Less than twenty-one 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 twenty-first 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
Brendan Rodgers, 2B, Colorado Rockies (17% rostered) – Brendan Rodgers has plenty of home games coming up in Colorado, he is just 17% rostered, he is eligible in a tough position, and he is on fire right now. That’s the only information you need to know that Rodgers is worth a waiver claim this weekend. In August, Rodgers is hitting .404/.442/.660 with a pair of home runs and 10 runs scored. Rodgers is now hitting fifth on a daily basis for Colorado and is simply way too under-rostered for his production and what could come with 10 home games in the next 15 days.
Junior Caminero, 3B, Tampa Bay Rays (53% rostered) – One of MLB’s top prospects finally got the call back up to the majors this week, and it’s long overdue. In just two games, Caminero’s line doesn’t look good (.143/.250/.143), but the sample size is so small and his upside is so large, that in any league he is available Caminero is worth the add. He is the number two overall prospect in baseball and is coming off a AAA season where he hit .276/.331/.498 with 13 home runs in just 53 games. He has massive 70-grade power on the scouting scale, which is to say it’s about as high as a player can have. And he is just 21 years old and still developing.
Gavin Lux, 2B/OF, Los Angeles Dodgers(32% rostered) – With injuries to Chris Taylor, Tommy Edman, and Max Muncy, Gavin Lux is going to be playing a lot in the weeks to come. On July 22 and July 26, he even started against a left-hander for the first time in over two months because the Dodgers needed his bat in the lineup. He has been moved up to fifth in the order even with Mookie Betts coming back. Over the last seven days, Lux has been the 47th-best hitter in fantasy baseball, including multiple four-hit games in the last few weeks. Add in four home runs and 18 RBI in the second half of the season, and this multi-position player eligible at 2B and OF is a priority add this weekend.
Simeon Woods Richardson, SP, Minnesota Twins (20% rostered) – Simeon Woods Richardson might be the unluckiest pitcher in baseball, with just three wins in 20 starts despite a 3.78 ERA and 1.18 WHIP. Woods Richardson strikes out eight batters per nine innings and almost NEVER gives up home runs (0.97 per nine innings). The Twins are a hot team right now, so it’s just a matter of time before wins start coming. Woods Richardson has four very good pitches and he has strong command of all of them. For an under-the-radar starter who has deceptively good stuff, Woods Richardson is one of the best.
Lucas Erceg, RP, Kansas City Royals (31% rostered) – James McArthur has been mostly removed from closing duties in Kansas City because of his 5.01 ERA this season. That has opened the door for Erceg, who has a 3.05 ERA and more than a strikeout per inning, and a 1.06 WHIP this season. He has two saves this week and hasn’t allowed an earned run since July 21st. More importantly, Erceg has eight strikeouts and no walks in his last eight innings and has the complete trust of the Kansas City coaches right now as they try to carve out a playoff spot.
Waiver Options for 14-Team Leagues
Andres Chaparro, 1B, Washington Nationals (1% rostered) – Junior Caminero is not the only stud prospect getting some playing time in the last six weeks of the season. This deep-league section will be littered with rookies and young players getting substantial shots on two non-contending teams that are embracing the youth movement. Andres Chaparro made his MLB debut after spending time in two different organizations’ AAA squads this year. He has 23 home runs and 85 RBI over 105 games and is a potential major source of power for the Nationals for the rest of the year. He also provides elite plate discipline as shown by his 16.7% walk rate already.
Jonah Bride, 1B/3B, Miami Marlins (7% rostered) – After Josh Bell was shipped to Arizona at the trade deadline, Jonah Bride was inserted as the everyday first baseman for Miami. To say he has thrived would be an understatement. He is the 16th-best hitter in all of fantasy baseball over the last seven days and now has a .276/.381/471 line in his 30 games with the big club. Bride’s two other MLB seasons in Oakland were uninspiring, but he suffered from very low BABIPs and sporadic playing time. With a 12% walk rate and 40% hard-hit rate this year, Bride sure ain’t leaving your fantasy team at the altar right now.
Alex Call, OF, Washington Nationals (20% 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 had some days in the leadoff spot because he has been hitting so well. In the last week, Call is a top-65 hitter in all of fantasy baseball. He is now hitting .392/.471/.541 which is certainly unsustainable, but he has made big gains in exit velocity 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.
Valente Bellozo, SP, Miami Marlins (5% rostered) – After the first five starts in his MLB career, things could not be going much better for 24-year-old Valente Bellozo. he has a 2.28 ERA, a 2-1 record, and just 1.95 walks per nine innings. He has bested the Phillies and Reds already this year and has not allowed more than two earned runs in four of his first five outings. the scouting report on Bellozo is he has a nasty changeup, but will need work on the rest of his pitches to really excel at this level.
Calvin Faucher, RP, Miami Marlins (7% rostered) – I will admit I did not know who Calvin Faucher was before researching this piece today. After the Tanner Scott trade, Calvin Faucher has been called upon to save two of Miami’s victories over the last two weeks and seems to have at least a time-share of the ninth innings all locked up. A closer time-share on a bad team is not ideal, but Faucher could have the upper hand with a 3.22 ERA and 49 strikeouts in 44.2 innings. He has given up earned runs only once in his last 11 games.
