Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Week 7
We are less than seven weeks into the 2024 Fantasy Baseball season, and the injury bug and underperformance is running rampant. Do you have any of Gerrit Cole, Zack Gelof, Christian Yelich, Shane Bieber, Royce Lewis, Spencer Strider, Max Scherzer, 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 look at five options under 50% rostered on Yahoo Fantasy for 12- and 14-team leagues that are worthy of waiver bids or claims. As the seventh week of the season gets underway, we are getting a larger sample of data from which to conclude. With almost five months left in the fantasy baseball season, let’s figure out who to target to help our fantasy rosters.
Waiver Options For 12-Team Leagues
Josh Rojas, 2B/3B, Seattle Mariners (18% rostered) – After another hit on Thursday afternoon, Josh Rojas is now batting .352 with a .960 OPS on the season, including three home runs and three stolen bases. Filling in at the leadoff spot for an injured J.P. Crawford, Rojas has been a revelation with his .420 on-base percentage. His walk rate is a shade under 11% and he has cut six percentage points off his strikeout rate from last season. Rojas will still have an everyday role when Crawford comes back because he has slid over to left field primarily while Dylan Moore plays shortstop. Rojas has certainly earned a spot in the top half of the lineup now (he was batting ninth earlier in the season), but just beware that he is not starting on most days the Mariners face a left-handed pitcher.
Max Kepler, OF, Minnesota Twins (36% rostered) – Just like the entire Minnesota Twins team, there does not seem to be anyone who can slow down Max Kepler right now. On Thursday, he was 2-for-4 with a home run, two runs, and two RBI. That bumped him up to a .329 average and a .952 OPS. How is he doing it this year? Like Josh Rojas, he has significantly cut down on his strikeouts (just 14%, down from 21.6% last year). He is walking more (10%), his flyballs are up, and his groundballs are down. We might even say that Kepler has been a bit unlucky because he was at just a 7% HR/FB rate this season before his big swat on Thursday. That’s six percentage points below his career average, so some more power could be on the horizon now that he is about two weeks removed from an IL stint..
Jacob Young, OF, Washington Nationals (51% rostered) – Jacob Young is a surprise three-category specialist for the Nationals this season, but as long as you don’t need him for power or RBI, Young can be waiver wire fantasy gold in the other rotisserie stats. He is hitting .301 this year with 20 runs and 12 steals already. He has started in center field in 13 of Washington’s last 15 games (including three batting lead-off) after starting the year in AAA. He seems to have played himself into a full-time role even when Lane Thomas or Joey Gallo return from injury. The young Nationals will find a spot for his speed and defense.
Jameson Taillon, SP, Chicago Cubs (52% rostered) – Let’s get one thing straight first. If you are in one of the 20% of Yahoo fantasy leagues where Pittsburgh Pirates prospect Paul Skenes is still available, run – don’t walk – to go acquire him. He debuts Saturday and is the top pitching prospect in some time to come up. But if Skenes is long gone, perhaps look elsewhere in the NL Central for an old, reliable option in James Taillon. Recovered from an early season injury, Taillon has stopped striking guys out but is still having the best start to a season in his career. His 1.13 ERA and 0.88 WHIP through four starts are immaculate, although it does come with a lucky .197 BABIP. But if he can keep up his control (only 1.9 walks per nine) and doesn’t allow home runs (0.75 per nine), Taillon can certainly pay off as an SP4 or S5.
Trevor Megill, RP, Milwaukee Brewers (28% rostered) – The Brewers have now gone from Devin Williams to Abner Uribe to Joel Payamps and now to Trevor Megill as their closer. The hope is that Devin Williams makes it back for half the season, but Megill has been lights out lately and might have the role locked down for a good period of time. He has a 1.04 ERA and a 0.81 WHIP while striking out more than eight men per nine innings. He has been an extreme fly ball pitcher this year (57%), but his hard-hit rate (38%) is the lowest of his career so it’s not doing too much damage. Megill has a save in three of his last four outings for Milwaukee.
Waiver Options for 14-Team Leagues
Michael Massey, 2B, Kansas City Royals (9% rostered) – Michael Massey didn’t really take part in the hit parade against the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday, but over the last two weeks, he is still hitting .302 with three home runs, and 10 RBI. Massey is now hitting fifth or sixth every day for the Royals so he is getting plenty of chances to hit with on-base machines Bobby Witt Jr. and Salvador Perez hitting in front of him. There are a lot of things to like about Massey this year, but his best attributes are that he doesn’t strike out (8.2%), and he has a low .255 BABIP, which means some more improvement on the batting average could be on the way.
Shea Langeliers, C, Oakland Athletics (13% rostered) – Shea Langeliers is making the right kind of progression you want to see from a young catcher who was drafted ninth overall to be a major power bat in the Oakland lineup. After a mini breakout in 2023 with 22 home runs, Langeliers already has nine this season to go along with a .209 batting average (terrible) and a .513 slugging percentage (awesome). The signs for potential future improvement are there. Langeliers has cut his strikeout rate from 29% to 22% this season, his barrel rate is up five percentage points (18.9% in 2024), and his expected batting average (.268) and expected slugging percentage (.581) all show that Langeliers has been a bit unlucky this year. Most projection systems have Langeliers batting around .225 the rest of the way, so if you can stomach that batting average, the power could be among the best at the catcher position this year.
Ceddanne Rafaela, SS/OF, Boston Red Sox (28% rostered) – The overall numbers for Boston Red Sox shortstop Ceddanne Rafaela, but you have to look at the progress he has made since the calendar flipped to May to see why he might be an attractive add. In March/April, Rafaela hit .186 with a .3343 slugging percentage. That is up to .320 and .480 in May largely due to a spike in his HR/FB rate, but Rafaela has also excelled lower in the batting order after being removed from the leadoff spot and replaced by Jarren Duran. Still just 23 years old, Rafaela has high prospect grades with his power, speed, and defense and will be on a banged-up roster in Boston right now; he should have secure playing time every day while offering enough home runs and steals to be relevant in deep leagues.
Reese Olson, SP, Detroit Tigers (24% rostered) – Is Reese Olson the unluckiest pitcher in 2024? He certainly has a case after posting a 2.52 ERA, a 1.12 WHIP, and 35 strikeouts in 39 innings but having zero wins to show for it. Perhaps it’s the lack of wins that is keeping Olson at just 24% rostered in Yahoo leagues, but those are tremendously fluky and should course correct in due time. Olson has made improvements almost everywhere since his rookie campaign last season. He has decreased his barrel rate allowed by five percentage points. His swinging strike rate is up and so is his first pitch strike percentage. Olson is someone I am looking to target in all deep leagues this weekend.
Jeff Hoffman, RP, Philadelphia Phillies (22% rostered) – The Phillies’ closer role is a carousel right now, and Jeff Hoffman is just one place where you can jump on the ride. But while Jose Alvarado (seven saves, 4.30 ERA) and Gregory Soto (two saves, 6.10 ERA) are both bumpy rides, Hoffman has been coasting along with a 1.13 ERA and a couple of saves on his side of the ledger. He also leads that trio with 13.5 K/9 and has not allowed a home run this season. In deep leagues where every save counts and pristine ratios are ultra-desirable, Jeff Hoffman is definitely a good candidate to pick up this week.
