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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
Josh Allen: Last week I advised anyone that needed a QB to stash Josh Allen. If you didn't do that, now is the time. He gets the Dolphins this week. FIRE HIM UP! He's available in about 50% of 10-team leagues.
Gardner Minshew: He had a tough game last week, but gets the Bengals in his next matchup. He's rostered in about 54% of leagues.
Matthew Stafford: This week's matchup against the Vikings is tough, but he gets the Giants and Raiders after that. He's coming off a bad game, but overall he's been pretty good this year. He's also rostered in about 50% of ESPN standard leagues.
Kirk Cousins: If you're in a deeper league, Cousins looks like a good bet with the Vikings throwing the ball more. He plays the Lions this week, and he's 26% owned in 10-team leagues.
RB
Jamaal Williams: He rushed for over 100 yards against the Lions, and the Packers will continue to use him and Aaron Jones. Finding a RB off waivers is tough, so he's probably the best option out there. At least he plays in an offense with Aaron Rodgers.
Darrell Henderson: He won't do much when Gurley returns, but Gurley is no lock to stay healthy. He's out there in almost 98% of standard leagues and Malcolm Brown didn't do much with his opportunities.
Mark Walton: He's on the Dolphins so you can't feel very good about him, especially with Kenyan Drake taking touches away from him. If you're desperate, he is getting touches and the Dolphins have never fully committed to Drake. He does have a tough matchup against the Bills this week.
Alexander Mattison: He's more of a handcuff, but he could be a league winner if Dalvin Cook goes down. He's available in 85% of leagues.
WR
Phillip Dorsett: Josh Gordon is banged up and Dorsett's hamstring injury shouldn't keep him out of the lineup much longer. He's the best long-term option at WR, and he's only rostered in 27% of standard ESPN leagues.
Jamison Crowder: With Sam Darnold back Crowder is very usable for fantasy. He almost had 100 yards last week against a Cowboy defense that's been stout for most of the season. I'd rather have Robbie Anderson, but Crowder should be solid in PPR.
Auden Tate: Tate also had almost 100 yards receiving this week, so he could continue to be a decent starter until A.J. Green returns. Hell, Green may never play for the Bengals this year, so Tate could be good long-term as well. He's only rostered in 21% of ESPN leagues.
TE
Hunter Henry: He's actually available in almost half of ESPN standard leagues. Grab him immediately if he's out there. All his production came in garbage time, but who cares? He could be a league winner with TE being so terrible for fantasy this year.
T.J. Hockenson: He might have been dropped so you may be able to get him. He's rostered in 56% of ESPN leagues. He wasn't very good against the Packers, but he did drop a TD, so he's in the mix.
Chris Herndon: We he gets healthy, he could come in handy. He's available in about 80% of leagues. Darnold is giving this offense some life.
DEFENSE
The 49ers and the Bills have great matchups this week. There's a good chance the 49ers are owned, but the Bills are coming off a bye and were likely dropped.
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.
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With the Astros now officially ten games under .500 for the season, manager Joe Espada is taking a lot of heat from the fanbase for the team's struggles.
While we don't agree with the sentiment, we even hear fans clamoring for the return of Dusty Baker and Martin Maldonado, thinking the Astros wouldn't be in this mess if they were still here.
Which is ridiculous. First of all, Maldonado has been awful for the White Sox, hitting .048 (even worse than Jose Abreu's .065). And for those of you that think his work with the pitching staff justifies his pathetic offense. Let me say this: Where was Maldy's game calling genius for Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier, and Framber Valdez last year? All of them regressed significantly.
And as far as Baker is concerned, we have no idea how much a difference he would make, we can only speculate. Baker would also be dealing with a pitching staff ravaged with injuries. And let's not forget, Baker was the guy that refused to move Jose Abreu down in the batting order, even though he would finish the regular season with the ninth-worst OPS in baseball.
The reality of the situation is managers can only do so much in baseball. Which leads us to something else that needs to be considered. Is Espada being handcuffed by the front office? Espada and GM Dana Brown both said recently that Jon Singleton was going to get more at-bats while they give Abreu time off to try to figure things out. Yet, there Abreu was in the lineup again in the opening game of the Cubs series.
It makes us wonder how much power does Espada truly have? The Astros have some other options at first base. Yainer Diaz may only have eight games played at the position, but how much worse could he be than Abreu defensively? Abreu already has four errors, and Diaz is obviously a way better hitter. Victor Caratini isn't considered a plus offensive player, but his .276 batting average makes him look like Babe Ruth compared to Abreu. Let him catch more often and play Diaz at first. Starting Diaz at first more often could also lengthen his career long-term.
Maybe that's too wild of a move. Okay, fine. How about playing Mauricio Dubon at first base? I understand he doesn't have much experience at that position, but what's the downside of trying him there? If he can play shortstop, he can play first base. He's driving in runs at a higher rate (11 RBIs) than everyone on the team outside of Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez. And he's producing like that as part-time player right now.
The other criticism we see of Espada is his use of Jon Singleton to pinch hit late in games. Let's be real, though, who else does Espada have on the roster to go to? Batting Abreu late in games in which you're trailing should be considered malpractice. Espada can only use who he has to work with. This all really stems from the Astros poor farm system.
They don't have anyone else to turn to. The draft picks the club lost from the sign-stealing scandal are really hurting them right now. First and second rounders from 2020 and 2021 should be helping you in 2024 at the big league level.
Maybe they go to Astros prospect Joey Loperfido soon, but after a hot start he has only two hits in his last six games.
Finally, we have to talk about what seems like a committee making baseball decisions. Lost in a committee is accountability. Who gets the blame for making poor decisions?
As time continues to pass it looks like moving on from former GM James Click was a massive mistake. He's the guy that didn't sign Abreu, but did trade Myles Straw (recently DFA'd) for Yainer Diaz and Phil Maton. He also built an elite bullpen without breaking the bank, and helped the club win a World Series in 2022.
The reality of the situation is Dusty Baker and James Click are not walking back through that door. And all good runs come to an end at some point. Is this what we're witnessing?
Don't miss the video above as we hit on all the points discussed and much more!
Catch Stone Cold 'Stros (an Astros podcast) with Charlie Pallilo, Brandon Strange, and Josh Jordan. We drop two episodes every week on SportsMapHouston's YouTube channel. You can also listen on Apple Podcast, Spotifyor wherever you get your podcasts.