Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: Chase Burns arrives, Jo Adell powers up

Welcome to Waiver Wire Watch, where I review my favorite waiver wire adds and drops for each week of the MLB season.

The premise is pretty straightforward. I’ll try to give you some recommended adds each week based on recent production or role changes. When I list a player, I’ll list the category where I think he’ll be helpful or the quick reason he’s listed. I hope it will help you determine if the player is a fit for what your team needs.

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For a player to qualify for this list, he needs to be UNDER 40% rostered in Yahoo! formats. I understand you may say, “These players aren’t available in my league,” and I can’t help you there. These players are available in over 60% of leagues and some in 98% of leagues, so they’re available in many places, and that can hopefully satisfy readers who play in all league types.

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Waiver Wire Hitters

Nick Kurtz – 1B, ATH: 40% rostered
(RETURN FROM THE IL, POWER UPSIDE)

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Nick Kurtz went 2-for-17 in his return from the IL, and his roster rate fell to 29% in Yahoo Leagues. It’s the same thing that happened when people dropped him after he struggled initially after being called up. We have to stop doing that. Power hitters are going to be streaky. Kurtz responded to that 2-for-17 start by going 8-for-23 with four home runs, seven RBI, and six runs scored. We know that offense is going to pick up in Sacramento as the weather warms, and Kurtz clearly has elite power, so I’d be trying to add him in any leagues where he’s still available.

Cam Smith – 3B/OF, HOU: 31% rostered
(PROSPECT GROWTH, BATTING AVERAGE UPSIDE)

Earlier this week, I recorded a full video on why you should add Cam Smith, so you should check that out for far more detail than I can give in here. Additionally, if you dropped Javier Báez – 2B/SS/3B/OF, DET (38% rostered), you can go ahead and re-add him. He’s gone 13-for-36 in his last 12 games with three home runs, 11 runs, and six RBI, and is still performing and playing regularly for a good Tigers team.

Jo Adell – OF, LAA: 30% rostered
(POWER UPSIDE, POST-HYPE PROSPECT)

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I know we’ve done this a bunch with Adell in the past, and I’m not sure I buy it, but I do feel the need to point out that he’s been playing well of late. Over his last 35 games, Adell is batting .276/.372/.612 with 10 home runs, 17 runs scored, and 19 RBI. More importantly, he has just a 23% strikeout rate over that span, with a 50% hard-hit rate and 11 barrels. We’ve seen Adell have short stretches of improved contact in the past, so there’s no guarantee that this sticks, but if it does, he will be a huge fantasy asset, so he’s worth adding while he’s running hot. A deep league option primarily for batting average is Jake Meyers – OF, HOU (8% rostered). Earlier this season, I published an article on hitters who were being more aggressive and swinging at the first pitch more often this year than last year. Myers popped up for me on that leaderboard, and I explained in detail why I’m a fan of his new approach, so you should read that article to check out the analysis; however, I think he’s a solid add for steals and something close to a .280 batting average. Over his last 13 games, he’s hitting .367 with eight runs scored and three steals. Those are the three categories where I think he’ll help you the most, but he could provide decent value in all three.

Evan Carter – OF, TEX: 29% rostered
(POST HYPE PROSPECT, HOT STRETCH)

Kennedi Landry had a good piece on Evan Carter the other day, highlighting some of the changes that have led to his strong performance since coming off the IL…again. He admitted to putting a lot of pressure on himself after his injury, and cited playing looser and feeling like he had a better mental approach at the plate. Since being activated, he’s gone 14-for-45 (.311) with three homers, eight RBI, and three steals. We do know that Texas is not likely to play him against many lefties, so that could limit his value in weekly leagues, and he seems to get banged up quite frequently, so he remains an injury risk, but Carter is just 22 years old and has plenty of fantasy juice if he can stay healthy. Another underrated platoon outfielder is Jesus Sanchez – OF, MIA (11% rostered), who will face five right-handed starters this upcoming week. Sanchez is among the league leaders in bat speed and has hit .266/333/.430 with six home runs in 158 plate appearances against right-handed pitching this season. He could be in for a strong week of production.

Jurickson Profar – OF, ATL: 24% rostered
(IMPENDING RETURN, COUNTING STATS UPSIDE)

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Despite the fact that I think the rule is stupid, Profar is allowed to play in rehab games even though he was suspended for 80 games for breaking league rules. Whatever. It’s dumb. But he can return on July 2nd and figures to be the regular left fielder in Atlanta. If you have space to stash him now, that might not be a bad idea in deeper formats.

Michael Toglia: 1B/OF, COL: 23% rostered
(STARTING JOB, POWER UPSIDE)

Toglia is back and locked into a starting role in Colorado again, but I’m still hesitant to add him. I recorded a video explaining why here, but I just think his strikeout rates and contact issues are going to continue to be a problem. I get that he has tons of power, but the batting average is likely to be awful, so you need to be in a specific situation where your team can handle his poor average, or your average is low enough that you basically decide to punt it.

Jeff McNeil – 2B/OF, NYM: 20% rostered
(CONSISTENT PLAYING TIME, SURPRISING POWER)

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I think most people wrote off Jeff McNeil as a fantasy-relevant player when he was hurt earlier in the year, but he has been solid for the Mets since coming off the IL, hitting .250 with 23 RBI, 15 runs scored, and one stolen base. Despite the Mets offense being in a swoon of late, McNeil has stayed solid, going 12-for-44 (.273) over the last two weeks with four home runs and 10 RBI. The multi-position eligibility is also helpful, and while I think McNeil will be primarily a batting average asset, he is showing some surprising power this year as well. Another option for similar skills is Ernie Clement – 2B/SS/3B – TOR (19% rostered). Clement is hitting .371 over the last month with three home runs, 17 runs scored, and seven RBI. The 29-year-old has proved himself to be a solid batting average asset last season, and his multi-position eligibility makes him valuable in deeper leagues.

Jordan Beck – OF, COL: 16% rostered
This is all about the schedule. The Rockies are home for nine of their next 12 games, and the other three are in Milwaukee, which is also a good offensive park. Beck is hitting .303/.344/.479 at home this season with three home runs and 11 RBI in 30 games. He can be a real asset in most fantasy leagues when he’s at home. You could also add Mickey Moniak – OF, COL (3% rostered) for the same reasons as Beck. Moniak is 17-for-57 (.298) over his last 19 games with seven home runs, 11 RBI, 12 runs scored, and two steals. We’ve seen him go through these hot streaks before, so I don’t expect it to last, but he’s seeing the ball well and also going to Coors for nine of his next 12 games.

Nolan Schanuel – 1B, LAA: 15% rostered
(BATTING AVERAGE ASSET, POTENTIAL POWER GROWTH)

I’ve always liked Schanuel. He has tremendous plate discipline. He makes an elite amount of contact. He pulls the ball enough to do damage, and I think he’s trying to be more selective in getting pitches he can drive. The power numbers aren’t great, but Schanuel now hits at the top of a batting order that includes Zach Neto, Mike Trout, Jorge Soler, Taylor Ward, and Logan O’Hoppe. It’s not a bad spot, and if your primary goal isn’t power, then I think Schanuel could be a good bet for you. Same goes for Ty France – 1B, MIN (7% rostered), who remains the starting first baseman in Minnesota with a solid 8.4% barrel rate. He has less speed than Schanuel does and similarly modest power, but his batting average will be helpful, and he’ll chip in enough in the counting stats to help you in deeper formats.

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Brooks Lee – 2B/3B/SS, MIN: 15% rostered
(BATTING AVERAGE UPSIDE, CONSISTENT PLAYING TIME)

Lee is another solid multi-position eligible player who has remained in the lineup even as the Twins have gotten healthy. With Royce Lewis on the IL with yet another lower-body injury, that should keep Lee as an everyday player in Minnesota. He’s hitting .341 over his last 12 games with three home runs and seven RBI. The power and speed numbers aren’t likely going to be great, but he’ll chip in a few and then add solid counting stats in a decent lineup. Kody Clemens – 1B/2B/3B/OF, MIN (2% rostered) should also get regular playing time at second base or first base against right-handed pitchers with Lewis out. He was red hot after the Twins acquired him and he was thrust into the starting lineup, so if you’re in deeper leagues, he could be a usable player for a few weeks.

Parker Meadows – OF, DET: 13% rostered
(POWER/SPEED UPSIDE, RETURN FROM THE IL)

Meadows has struggled since coming off the IL, but I often think that we’re too quick to turn away from a player just because he doesn’t hit the ground running. Adjusting to MLB pitching is hard, even if you’ve been at this level before. Meadows was out for almost three months; it’s going to take some time for him to get his rhythm back. He’s a talented hitter and is playing pretty much every day in Detroit. I would still try to scoop him up before he gets hot. You could also add his teammate Wenceel Pérez – OF, DET (4% rostered), who is hitting .284/.333/.612 in 21 games this season with five home runs, 10 RBI, and 11 runs scored. He also hit .242 with nine home runs and nine steals in 112 games as a rookie last season. He’s been playing a lot of right field with Kerry Carpenter shifting to DH and Colt Keith riding the bench a lot, and that could be how Detroit approaches this moving forward.

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Brady House – 3B, WAS: 7% rostered
(RECENT CALL-UP, FORMER TOP PROSPECT)

Brady House is the next in the infusion of young talent into this Washington lineup. The former 11th overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft was on a hot streak before being promoted to the big leagues and hit .304/.353/.519 in 65 games at Triple-A with 13 home runs. His average exit velocity was 90.2 mph with a 46% hard-hit rate. House was pulling the ball at a career-high rate, nearly 50% of the time, while lowering his chase rate by 6%. He still swings and misses a lot (15% swinging strike rate in the minors) and has a 47% groundball rate that will cap his upside, but the new approach and solid enough zone contact rate let’s me think that House could hit .240-.250 in Washington with 10+ home runs the rest of the way while hitting in the middle of the lineup. That’s not nothing.

Kyle Teel – C, CWS: 7% rostered
(PROSPECT CALL-UP, BATTING AVERAGE UPSIDE)

Kyle Teel has entered a bit of a full-on timeshare with Edgar Quero, which is not an ideal situation, but I think Teel has more offensive upside. He slashed .295/.394/.492 in 50 games at Triple-A with eight home runs and seven steals. While he’s gone just 7-for-29 to begin his big league career, I believe in his approach at the plate and his overall skill set. I think he’ll continue to adjust to big league pitching, and he’s worth a look in all two-catcher leagues. If you’re looking for an option in a two-catcher format, you can go with Gary Sanchez – C, BAL (2% rostered), who figures to be the starting catcher in Baltimore with Adley Rutschman landing on the IL. The veteran will be more valuable against left-handed pitching, but he has gone 6-for-14 with five runs scored, two home runs, and seven RBI since coming off the IL. I’d expect him to play about 75% of the games in the short term, and he still has a good amount of power in his bat.

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Christian Moore – 2B, LAA: 6% rostered
(PROSPECT CALL-UP, POWER/SPEED UPSIDE)

Last week, the Angels called up Moore and made him the FOURTH player from last year’s draft class to already make his MLB debut, along with Nick Kurtz, Jac Caglianone, and Cam Smith. Moore struggled to start the season in Double-A, but was playing solid in Triple-A and now has a .279/.374/.422 slash line in 54 games across Double-A and Triple-A with five home runs and eight steals. He also had a 14% swinging strike rate and just a 70% contact rate, so that tells us there will be swing-and-miss issues in the big leagues. I would expect a .230 average but with some intriguing power and speed hitting near the bottom of a solid but not great lineup. I get wanting to add him for his upside, but it does feel like more of a deep league target. Ryan Ritter – SS, COL (1% rostered), is another rookie who has stepped into a full-time role with Ezequiel Tovar on the IL with an oblique injury. Ritter was crushing at Triple-A with a .305 average with 16 home runs, 43 RBI, and three steals in 52 games. His contact rate was under 73% in Triple-A, which isn’t ideal and makes me think the batting average will be a fair bit lower in the big leagues. I don’t think he’ll be up for long, but in deeper formats, he could be worth a gamble if you need a MIF, especially given the Colorado schedule the next two weeks.

Tyler Freeman – SS/OF, COL: 4% rostered
(REGULAR STARTING ROLE, BATTING AVERAGE UPSIDE)

Yes, another Rockies hitter. We’ve seen Freeman emerge as the regular right fielder for the Rockies since being called up. He has hit .326/.417/.442 in 37 games with seven stolen bases. Freeman had a solid enough season last year for Cleveland, and moving to Colorado should help him. Freeman makes a lot of contact, but the hard contact is limited, and his BABIP has been low in years past. Coors Field tends to boost BABIP, so Freeman could emerge as a .270 hitter with some decent speed and multi-position eligibility. Pair that with nine games at home over the next two weeks, and he’s a worthwhile add.

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Luke Raley – 1B/OF, SEA: 4% rostered
(RETURN FROM IL, POWER UPSIDE)

Raley has been out since late April with an oblique strain, but he returned to the Mariners’ active roster on Friday. He did not start against a left-handed pitcher, but he did enter the game once Chicago went to the bullpen, which is a good sign for his playing time. Raley went 7-for-19 with a homer, a double, a walk, and a strikeout on his rehab assignment, and he hit 22 home runs with 11 steals for the Mariners last season, so he could be a decent source of power and chip in steals in deeper formats. He’s likely to see most of his playing time in right field, but he could also play first base and designated hitter, which gives him added job security. Alec Burleson – 1B/OF, STL (32% rostered), is another multi-position option, and he’s been hitting well of late, going 16-for-49 (.388) over his last 13 games with two home runs, eight RBI, and seven runs. The issues have been that he only has eight home runs on the season after hitting 21 last year, and the Cardinals keep wanting to play Jordan Walker and Nolan Gorman, which makes it hard to rely on consistent playing time for Burleson if the other hitters heat up too.

Andrew McCutchen – OF, PIT: 3% rostered
(CONSISTENT PLAYING TIME, HOT STREAK)

This may be more of a Yahoo pick-up because McCutchen is OF-eligible there and isn’t in many other formats. However, the veteran is on a heater right now, going 28-for-89 (.315) over his last 24 games with five home runs, 14 RBI, and 12 runs scored. We know the lineup around him isn’t great, and we know that this level of production isn’t going to hold, but McCutchen should remain solid for fantasy managers in deeper formats.

Waiver Wire Pitchers

Max Scherzer – SP, TOR: 36% rostered
Scherzer threw five shutout innings in Triple-A on Wednesday in his final rehab start. He’ll now likely rejoin the Blue Jays rotation this upcoming week, so what should we expect? Well, Scherzer sat 92.5 mph in his rehab start, which is right in line with what he did last year. He had a 3.95 ERA and 40 strikeouts in 43.1 innings last year, and his strikeout rate has fallen every year since 2019. However, he also hasn’t posted a WHIP above 1.20 since 2012, so you’re likely going to get solid ratios with fairly average strikeout numbers from Scherzer while he’s healthy. Which could only be one or two starts at this rate. He’s more of a deep league option for me.

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Shelby Miller – RP, ARI: 35% rostered
Justin Martinez is out for the season as he deals with a UCL injury, and AJ Puk suffered a setback in his rehab and had to undergo surgery, so Shelby Miller is going to be the primary closer in Arizona for a while. With Corbin Burnes also out for the season, there’s a chance that the Diamondbacks sell at the deadline, which means it’s unlikely they bring in competition for Miller. The question is whether or not Miller himself gets dealt. It also seems like Calvin Faucher – RP, MIA (9% rostered) has taken the closer role in Miami again. I’m not sure how many saves you’re going to get out of this, and Miami can’t seem to settle on one guy, but if you’re hurting for saves, Faucher could be a solid option.

Chase Burns – SP, CIN: 28% rostered
At this point, Burns may be a better stash than Bubba Chandler – SP, PIT (29% rostered). I really don’t know what Pittsburgh is doing with Chandler. He was dominating Triple-A and deserved to be in the big leagues. Then his command started to waver in recent weeks, but this feels 100% like a player who has nothing left to prove but is either pressing too much as he tries to do anything to earn a call-up or pitching frustrated because he knows his performance doesn’t actually matter. I’m not at all worried about his command. However, Burns is possibly a better overall pitching prospect than Chandler, and he’s now in Triple-A too. I don’t think Burns gets a shot before August because I don’t realistically think the Reds will stay in playoff contention in a loaded NL race. However, I might be wrong, and the Reds could feel compelled to give him a shot to push them closer to the postseason. SUNDAY UPDATE: Obviously, I was wrong. The Reds have decided to be really aggressive with Burns and are calling him up to start on Tuesday. He should be scooped up in all leagues. I hate the ballpark, and this is a RAPID rise for a player who started the year in High-A, so we have no idea what to expect against MLB hitters. That said, he is incredibly talented and is worth a gamble.

Robert Garcia – RP, TEX: 18% rostered
Garcia is now the closer in Texas. I think. He has four saves in the last month, but his ratios have been pretty problematic, and Texas is not winning as many games as we thought they would at the start of the season. They could get hot at any moment, and Garcia has been scoreless in six of his last eight appearances, but he has not proven to be a truly lockdown reliever. Plus, he’s a left-handed reliever, which gives him a platoon disadvantage against most of the hitters he’s going to face. He threw on back-to-back nights this week, which allowed Chris Martin – RP, TEX (20% rostered) to pick up the save. I think Texas would rather have Martin in the “fireman” role, but it’s hard to tell at this point. I’d probably rather roster Orion Kerkering – RP, PHI (21% rostered), who has converted the last two save chances for the Phillies. After Jordan Romano seemed to take the closer’s role back over, Kerkering has been the team’s most trusted reliever of late. He hasn’t given up a run in his last 16.1 innings, and even if I expect the Phillies to mix and match some save opportunities going forward, I feel confident about Kerkering not torpedoing your ratios.

Edward Cabrera – SP, MIA: 17% rostered
Cabrera looked so good early in his start against Washington last week, but then he got stepped on while covering first base and was laboring. He allowed a home run immediately after the injury and was then removed from the game. Then he returned to the mound this week against the Phillies and threw six shutout innings before an inherited runner scored in the seventh. He had a ridiculous 37% whiff rate and remains a pitcher I think could truly break out this second half (and then maybe get traded to a contender?) The right-hander has long tantalized with his upside and disappointed with his command, but he is making some pitch mix changes that caught my attention. I dug into him for my starting pitcher news column last week, so I’d encourage you to check that out for a more detailed breakdown.

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Emmett Sheehan – SP, LAD: 10% rostered
Sheehan made his season debut on Wednesday and looked good, throwing four scoreless innings against the Padres with six strikeouts. It was his first MLB start since undergoing Tommy John surgery, but he showcased a solid three-pitch mix with a four-seamer, slider, and changeup. He was 95 mph on the four-seamer with two inches more iVB, which got him to 17″, and he also threw them upstairs. The slider and changeup were solid, and even if he’s not a huge upside arm, he has a solid arsenal with command that should continue to improve as the year progresses. I know the Dodgers sent him down after the start, but I think he’ll be back up in short order, and I’d be interested. Just don’t expect him to go longer than five innings in his starts.

Joe Boyle – SP, TB: 6% rostered
I will fully admit that I was out on Boyle as a starter. I thought Tampa Bay might “fix” him by moving him into the bullpen, but they actually turned him into a solid starter by REDUCING the movement on his pitches. Boyle was unable to harness his pitch mix and throw them in the strike zone, so they gave him a splinker and refused the use of his slider so that he had an easier time throwing strikes. It has worked wonders. In his nine starts since he got a spot start in Tampa Bay earlier in the season, Boyle has a 1.17 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, and 54/16 K/BB in 46 innings. With Taj Bradley continuing to struggle in Tampa Bay, you’d have to think that the team makes the swap sooner rather than later.

Greg Weissert: RP, BOS: 5% rostered
Early in the season, Alex Cora said that Aroldis Chapman was Boston’s closer, but he would also use him in the eighth inning if an opponent had a big left-handed bat coming up. We took that to mean save chances for Liam Hendriks, but he was never fully healthy. Then we took that to mean save chances for Justin Slaten, but he also ended up on the IL. Lately, that has meant save chances for Greg Weissert. Boston’s lineup isn’t putting up massive run totals, so fantasy managers in deeper leagues could look to Weissert for those ancillary save chances.

Didier Fuentes – SP, ATL: 5% rostered
With Chris Sale landing on the IL, it seems like the 20-year-old Fuentes will be sticking around in the Atlanta rotation. While I like his long-term upside, I’m not really bullish on him in redraft leagues. His four-seam fastball has elite specs, and his curveball flashes plus at times, but it’s consistent. He also rarely used his splitter in the minors. Given his rapid rise through the minors and his narrow pitch mix, I just don’t believe there is going to be enough consistency here to chase in redraft formats.

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Grant Taylor – SP/RP, CWS: 3% rostered
The White Sox flame-throwing prospect is up and pitching out of the bullpen for now. Taylor has legit electric stuff, and I think he could be closing for the White Sox in short order.

Richard Fitts – SP, BOS: 1% rostered
Fitts is with Boston in San Francisco, and I think there’s a good chance he is rejoining this rotation with Hunter Dobbins either moving to the bullpen or being sent down. I’m still in the bag for Fitts a bit. He was rushed back from his earlier rehab assignment after a pectoral injury because the Red Sox were without Walker Buehler and Tanner Houck at the time and weren’t comfortable with Dobbins pitching three times through a batting order. That clearly backfired, and Fitts returned to Triple-A to essentially finish his rehab assignment, where he has looked really sharp. The Yankees also announced that Alan Winans – SP, NYY (1% rostered) will be called up to take Ryan Yabrough’s place. Winans has been great in Triple-A this season, posting a 0.90 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, and 59/13 K/BB in 50 innings. I hate his matchup in Cincinnati, but he may be a better bet for the Yankees rotation until Luis Gil comes back than Marcus Stroman.

STREAMING STARTER PITCHERS

MUST BE 40% ROSTERED ON YAHOO OR UNDER (ranked in loose order)