We’re somehow already approaching the All-Star break as this season continues to fly by. With time running passing by, we must take an honest look at who’s playing well, who’s playing poorly, and who we can truly count on to help us out through the dog days of summer that lie ahead.
Most waiver wires have been picked over though and it’s difficult to find impact players readily available in most leagues at this point in the season.
Fear not, because there are still a handful of available players that have the chance to be difference makers in both the short and long term.
Corbin Carroll’s return and José Ramírez’s slump further shake up the top 10 this week.
Here are three players that are under 40% rostered on Yahoo leagues that you should strongly consider adding.
If you want a larger list, Eric Samulski wrote his extended waiver wire piece on Sunday.
Roman Anthony, OF Red Sox
(50% Rostered on Yahoo)
Hand up, I am breaking my 40% rostership rule this week to talk about Anthony.
That’s partially because 50% is both not that far off and also criminally low for a player who’s showing the skills Anthony has so far as a rookie with his pedigree as arguably the number one overall prospect in baseball.
Anthony turned 21 years old less than two months ago and made his major league debut on June 9th. Six days later, the Red Sox traded Rafael Devers to the Giants and installed Anthony as their three-hitter the following game.
He played just 93 total games at Triple-A split across the last two seasons before being called up and was immediately entrusted to hit in arguably the most important spot in the lineup as the youngest active position player in the league.
That didn’t go too well. Anthony went 5-for-55 over his first 15 games and it felt like there was a lot of pressure being put on a young player who probably shouldn’t be counted on to ‘save’ this lineup.
All the while, his process stats were excellent. He rarely swung at pitches out of the strike zone and maintained an 18.5% walk rate over that same stretch. Also, while the hits weren’t falling, he was consistently hitting the ball very hard.
Manager Alex Cora also stuck with him in the top third of the order, which was certainly good for his confidence.
Now lately, things have clicked. The Red Sox returned from a west coast road trip on June 26th and in 10 games since then, Anthony has a .386 batting average and .994 OPS with five doubles, six multi-hit games, and just hit his first home run at Fenway Park.
Also notable, Anthony hit this home run off a left-handed pitcher. There was some fear the Red Sox would sit Anthony against lefties and did so during his first week up with the team.
Somehow, they’ve faced seven lefties in their last 14 games and Anthony only sat one time. Also, he was never dropped lower than third in the order against them.
As he’s heated up, Anthony has begun to swing both more overall and at more pitches in the strike zone too. His walk rate has gone down, but he’s been incredibly productive with a slightly less patient approach.
Here’s an elite prospect who’s red-hot at the moment that’s playing everyday in the top third of a lineup with a great home park to hit in. On top of that, he has some of the best process stats in the whole league in terms of bat speed, power, and swing decisions.
There is no league shape, size, or format where Anthony should be left on waivers if he’s available. A 50% roster rate at this moment is criminally low and you should be running to add him. It would not be surprising to see him go on a Ronald Acuña Jr. or Julio Rodríguez type of rookie hot streak to end the season.
Cam Schlittler, SP Yankees
(10% Rostered on Yahoo)
The Yankees are calling up Schlittler to replace Clarke Schmidt in their rotation as he heads for Tommy John surgery.
That’s a devastating blow for a staff that lost both Gerrit Cole and Luis Gil during the spring, but there’s a chance Schlittler has the stuff to stick around through the summer.
He’s an impressive figure standing at 6’6” tall and 225 lbs. In 76 2/3 innings this season across Double-A and Triple-A, the 25-year-old has a 2.82 ERA with a 31.9% strikeout rate.
That’s good enough for a call-up and his stuff makes me confident those strikeouts will follow him to the big leagues.
Leading the way is his fastball. It has a 60 scouting grade on FanGraphs and a 40% whiff rate so far this season at Triple-A as his primary pitch.
It sits at 97 mph and can easily stretch further into the upper-90s with great riding action and some natural cut. It’s a plus-pitch and one that could miss bats at the next level.
His breaking balls may be more impressive though. He has a gyro slider that he’s comfortable using often against both sides of the plate that sits in the low-90s and has some serious bite. Hitters in the upper minors struggled to square it up.
Then, he uses an 87 mph sweeper as his whiff pitch against righties and a big, looping curveball with tons of drop against the lefties. I’m curious whether or not big league lefties will be able to see, identify, and spit on that curveball though.
Nevertheless, here’s a great highlight reel of Schlittler’s stuff per Baseball America.
Command will be key as to whether or not Schlittler will have short-term staying power in this rotation. His walk rates have inched up near 10% through the minors and if that curveball isn’t getting whiffs from lefties, he could wind up nibbling and fighting through long at-bats against them.
Still, the great stuff and golden opportunity is enough to give him a shot in most league formats. Even with Gil set to start a rehab assignment, Schlittler likely has a few weeks to prove himself and even after that could unseat Marcus Stroman at the back-end of this rotation if things go well.
Janson Junk, SP Marlins
(7% Rostered on Yahoo)
Aptly named, Janson has some serious Junk. The 29-year-old journeyman has caught on with the Marlins over the last couple of months and pitched his way to a 3.12 ERA and 1.06 WHIP over 43 1/3 innings.
Without a devastating fastball, Junk wins with great command and by mixing up his secondaries to keep hitters off balance.
He has one of the lowest walk rates in the league right now at 2.3%. That translates to just four walks across his 43 1/3 innings. Apart from the few walks, he’s been great at spotting pitches on the edges to force hitters into uncomfortable decisions to swing or take.
And here’s another one with that fastball.
The pitch sits just around 94 mph with some decent ride – from a high, steep arm slot – and a bit of cut, so he has to place it in order to be effective.
Otherwise, he blends his sweeper, gyro slider, curveball, and new changeup off it to get hitters out.
The sweeper and slider work in tandem with around a 30% whiff rate each against right-handed batters. Those two offerings, along with fastball, have made up more than 95% of his total pitches against righties this season.
Against left-handed batters, it’s more of a kitchen sink approach. His fastball still leads and is flanked by the same gyro slider, a curveball, and a changeup he’s brought back to his repertoire this season after not throwing it in the big leagues since 2022.
The relatively wide array helps him be effective, but Junk hasn’t been able to establish any of these pitches as a true swing-and-miss offering against lefties yet.
That changeup could hold the key though. He threw it a low during his first few appearances, struggled to command it, momentarily scrapped it, and is now trying to bring it back. Finding consistency with it will be a big help against the lefties.
All in all, Junk is more of a deep league play. The stuff isn’t overpowering and he gets by with craftiness and command. If the command wanes, he will be due for some regression unless he can tighten up against lefties.
He has one more start before the All-Star break against the Orioles in Baltimore. Then, take a peak at his schedule afterwards and try to stream him in some matchups at home.
Matthew Pouliot
