A waiver-wire column in early August would typically examine playing-time ramifications from MLB’s trade deadline. However, an influx of injuries and promotions caused more of a stir than the relatively quiet trade period.

Perhaps the deadline’s biggest winner, Josh VanMeter, was highlighted here last week. His consensus rostered rate has since skyrocketed over 50% after the Reds moved Yasiel Puig and Scooter Gennett. While some other seats opened around the majors, none of the benefactors are as intriguing as the following outfield quartet. All of them remain available in under 10% of Yahoo and ESPN leagues as of Sunday.

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Willie Calhoun (OF – TEX): 9% Rostered
Let’s try this one more time. Calhoun started 2019 in the minors until mid-May. A week into his scorching arrival, he went on the injured list due to a quad strain. Around a month after returning, the Rangers optioned him back to Triple-A to make room for Hunter Pence.

It didn’t take long for Calhoun to find his way back to Arlington. Joey Gallo‘s broken hamate bone cleared another spot in Texas’ outfield for the foreseeable future. Since returning to the bigs, Calhoun has crushed three doubles and home runs apiece in 11 games. He’s slugging .605 in those second-half bouts while batting .283/.321/.551 on the season.

Although far better than 2018’s returns in both the majors (.602 OPS) and Triple-A (.782 OPS), this production is hardly shocking from the 24-year-old. When acquired as the centerpiece of the Yu Darvish deal two summers ago, Calhoun was considered a superb bat-first prospect. Skeptics only worried about his defense, which has obstructed his ascension thus far. Yet the Rangers should finally give him an unencumbered opportunity to hit regularly through the month. Calhoun is finally showing the uncommon blend of contact and power ability scouts drooled over in years past, so he’s worth grabbing in shallower mixed leagues that start five outfielders.

Mike Tauchman (OF – NYY): 8% Rostered
This isn’t the first time Tauchman has appeared in this column. An onslaught of injuries beset the Yankees back in late April, momentarily opening the door for the Colorado castoff. The Evil Empire appeared to weather the storm, but they’ve recently resumed their Freaky Friday health swap with the Mets. Giancarlo Stanton quickly landed back on the injured list, and he’s had plenty of company with Brett Gardner, Gary Sanchez, Luke Voit, and Edwin Encarnacion joining him.

These woes have brought Tauchman back in the fold. This time, he’s making the most of the opportunity. Since the start of July, the 28-year-old is batting .417 (25-for-60) with three homers, two steals, 16 runs, and 17 RBIs in 19 games. As of Sunday, his .500 wOBA during that time frame resided a point ahead of Nelson Cruz. Yes, the same Nelson Cruz who has 14 long balls in 20 second-half contests.

Tauchman has always shown promise in Triple-A, where he batted .327 with 36 homers and 28 steals in 2017 and 2018. He also flopped in brief tryouts with the Rockies each season, putting him in jeopardy of a permanent Quad-A label. Now he’s batting .283/.360/.500 through 186 major league appearances. Despite Gardner’s recent return, Tauchman should keep playing with a right flexor strain sending Aaron Hicks to the IL on Sunday.

Trent Grisham (OF – MIL): 6%
Rather than acquiring upgrades elsewhere, the Brewers shipped Jesus Aguilar to Tampa Bay and turned to their farm system. Prior to his promotion, Grisham batted .381/.471/.776 with a 193 wRC+ in Triple-A. He tallied 13 homers and six steals in 34 games — after notching the same amounts with a 152 wRC+ in 62 Double-A contests –while accruing more walks (23) than strikeouts (22).

So why is he contained to deep-league consideration rather than eliciting a mainstream stampede? The 2015 first-round pick fell off the radar after cratering to a .233/.356/.337 slash line in 2018. However, the toolsy 22-year-old prospect has clearly turned a corner. More important to his immediate outlook, the Brewers are all set in the outfield. Grisham has nevertheless started two of three games since his arrival, and Milwaukee is once again toying with the idea of playing Ryan Braun at first base. If it wasn’t for playing-time concerns, Grisham would (or should) already be rostered in at least a quarter of leagues. Take a speculative flier in deeper formats and pay close attention to his lineup status for shallowed mixed leagues.

Raimel Tapia (OF – COL): 2% Rostered
Shortly after suffering a gruesome injury Saturday night, David Dahl went on the injured list with a high right ankle sprain. Per an Associated Press report, via ESPN, Rockies manager Bud Black said the outfielder is likely to miss “several weeks.”

This creates another chance for Tapia, who had fallen into a fourth outfielder role by recording a .621 OPS in June. He performed better up until that point, batting .279/.324/.491 through May. Hitting .316 (18-for-57) in limited work after the All-Star break, he should slide back into an enviable position for any hitter.

Like Dahl, Tapia is not a set-and-forget starter. Notching a .366 wOBA at Coors Field and .253 wOBA on the road, the 25-year-old lefty is clearly someone to play just when the Rockies are home. Most managers can thus wait another week, as Colorado will play twice at Houston and four times at San Diego before next week’s six-game homestand. Tapia has yet to make good on his speed upside because of limited reps and a 4.7% walk rate, but he can still pair plenty of hits with a few steals and long balls. When at Coors, he’ll make a far bigger impact than any other outfielder as readily available.

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