Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Week 14
Less than fifteen weeks into the 2024 Fantasy Baseball season, the injury bug and underperformance trends are rampant. Do you have any of Shane Bieber, Kyle Tucker, Bryce Harper, 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 fifteenth 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
Luis Garcia Jr., 2B, Washington Nationals (33% rostered) – In less than half a season, Luis Garcia Jr. has already tied his career-high with nine home runs and surpassed his career-high with 11 steals. With still almost half a season to go, it’s clear this is the breakout year for the 24-year-old Garcia. His batting average (.261) and slugging percentage (.412) are both decent, but both should be even better. Statcast shows that his expected batting average is .279, and his expected slugging percentage is. 466. Garcia really bumped up the line drive and fly ball rate this year, and he will be one of the hottest waiver targets around after hitting four home runs the last two weeks.
Jose Miranda, 3B, Minnesota Twins (34% rostered) – As if Jose Miranda wasn’t already having a good enough season, Miranda made fireworks go off on July 4th after going 3-for-5 with four runs and three RBI. Add that to an already stellar .297/.341/.480 campaign, and it’s unclear why Miranda is only 34% rostered. With Royce Lewis going back on the IL (which is always an inevitability), Miranda should now have an everyday job at first base or third base, and he has hit fourth in the lineup in two of the last three games since Lewis went down. His hard-hit rate and barrel rate are all up this year, and he is well on his way to a 20-homer, five-steal season.
Ryan O’Hearn, 1B/DH, Baltimore Orioles (52% rostered) – I would have lost all the bets at the beginning of the year about Ryan O’Hearn keeping his job this long, considering the prospects the Baltimore Orioles were projected to bring up. None have really worked out (except Colton Cowser) so O’Hearn has taken the 1B/DH role and really excelled in it. With 11 home runs and 37 RBI already, O’Hearn is on pace to crush his previous highs of 14 homers and 60 RBI. He has a .294/.355/.485 line, thanks to just a 10% strikeout rate (a career-best) and a 9% walk rate. Even if the Orioles do start calling up more prospects in the future, O’Hearn (a top-25 fantasy hitter over the last week) has earned a right to stay at the top of the lineup.
Lance Lynn, SP, St. Louis Cardinals (31% rostered) – Most fantasy managers (like yours truly) gave up on Lance Lynn after 2023. In that season, he pitched for two teams, had a 5.73 ERA, more than three walks per nine innings, and gave up over two home runs per game. This year, after a reunion with the St. Louis Cardinals, Lynn has somehow righted the ship, and his last few weeks have been especially sharp. In the last 15 days, Lynn is the 14th-best starting pitcher as he racked up two wins in 12.2 innings with a 0.71 ERA and 0.55 WHIP. Those games were against the Braves and Reds as well, so it isn’t like he faced the Miami Marlins twice. Lynn has his ground ball rate back up over 40%, his home runs are back to around 1.00 per nine innings, and his walk rate is lower. This all looks real and Lynn is a player to grab for the rest of the season.
Aroldis Chapman, RP, Pittsburgh Pirates (43% rostered) – With David Bednar on the IL for the Pittsburgh Pirates, ninth-inning fill-in Aroldis Chapman has been unhittable In his last four appearances; Chapman pitched five innings, allowed one run, and earned a win and a save while striking out seven batters. Chapman’s velocity and strikeouts are as high as ever (he hit 103 on the radar this week and strikes out more than 14 batters per nine innings). After a series of strong outings, Chapman’s roster percentage is going to go through the roof this weekend as managers are desperate for saves after several closer injuries. Be prepared to pay accordingly.
Waiver Options for 14-Team Leagues
Stuart Fairchild, OF, Cincinnati Reds (3% rostered) – Ever since TJ Friedl went on the IL, Stuart Fairchild has started 10 of the last 11 games in center field for the Reds and has really excelled. In his last 40 at-bats, Fairchild is hitting .289 with a home run, eight RBI, and four steals. Before the Friedl injury, Fairchild was starting only against left-handed pitchers, but he has now moved into a full-time role. Fairchild’s hard-hit rate is up eight percentage points over last season and dropped his strikeout rate from 27% to 22%. With an opportunity to go every day until the Reds get healthy, Fairchild is a strong option for steals and average.
Richie Palacios, 2B/OF, Tampa Bay Rays (3% rostered) – Other than about three players on the Tampa Bay Rays, it’s hard to say anyone has a “full-time” job or spot in the lineup. But Richie Palacios is now playing regularly at second base, the outfield, and DH, and his speed and contact ability have improved as he has moved up in the batting order. In the last 15 days, Palacios is hitting .355 with three steals and seven runs, even batting leadoff on Thursday for the first time since May 29th. Palacios broke in the majors late (25 years old), but seems to have found a utility-man niche with the Rays while providing in runs (37) and steals (13) while maintaining an 11% walk rate.
Leody Taveras, OF, Texas Rangers (6% rostered) – The Texas Rangers and their offense may be in an absolute freefall right now, but Leody Taveras has been one of the few bright spots. He is hitting .323 with four steals over his last 30 at-bats and has been a consistent part of the lineup even with so much turnover due to injury. He still sits most days against left-handed pitchers but is already on pace for a 10-home run, 20-steal pace this season with the best strikeout rate of his career. Driving his success this year is his contact rate in the zone. It’s always been a strength of his (84.5% for his career), but this year he is about three percentage points ahead of that number.
Drew Thorpe, SP, Chicago White Sox (20% rostered) – After a disastrous start on June 16th against the Diamondbacks, rookie Drew Thorpe has really settled down and looked like one of the best pitching prospects to come up this year. Thorpe has back-to-back six-inning games, with wins in both and a total of two runs allowed. He also gets Miami on Friday night, so he is a priority add ahead of that start if he is able. Thorpe is not a big strikeout rookie like Paul Skenes or Luis Gil. But he allows very little hard contact, induces 42% ground balls, and hardly ever allows home runs. Wins may be tough to come by with the White Sox, but he is still someone who should be on all deep fantasy rosters.
Griffin Jax, RP, Minnesota Twins (51% 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, 13 holds, and three wins this season. His ratios are immaculate (1.93 ERA and 0.94 WHIP) and he does have two saves in the last three weeks. Even if Jax gets only five or six saves the rest of the way, he can help your team with elite ratios and strikeouts. He has 51 strikeouts in 37 innings this season For the second season in a row, Jax’s ground ball rate is above 53%. 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.
