The best players in the world play fantasy baseball on NFBC. The most popular high-stakes contest is the NFBC Main Event, which has a $1,750 buy-in with a $7,000 league prize and a $200,000 overall prize. Thankfully, for everyone, NFBC allows us to see what each team is doing with their fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups on Sunday night.
I look at the most popular fantasy baseball waiver wire and FAAB pickups in the NFBC Main Event to see who the best players in the world are picking up and whether we should add them.
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- MLB Prop Bet Cheat Sheet
Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups: FAAB Suggestions
Cooper Ingle (C – CLE)
Cooper Ingle was picked up in 46 Main Event leagues with a max bid of $43 and a minimum bid of $1. Ingle is not a top prospect, but has hit well in AAA this season, slugging 12 home runs in 221 plate appearances with a .284/.416/.551 triple slash.
Ingle won’t catch much in Cleveland, but he will get at-bats as the designated hitter on the strong side of a platoon with David Fry. He has some value in deeper two-catcher leagues.
Kahlil Watson (OF – CLE)
Kahlil Watson was picked up in 44 Main Event leagues with a max bid of $28 and a minimum bid of $2. Watson is a former top prospect of the Marlins who has struggled to make enough consistent contact to develop enough power to be useful in fantasy or make the Majors.
Watson was decent in AAA this season, hitting 12 home runs and stealing 15 bases, but he struck out at a 28% clip and is striking out at a higher rate since arriving in the Majors. If he cannot make more contact, he will end up back in the minors.
Esmerlyn Valdez (1B, OF – PIT)
Esmerlyn Valdez was picked up in 43 Main Event leagues with a max bid of $51 and a minimum bid of $1. Valdez got hot over the last couple of weeks, hitting .346/.370/808 with three home runs in 27 plate appearances since June 11th.
However, Valdez has been pretty lucky, boasting a .429 batting average on balls in play (BABIP) while striking out a third of the time. He has a lot of power, but he struggles with contact, which will cost him playing time once he cools off.
Hurston Waldrep (SP – ATL)
Hurston Waldrep was picked up in 42 Main Event leagues with a max bid of $32 and a minimum bid of $4. Waldrep was recalled recently and could be heavily relied upon by the Braves as their rotation has been ravaged by injuries.
However, while the prospect has great stuff, Waldrep struggles massively with command and control. He likely won’t be able to go deep into games, even if he is starting, and that lowers his upside, as he likely won’t qualify for wins.
Ryan Johnson (SP, RP – LAA)
Ryan Johnson was picked up in 42 Main Event leagues with a max bid of $19 and a minimum bid of $1. Johnson has struggled since arriving in the Majors, but is coming off his best start as a Major Leaguer, where he threw six scoreless innings versus the Orioles, striking out eight.
Johnson has a funky delivery that can keep hitters off-balance, but he can also struggle to repeat those mechanics, leading to issues with command and control. He has a good matchup this week and next week versus a struggling Mariners offense and a bad Rangers team. Johnson is an interesting short-term stream with risk.
Evan Carter (OF – TEX)
Evan Carter was picked up in 37 Main Event leagues with a max bid of $38 and a minimum bid of $3. Carter was activated off the injured list (IL) over the weekend and figures to play regularly with Wyatt Langford hitting the IL.
Carter has talent but has struggled this season, hitting .176/.292/.321 with six home runs and 10 stolen bases in 229 plate appearances. He has been unlucky with a .209 BABIP, but he also has never been able to hit lefties, and the Rangers do not have a natural platoon partner on the roster for him right now. Carter is best served on rosters where you can sit him versus lefties.
Tyler Mahle (SP – SFG)
Tyler Mahle was picked up in 36 Main Event leagues with a max bid of $121 and a minimum bid of $1. Mahle was activated off the IL last week and fared well in his first start back against the A’s.
However, Mahle has struggled with command and control this season. While he does have a two-start week this week, the back half is in Colorado, which can always be dangerous if you can’t control your pitches.
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