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Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups: Week 22

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups: Week 22

Late in the season, fantasy baseball managers are often forced to abandon the foresight and long-term planning that guided them to championship aspirations.

Dropping an established veteran during an early slump is misguided, but the math changes significantly with five weeks remaining. Don’t feel bad about cutting Rougned Odor, Jon Lester, or Khris Davis if needing an immediate contributor who won’t waste a bench spot. Some head-to-head managers also simply can’t afford to roster injured players who aren’t due back imminently.

As September approaches, more hidden gems begin to bubble deep down the waiver wire. There are plenty of interesting players worth grabbing in leagues of all sizes. Per FantasyPros’ consensus rates, all of the following players are rostered in under 35% of Yahoo of ESPN leagues, as of Monday.

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Priority Pickups – <35% Rostered

Anibal Sanchez (SP – WAS): 29%
Sanchez hasn’t impressed enough to maintain a permanent spot on most rosters, but he’s solid enough to keep deploying when the right matchup strikes. Since returning from a hamstring strain on May 29, the 35-year-old ERA has notched a 3.18 ERA and 1.14 WHIP in 15 starts. While his ERA has jumped to 4.08 after the All-Star break, he has made some gains in the form of a 3.58 FIP and 11.1% swinging-strike rate.

After stifling the Cubs to one hit over 8.2 innings last Friday, Sanchez is in line to host the Marlins later this week. That should present a nice change of pace for someone who has faced an NL playoff contender in each of his last eight starts since limiting Miami to one earned run on July 4.

Willie Calhoun (OF – TEX): 26%
Hey there, how would you like a former top prospect — adored solely for his bat — who’s now hitting .286/.327/.568 in his first prolonged taste of MLB action? Sounds great, but that type of player obviously isn’t available in nearly three-fourths of Yahoo and ESPN leagues. Everyone must be in full football mode, because Calhoun somehow remains free for the taking after going yard four times in his last seven games.

Defensive concerns have hindered his path to playing time, but the Rangers began starting him regularly even before placing Nomar Mazara on the IL. While Calhoun has gone 10 games without drawing a walk, he has kept his strikeout rate (17.1%) in check with an 84.5% contact rate. He’s slugging .600 after the All-Star break, so Texas can’t possibly sit him in September. Ride his hot hand, starting this week with a savory batch of exploitable Angels and Mariners pitchers.

Kolten Wong (2B – STL): 24%
Consistency is not Wong’s strong suit, so there’s always the risk of joining the bandwagon right as a hot streak makes way for a lengthy funk. Yet it’s awfully hard to ignore his .339 batting average and .423 OBP after the All-Star break, especially since he’s tallied 17 stolen bases. His bottom line (.272 AVG, 9 HR, 48 RBIs and runs each) isn’t anything remarkable, but the speed makes him 2019’s 16th-rated second baseman. Wong also spent four games batting second before sitting out with a toe injury. If he avoids an IL stint, that upgrade would pay major dividends to his run and RBI production.

Austin Riley (3B/OF – ATL): 20%
Out since August 4 with a partially torn LCL, Riley’s rehab assignment transferred to Triple-A after doubling in consecutive Low-A contests. He could be back with the Braves in early September. Those who stopped paying attention after his ground-breaking debut will be shocked at his wide-scale availability. The rookie slugger, however, batted .203 with 69 strikeouts in 51 games after going deep seven times with a 1.143 OPS in his opening 15 contests. He’s a high-risk, high-reward target for gamers seeking power.

Jordan Lyles (SP – MIL): 18%
Lyles collected a 3.09 ERA and 56 strikeouts in 59.1 innings through May before his breakout fell off a cliff. After allowing a .513 wOBA in a woeful July, the righty has once again found his footing with a 2.86 ERA and .255 wOBA in four August outings. He blanked Arizona to six hitless innings last Friday, so perhaps the 28-year-old is once again healthy and ready to finish 2019 the way he started. After getting a manageable matchup against the Cardinals this Wednesday, sit him against Houston next week before getting a two-start week commenced at Miami.

Mark Canha (1B/OF – OAK): 18%
Everyone who has ignored Canha, assuming the bottom would fall out, continues to miss out on an unheralded stud. The 30-year-old belted five of his career-high 22 homers in his last nine games. As of Monday, his 148 wRC+ ties Jeff McNeil and George Springer for ninth among all hitters with at least 350 plate appearances. While the life-long platoon player has only exceeded that benchmark by 12 trips to the batter’s box, he’s playing virtually every day with Ramon Laureano and Stephen Piscotty on the IL. He won’t maintain August’s .537 BABIP, but Canha has been far too hot for far too long to ignore in any format.

Kevin Newman (SS – PIT): 13%
I briefly alluded to him when touting Jose Osuna as a deep-league hitting add for Week 22, but Newman is also swinging a hot bat and getting a dream schedule. The 26-year-old is batting .303 with seven homers and 13 steals following a four-hit, two-steal Sunday. After two more games at Citizen’s Bank Park, the Pirates will head to Coors Field for a four-game series. Newman is hitting .344/.373/.481 away from the pitcher-friendly PNC Park, so he’s an excellent streamer who doesn’t need to be discarded in deeper formats.

Matt Magill (RP – SEA): 13%
Magill is apparently Seattle’s closer now. He snatched the job away from Anthony Bass and recorded four saves in his last five outings. While the 29-year-old’s 4.32 ERA and 1.42 WHIP won’t provide much assistance, he has at least stockpiled 53 strikeouts in 41.3 innings with each of his three pitches (fastball, slider, curveball) drawing a swinging-strike rate above 12.0%.

Brock Burke (SP – TEX): 13%
Two turns into his MLB debut, Burke has yielded one run in 12 innings. The strikeouts (nine) and walks (five) were nothing special, so he might have just taken advantage of two beatable opponents (Angels and White Sox). Fortunately, another favorable adversary is on the way in the Mariners. While strong against lefties this season, they’re now short-handed in terms of right-handed thump without Mitch Haniger and Domingo Santana.

Jon Berti (SS/OF – MIA): 10%
Berti has infiltrated Miami’s leadoff role by batting .270/.355/.439 with five home runs and eight steals in 46 games. Losing teams with no September stakes are more likely to extend a green light on the basepaths, so the unlikely 29-year-old breakout should keep running over the final five weeks. The power is less likely to stick, but maybe any decent professional is bound to send a few of these baseballs into the bleachers with regular playing time.

Deep League Targets – <10% Rostered

Sandy Alcantara (SP – MIA): 9%
This pick comes with the lowest of confidence levels. Alcantara could be the next Reynaldo Lopez in terms of turning two gems into three debacles. Besides, his 2.36 ERA in August has come with a 7.6% K-BB rate and .181 BABIP. The stretch is still noteworthy given the competition. After encountering the Mets in the heart of their hot streak, he’s handled the Braves twice while containing the Rockies to two runs at Coors Field. He lost his two-start week because of the next guy, but avoiding the Nationals this weekend to instead face the Pirates helps in the long haul.

Pablo Lopez (SP – MIA): 8%
Welcome back, buddy. Seemingly a weekly regular before going on the IL with a shoulder injury in June, Lopez returned Monday night to allow five runs over five innings against the Reds. Before going down, a 1.12 WHIP, 3.56 FIP, and 17.5 K-BB% put him on the precipice of a breakout. The 23-year-old righty was on the right track, recording four straight quality starts before getting sidelined.

Delino DeShields Jr. (OF – TEX): 7%
Anyone who drafted DeShields probably gave up and labeled him a bust months ago. His 20 stolen bases ties Billy Hamilton for 12th. That’s all he’s good in leagues that don’t directly reward his 10.3% walk rate or .343 OBP, but the slumping Jarrod Dyson is the only better speedster so widely available. DeShields has already swiped eight bags this month, and he’s likely to lead off in Texas’ four games against southpaws this week.

Adam Plutko (SP – CLE): 7%
Plutko is merely a streamer Tuesday night against the Tigers, who rank last in wRC+ (75) and strikeout rate against righties this season.

Abraham Toro (3B – HOU): 1%
The Astros have finally promoted a prospect from Triple-A to join the lineup. Welcome to Houston, Kyle Tuc …. Abraham Toro? Although not a household name (in a house of baseball fans) like Tucker, the 22-year-old Toro batted .324/.411/.527 in the minors before his call-up. While he hasn’t done much as a starter in place of Carlos Correa, he’s an intriguing talent inserted into a loaded lineup.

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Andrew Gould is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Andrew, check out his archive and follow him @andrewgould4.

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