It’s important to have a plan when scouring the fantasy baseball waiver wire or placing your weekly free agent acquisition budget (FAAB) bids. Below are some players rostered in fewer than 50% of fantasy baseball leagues to consider, depending on what categories you’re targeting.
- Fantasy Baseball Research & Advice
- Fantasy Baseball Trade Analyzer
- Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Assistant
- MLB Prop Bet Cheat Sheet
- Rest-of-Season Projections
Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups
Runs
Jordan Beck (OF – COL) | 17% on Yahoo; 6% on ESPN
Jordan Beck has been leading off exclusively for the Rockies since the middle of May. Since then, he’s batting .274 with a .740 OPS, 11 runs scored, two home runs, seven doubles and three steals. His eight steals on the season lead the team, and his 235 plate appearances are the fourth-most.
While the Rockies have had a historically bad season to this point, the runs should start piling up as the summer warms up. They have the 12th-best hitter matchups according to FantasyPros’ Hitter Matchups tool, and play seven games next week: Four in Washington, D.C., and three at home versus the Diamondbacks.
Home Runs
Jo Adell (OF – LAA) | 25% on Yahoo; 8% on ESPN
Jo Adell has been on a hot streak lately, and the underlying statistics support it. His xSLG (.548) is in the 94th percentile, and his xBA is easily a career high at .274.
Adell is striking out fewer than 25% of the time, and for him, that’s a big improvement. Since the calendar flipped to June, he’s batting .297 with a 1.165 OPS, 10 runs scored, six home runs and 10 RBI in 11 games. He’s well on pace to surpass his career-high 20 homers from last season.
RBI
Nathaniel Lowe (1B – WSH)| 45% on Yahoo; 21% on ESPN
Nathaniel Lowe has been solid in his first year for the Nationals. He’s put up an underwhelming .230 batting average, .672 OPS and 27 runs scored, but has 44 RBI in 70 games played. He’s batting third behind the exciting duo of CJ Abrams and James Wood, and should continue to see ample run-producing opportunities.
Lowe may not reach the 101 RBI he’s currently on pace for, but exceeding his previous career-high of 82, set in 2023, is very possible.
Stolen Bases
Victor Scott (OF – STL) | 19% on Yahoo; 9% on ESPN
Victor Scott was disappointing in his first taste of the big leagues last year, stealing only five bases in 53 games. This year, though, he’s leveraged his 100th percentile sprint speed to lead his team with 19 steals in 66 games. Batting ninth in the batting order isn’t going to provide many opportunities for counting stats, but the speed should be there so long as he stays in the lineup.
Batting Average
Alejandro Kirk (C – TOR) | 45% on Yahoo; 33% on ESPN
Alejandro Kirk leads the position in batting average (.328), and his 31 RBI is tied for sixth among catchers. He’s lowered his already impressive strikeout rate to below 10%, and his average exit velocity is a career-high.
On top of that, Kirk has been getting some starts at designated hitter when he’s not catching, showing how much the coaching staff wants his bat in the lineup. He’s more valuable in two-catcher leagues, but can be a help anywhere that needs batting average.
Evan Carter (OF – TEX) | 34% on Yahoo; 11% on ESPN
Evan Carter is widely available for those who are seeking average and don’t need a catcher. Since coming off the injured list (IL), he’s batting .407 with a 1.299 OPS, seven runs scored, three home runs, seven RBI and two steals.
Injuries have derailed Carter’s development, but it wasn’t long ago that he was batting in a prominent spot in a World Series-winning lineup. He is currently battling a sore wrist, which kept him out over the weekend, but it isn’t believed to be too big of a concern.
Wins
Matthew Liberatore (SP – STL) | 35% on Yahoo; 29% on ESPN
Matthew Liberatore has struggled in his last three outings after dominating much of the year. He gave up a combined 14 earned runs in 14 innings against the Blue Jays, Royals and Rangers. Despite the poor stretch, the young lefty lines up for two starts next week: At the Chicago White Sox and at home versus the Cincinnati Reds.
Both teams rank in the bottom 11 of wOBA against left-handed pitchers.
Strikeouts
Lance McCullers Jr. (SP – HOU) | 45% on Yahoo; 19% on ESPN
Lance McCullers Jr. lines up for two road starts next week against the Athletics and Angels. He’s finally healthy and has a 28.5% strikeout rate in seven starts. His last four starts have seen him put up eight, 12, seven and six strikeouts.
The Angels strike out more than any other team against right-handed pitchers, and with the double start, fantasy managers could be looking at double-digit strikeouts.
ERA & WHIP
Finding a starter with good ratios on the waiver wire is hard to accomplish at this point in the season. However, relievers can be a sneaky way to get multiple outings in a week with good ratios and a few strikeouts as a bonus.
Cade Smith (RP – CLE) | 31% on Yahoo; 20% on ESPN
Cade Smith has been lights out in his two seasons with Cleveland. He currently sports a 2.40 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 45 strikeouts in 30 innings. He picked up three saves in April while Emmanuel Clase was struggling, but those will be few and far between. Smith had a 1.91 ERA and 0.90 WHIP with 103 strikeouts in 75.1 innings last year and will likely end with similar numbers this season.
Saves
Shelby Miller (RP – ARI) | 34% on Yahoo; 9% on ESPN
The Arizona Diamondbacks are down bad in their bullpen. They started the year with two great options from both sides of the mound in A.J. Puk and Justin Martinez. However, both have since gone down with elbow injuries, leaving Shelby Miller to close out games.
Miller received the last traditional save opportunity and has the most experience out of the bullpen of the remaining healthy pitchers. He currently has a 1.57 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and seven saves after putting up three saves combined and sub-1.00 ERAs each of the past two seasons.
Subscribe: YouTube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | iHeart | Castbox | Amazon Music | Podcast Addict | SoundCloud | TuneIn
