bit outside
Another element new to the Grapefruit League in Florida (and Cactus League in Arizona) this year is the limited use of what Major League Baseball is calling the Automated Ball Strike System. The ABS is likely coming to regular season games next year. This spring will be our first look at its use in big league games. Home plate umpires making ball and strike calls will not be going the way of the dinosaur. Challenges can be made until a team is wrong twice. Significantly, only the batter, pitcher, or catcher can challenge and must do so within two seconds of the pitch being caught. No dugout input allowed. No time to watch a replay.
The Astros’ spring park in West Palm Beach is not among the 13 facilities set up with ABS cameras. That seems silly given that the Astros share the place with the Washington Nationals. More use would be gotten from, and more data collected there than will be from a park with half the spring games played in it.
The countdown to Opening Day is on. Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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