We survived 48-consecutive hours without baseball for the first time since March. Is everyone okay? Don’t get me wrong, the All-Star Break was nice. We got to watch the Big Dumper do his thing in the Home Run Derby, and then got to witness Kyle Schwarber swing his way to a National League victory in the All-Star game. And now we’re back to the business of trying to win a fantasy baseball championship. There’s no better way to do that than by out-maneuvering your friends and foes in FAAB on a weekly basis. We’re here to find the guys on the waiver wire that can help you do just that. Not much has changed with only three games being played since we published the last column – full disclosure, I’m writing most of this on Friday before the games have even begun – so not a ton has changed on the FAAB scene.
As a reminder, this column is designed to help guide those in Free Agent Acquisition Budget (FAAB) leagues in making the best choices regarding who to target on the waiver wire. Specifically, we’re focusing on players who are between 20-25% rostered in most 12-team leagues and/or 25-50% rostered in 15-teamers. Every league is different, so we won’t be labeling player bids with any sort of recommended dollar amount but instead will use a four-tier investment rating system, ranging from a minimal spend to a potential difference-maker (or LEAGUE-WINNER, if you will).
Let’s dig in!
Investment Rating System
After a shortened week of just three games, a whopping 10 teams have seven-game weeks while the other 20 squads are scheduled to play six. In the American League, the Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Guardians, Detroit Tigers, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Angels, Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays all have seven game slates. Meanwhile, the only NL teams to play seven this week are the San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals.
SEVEN GAMES: ATH, BAL, CLE, DET, HOU, LAA, SDP, SEA, STL, TOR
Batters
Outfielders
Ramón Laureano ($$$$): I’m leaving this here because it’s important, and he’s still not 100% rostered in 15-team leagues. Fantasy managers need to pick Laureano up and put him in their outfield immediately.
- PLAYER A: .270 batting average, .831 OPS, 10 home runs, four stolen bases, 32 RBI, and 34 runs scored in 65 games played
- PLAYER B: .284 batting average, .840 OPS, 11 home runs, three stolen bases, 32 RBI, and 38 runs scored in 79 games played
Player A is Ramón Laureano. Player B is Baltimore Orioles All-Star first baseman Ryan O’Hearn. I’m done being passive about picking up Laureano. Fantasy managers need to pick him up NOW. FOR THE LOVE OF PETE!
Jorge Soler ($$): Soler missed time in the first half due to injury and struggled after his return, but the Angels outfielder looked solid in his final week of play before the break, batting 4-for-13 (.308) with a home run. Soler is a streaky power hitter who could put three or four home runs out in a week at any point during the season. Grab him BEFORE he does that, not after.
Nathan Lukes ($$): So far this season, Lukes has been what fantasy managers wanted Alan Roden to be – a serviceable fourth outfielder with a solid average and a little bit of pop. Batting 12-for-33 with seven RBI and eight runs scored over the last two weeks combined, Lukes deserves a pickup in deep-league formats and could end up sticking around on your roster if he produces as he has been this first half.
Esteury Ruiz ($): Ruiz was called up by the Dodgers earlier this month and has featured in just 12 plate appearances so far. However, he’s reached base three times and stolen twice. The sample size is small, minuscule even, but Ruiz has taken off each time he’s had a base open in front of him (and it wasn’t a blowout). If the Dodgers decide to move away from Michael Conforto—whose .184 batting average and .322 slugging percentage have not inspired much confidence—Ruiz could see a boost in playing time and become a super-cheap stolen base difference-maker in the second half.
Infielders
Brady House ($$$): House might just be starting to settle in at the major league level. After going 6-for-20 with three home runs last week, the rookie third baseman has shown that he might just be able to hang. The power was real in the minors, and if he could continue to barrel the ball and make solid contact, he’s a prime candidate for a solid second half. I want to see his zone contact improve from 76.9% and would love for him to improve his plate discipline. If those two things happen, watch out.
Nolan Gorman ($$): Second base kind of stinks. Might as well find a guy who can hit three home runs in any given week to stream at the position. Gorman is one of only a handful of second basemen with the power to do that – and likely the only one on the waiver wire with that ability. He’s hit five home runs in his past 60 plate appearances, which could mean he’s getting hot. Or it could mean absolutely nothing, and he goes back to being a .180 hitter this week. But it’s a risk worth taking at arguably the fantasy landscape’s worst position.
Taylor Walls ($): With Brandon Lowe out for at least a week or so, Walls is basically locked into at-bats at the bottom of the Rays lineup. If he gets on base, he has the green light to run. Last week, he put together a .300 batting average and scored three runs in 20 at-bats. We’d love to see another performance just like that post-All-Star Break.
Catchers/UT
Patrick Bailey ($$): It’s disrespectful to Bailey that he’s only rostered in 50% of 15-team, two-catcher leagues. He’s going to start six days out of seven for the Giants. I know the bat isn’t great and the Bay Area doesn’t scream offensive firepower, but the volume alone is more than enough to justify an add in deep leagues.
Pitchers
Starting Pitchers
NOTE: Luis Gil, Shane McClanahan, Blake Snell, and Shane Bieber each began rehab assignments over the past week and should be coming back at varying points in the near future. Snell and McClanahan were each almost universally drafted, but if their managers ran out of room to stash them, they could be on waivers. This week could be the final chance to scoop them up before they’re on everyone else’s radar. Gil and Bieber went mostly undrafted and likely won’t be available until after their respective season debuts. Assuming all goes well in their rehab assignments, I’m most interested in Snell, with McClanahan just behind him. Gil could absolutely make noise for the Yankees late in the season, but he’s third on my list, and Bieber is a wait-and-see type for me.
Frankie Montas Jr. ($$$): Once upon a time, Montas was a pitcher who should have been on fantasy rosters, but injuries and poor performance over the years got in his way. Now we’re left with a guy who got shelled in two of his last three starts. But I still see potential. Allegedly, Montas was tipping pitches in his starts where he got dunked on, but in his most recent outing, he posted a five-inning win (granted, it was against the Royals). He allowed just one run on four hits and recorded five strikeouts. He’s added a sweeper to go with the fastball-splitter combo and could do enough to be effective for this Mets team that should provide ample run support. He’s a solid stream against the Angels this week and could be more than that moving forward.
Janson Junk ($$): Junk is living up to his name so far, pitching in reverse and leading with off-speed while sneaking the fastball past hitters on their heels. He’s thrown 13 consecutive scoreless innings, but with this kind of approach, it could all come crumbling down pretty quickly if hitters choose to sit on the breaking stuff and Junk doesn’t adjust. It’s a tough matchup on paper against the Brewers in Milwaukee up next, but the Brew Crew rank in the bottom half of MLB in batting average (.244) and slugging percentage (.385) against right-handed pitching.
Colin Rea ($$): Rea has quietly turned in three consecutive solid performances, earning pitching victories in each of his last three starts, including two quality starts. During that stretch, he’s allowed just four earned runs on 10 hits and four walks in 18.2 innings pitched while ringing up 11 strikeouts. Pitching for the Cubs, he’s always got excellent win potential – especially in his next matchup with the Kansas City Royals. Unless KC has found some undiscovered offense over the break, I like Rea to go deep in this one as well.
Davis Daniel ($): Daniel is mostly only listed because he has a two-start week on tap for Atlanta. With matchups against San Francisco and at Texas, he’s got a chance to go deep enough to earn a win, but has some blow-up potential as well. He’s a volume-only last resort for me this week.
Relief Pitchers
Dennis Santana ($$$): The Pirates HAVE to trade David Bednar this year, right? Granted, we’ve been saying it every year for so long that it feels like it ought to be a national holiday at this point, but it really feels like Bednar might be on the move this season. Santana is the Pirates’ best reliever outside of Bednar and would be the undisputed closer if a move is made. His ratios are golden, the strikeouts aren’t what you’d love to see from a closer (29 in 40.2 innings), but he has been generally effective this season and would be an auto-add if he were given the ninth-inning role.
Seranthony Domínguez ($): The Orioles are reported to be fielding calls on closer Félix Bautista. Though I think it would be a long shot for him to get dealt – the Orioles would need a large return for their former All-Star closer, who is under team control through 2027 – Dominguez appears to be next in line for saves if Bautista is traded and may be worth a speculative bid.
Photo by Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire | Designed by Aaron Asbury (@aarongifs on Instagram)
