Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: Billy Hamilton, Danny Duffy, Stephen Piscotty back up to speed

Billy Hamilton got off to a rough start to the season, but he's been running non-stop lately.

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It's all about redemption on the waiver wire Tuesday, as we look at three players who are turning their seasons around of late plus two newcomers to the Fantasy world you need to take more seriously. 

As bad as things were for Danny Duffy early, he probably wouldn't have traded spots with Billy Hamilton, who really wasn't doing much of anything at all for a while there. He had just five steals in April and four more in May, while hitting .208 between those two months. We know Hamilton doesn't do much with the bat, putting an onus on his legs to drive his Fantasy value, but this was a bad stretch even for him.

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Things have been a lot better of late, thankfully. Since June 1, Hamilton is hitting .279, a more-than-respectable mark. And, just as importantly, he's started running wild again, swiping 13 bags in 32 games, including six in his last three while starting 28 of 34 for the Reds. He has 26 runs in those 28 starts as well, putting him solidly in three-category contributor territory. After looking like he might not even be worth owning in Rotisserie leagues, Hamilton has firmly re-established himself as a starting-caliber option in all category-based Fantasy formats.

The overall numbers are still iffy, and he can't seem to string together more than a few good starts in a row without a blowup, but Danny Duffy is back to being Fantasy relevant. After six shutout innings against the Twins on Monday, he now has a 3.07 ERA over his past nine starts, and that is including two starts of six earned runs allowed in that stretch. How's he doing it? For one thing, Duffy has averaged 94 mph or better with his fastball in three straight months now, something he hadn't done in a month since September 2016. Duffy's control is still shaky, but he's been tougher to hit since regaining his velocity. Duffy isn't the ace he looked like in 2016, but there are enough flashes to make him useful against the right matchups. His next scheduled start against the White Sox certainly counts.

Players who can hit for power without striking out a ton will always be interesting Fantasy options, given the potential for high batting averages to go with that power. Stephen Piscotty showed that kind of upside in his first two seasons, hitting .282 with 29 homers in 216 games, before falling below the .240 mark last season. He started off the 2018 campaign much the same way. He's put those struggles behind him over the past month and change, reminding us of the kind of upside he has by hitting .304/.372/.574 in 31 starts since June 1. Piscotty now has the best strikeout rate and hard-contract rate of his career in 2018, two signs that he can keep this going. He should be owned in all five outfielder leagues.

Andrew Suarez's ascension to the majors wasn't accompanied by much hype, which is what happens when you're a polished, strike-thrower with an average fastball.  But he's proving we probably should have been paying more attention to him all along.

Suarez was uncharacteristically wild in Monday's start against the Cubs, as he walked four batters in six innings, but that was just about the only blemish on his record. He otherwise limited the Cubs to just one run on three hits, while striking out five in a no-decision. That gives the 25-year-old six straight starts with two or fewer runs allowed, and a 3.75 ERA overall. With an average strikeout rate, top-notch control and an above-average groundball rate, Suarez profiles as an above-average starter. Not a star, but a useful option.

Monday was a mixed bag for Victor Arano, but I still think he's worth adding if you need a closer. In the first game of the doubleheader against the Mets, Arano came into the game in the top of the 10th inning — after Seranthony Dominguez worked two scoreless innings — and blew the game, allowing a leadoff, walk-off homer to Wilmer Flores to cost the Phillies the game. That's the bad.

The good is, they went right back to him in Game 2. Clinging to a two-run lead after some more late-inning heroics from Flores off Tommy Hunter, the Phillies called on Arano to pick up the final out of the game. He did so without drama, striking out Devin Mesoraco for his third save in less than a week. Arano's usage hasn't represented classic closer usage — one two-out save, one appearance in the top of the 10th in a tied game — but he does have the team's past three saves. That's got to count for something. Whether it means he'll get every save from this point on, I can't say. But for now, he's in the mix, and with a 2.51 ERA and 36 strikeouts in 32 1/3 innings, he's worth adding if you need bullpen help.