Welcome to Waiver Wire Watch, our weekly fantasy baseball waiver wire guide. We’ll be doing things a little differently this season, with Eric Samulski publishing the initial waiver-wire article on Friday afternoon. Then James Schiano updates it every Sunday to make sure you get the most up-to-date information.
The premise of the article is pretty straightforward. We’ll give you some recommended adds each week based on recent production or role changes. When we list a player, we’ll list the category where we think he’ll be helpful or the quick reason he’s listed. We hope this helps you determine whether the player fits your team’s needs. Not every “trending” player will be a good addition for your specific roster.
To qualify for this list, a player needs to be UNDER 40% rostered in Yahoo! formats. We understand you may say, “These players aren’t available in my league,” and we can’t help you there. These players are available in over 60% of leagues and some in 98% of leagues, so they’re available in many places, and that can hopefully satisfy readers who play in all league types.
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Jorge Montanez breaks down the last week in saves from around the league with updated closer rankings.
Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Hitters
JJ Bleday - OF, CIN (43% rostered)
(ELITE TOOLS, HUGE BREAKOUT)
Bleday is yet to show signs of slowing down and the Reds have shown their absolute trust in him by starting him in 26 consecutive games, including five of which against left-handed pitchers. The power development feels real with a career-high in bat speed and that’s translated to hard-hit and barrel rates that are All-Star caliber. Add in a great contact rate, plate discipline, and home games at Great American Ballpark and it feels shocking that he’s rostered this sparsely. He’s the 11th-ranked outfielder over the last 30 days according to the FanGraphs Player Rater and shouldn’t be left on any waiver wires.
Gabriel Moreno - C, ARZ (36% rostered)
(BAT SPEED RISER)
Despite middling production so far (three home runs, .252 batting average, and a .716 OPS) Moreno is swinging the bat harder than he ever has. That plus a solid contact rate gives him a potential path to being a top-10 catcher from this point forward.
Jake Burger - 1B, TEX (29% rostered)
(EVERYDAY PLAYER, POWER OPTION)
Quietly strong of late, Burger has done well to put a horrible first chunk of the season behind him with a .256/.322/.488 in May with five home runs. His swing and miss was trending way down too before spiking again over the past week. Still, the Rangers have nudged him back towards the heart of their lineup on most days and he’s an underrated run producer.
Sam Antonacci - 2B/3B/OF (25% rostered)
(SPEED THREAT, EVERYDAY PLAYER)
Antonacci continues to be productive while working out of the lead-off spot for the White Sox ahead of their strong middle of the order. He’s also finally found his groove as a base stealer with four stolen bases over the last 10 days without being caught. Over his last 30 games, he has a .320 batting average, .398 on-base percentage, scored 20 runs, stolen seven bases, and it just feels like he does something useful every single day.
Colt Emerson - SS/3B, SEA (24% rostered)
(ELITE PROSPECT PEDOGREE, EVERYDAY PLAYER)
The 20-year-old rookie has notched five extra-base hits in his first week of big league action despite not having a barrel yet. His plate discipline has flashed as a plus tool though with both league average swing and zone-swing rates, very low chase and whiff rates, and a high zone-contact rate. His power nor speed will likely carry him to fantasy stardom in year one, but there’s enough talent here to generate value.
Curtis Mead - 1B/2B/3B, WSH (20% rostered)
(POST-HYPE BREAKOUT, EVERYDAY PLAYER)
With Brady House being sent to the minor leagues, Mead has taken over as the Nationals’ everyday third baseman. He’s started there in eight of nine games entering play on Friday, including four in a row. Just a lefty-masher through the first few months of the season, he’s now getting regular reps against righties too and hasn’t missed a beat. So far, his 11.1% barrel rate is more than double his previous career-high. At the same time, his 45.5% hard-hit rate, 16.6% strikeout rate and 13.8% walk rate are also excellent. He was a highly-ranked prospect not too long ago and should be considered in more leagues with his multi-position eligibility and strong underlying stats.
Sunday update: Mead homered on Friday, then was out of the starting lineup Saturday against right-hander Michael King. He still came in as a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning and wound up with a walk, double, run scored, and two RBI.
Spencer Horwitz - 1B, PIT (17% rostered)
(POINTS LEAGUE HERO)
More of a points league play without much power or speed, Horwitz and his .842 OPS have flown under the radar. He’s also walked more than he’s struck out so far this season, started against the last two lefties the Pirates have faced, and hit lead-off against the last three righties.
Bryce Eldridge - 1B, SFG (6% rostered)
(EVERYDAY PLAYER, HUGE PROSPECT)
Promoted just for a part-time role so far, Eldridge has started eight of 10 games entering play on Sunday. The more consistent at-bats may be helping him find his footing too, as Eldridge’s swing-and-miss is trending down while he still hits as hard as anyone else in the league. He also has a double in consecutive games and the same number of walks as strikeouts over this same eight game stretch. Also, a recent foot injury for Harrison Bader clears up the Giants’ playing-time jumble a bit more with Casey Schmitt switching to the outfield every day. Now is a great time to scoop Eldridge and hope a true hot streak follows.
Jacob Gonzalez - 2B/3B, CWS (6% rostered)
(LATE PROSPECT BREAKOUT)
The White Sox promoted Gonzalez to take Munetaka Murakami’s roster spot, who will miss four to six weeks with a hamstring strain. A former first round pick, he’d never clicked in the minor leagues and didn't look like a future big league regular. This season, he’s found significantly more power than ever and that converted into a 1.088 OPS at Triple-A with 19 home runs and 8 stolen bases across 52 games. That was supported by an elite 113.6 mph max exit velocity and a very high barrel rate, hard-hit rate, 90th percentile exit velocity, and the rest of his power metrics. He’s in the lineup on Sunday afternoon as their first baseman, so he seems like a one-to-one Murakami replacement during this audition. Still just 24 years old, this profile in a starting role needs more attention.
Nathaniel Lowe - 1B, CIN (5% rostered)
(STRONG-SIDE PLATOON, HOT STREAK)
Struggling to secure a full-time role despite torching right-handed pitching all season, Lowe remains red-hot. He has a .910 OPS over his last 30 games with eight home runs. More encouraging lately, he slid over to first base from designated hitter when Eugenio Suarez coming off the injured list and Spencer Steer displacing Matt McLain at second for a few games. There are still a lot of playing time quirks to work out in the Reds’ infield, Lowe is just proving too productive to keep being sat.
Blake Dunn - OF, CIN (1% rostered)
(LEAD-OFF HITTER, EVERYDAY PLAYER)
While the Reds’ infield is a bit of a mess, opportunity abounds in their outfield. Dunn has seized said opportunity with seven straight starts, the last four of which have come out of the lead-off spot. There’s been a rotating door atop their order all season and Dunn could grab that spot with some more hot hitting. He’s also a solid defender and has 99th percentile sprint speed, so there are plenty of ways which he can contribute.
Sunday update: Dunn hit lead-off for Cincinnati in all three of their games this weekend. He's locked in there.
Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pitchers
Zebby Matthews - SP, MIN (47% rostered)
We’re trying not to get fully roped back in with Zebby. His results have been phenomenal though through three starts with a 2.37 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, better than league-average strikeout rate, and practically no walks. At the same time, practically all of his pitches have slightly worse movement profiles than last season and they’re missing fewer bats in the process. All of this aside, he’s facing the Pirates, Royals, and Tigers over his next three starts. So, he’s probably worth a flier on that alone.
Reid Detmers - SP/RP, LAA (46% rostered)
This one is difficult to rationalize. Sure, his 4.57 ERA is ugly and will likely turn a huge subset of managers off immediately. Digging a bit past that, his 1.14 WHIP tells us better times are coming. His 21.1 K-BB% tells us that probably some really good times are coming. On top of it all, he’s coming off a 14 strikeout, eight inning masterpiece against the Angels last Sunday where he showed off the best command of his slider that he has possibly had all season. It was truly dominant, forcing 12 of his 23 total whiffs and allowed him to push his changeup – which has flashed despite being inconsistent – more to the background. He will likely need his whole repertoire to definitively take that next step, but it’s all so close to clicking.
Sunday update: Detmers struck out seven Rays across five innings to earn the win on Saturday. He also walked three and allowed three runs in a not-so-efficient start. Again, he didn't have great feel for his changeup nor the same command of that slider from his 14-strikeout gem.
Jacob Latz - SP/RP, TEX (35% rostered)
No Rangers reliever besides him Latz secured a save since April 12th. That’s great, and uptick his stuff has seen since moving to the pen has made him a viable late-inning option. Now, the team has to pull their weight and actually put him in position for some save opportunities.
Anthony Kay - SP, CWS (22% rostered)
Kay has completed at least five innings while allowed two or fewer runs in all six May starts. His fastball has above average velocity for a left-handed pitcher and a deep mix with a sinker and sweeper for lefties plus a cutter and changeup for righties. That’s a repertoire that should be effective against any type of hitter, just be aware that Kay has an incredibly low 16.3% strikeout rate and doesn’t miss many bats.
Troy Melton - SP/RP, DET (21% rostered)
Finally back after suffering an elbow sprain this spring, Melton impressed in his season debut last Sunday. He allowed just two hits and one run across 5 1/3 innings against the Orioles with three walks and three strikeouts. He struggled to put hitters away, but showed off why we’re high on him with a 96 mph fastball that lived at the top of the zone and deep array of secondary pitches that worked off it. Against righties, he mixed that fastball with a sinker as dual primary options and played a cutter and slider off them. Against lefties, that fastball led the way with that same slider and a splitter. The command on that splitter specifically wasn’t quite there yet, hence the struggling to put hitters away, and he still worked into the sixth inning. There’s lots of potential here.
Sunday update: Melton didn't miss many bats, but navigated his way through seven strong innings against a quality White Sox lineup. It's really odd to say that — and is not really true anymore with Murakami going on the shelf — but Melton did well to keep them at bay with lots of well-located fastballs and sliders. He's still looking for his splitter consistency and has still been this effective through two starts.
Christian Scott - SP, NYM (19% rostered)
Scott finally recorded his first major league win on Saturday after 16 starts that spanned two full years because of an absence from Tommy John surgery. His fastball, sweeper combination is devastating and has helped him to an above average strikeout rate. There are still some struggles putting away left-handed batters and he’s yet to record an out in the sixth inning yet, despite his pitch-count rising from around 80 to near 100. The key for him is still the development of his splitter, which he threw a bit more against lefties in his last two starts.
Walbert Ureña - SP, LAA (18% rostered)
Ureña is a bit inconsistent in nature as a changeup-first righty. We can see that through his high 1.38 WHIP yet low 2.58 ERA. That changeup does have better than a 50% whiff rate against same-handed hitters though and his sweeper flashes plus. He just tends to nibble which leads to walks and long innings and general trouble. He is facing the Rays on Friday night and the Rockies at home next week, so now is probably a good time to take a shot on him.
Sunday update: Ureña tossed a quality start on Friday against the Rays allowing one run over six innings with three walks and five strikeouts. He continues to get more comfortable with his sweeper against right-handed batters and is facing the Rockies at home later this week.
Spencer Miles - SP/RP, TOR (16% rostered)
With the Blue Jays’ starting pitchers dropping like flies all season, Miles has been stretched out into a bulk reliever. He had a solid last outing allowing three hits and one run with one walk and three strikeouts across 4 1/3 innings against the Marlins to earn the win. That was his second straight appearance of at least four innings and he threw at least 63 pitches in each plus 56 the outing before that. The velocity of both his fastball and sinker have stayed steady around 95 mph as he’s stretched out and his curveball and slider are a formidable duo against hitters from either side of the plate. He has plus command, too. This is definitely someone to pay attention to.
River Ryan - SP, LAD (13% rostered)
A great stash option, Ryan just had another stellar start at Triple-A going six innings without an earned run and striking out eight. Eric Lauer is currently in the Dodgers rotation and could be unseated by Ryan any moment now.
Kyle Finnegan - RP, DET (12% rostered)
Kenley Jansen left his last outing with a groin injury, so it seems as if Finnegan will jump into the closer role for the Tigers. His 1.75 ERA would suggest he's ready for the challenge, but he's walked more batters than he's struck out so far and could falter if he's even given the chance. Otherwise, Drew Anderson (2% rostered) earned their last save this past Sunday and has a nearly 30% strikeout rate this season working mostly as a multi-inning fireman. He could be the best option here. Of course, the Tigers need to actually win some games for any of this to matter.
Sunday update: Finnegan was called on for the save on Friday night and blew it. Then, Anderson came in for the next one in the 10th inning with a one-run lead and gave up two runs to blow his as well. It could be anyone's save chance next.
Trevor McDonald - SP/RP, SFG (11% rostered)
McDonald had been impressive filling in for Logan Webb in the Giants’ rotation. Yet, when Webb returned Friday, it felt like McDonald could’ve been the odd-man out despite looking like a quality big leaguer. Instead, the struggling Tyler Mahle was placed on the IL with a hamstring strain which will keep McDonald in the rotation. He has a devastating sinker with plus drop from his low-slot release as a righty that he’s thrown 60% of the time and has helped him force a better than 60% ground ball rate. He’s also found more glove-side movement on his slider this season and it has a 42% whiff rate against right-handed batters. His changeup misses bats against lefties, but gets crushed whenever they put their bat on the ball. Still, this heavy ground ball approach will keep him relevant and any growth in changeup command or quality could make him a stud sooner rather than later.
Gage Jump - SP, ATH (10% rostered)
One of the league’s top pitching prospects, the Athletics promoted Jump for his major league debut this past week and it was a bit of a mixed bag. Pitching at home against the Mariners, he allowed nine hits and four runs with five strikeouts across five innings. His stuff was better than that though. His calling card is a 96 mph fastball with serious vertical action that should live at the top of the zone and miss bats doing so. The only qualified left-handed starters with a fastball velocity that high are Jesús Luzardo, Payton Tolle and Tarik Skubal, so he’s already in great company. Along with that heater, Jump has an array of breaking balls – tight slider, sweeper, and curveball – that should give him multiple weapons against hitters from each side of the plate. He leaned on the curveball more at Triple-A, but opted for more of the sliders in his debut. Plus, a smattering of changeups. This is big league stuff, the only issue is his home park in Sacramento is one of the most difficult to pitch in. Still, it’s worth rostering him just for those road starts.
David Sandlin - SP/RP, CWS (9% rostered)
The jewel of this week’s piece, Sandlin made light work of the Twins in his debut allowing one hit and one run across six innings with four strikeouts and zero walks. Funny enough, both that hit and run came on the second pitch of his career when Byron Buxton launched a solo home run. After that, it took him just 59 pitches to record 18 consecutive outs. That’s outrageous efficiency underscored by standout stuff. He’s a power pitcher with an upper-90s fastball from a flat release angle that has solid vert and missed bats in the zone. Also, he had no fear throwing it in the zone, which is how he was able to get in and out at-bats so quickly. That heater is flanked by a power curveball that comes in around 83 mph with tiger movement than most hooks. He commanded it quite well too, getting seven called strikes with it while also forcing a handful of ugly chases when he took it out of the zone. Those two were most of the show accounting for 45 of his 61 total pitches, but he flashed a cutter, changeup, sinker, and sweeper too that each looked like they could be quality offerings. He should have runway in this rotation with Noah Schultz heading to the injured list and has the stuff to make a huge impact. Just be advised that he never threw more than four innings in the minors and this was only the second time he threw at least 60 pitches in a single outing, so he’ll need to continue to be hyper-efficient to get similar length until he builds up more.
Tony Santillan - RP, CIN (9% rostered)
Santillan’s grip on the Reds’ closer role tightened with Graham Ashcraft headed to the 60-day IL. They haven’t converted a save opportunity in nearly two weeks, but Santillan got that one and is still regularly pitching reasonably late close games. He’s likely the reliever to roster in Cincinnati while Brock Burke (1% rostered) could grab a save if lefties are coming up late.
Scott Barlow - RP, ATH (2% rostered)
Barlow has converted save opportunities in the Athletics’ last two victories. Two appearances ago, he bailed Hogan Harris (9% rostered) out of trouble in the ninth inning and then Jack Perkins (6% rostered, no saves in May) in the following save. Maybe next time he gets to start the ninth cleanly rather than tight rope out of it due to another pitchers’ mess.
Jorge Montanez
