Welcome back to another week of Fantasy baseball. This may be our final batch of waiver wire picks for the season… or not. Either way, if you need a last minute boost, here you go.

This week, Alex Cobb got hurt (again); Chas McCormick‘s awful season has taken a turn for the worse with a broken hand; and red hot Josh Naylor looks like a fine DFS play for Friday.

While you ponder if anyone can possibly overtake Cleveland for the division title (currently -850 to win the AL Central as per FanDuel), let’s get to this week’s pitcher heavy…

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Picks

Javier Assad, SP/RP, Chicago Cubs (ESPN: 22.1 per cent; CBS: 50 per cent): Assad was impressive enough as a swingman last year that he earned consideration as one of our Wire Troll All-Stars, and in moving full-time into the rotation this year, he’s been arguably even better. And right now, he’s become an even more important part of the rotation with Justin Steele (elbow) still out. Assad has been nothing if not steady; the last time he surrendered more than three runs in a start was way back on June 26 (a run of 10 straight starts), and he’s gotten better each month since, taking a tough luck loss in his only start this month. Impressively, he’s never had a losing record, and with 2.5 WAR accumulated already, he’s easily posting his finest season from a value perspective. Assad is poised on the mound and really knows how to sequence his arsenal well. There’s upside here heading into 2025, especially if he can sharpen his command.

DJ Herz, SP, Washington Nationals (ESPN: 9.2 per cent; CBS: 31 per cent): Herz has emerged as a good streaming option thanks to a fine run that has seen him surrender over two earned runs just once in his last nine outings. He’s gotten better each month of the season, culminating in five innings of no-hit ball in his first September start. Herz’s record is not worth crowing over, but he’s quietly compiled a very fine rookie effort. As he did at Triple-A, he’s leaned heavily on a four-seam fastball, mixing in his slider a bit more often since coming to the bigs, and it’s a formula that’s really working. Herz is another hurler who offers sleeper potential in 2025.

Brady Basso, RP/SP, Oakland Athletics (ESPN: 0.9 per cent; CBS: 1 per cent): After a few low-leverage appearances to make his MLB debut earlier this season, Basso made his first start last week and hurled six shutout innings. His reward was to be optioned right after the game, but with with Osvaldo Bido (wrist) hitting the IL, Basso is back, and based on his first outing, he intrigues us. Sure, Basso had homer issues at Triple-A, but he was pitching in the most hitter-friendly park in the PCL. The A’s may have something here.

Jakob Junis, RP/SP, Cincinnati Reds (ESPN: 2.1 per cent; CBS: 3 per cent): Two years ago, Junis caught our eye as a potential injury stash based on his solid first half. Okay, so that didn’t go so well as he was bitch-slapped in August and only slightly less bad in September. Junis was better last year, albeit in a spot starter role. This season, he was dealing for Milwaukee in a similar role, but he was sidelined for quite a while and then packaged up to Cincy in the Frankie Montas trade. Junis hasn’t been quite as good for the Reds, but given their rotation injury issues, he’s getting a chance to start, and has looked extremely sharp doing so. Over his last four games (three starts), he’s given up just six hits and two runs over 17 2/3 IP with a 12/1 K/BB ratio. He can provide immediate help in deeper formats.

Dean Kremer, SP, Baltimore Orioles (ESPN: 15.6 per cent; CBS: 47 per cent): Halfway through the 2022 season, we were trying to figure out which version of Kremer was the real deal. To further confuse us, he bounced back nicely in the second half, but wasn’t nearly as good last year (notwithstanding that sweet record). This year, improved his rates have allowed Kremer to post slightly better bottom line results, but he’s really started to hit his stride over the last six starts (ignore his ugly outing in Coors Field as no pitcher is immune from that). There’s nothing in his advanced stat line to get excited about, but he’s pitching well right now and has two starts next week, so if you need a streamer, he’s worth considering.

RotoRob Tune of the Day

No discussion of mid-to-late-’60s counterculture is complete without including The Doors. Here’s another track from An American Prayer with a live version of “Roadhouse Blues,” which is part II of “The World On Fire.”

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