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.
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- MLB Prop Bet Cheat Sheet
- Rest-of-Season Projections
Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups
Runs
Chase Meidroth (SS – CWS) | 10% on Yahoo; 7% on ESPN
Chase Meidroth is batting .260 with a .659 OPS, 26 runs, two home runs, 10 RBI and nine steals in 59 games played so far this season. He switches between the one- and two-hole depending on whether the White Sox are facing a right-handed or left-handed pitcher.
Either spot in the batting order gives him the best opportunity to score runs. On top of that, his plate discipline has been impressive, with a 14.5% strikeout rate and an 11% walk rate. The White Sox have the fourth-best hitter matchups in the next week, and three of their six games will be played in Colorado.
Home Runs
Matt Wallner (OF – MIN) | 9% on Yahoo; 2% on ESPN
Matt Wallner has made some improvements this year, although the surface-level stats are still lacking. He has his strikeout rate under 30% for the first time in his career, and he hasn’t lost any of the power he showed in his first few seasons.
A notable change is his batting average on balls in play (BABIP). It’s 133 points lower than it was last year and 77 points below his career average. For someone who is still hitting the ball hard and making more contact than ever, I’d expect this stat to normalize. The Twins play six games next week, all against a right-handed starter.
RBI
Wilmer Flores (1B – SF) | 33% on Yahoo; 31% on ESPN
Wilmer Flores is 14th in the entire league with 55 RBI. He has been on fire with runners in scoring position. He’s batting .342 with a .999 OPS, five home runs and 46 RBI in those situations. The Giants added Rafael Devers to the mix and should be getting Matt Chapman back from the injured list (IL) soon, which should give him even more run-producing opportunities.
Stolen Bases
Chandler Simpson (OF – TB) | 31% on Yahoo; 12% on ESPN
Chandler Simpson was recalled from Triple-A and should immediately return as one of the best base-stealers in the game. He stole two bases in his first five games back, bringing his season total to 21 in only 40 games.
Simpson strikes out only 10% of the time. With his speed, any ball put into play has the potential to turn into a positive. Simpson can’t be relied on for many counting stats, but the steals should come in bunches.
Batting Average
Jake Meyers (OF – HOU) | 12% on Yahoo; 7% on ESPN
Jake Meyers is batting .307 with a .762 OPS, 39 runs scored and 13 steals in 81 games. He’s put up career-high numbers across the board in xBA, wOBA, xwOBA, strikeout rate and walk rate. Jeremy Pena sat out over the weekend. If that ailment continues, Meyers could be bumped up in the lineup.
The Astros have the best hitter matchups next week, playing three games each in Colorado and against the Dodgers in Los Angeles.
Wins
Erick Fedde (SP – STL) | 17% on Yahoo; 9% on ESPN
Erick Fedde has a 4.11 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, three wins and a 5.8 K/9. None of those numbers are great, but he’s gone the minimum length required for a decision in all but two games this season. He gets two starts next week, at the Pirates and the Cubs. The Pirates are 29th in wOBA versus right-handed pitchers and are 28th in the entire league in runs scored. If Fedde can go five or more innings, he has a great chance at a win.
The second matchup is tougher and would only be advised in points leagues. The Cubs are fourth in wOBA against right-handed pitchers and torched Fedde for seven runs in his last start. However, he has been much better in his starts on the road, and the Cardinals just split a four-game series with the Cubs. If he goes five or more innings in both starts, he should have at least one win to show for it.
Strikeouts
Jacob Lopez (RP, SP – ATH) | 23% on Yahoo; 8% on ESPN
Jacob Lopez gets the Rays on the road and the Giants at home next week. He has a 29% strikeout rate and nine strikeouts in three of his past five starts. The Rays are middle-of-the-pack in terms of strikeout rate against lefties; however, the Giants are 23rd in strikeout rate. The Giants are also 25th in wOBA versus lefties, giving the potential for solid ratios as well.
ERA & WHIP
Finding a starter with good ratios on the waiver wire is hard 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.
Tommy Kahnle (RP – DET) | 35% on Yahoo; 15% on ESPN
Tommy Kahnle has been lights out for Detroit this season. He has a 1.82 ERA, 0.78 WHIP and 31 strikeouts in 34.2 innings. He has the best ERA and the fourth-most innings pitched in the bullpen for the team with the best record.
Fantasy managers would like to see his K/9 rate (7.8) rise closer to his career average (10.6), but can’t complain too much. He’s racked up eight saves, being used primarily as the set-up man. He would be next in line if Will Vest needed replacing.
Saves
Daniel Palencia (RP – CHC) | 45% on Yahoo; 14% on ESPN
Daniel Palencia has a 1.86 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and eight saves in 29 innings. The Cubs are tied for third in the league in wins, but have the fourth-lowest save opportunities. They’ve struggled to close out games, blowing nine saves, but have been better since Palencia took over the closer’s role. The Cubs may make a trade to bring in a more seasoned closer, but for now, Palencia is the guy to roster.
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