Fantasy Baseball 2008

This week’s most recommended Waiver Wire pickups from the best fantasy sources on the web.

AP Photo/Matt York

Mike Aviles’ solid minor league numbers
are translating to major league success.

Mike Aviles | SS | Kansas City Royals | AL

• In case you missed it, Aviles has been on an absolute tear since he was inserted into Kansas City’s starting lineup in early June. He is hitting .306 this month in 49 at-bats. He has five doubles, one triple, three homers, six RBI and one stolen base. -CBS Sports
• You’d think a two time Royal’s Minor League Player of the Year who was hitting .336 while slugging .631 at AAA, and is making his major league debut, would make a ton of noise in fantasy baseball. Well, then again, it is KC. He’s been on fire out of the gate, hitting .339 and slugging at .644. -FFToolbox.com

Mike Gonzalez | RP | Atlanta Braves | NL

• Gonzalez, in his first game back in more than a year, was given a save opportunity this week. With Rafael Soriano a perpetual injury risk and out for a while longer, Gonzalez needs to be owned in all leagues. -The Hardball Times
• Pretty obvious one here. Mike is back from Tommy John surgery and appears to be taking over the closing duties for the Braves. He was activated and immediately thrown into duty, picking up his first save this past week. The Braves will give him some save opportunities and I think, barring any re injury, 20 saves for the remainder of the season would be a conservative estimate. -FFToolbox.com

Kenny Rogers | SP | Detroit Tigers | AL

• Who says a 43-year-old pitcher can’t perform in the majors? Rogers is putting all the doubters to bed with his latest run. He has a 1.76 ERA in his last six starts and has allowed a total of four earned runs in his last five appearances. -CBS Sports
• He needs to be on your roster, if he’s still available, consider yourself lucky and grab him. This is a wave you need to ride for a month or so. -FFToolbox.com

Russell Branyan | 3B | Milwaukee Brewers | NL

• Milwaukee management felt the lineup needed some new energy and turned to Branyan, who was toiling at Triple-A Nashville. Branyan has met management’s expectations. He has nine homers in 59 at-bats through Wednesday and is hitting better than .300. -CBS Sports
• If you can afford a low (read: really low) batting average, Branyan’s power is immense despite the fact that he strikes out a full 40 percent of the time. He’s hitting sixth behind Corey Hart, Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun and should get plenty of RBIs as well, plus a bunch of runs with his 14 percent walk rate. The Hardball Times.

Marcus Thames | OF | Detroit Tigers | AL

• His contact rate is still improved after 137 plate appearances (78 percent), and he’s still getting a lot of playing time, so he would make a pretty good pickup now. The 25 percent HR/FB will drop, and the .214 BABIP will rise, but he should still be able to hit .250-.260 and hit over 30-35 homers (assuming 500 at-bats) given his excellent fly ball rates and good raw power. -The Hardball Times
• Thames certainly is making the most of his excess playing time, and the Tigers have few other options at this point, so enjoy the ride while you can. The power isn’t exactly new. He’s hit 57 home runs in 743 at bats since 2006, but he’s also hit .251 during that time. -Yahoo! Sports