Welcome to Waiver Wire Watch, our weekly fantasy baseball waiver wire guide. We'll be doing things a little differently this season, with James Schiano publishing the initial waiver-wire article on Friday afternoon. Then Eric Samulski updates it every Sunday to make sure you get the most up-to-date information.
We're doing things a little bit differently this time of year though. Rather than give a long list of players with deep analysis, there will only be a few dense player profiles for those we think currently need a bit more light shed on them. Otherwise, there will be long lists of players who can help your teams in a specific category or for this particular week.
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 to 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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(HOT STREAK, POWER/SPEED COMBO)
In the midst of a special heater, Bolte is slashing .320/.398/.517 since August 1st with seven home runs and seven stolen bases. During this hot streak, he's made incremental gains with his contact rate and chased a bit less out of the zone. Sometimes, that's all it takes for a player like Bolte who has elite physical tools like a 77 mph average bat speed (96th percentile). Whether home in Sacramento or on the road, it does not matter for Bolte right now. He is mashing and needs to be rostered.
(HOT STREAK, POWER/SPEED COMBO)
Jones remains a polarizing player, but you can't deny the production right now. Since July 22nd, he's hitting .280/.350/.497 in 45 games with seven home runs, 27 RBI, and eight steals. That comes with a 19.6% barrel rate, 53.3% hard-hit rate, and 80% zone contact rate, which is below average but still way better than most people (including us) thought he would produce. There remain some warning signs here. Jones has a 19% swinging strike rate and just a 64.8% contact rate overall. He has a 33% strikeout rate and an inflated .393 BABIP that can't possibly hold up. Remember that, in 35 games, Esmerlyn Valdez hit .298/.404/.6868 with 12 home runs and 33 RBI, but that came with a .381 BABIP and a 33% strikeout rate. Granted, his zone contact rate was far worse than Jones', so we don't expect Jones to totally collapse as Valdez did, but Valdez actually had a BETTER swinging strike rate and a HIGHER contact rate overall, so we still think there remain risks with Jones.
(HUGE PROSPECT PROMOTION, REAL POWER)
The Dodgers are promoting their number one prospect, De Paula, to take Shohei Ohtani 'sroster spot while nagging bicep and knee injuries have forced Ohtani on the injured list. The 21-year-old left-handed slugger jumps straight from Double-A to the big leagues and may have the best offensive profile of any prospect in the minors. In 124 games this year with Tulsa, he hit 27 home runs and stole 31 bases with a .303/.401/.547 slash line. He also rarely struck out, took his walks, and can pull the ball in the air better than most other young players. Again, De Paula is as complete a hitter as we've seen jump to the majors recently. Just don't expect those stolen bases to come with him to the majors as they were more due to his game sense than average speed. While Ohtani has missed some time lately, Alex Call has found regular playing time between the designated hitter spot and outfield, so it seems like De Paula will take those at-bats. He's certainly not being called up to sit on the bench.
SUNDAY UPDATE: De Paula has started all three games since being called up, but all three have been against right-handed pitchers, so we still don't know what the Dodgers will do against lefties.
(PROSPECT PROMOTION, HOT STREAK)
The Cardinals promoted Bernal on September 1st when the rosters expanded, and he's started all nine games since going 10-for-36 with two home runs, one double, 10 RBI, and six runs scored. He's started six games at catcher, two at designated hitter, and one at first base over that span, so it's clear the Cardinals are doing everything they can to get his bat in the lineup every day. A switch-hitter with real power from each side of the plate, Bernal had 16 home runs, nine stolen bases, and a 115 wRC+ through 101 games at Triple-A this season as a 22-year-old with a strong underlying profile to match. He's a great play in deep mixed or two-catcher leagues at the moment.
(POSSIBLE POWER/SPEED COMBO)
The Yankees recalled Volpe to replace Jazz Chisholm Jr. after he was placed on the injured list, and he had a special first game back up. Drawing his first-ever start at second base, Volpe had three hits on Thursday night, including a grand slam. He looked happy and confident for the first time in a long time and could be a useful deep league player if he continues to play over José Caballero.
(PROSPECT CALL-UP, POSSIBLE POWER UPSIDE)
The Twins continued their prospect promotions by calling up Emmanuel Rodriguez on Saturday. The 23-year-old immediately hit a home run in his first MLB at-bat. Rodriguez slashed .262/.414/.500 with 11 homers, 33 RBI, 36 runs scored, and seven steals across 220 Triple-A plate appearances this year, and, much like Walker Jenkins, could have been called up sooner had it not been for injuries. He rarely chases pitches out of the zone and makes plenty of hard contact, which is a combination we like. Considering he's likely going to play a bunch and has real power, he could be a fantasy contributor right away.
Now, for big lists of players who can help you in specific categories; plus, some who have good streaming schedules for the upcoming week.
Brett Bateman - OF TOR
A.J. Ewing - OF, NYM
Jake McCarthy
- OF, COL
Jung-Hoo Lee - OF, SF
Ben Malgeri - OF, DET
Esteury Ruiz
- OF, MIA
Jonah Cox - OF, SD
Xander Boagaerts - SS, SD
Tristan Peters
- OF, CWS
Osleivis Basabe
- SS, SF
Jake Burger
- 1B, TEX
Carter Jensen
- C, KC
Griffin Conine
- OF, MIA
Christian Encarnacion-Strand
- 3B, BAL
Coby Mayo
- 1B/3B, BAL
Cam Smith
- OF, HOU
Hector Rodríguez - OF, CIN
Lazaro Montes - OF, SEA
Ryan O'Hearn - 1B/OF, PIT
Kaelen Culpepper - SS, MIN
Dylan Beavers
- OF, BAL
Spencer Horwitz
- 1B, PIT
Tim Tawa
- OF/1B/2B/3B - ARI
Sam Antonacci - OF/2B, CWS
Hao-Yu Lee - 2B/3B, DET
Drew Gilbert
- OF, SF
JP Crawford - SS, SEA
Cole Carrigg - OF, COL
TJ Rumfield - 1B, COL
Connor Norby
- 1B/2B/3B, COL
Kyle Karros
- 3B, COL
Finally back after a 16-month layoff while recovering from Tommy John surgery and a more recent teres major strain, Burnes lasted three innings against the Royals earlier this week with two strikeouts, two hits, two walks, and zero earned runs. The results were good enough, but he didn't look right. His cutter velocity sat down below 93 mph, a few ticks below where it was last season, and he had no feel for his secondary pitches whatsoever. This is more of an all-hands-on-deck situation for the Diamondbacks as they desperately try to grab the last Wild Card spot rather than a return to dominance for Burnes. That is more likely for next year, while Michael Soroka (49% rostered) is a much better bet to be effective over the next few weeks. He returned the day after Burnes and fired four innings in long relief after missing around three weeks with shoulder inflammation. Much more so than Burnes, Soroka looked sharp in terms of velocity and pitch movement.
Tong was strong in his return to the major leagues on Monday against the Marlins, striking out seven over five innings with four earned runs. All four of those runs came in a rough second inning, mostly via a three-run home run from Graham Pauley on a poor sequence where Tong ignored his changeup for some odd reason and threw four hard pitches in a row. Regardless, that changeup paired with his strong fastball made for an excellent tandem and one that can be effective against major league hitters, albeit with some risk involved. The momentum from that outing plus his last eight starts at Triple-A with a 2.20 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 26% strikeout rate, and 11% walk rate make him an acceptable streamer in what could be a two-start week against the Orioles and Phillies at home. Just be advised that the Mets have been constantly adjusting their rotation over the last two weeks and that Tong's is still searching for a viable third offering between a cutter that doesn't cut and a curveball that's too slow.
Acquired at the trade deadline from the Braves in exchange for Tyler Mahle , Molina has pitched well in three starts with the Giants. Across 14 1/3 innings, he's allowed three earned runs with 13 strikeouts and two walks. His fastball has good zip around 96 mph, but with a mediocre shape. Otherwise, it's flanked by a quality curveball that's effective against hitters from both sides of the plate and a changeup that can miss bats against lefties. He's scheduled to pitch at home against the Padres on Friday and in St. Louis next Wednesday if you're desperate for a streamer.
Now, here are some long lists of other pitchers that could help you out this week. Be aware that schedules can often change this time of year and two-start pitchers can sometimes be a dice roll.
Kade Anderson (at LAA, at COL)
Griffin Jax
(vs ATH, vs BOS)
Quinn Matthews (vs SF, vs WAS)
Troy Melton
(at TOR, at CWS)
Cody Bradford
(vs BOS, vs TOR)
Patrick Sandoval
(at TEX, at TB)
Brandon Young
(at NYM, vs MIL)
Dean Kremer
(vs NYY, at SF)
Nate Pearson
- KC
Mason Montgomery
- PIT
Andrew Kittredge
- BAL
Calvin Faucher
- MIA
Ben Joyce
- LAA
Kodai Senga
- NYM
Edgardo Henriquez
- LAD
Elvis Alvarado
- ATH
Jordan Romano
- COL
Luke Weaver
Brent Headrick
Bryan Abreu
Alex Vesia
Evan Phillips
Tyler Rogers
Paul Sewald
George Soriano
Seranthony Domínguez
Gabe Speier
Gregory Soto
Yohan Ramírez
Hunter Gaddis
Craig Yoho
