This weekend marks Players Weekend in the majors. The weekend allows players to show a more comfortable side to themselves. A couple things I am looking forward to see all the nicknames on the back of their uniforms and learning about the backstory. The players tend to get a little more creative with their dress up as well as their introductions when coming up to the plate. All in all it makes for a pretty entertaining weekend.

In the midst of this exciting time of baseball, most fantasy leagues are in playoff races. I hope you find yourself in one as well. As we whined down the regular season in fantasy, here are a few more players that can help you solidify a playoff spot and make a significant playoff push.

2018 Fantasy Baseball Week 22 Waiver Wire

Get the edge you need in DFS by signing up for The Quant Edge. Hurry, you can get 15% off using promo code SIXPACK, ends 8/24 at midnight.

Hitters

Kendrys “Monina” Morales, 1B, Toronto Blue Jays (35% owned in Yahoo)

Embed from Getty Images

Morales is a Cuban born player. He explains that Moninas mean “like ‘friend’. I’ve always been called that by everybody, and everybody calls me that, too.” I can definitely see this as a nickname for Morales to hold up as true.

Besides being a good friend, Morales has been putting up some friendly fantasy numbers lately. Entering Thursday, he has a nice seven-game hitting streak going and doing damage at the plate to boot. Over this time he has hit five dingers (Thanks Big Al!), collected 10 RBI and scored seven runs. I am surprised that he is still owned in so many leagues in Yahoo.

Morales is a great fit in any type of lineup. Obliviously he is not going to get you stolen bases, but by hitting .378 and an OBP of .477 he is more than serviceable in fantasy lineups. With a lot of big names going on the DL this week, Morales is a pronounced replacement for owners that have Abreu and Votto. Morales is capable of keeping these types of numbers up as well.

Amed “El Nino” Rosario, SS, New York Mets (30% owned)

Embed from Getty Images

Rosario went through his whole life without having a nickname until he got to the big leagues. The pitching coach for the Mets, Dan Warthen, decided to give him the nickname of “El Nino” meaning young boy in Spanish. This fits him perfectly as Rosario is the youngest Met on the team.

While batting mostly leadoff for the Mets, Rosario is adding that extra spark to a sometimes uneventful lineup. In the past two weeks, he is batting .310 with an OBP of .355. It is hard to look over the fact that he is filling all the necessary fantasy hitting categories in order to be successful during this time as well. Scoring 11 runs, hitting two home runs, hitting in 11 guys and stealing three bases are all that Rosario has been doing for his team in the past fourteen days. These are certainly numbers that would make a positive contribution in your fantasy lineups.

Pitching

Brett “Noon” Anderson, SP, Oakland Athletics (17% owned)

Embed from Getty Images

I was unable to find any insight on why Brett Anderson has the nickname of Noon. I am sure if you are currently an Anderson owner you don’t care why he is called Noon as long as he continues to pitch the way he is right now. Anderson is known to be a streaky starter in his career, but relish in the way “Noon” is doing it.

Anderson is not going to throw up flashy numbers, but he is going to get the job done. Ever since his hiccup in mid-July, he really has not pitched that bad. In the past weeks, Anderson has been ranked the 32nd pitcher according to Yahoo throwing two quality starts, having an ERA of 0.92 and a WHIP of 0.56. He will look to keep his hot streak going against the Minnesota Twins on Sunday.

Deep Dives

These are players who are better suited to be owned in 14-plus team leagues or deeper roster leagues.

Greg Allen, OF, Cleveland Indians (12% owned)

Embed from Getty Images

Allen has set himself up in a perfect situation in the majors. While batting in the lower end of the lineup, Allen does not have a lot of pressure placed upon him as a hitter.

Cleveland is doing so well in their division that Allen seems to be playing loose and free. In the last fourteen days, while having 47 at bats, he is hitting .362, collecting six stolen bases, and scored eight runs. He is definitely worth a look in AL-type leagues, especially if you need steals.

Check out the rest of our great 2018 Fantasy Baseball content.