Welcome to Waiver Wire Watch, our weekly fantasy baseball waiver wire guide. We’ll be doing things a little differently this season, with Eric Samulski publishing the initial waiver-wire article on Friday afternoon. Then James Schiano updates it every Sunday to make sure you get the most up-to-date information.
The premise of the article is pretty straightforward. We’ll give you some recommended adds each week based on recent production or role changes. When we list a player, we’ll list the category where we think he’ll be helpful or the quick reason he’s listed. We hope this helps you determine whether the player fits your team’s needs. Not every “trending” player will be a good addition to your specific roster.
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To qualify for this list, a player needs to be UNDER 40% rostered in Yahoo! formats. We understand you may say, “These players aren’t available in my league,” and we 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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Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Hitters
Caleb Durbin – 2B/3B, BOS (37% rostered)
(HOT STRETCH, STOLEN BASE UPSIDE)
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Durbin has found his footing after a disastrous start to his Red Sox tenure. In 38 games since June 1st, he has a .301/.361/.534 slash line with eight home runs, 25 runs scored, and six stolen bases. That’s good for a 144 wRC+ and you’d be hard-pressed to find a hotter third baseman than Durbin at the moment. Nick Gonzalez – 2B/3B/SS, PIT (38% rostered) is another infield option if you’re looking for a high batting average. Since June 1st, he’s hitting .318 in 39 games despite a very high ground ball rate and uninspiring power metrics like a 31.4% hard-hit rate and 3.4% barrel rate.
Brayan Rocchio – 2B/SS – CLE (35% rostered)
(STARTING JOB, AVERAGE/SPEED UPSIDE)
Rocchio has simply been a productive shortstop all season. He’s top-10 overall at the position according to the FanGraphs Player Rater and has a .289/.317/.433 slash line over the past month. The Guardians’ lineup should get a boost soon with the hopeful return of José Ramírez, which should only help Rocchio’s production as he’s settled in to a top-three spot in their lineup.
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A.J. Ewing – 2B/OF, NYM (34% rostered)
(POWER SURGE, BATTING AVERAGE UPSIDE)
Ewing has a .291/.353/.489 slash line since June 1st with six home runs, 19 RBI, 19 runs scored, and six stolen bases as the Mets’ primary lead-off hitter. He’s had a power surge lately with five of his seven home runs this season coming in his last 21 games. Ewing only hit five home runs across 154 minor league games over the last two seasons, so this production is a bit of a surprise. A key for his power development has been improved pitch selection, where he’s been better at picking out the pitches he can better elevate out of the park and putting his A-swing on those. Otherwise, his plate discipline is excellent and his batted ball metrics are drifting towards above average. He should be a steady producer for the rest of the season.
Dylan Crews – OF, WAS (31% rostered)
(STARTING JOB, POWER POTENTIAL)
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Two weeks ago, we mentioned buying into Crews because it’s worth betting on his quality of contact winning out over his poor stats. Crews then enjoyed a bit of a hot stretch and even made Eric’s recent article on hitters who should see a second-half power surge. That turned out to just be a blip though, because he’s gone 1-for-19 on his last five games sandwiched around the All-Star break. It’s worth betting on his talent and pedigree, our patience is beginning to wear thin though.
Cole Carrigg – OF, COL (26% rostered)
(COORS FIELD, POWER UPSIDE)
Despite putting up a nearly .900 OPS over his first month, Carrigg’s playing time is bit in jeopardy. He’s sat in two of the Rockies’ last four games while he, Tyler Freeman, and Troy Johnston are jostling for two spots. The trade deadline should clear some of this clutter and let Carrigg’s loud tools shine again in an every day role.
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Nasim Nunez – 2B/SS, WAS (25% rostered)
(STOLEN BASE UPSIDE, HOT STREAK)
Nuñez’s 35 stolen bases lead the league and are five bags clear of second place. He’s a throwback player with no power and seemingly no attempt to find any while slapping base hits, running wild, and playing great defense. Those latter tools have kept him in the Nationals’ lineup on most days and there’s no better option if you seek speed.
Garrett Mitchell – OF, MIL (22% rostered)
(POWER/SPEED UPSIDE, STREAKY PLAYER ON HOT STREAK)
Mitchell is playing the best baseball of his career right now. He had a huge walk-off hit for the Brewers on Friday night to start the second half and made two great late-inning catches in center field just to give himself that opportunity. Over his last 30 games, he has a .333 batting average and .942 OPS. That’s been supported by elite underlying metrics like a .394 xwOBA 52.3% hard-hit rate, and 13.8% barrel rate. Yet, he’s still striking out nearly 30% of the time over this stretch and the rest of his plate discipline metrics haven’t improved in a meaningful enough way to think he can sustain this level of production without maintaining these top-of-the-line batted ball metrics. Keep riding with his hot streak though.
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Tommy Edman – 2B/3B/OF, LAD (22% rostered)
(BATTING AVERAGE UPSIDE, GREAT LINEUP)
Edman is on a six-game hitting streak sandwiched around the All-Star break and is finding everyday playing time at second base. Also, while not being the speedster of old, he’s stolen two bases through 11 games in July. He’s solid roster spackle in deeper leagues.
Cole Young – 2B, SEA (11% rostered)
(POWER UPSIDE AT WEAK POSITION)
Young hit a huge three-run home run on Saturday night to tie the game for the Mariners in the seventh inning and has been a solid producer all season with 12 home runs and a .713 OPS.
He’s not flashy nor turning heads, but an everyday player with 20-homer pop at second base is valuable in deep leagues. He also stole his first base in nearly two months last weekend after being caught often early on.
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Tristan Peters – OF, CWS (9% rostered)
(HOT STRETCH, EVERYDAY PLAYER)
Peters has been a revelation this season with a .297/.348/.469 slash line, six home runs, and five stolen bases as the White Sox’s full-time center fielder. That earned him a trip to the All-Star game and has turned him into a bit of a cult hero as a former member of the Savannah Bananas finding this much major league success. Admittedly, we aren’t super bought in due to poor quality of contact and plate discipline metrics, but it’s fair to ride the hot hand.
Trevor Larnach – OF, MIN (8% rostered)
(HOT STRETCH, EVERYDAY PLAYER?)
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Larnach has snuck under the radar this season with a .286/.377/.444 slash line. That’s come with just seven home runs though and mostly in a platoon, which has suppressed his fantasy value. Yet, Eric mentioned him recently in an article about hitters who should see a power boost in the summer. In that article, Eric mentioned that Larnach’s pulled fly ball rate is trending up and that more home runs should come with it. Also, on Saturday he started in his first game against a left-handed pitcher since mid-May. More power production and something closer to an everyday role could make him 12-team asset in the second half.
Joshua Kuroda-Grauer – 3B/SS, ATH (5% rostered)
Kuroda-Grauer has now started 15 consecutive games for the Athletics since being called up and has a .415 batting average over that span. The 23-year-old is an elite contact hitter with a 96% zone contact in Triple-A and an 88% mark so far in his MLB career. There’s not much power in his profile though, still without a barrel in 47 batted balls. He also has just one walk in 55 plate appearances. These are the types of profiles that can find spurts of success, but are hard to sustain.
Jacob Gonzalez – 1B/2B/SS, PIT (2% rostered)
(PLAYING TIME? POWER UPSIDE)
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In the first key trade deadline move, Gonzalez was acquired by the Pirates last week along with reliever Brandon Eisert in exchange for the 34th pick in last Saturday’s draft. Then, he started his Pirates tenure in style on Saturday with a long home run. Reports indicated that the Pirates went after Gonzalez to replace Konnor Griffin at shortstop in the short term. That was Gonzalez’s primary position despite getting time at all four infield positions through the minor leagues and filling in at first base for the White Sox through the first half. He’s now started two of three games at short out of the break in Pittsburgh and figures to have every shot at taking that starting job over the next month-plus. We’re believers in his power and see him as a solid deep league option.
Victor Mesa Jr. – OF, TBR (0% rostered)
(POWER UPSIDE?)
Eric recently mentioned Mesa in his second half breakouts article because of his surprisingly solid underlying power metrics, good swing decisions, and near elite bat speed. He keeps working his way into the Rays’ lineup too, plays elite defense, and homered on Saturday. Stranger things have happened, right?
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Andrés Chaparro – 1B, WSN (0% rostered)
(POWER UPSIDE)
Chaparro had the game of his life on Friday night with four hits, two home runs, and eight RBI as the Nationals throttled the Athletics. He’s always flashed as a potential power threat with above average bat speed and a knack for pulling fly balls in the air, but no other skills. He’s only playing in a limited role right now split between first base and designated hitter which could expand if the Nationals’ reported interest in trading current first baseman Luis García is genuine.
Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pitchers
Cade Cavalli – SP, WAS (40% rostered)
Cavalli should be a priority add right now. He’s put together a fine season so far with 3.78 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, a 26.2% strikeout rate, and 7.0% walk rate through 104 2/3 innings and only may just be turning the corner. We love his knuckle-curve as an elite put-away pitch against hitters from both sides of the plate, but the rest of his repertoire was erratic besides that. His fastball can be hit hard despite sitting in the upper-90s because of a deadzone shape and his sweeper is inconsistent. Lately, he’s begun to bring a cutter back into the fold that has more reliable glove-side action than it did last season. He’s been more comfortable throwing it to right-handed batters so far and has done a good job at keeping it away from them. That’s opened up more swing-and-miss opportunities for his sweeper and it feels like he’s ready to go on a run.
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Shane Drohan – RP/SP, MIL (37% rostered)
Drohan is red-hot. He struck out nine Marlins over six innings on Saturday and completed six for his third straight start. The lefty’s also earned a quality start in all three and now has a 3.20 ERA and 1.18 WHIP across 76 innings this season. He’s trusted his fastball more and more lately in lieu of his sinker, which was far less effective against right-handed batters. On the season, that sinker has allowed a .630 slugging percentage against righties versus a .179 on the four-seamer. Plus, that heater has better than a 30% whiff rate that’s jumped above 40% through four starts in July. He also commands his deep repertoire exceptionally well and has two reliable breaking balls with a distinct slider and curveball. The Brewers have absolutely done it again and Drohan should not be left on any waiver wires.
Yoendrys Gómez – RP, MIN (30% rostered)
We’ve had Gómez here a few times as he is firmly the closer for the resurgent, playoff hopeful Twins. He secured the save on Friday against the Cubs, which was his 12th of the season and ninth since June 1st. That’s tied for sixth-most in the league over that span! Our only concern is that he doesn’t miss bats anything like the game’s best closers, so his level of effectiveness is a bit tenuous.
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Christian Scott – SP, NYM (23% rostered)
Scott started the second half on the right foot with nine strikeouts and zero runs allowed over 5 2/3 innings against the Phillies on Thursday. That brought his ERA down to 2.87 on the season and he’s been too overlooked thus far. His fastball, sweeper combo is lethal and decimates right-handed batters. It’s left him exposed against left-handed batters though and he’s been trying to build his repertoire up to combat this problem. Lately, he’s found more success with his cutter burying it in on the hands of lefties and with that, he’s been more confident and using it more often. He’s also flashed a curveball that can steal strikes against them and if one or both of these pitches could jump up to the next level, Scott will get a lot better very quickly.
Grant Taylor – RP/SP, CWS (23% rostered)
It seems that Taylor is finally the White Sox closer. He’s come in for a save opportunity for three of his last four appearances and there isn’t another obvious answer for saves in that bullpen. It’s worth adding him now on the chance that he is fully unleashed as a closer because his stuff is on par with the league’s best and the White Sox are sure to win plenty of games down the stretch. That sure felt odd to type out.
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Brandon Sproat – SP, MIL (18% rostered)
Sproat was featured in Eric’s article two weeks ago on starting pitchers to buy or sell as one of the better buy targets. The stuff is solid and he’s flashed lately, like in his consecutive starts against the Reds to end June with 17 strikeouts, two walks, and two earned runs over 11 1/3 innings. He’s taken a few steps back though, so keep an eye on him.
Tyler Wells – RP, BAL (17% rostered)
Ryan Helsley is out with another elbow injury and on the 60-day IL. So, the Orioles have been mixing and matching in the ninth inning lately with Wells earning three saves in the last two weeks. He pitched the ninth inning on both Friday and Saturday of this current weekend and figures to be the favorite for saves in this bullpen moving forward. With a deep arsenal of pitches and strong 25.9% strikeout rate, he could do well in the role.
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Jacob Webb – RP, CHC (15% rostered)
Cubs’ closer Daniel Palencia is out with another arm injury, and the Cubs are trying to piece together something at the back end of their bullpen. While they will probably make a trade, both Webb and Trent Thornton – RP, CHC (1% rostered) have shared the closer role with Webb getting a few more save opportunities. We think Webb is the better bet than Thornton, and he has more strikeout upside, but neither is a slam dunk. We’d see adding both of them if you were chasing saves, just don’t expect some Bryan Baker type of breakout.
AJ Smith-Shawver – SP, ATL (14% rostered)
If you’re looking for a starting pitcher injury stash, it might be time to add Smith-Shawver. He’s moved his rehab up to Triple-A this and might be back in Atlanta in a week or so. The 23-year-old is an intriguing young arm, but he had a 3.86 ERA in 44.1 innings for the Braves last year with a 22% strikeout rate, so this isn’t a high-end pitching prospect that you need to stash. Could he be a valuable arm for a good team? Yes, he could, but you don’t need to drop a pitcher who is helping your team right now just to get Smith-Shawver on your squad.
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Zach Thornton – SP, NYM (14% rostered)
Thornton is back in the Mets’ rotation and threw six scoreless innings against the Red Sox in the first half finale. He profiles as a crafty lefty without overpowering stuff, but has a really nice cutter that he leans on. Known as a bit of a command artisan, he can command that pitch beautifully on the edges of the plate and avoid hard contact. Putting hitters away will be another challenge, but he has a modicum of value as a back-end starter with a solid home park.
Robert Gasser – SP, MIL (13% rostered)
Despite being eviscerated for seven runs by the Pirates just before the break, we like Gasser moving forward. He’s been up and down for the Brewers over the last few weeks despite pitching well every time his number is called. On a mostly regular schedule since the beginning of June, Gasser had a 3.60 ERA, 23.2% strikeout rate, and 5.6% walk rate before last Sunday’s blowup. Now, he should maintain a rotation spot for the foreseeable future with elbow soreness landing Kyle Harrison on the injured list. He doesn’t have over-powering stuff with a 92 mph fastball, but often locates it well and its shape helps it miss bats at the top of the zone. His sweeper is plus and is his primary pitch while he also leans on a sinker and cutter. It’s a very Brewers profile and he should find success in the second half.
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Janson Junk – SP, MIA (4% rostered)
Junk came off the IL on Thursday before the break and allowed one run on three hits in five innings against the Mariners. He somehow had five strikeouts with just five whiffs, but his four-seam fastball was 94 mph with 19.1 inches of iVB. Somehow he got zero whiffs on it because the locations weren’t great, but we dug the raw stuff in this one. He’s got a true six-pitch mix, and if that fastball is going to keep that kind of vert, he’s going to be a solid streaming option going forward.
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