Best MLB Bets Today – Free (Thursday 10/17)
MLB Dream
The trade deadline is still weeks away, and yet we’re already beginning to feel its effects reverberating through the NFL landscape. Amari Cooper heading to Buffalo and Davante Adams moving to New York obviously has a massive impact on their fantasy fortunes going forward, but you’re not cashing in on that without significant trades. No, it’s the second-level impacts – the WR2s and 3s, the quarterbacks seeing their top targets change, the running backs now facing loaded boxes – that can be plucked out of the waiver wire. And we’ve still got three weeks to go! Making a move before a player is traded can keep you one step ahead of the game.
This Waiver Wire Watchlist column uses Aaron Schatz’s DVOA metrics and FTN’s other advanced statistics and charting data to identify players whose short-term matchups make them compelling streamers and whose workload and efficiency trends have them poised for fantasy breakouts. And it aims to identify them a week before their breakouts. Why exhaust your FAAB or waiver priority to win the next Dobbins or Likely when you can add him now for free?
Reminder: This list was put together in the lead-in to Week 7, looking forward to the players who could be popular waiver wire targets ahead of Week 8. If you have a roster spot to play with, these are free agent options you could grab early to beat the waiver buzz.
All of these players are below 50% rostership on one of ESPN or Yahoo unless otherwise specified.
Quarterbacks
Matthew Stafford, QB, Los Angeles Rams (39%/20%)
Reason: Returning Weapons
Time Frame: Rest of Season
It turns out removing Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua from an offense hurts its fantasy production. Who knew? With the Rams’ offense working with a skeleton crew, Stafford has fallen from 16.2 points per game in 2023 to 10.3 in 2024, which means he hasn’t been startable. But there’s good news on that front! Kupp looks like he’ll return this week or the next, while Nacua remains on track to get back on the field sometime in early November. Stafford’s level of play hasn’t dropped this season; he’s just been missing his top two targets. With them coming back, expect Stafford’s fantasy production to rebound accordingly.
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