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I'm not gonna lie, this is a pretty ugly week for the waiver wire. With that being the case, try improving your team through trades, not just the waiver wire. This is the time of year when fantasy owners tend to get desperate, so make some trade offers. You might get a steal from an owner that has to win this week.
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
Jimmy Garoppolo: He's widely available in leagues and looked great against the Browns on Monday Night Football. He's rostered in about 34% of 10-team ESPN leagues, and most weeks he'll have to throw more than he did against Cleveland. Also, he's already had his bye week so his numbers are better than they look. Jimmy should have to pass more this week against the Rams.
Josh Allen and Jacoby Brissett: They both have a bye this week, but you can beat the waiver wire by picking one of them up now, and not having to worry about getting them next week. Coming off a concussion Allen still had 10 carries against the Titans, so you know he'll continue to run. Plus, Allen gets the best possible matchup against the lowly Dolphins in Week 7. He could win your week for you, so grab him now. As for Brissett, he gets the Texans in week 7 so the matchup isn't scary, and we know what T.Y. Hilton can do to Houston.
Matthew Stafford: He gets the Packers this week in what could be a high-scoring game. The Lions scored 62 points against the Packers in 2 meetings last year, so he could be poised for another big game despite the Packers having a revamped defense this year. He's owned in 42% of standard ESPN leagues.
Gardner Minshew: Dude continues to produce, and he has a great No.1 WR with D.J. Chark. This week, he gets a nice matchup at home against the Saints, so fire him up if you need him. He did really well against a Panthers defense that held Deshaun Watson and the Texans to 10 points in week 4. He's only rostered in 18% of ESPN leagues.
RB
Chris Thompson and Adrian Peterson: If there's ever a week to use these guys, this is it. They get the Dolphins, so feel free to use Thompson in a PPR as a flex, and Peterson in non-PPR as a flex. Thompson is probably owned in your league, but somebody might drop him because the Redskins are a disaster. Peterson is out there in 52% of leagues, so pick him up if you need him.
Jon Hilliman: He has a tough matchup against the Patriots this week, but if you're desperate you should be able to use him before Saquon Barkley likely returns for Week 7. Hilliman's widely available.
Ito Smith: Devonta Freeman hasn't looked good, so Smith is a decent stash as the Falcons might be looking to see what Smith can do with their season in the toilet.
WR
Robbie Anderson: He's only available in shallow leagues, but he might have been dropped. With Darnold returning, Anderson could be a nice option down the stretch. He's rostered in 66% of ESPN leagues.
D.K. Metcalf: He's coming off a decent game against the Rams where he caught a long TD. He might have been dropped in your league, so he's worth taking a look at. He's available in about 38% of standard leagues. Metcalf is very talented, but he seems dependent on the big play for now.
Geronimo Allison: He's out there in 58% of leagues and there's a good chance Devante Adams misses another game.
Auden Tate: Somebody has to catch some passes for the Bengals besides Tyler Boyd. Is that a ringing endorsement of what?
Mohamed Sanu: Sanu made the list last week, and he came through with a TD against Houston. He's hard to trust though since he's the 4th option in Atlanta's passing game.
Byron Pringle: Tyreek Hill may return this week, so Pringle is a bit of a dart throw. But he is available in almost all leagues, and he faces the Texans this Sunday.
TE
Chris Herndon: He's finally off suspension and Sam Darnold might be back this week too. He's out there in about 88% of leagues, so pick him up if you need a TE.
Gerald Everett: That's 2 straight quality games for Everett, and we know the Rams will score points. He's only rostered in 3% of ESPN 10-team standard leagues.
DEF
The Cowboys and the Ravens have good matchups this week against the Jets and Bengals respectively, so look for them first on the waiver wire.
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.
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What could really be motivating Houston Astros blockbuster trade report
Jun 27, 2024, 6:24 pm
It doesn’t quite equate to scaling Mount Everest, but from their shockingly inept 7-19 start to this season and being twelve games under .500 most recently at 12-24, the Astros reaching the break-even mark one game short of the exact midpoint of the regular season schedule is a fine accomplishment. Since 12-24 they have gone 28-16. Of course, that becomes a hollow accomplishment if it's not built upon in the direction the Astros expected to be from the jump.
Less than a week and a half ago, the Seattle Mariners held a 10 game lead over the Astros in the American League West. The gap is now four and a half games. On July 4, 1979 the Astros beat the Cincinnati Reds to build their National League West lead to ten and a half games. The Astros were on pace to win 101 games, the Reds were at .500. Unimpressed Reds’ pitcher Tom Seaver predicted the Astros would “fall like a lead balloon.” He was right. The rest of the way the Astros went 37-42 and the Reds roared from behind to snatch the division by a game and a half. The Astros would have to wait until the following year to make their first ever postseason appearance. Now here they are very reasonably positioned to make a run at an eighth consecutive postseason appearance.
The same night the Astros went to sleep ten games back of the Mariners, they sat seven and a half games out of the third AL Wild Card spot. That gap is now three games. Given how far the Astros are behind the Yankees, Orioles, and Guardians, it's unlikely that the Astros wind up with one of the two best records in the AL and secure a bye past the best-of-three Wild Card round. As such, whether it's winning the West or nabbing any of the three Wild Cards, the point is to make the tournament and take their shot. Remember, last season both the World Series winning Texas Rangers and runners-up Arizona Diamondbacks were Wild Cards. The Diamondbacks squeaked into the postseason with an 84-78 record.
Start spreading the news!
This weekend, the Astros are in New York for three games against the Mets. Like the Astros the Mets have overcome a lousy start to sit smack-dab at .500 (39-39). Since their bottom of 24-35 the Mets are 15-4. While the Astros have the good fortune of the AL West being the worst division in the Majors, this season and being just four and a half games off the lead, the Mets National League East location means it's pretty much Wild Card or nothing with them 13 games behind the high-flying Phillies.
There will be no Justin Verlander pitching for either team. It's moving toward done deal status that neither the Astros nor Mets will be on the hook for the 17 and a half million dollars each would owe him if Verlander's 2025 35 million dollar option became guaranteed by him reaching 140 innings pitched this season. At just 57 innings banked as the first half wraps up, he's 83 innings short. Verlander's sore neck seems likely to keep him in moth balls until at least the All-Star break. With perfect health from day one after the break, the absolute maximum number of starts Verlander could get is 14.
Other collateral damage with Verlander's repeated physical breakdowns in his 40s: his chance at getting to 300 career wins is fading. Only 24 pitchers in Major League history have reached 300. There will likely never be a 25th member of the club. With just three victories in 2024 Verlander is presently stalled at 260. Squeezing out 40 more seems a Herculean task. The next pitcher on the winningest active list is Max Scherzer with 215, he's followed by Clayton Kershaw with 210. It then drops off a cliff to Gerrit Cole with only 145. Zero chance at 300 for any of them. “J.V.” finished his 20s with 124 wins. Larry Dierker booked all but two of his 139 career wins before turning 30. Roy Oswalt put up 111 wins pre-30. The current win leader yet to turn 30 is German Marquez with a mere 65 victories.
Astros winning despite Kyle Tucker's absence
Before fouling the ball off his shin June 3 that (eventually) put him on the injured list, Kyle Tucker was the Astros' best everyday player this season. In fact, no one else was even close. In the 19 (and counting) games Tucker has missed, the Astros are 13-6. While “Tuck” need not familiarize himself with Wally Pipp, this is the latest example that one player, no matter how great, can only lift a baseball team so far. It probably isn't making Jim Crane think that eight years 240 million or the like is the way to go in a contract extension for Tucker. Crane's dream Astros' outfield in 2026 could have Jacob Melton in center flanked by Luis Baez on one side and Joey Loperfido on the other, with Yordan Alvarez in left of course when not DHing. Melton and Baez may be the Astros' top two minor league prospects. They'll be 25 and 22 years old opening day 2026. Add Loperfido with them and the Astros could pay their whole outfield under two and a half million dollars for the season.
*Catch our weekly Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast. Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and I discuss varied Astros topics. The first post for the week generally goes up Monday afternoon (second part released Tuesday) via The SportsMap HOU YouTube channel or listen to episodes in their entirety at Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.