Fantasy Waiver Wire Power Hitters: Sluggers you Should Grab

Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

My favorite types of players to have on my roster are power hitters because they can “frequently” provide you with the best play in fantasy baseball.  The home run is the only event that can aid you in four categories (unless you play with crazy settings).  A homer gives you a boost of one run, one HR, one to four RBI’s and it also improves your batting rate statistic, especially if you play in OPS leagues.

Before you go any further, do not continue with this article if you play in a points league that penalizes for strikeouts.

I originally planned to write an article about why you should roster Chris Carter, but then I realized that both Adam Dunn and Mark Reynolds are also fantasy waiver wire power hitters, as they are unowned in roughly 85% of ESPN leagues.

All three of these sluggers are three outcome players who should be rostered for their power.

In addition to these three, Juan Francisco is only owned in 22.9% of ESPN leagues, but he is not seen as the same batting average black hole with 200 K potential as the other three.  He adds the same benefits as the aforementioned players, but with a better AVG and OPS.

This quartet is so special because they are rare players who offer elite power on the waiver wire.  The only two stats you generally cannot find in free agency are homers and saves.  Saves are hard to pick up because there are generally only thirty guys who record saves, but true power also seems hard to find because the home run hitters tend to be among the best players in fantasy baseball.

All four of these hitters have at least a dozen home runs on the year, which is on pace for 25+ bombs.  Anyone who can hit 25 home runs in a season is worth a spot on my fantasy team.  The remarkable thing is these four hitters are mostly found in free agency, while almost all other players with their power are owned.  Below are all the players with at least 12 home runs that are not owned in 100% of ESPN fantasy baseball leagues.

ESPN ownership as of June 21, 2014:

14 home runs:

• Ryan Howard 94.1%

13 home runs:

• Mark Reynolds 17.8%
• Chris Carter 14.5%

12 home runs:

• Justin Morneau 98.4%
• Marlon Byrd 84.5%
• Mark Teixeira 78.4%
• Juan Francisco 22.9%
• Adam Dunn 15.2%

That is it.  Only eight players in the entire league fit this description of 12+ homers and not 100% ESPN fantasy ownership.  Furthermore, four of them have a good chance of being available in your league.  There is no reason not to add them, especially Adam Dunn who is excellent in OBP and OPS leagues.  Plus, Dunn’s .234 batting average is not that bad.

Look at this like chasing saves.  I am sure you rushed to free agency to add Sergio Santos and Jose Valverde to get a couple saves while you sacrificed ERA and WHIP.  Also, chase home runs because it will help you regardless in almost all of the offensive categories.  If you are willing to take a potential hit in one category, then grab these guys because it could payoff more than chasing the next mediocre closer.