Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Week 20
Less than twenty weeks into the 2024 Fantasy Baseball season, the injury bug and underperformance trends are rampant. Do you have any of Shane Bieber, Kyle Tucker, Spencer Strider, Jacob DeGrom, Ozzie Albies, Mike Trout, 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 twentieth week of the season gets underway, we have more than a half-season sample of data from which to conclude. With only about six weeks 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
Brandon Lowe, 2B, Tampa Bay Rays (44% rostered) – Brandon Lowe did not get traded in the Tampa Bay Rays fire sale at the deadline. That means his starting spot at second base and as the second hitter in the lineup is secure, and he should be able to keep his hot streak going from the last week. In those seven days, Lowe is a top-35 fantasy hitter and has hit .333/.391/.631 over the last 30 days. In his last five starts, Lowe has eight hits and can credit his .527 overall slugging percentage this season to a 16% barrel rate, more than five percentage points better than last year.
Josh Bell, 1B, Arizona Diamondbacks (51% rostered) – Only two players in all of baseball have more home runs in the last month than Josh Bell. His 10 homers in that span trail only Ketel Marte and Anthony Santander and he has a ridiculous .678 slugging percentage in that time. Seemingly rejuvenated after going from the Miami Marlins to the playoff-contending Arizona Diamondbacks, Josh Bell looks to have a spot in the lineup locked up for as long as Christian Walker is injured. He will likely slot into the DH role after that time.
Tyler Stephenson, C, Cincinnati Reds (36% rostered) – The best hitter for the Reds the last month has not been Elly De La Cruz, Jonathan India, or Noelvi Marte. Far and away, that award goes to Tyler Stephenson, who is hitting .266/.356/.570 over the last 23 home runs and leads his team with seven home runs. This is the second year in a row that Stephenson has been able to play without a major injury, which was a major concern early in his career. With a barrel rate, hard-hit rate, and exit velocity all several steps above where he was in 2023, this is looking like it will end up as a career year for the 27-year-old catcher.
Zack Littell, SP, Tampa Bay Rays (23% rostered) – In only his second season (out of seven) as a starting pitcher, Zack Littell is showing up big for the Rays with some very impressive outings lately. Just once in his last four outings has Littell allowed more than one earned run and that has come against the Astros, Reds, Yankees, and Guardians. Littell has significantly dropped the usage on his fastball (just 21% this year) in favor of increased usage for his splitter, sinker, and slider. The results have been outstanding this year, especially bumping his strikeouts up over eight per nine innings pitched.
Daniel Hudson, RP, Los Angeles Dodgers (54% rostered) – It’s clear that Evan Phillips is not getting the bulk of the save chances anymore for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Hudson has five saves over the last month and now sports a 1.76 ERA and a 0.85 WHIP with more than a strikeout per inning. Hudson is 37 years old but is still extremely effective in relief. He strikes out more than one batter per inning and is allowing less than one home run per nine innings on the season. The Dodgers need a ninth-inning man they can trust as they try to hang onto the NL West division, and Hudson is likely to be that guy.
Waiver Options for 14-Team Leagues
Alex Call, OF, Washington Nationals (3% rostered) – Since his call-up from the minor leagues on July 28th, Alex Call has been in the lineup just about every day, and he recently moved up to second in the order because he has been hitting so well. In the last week, Call is a top-35 hitter in all of fantasy baseball. He is now hitting .396/.508/.563 which is certainly unsustainable, but he has made big gains in strikeout rate, walk rate, and hard-hit rate over last season so this breakout at age 29 might be legit. There is nothing more Call can do in the minors at his age, so the Nationals are likely to give him all the playing time he can handle with Jesse Winker, Eddie Rosario, and Lane Thomas no longer around.
Ernie Clement, 2B/SS/3B, Toronto Blue Jays (11% rostered) – Ernie Clement is now the full-time third baseman for the Toronto Blue Jays with Justin Turner and Isiah Kiner-Falefa out of town, and he is excelling in the role. In the month of August, Clement is hitting .280 with a .333 on-base percentage and five steals since the All-Star Break. He has cut down on his ground ball rate and bumped up his line drive rate this month, and it’s leading to a ton of good contact including multiple three-hit games in his last 10 contests.
Michael Conforto, OF, San Francisco Giants (18% rostered) – Sometimes the forgotten players can have the biggest impact when they finally get enough opportunity. Conforto has a six-game hitting streak going with 11 hits in that span. He also has two home runs and nine RBI while starting every day in the last nine games. Partially due to a large increase in his fly ball rate, Conforto has been able to raise his slugging percentage from .384 in 2023 to .440 this season and he has also made tremendous gains in barrel rate and hard-hit rate.
Spencer Arrighetti, SP, Houston Astros (18% rostered) – After dominating the Tampa Bay Rays for 12 strikeouts and just one run in his last outing, it’s clear we need to start looking under the hood with Arrighetti and not just focus on his 4-10 record or 5.33 ERA. He has been outstanding in his last five outings, with an ERA under 3.50. The Astros have not done him any offensive favors in that span so wins have been hard to come by, but Arrighetti has at least six strikeouts in four of his last five starts. With the state of the Astros pitching injuries, it looks clear Arrighetti will have a role the rest of the season.
Justin Martinez, RP, Arizona Diamondbacks (18% rostered) – Paul Sewald is not getting high-leverage innings right now, and the Diamondbacks have shown they want the ninth inning to go to Justin Martinez instead of trade deadline pick-up A.J. Puk. Martinez has two saves over the last six days and has pushed his ERA under 2.00 for the season. With 61 strikeouts in 50 innings pitched, he has the swing-and-miss stuff that has success in save situations. It is a crowded room of relievers in Arizona with Sewald, Puk, and Ryan Thompson, but Justin Martinez seems to be separating from the pack.
