Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Week 22
We are now almost twenty-two weeks into the long 2024 Fantasy Baseball season, and the injury bug and underperformance trends are rampant. Do you have any of Shane Bieber, Max Scherzer, Austin Riley, 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-second week of the season gets underway, we have more than two-thirds of a season’s sample of data from which to draw conclusions. With only about five weeks left in the fantasy baseball season, let’s figure out who to target to help our fantasy rosters.
Waiver Options For 12-Team Leagues
Masyn Winn, SS, St. Louis Cardinals (36% rostered) – Masyn Winn now has six hits over his last three games and is simply killing it as the St. Louis Cardinals’ leadoff hitter. He is a sneaky candidate for a 15 HR/15 SB season and is hitting .277 to go along with it. He never takes a day off and has improved every possible piece of his approach at the plate this season compared to his 37-game debut in 2023. Most notably, he has raised his line drive rate from 13% last season to over 23% this year. He is a player to have in your starting lineups for the rest of the season.
Ramon Urias, 1B/2B/3B, Baltimore Orioles (8% rostered) – Coby Mayo didn’t exactly cut it in his third base audition back in the second week of August, so Ramon Urias has the position back now, and is excelling so far. Over the last seven days, Urias has been the seventh-best fantasy hitter as he went 9-for-25 with eight RBI and five runs. He has had a couple of bad back-to-back games now against the Mets and Astros, but Mayo is back in AAA and there is no one else on the roster who can provide a serious threat to Urias’ time at third base. Urias’ walk rate, strikeout rate, and slugging percentage have all improved since 2023, so this is a scenario where we should sit back and see what he can give us the rest of 2024.
Brendan Rodgers, 2B, Colorado Rockies (17% rostered) – Brendan Rodgers has plenty of home games coming up in Colorado, he is just 23% rostered, he is eligible in a tough position, and he is on fire right now. That’s all the information you need to know to understand that Rodgers is worth a waiver claim this weekend. Or right now if you can. In August, Rodgers is hitting .364/.403/.606 with three home runs and 12 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 seven home games in the next 10 days.
Bowden Francis, SP, Toronto Blue Jays (38% rostered) – Bowden Francis was all the rage in Spring Training when he was lights out and it was assumed he would get a spot in the Blue Jays’s rotation. Well, injuries and other variables prevented that for some time, but he is making up for it now. Francis now has seven starts under his belt and he has put up a 4.38 ERA, .204 batting average against, and 39 strikeouts in 37 innings. Just in August, it has been even better. He has a 32% strikeout rate, a 1.5% walk rate, and a 1.40 ERA this month over 19.1 innings. He’s done it by inducing 41% ground balls (25.7% in July) and dropping his hard contact against from 43% to 31%. His splitter is nearly unhittable this month and is driving much of his success. Francis has a very nice matchup coming over the weekend with the Los Angeles Angels. If it’s at all possible to acquire his services before that time, it’s likely to be a productive start.
Daniel Hudson, RP, Los Angeles Dodgers (46% rostered) – The reason why I think Daniel Hudson might be a good option for deep league saves is he is the reliever under 50% rostered who is in a clear timeshare right now. Evan Phillips and Michael Kopech have earned saves in addition to Hudson lately, but the Dodgers are winning most of their games, so there are plenty of opportunities to go around if you are desperate for every last save as the season winds down. Even with one foot in the closer’s role, Hudson’s roster percentage went down 6% over the last week. With a 2.61 ERA and 0.93 ERA, he might be the Dodgers’ most reliable option in the ninth inning.
Waiver Options for 14-Team Leagues
Jhonkensy Noel, 1B/3B/OF, Cleveland Guardians (15% rostered) – No player in Yahoo leagues has been added more than Jhonkensy Noel over the last few days. After four home runs in his last eight games, Noel is .320 in that span and now .257 overall. He doesn’t offer anything in terms of speed right now, but with 10 home runs in 112 plate appearances this season, he has been a reliable source of power and run production. But his best skill right now might be playing time. Since the 12th of August he has started every game but one and is now hitting fifth in the potent Cleveland lineup.
Adrian Del Castillo, C, Arizona Diamondbacks (15% rostered) – Hitting three home runs with 14 RBI in your first 10 MLB games is one heck of a way to make a first impression. But when you hit a walk-off home run in your second game ever, you start to become a legend. That’s what Adrian Del Castillo is becoming in the Arizona desert as he takes over the catching role from an injured Gabriel Moreno. He is hitting .361 so far in the big leagues and has an insane 22.7% barrel rate so far. He had 24 home runs in 100 games in AAA this season, so the power here shouldn’t be surprising.
Whit Merrifield, 2B/3B/OF, Atlanta Braves (12% rostered) – Look who’s back. Back again. It’s the Whit-Man. Tell a friend. With Ozzie Albies going on the shelf with a fractured wrist, the Braves were happy to grab Whit Merrifield after the rival Phillies let him go. Merrifield has been a godsend with 10 hits over his last seven games. Overall, Merrifield is hitting .258/.387/.403 in the second half as he has found a new ability to reach base frequently via walk. He has a path to full playing time the rest of the fantasy season, and his position eligibility makes him a must-add.
Ryne Nelson, SP, Arizona Diamondbacks (32% rostered) – The Arizona Diamondbacks have experimented with Ryne Nelson as a “piggy-back” pitcher a couple of times, but finally realized he can be a full-time starter for the D’Backs. Lately, that strategy has paid off in a big way for Nelson. In the second half of 2024, Nelson has a 2.89 ERA across 37 innings and only allows a .209/.269/.336 line against him in that time. He has also really ramped up his strikeouts. In the first half, he struck out 59 batters in 86.2 innings. In the second half, they have exploded with 42 punch-outs in his 37 innings so far. In his last nine starts, Nelson has allowed more than three earned runs just two times.
Jorge Lopez, RP, Chicago Cubs (18% rostered) – With Hector Neris no longer on the Cubs roster (he was signed by the Houston Astros), Chicago needs a new closer, and the first place they turned was Jorge Lopez. Lopez earned the save against Toronto this week while allowing one home run but striking out three batters in his one inning. On the season, Lopez has a 2.44 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. In what has been a shaky bullpen all season, Lopez is getting the first shot at saves here, and he is likely their best option the rest of the season. Lopez does have closing experience, securing 23 of them back in 2022, but he has never been as lockdown has he is this season. In addition to the strikeouts, his 51% groundball rate should play very nicely in a ninth inning role.
