Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Week 14
Less than fourteen weeks into the 2024 Fantasy Baseball season, the injury bug and underperformance trends are rampant. Do you have any of Shane Bieber, Cristian Javier, Spencer Strider, Jacob DeGrom, Walker Buehler, Ronald Acuna Jr., or other injured stars? Chances are you do, and you will be looking to fill those gaps somehow this weekend when waivers run. Who are the players who can adequately give you some level of production while you wait for your studs to return? That’s what we will focus on in this piece today.
This weekly piece will examine five options at or under 50% rostered on Yahoo Fantasy for 12- and 14-team leagues worthy of waiver bids or claims. As the fourteenth week of the season gets underway, we are getting a larger sample of data from which to conclude. With almost four months left in the fantasy baseball season, let’s figure out who to target to help our fantasy rosters.
Baseball Resources
Waiver Options For 12-Team Leagues
Jarred Kelenc, OF, Atlanta Braves (48% rostered) – With perhaps the best opportunity of his career for the rest of this season, Jared Kelenic is not wasting his shot now that he has taken over leadoff duties for the Atlanta Braves. Following Ronald Acuna’s injury, Kelenic has thrived for Atlanta, especially in the last two weeks. In that span, he is hitting .352/.379/.611 with four home runs, 10 RBI, and two steals. This is the player many thought we would have when he debuted with Seattle three years ago. His success this year has come due to a huge spike in his fly ball rate and him hitting more balls to his pull side and to straightaway center. He has also cut down on his strikeouts this season, and he shows no signs of giving up this new leadoff position for one of the best offenses in baseball. He will be well above 50% rostered by the end of the weekend.
Byron Buxton, OF, Minnesota Twins (45% rostered) – Yes, Byron Buxton, once thought of as an MVP candidate in past seasons, is under 50% rostered. He will probably get hurt tomorrow because that’s just what he does, but there is no denying how awesome he has been lately. Buxton is hitting .342/.366/.658 in the last two weeks with two home runs, eight RBI, and two steals. He is getting a bit lucky with the BABIP this year (.331), but all the Statcast and barrel rate statistics are elite in the power department. Buxton is even well below his career HR/FB rate (just 9% this year), so there could be some positive regression coming there. (Right after writing this, Buxton went 3-for-4 with a home run, three runs, and three more RBI. Yeah, he’s hot right now).
Zach Neto, SS, Los Angeles Angels (27% rostered) – In what has been another lost and miserable season for the Los Angeles Angels, Zach Neto has been a bright spot at shortstop and has now started every game for them in more than a month. His performance at the plate is also worth nothing as he is at .289/.349/.536 in the last 15 days and is giving enough pop and speed to certainly be fantasy-relevant. In his debut season last year, Neto was too timid at the plate (only a 47% overall swing rate). This year, that has jumped by almost five percentage points and that has resulted in more contact inside and outside the zone.
James Paxton, SP, Los Angeles Dodgers (53% rostered) – Oft-injured James Paxton is surprisingly the the one Dodgers pitcher who has not been bit by the injury bug and is playing very well with his new team. Paxton has a very good 3.18 ERA with a 1.01 WHIP over his last 23 innings. In those 23 innings, we see that he has 21 strikeouts, two wins, and he is a top-40 starting pitcher in that time. One thing clearly caused the resurgence this year besides health: pitch mix. Paxton increased his usage on his fastball (over 61%), cut out the cutter pitch almost completely (4%), and is now throwing an extremely effective knuckle curve over 27% of the time (under 20% last season). There is no doubt he will always get plenty of run support on the Dodgers, so as long as he has his health, we have a stable, reliable fantasy pitcher.
Chad Green, RP, Toronto Blue Jays (30% rostered) – Blue Jays manager John Schneider has declared Chad Green the closer while both Jordan Romano and Yimi Garcia are on the IL with various ailments. The problem so far, however, is that the Blue Jays are struggling and have just one save chance since June 12th. Green has experienced closing before and is sporting a pristine 1.72 ERA this season. He has such a strong ratio because he isn’t walking anyone (2.0 walks per nine innings), he isn’t giving up home runs, and his groundball rate has jumped from 28% last season to 43.5% in 2024. The strikeouts are not really a part of his game this season, but for a stop-gap closer option, your fantasy team could do a lot worse than Chad Green.
Waiver Options for 14-Team Leagues
Hunter Goodman, C/1B/OF, Colorado Rockies (11% rostered) – A Colorado player who qualifies at Catcher, but plays multiple other positions so he is in the lineup every day? Yes, please. Finally hitting his groove in his official rookie season, Goodman has been hitting the cover off the ball thanks to some home games and friendly pitching matchups. Goodman has five home runs just in the last 14 days, leading to a .270/.289/.703 slash line with a very respectable 26% strikeout rate. Goodman has massive power potential as evidenced by his 13% barrel rate and 114.7 mph max exit velocity. With Kris Bryant injured, Elehuris Montero on the bad list for the Colorado Rockies, and Jacob Stallings only getting a couple of starts per week, Goodman has an opportunity to play almost every day now.
Ben Rortvedt, C, Tampa Bay Rays (4% rostered) – After languishing in his first two seasons with the Yankees and Twins, Ben Rortvedt might have found a new, permanent home in Tampa Bay. Rortvedt was a second-round pick back in 2016 but never lived up to his promise until this year, when he is hitting .274/.369/.390. His 12% walk rate and ability to get on base in a variety of different ways is exactly the kind of player the Rays are looking for in their lineup and they have now given him the primary catching spot over Alex Jackson. After a couple of years without much power, it’s finally returning lately for Rortvedt as he has three home runs and a .375 average over the last two weeks. Rortvedt is an ideal catcher for two-catcher leagues or for daily formats where you can mix and match different matchups.
Chas McCormick, OF, Houston Astros (28% rostered) – Back from an extended injury, it seems Chas McCormick finally found the power and speed he left back in 2023. McCormick’s first two months were disappointing to say the least after an under-the-radar brilliant fantasy season last year (22 home runs, 19 steals, .273/.353/.489). In Apri, McCormick hit just .236 and then just .063 in May before his injury. How fully back and healthy, he is hitting .250/.262/.575 in June with three home runs and three steals in the last couple of weeks. The Astros have a bit of a log-jam in the outfield with Chas McCormick healthy and Joey Loperfido playing well, so we will especially have to monitor McCormick’s playing time when Kyle Tucker is healthy. But for now, McCormick is one of the rare power/speed combo threats that is available widely on the waiver wire.
Jose Quintana, SP, New York Mets (9% rostered) – You can’t have a hot streak like the Mets are in without some dominant pitching performances (and some help from Grimace, apparently). Jose Quintana is at the top of the hot-pitcher list as he has throw 12 innings in his last two starts, earning two wins while allowing a 0.73 ERA. He struck out more than 10 batters per nine innings during those starts and can point to his new pitch mix as the primary reason for success. Unlike someone like James Paxton, Jose Quintana is removing his fastball from his arsenal as much as possible. At just 22% usage this year, Quintana is basically throwing it half as much as he has in his career (43.3%) and his sinker, curve, and changeup are all at (or near) career-highs. Using it 26% of the time, his curveball is 15% above league average this year and has been a primary weapon in Quintana’s hot streak.
Griffin Jax, RP, Minnesota Twins (50% rostered) – Is Griffin Jax the closer in Minnesota? No. That’s Jhoan Duran’s job until he does something horrific to lose it. However, Griffin Jax has been the main guy in high-leverage situations in Minnesota which has led to seven saves, 12 holds, and three wins this season. His ratios are immaculate (2.10 ERA and 0.90 WHIP) and he does have two saves in the last two weeks. Even if Jax gets only five saves the rest of the way, he can help your team with elite ratios and strikeouts. He has 46 strikeouts in 34 innings this season For the second season in a row, Jax’s ground ball rate is above 50%. Anytime you can you carry a 50% ground ball rate with 12 strikeouts per nine innings, that pitcher is going to get some ninth inning chances.
