LaMonte Wade Jr. Fantasy Stats

Los Angeles Angels first baseman/outfielder LaMonte Wade Jr. was released by the organization on Saturday. This shouldn't come as a shock considering how poorly Wade has been playing with the Angels. In 30 games, Wade slashed .169/.260/.215 with one home run and three RBI. Before this season, Wade put together back-to-back strong campaigns with the San Francisco Giants. For some reason, everything is going wrong for Wade at the plate in 2025. He'll look to land with another organization, but will probably be forced to settle for a minor league contract.

The Los Angeles Angels announced that they have acquired first baseman/outfielder LaMonte Wade Jr. from the San Francisco Giants for cash considerations or a player to be named later. The Angels designated right-hander Michael Darrell-Hicks for assignment in a corresponding move. Although Wade was a quality hitter for the Giants from 2021-24, he struggled enough to begin this season that they designated him for assignment earlier this week. He batted a meek .167/.275/.271 with one home run in 169 plate appearances before the Giants moved on from him. The 31-year-old will now have a chance to rebound with a new organization. The Angels already have a better lefty-swinging option at first base in Nolan Schanuel. However, Wade will provide some variety to an outfield/DH mix that features right-handed hitters Mike Trout, Taylor Ward, Jorge Soler, and Jo Adell. He could also add some insurance if Soler (groin) lands on the 10-day injured list Monday.

The San Francisco Giants designated first baseman/outfielder LaMonte Wade Jr. and catcher Sam Huff for assignment on Wednesday, according to the San Francisco Chronicle's Shayna Rubin. Wade gets the boot off the 40-man roster after opening the 2025 season with a .167/.275/.271 slash line with only one home run, 15 RBI and 12 runs scored through 144 at-bats. Because the 31-year-old has a $5 million salary for this year, he'll almost certainly clear waivers and become a free agent, and it shouldn't take him long to find another organization that will pay him. From 2021 to 2024 with the Giants, Wade hit .248/.352/.415 with 51 home runs and 161 RBI in 438 games played. With Wade now out of the picture, the Giants signed veteran Dominic Smith, who could be on the strong side of a platoon at first base to replace Wade.

San Francisco Giants first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. was hit on the right hand by a pitch in the second inning of Monday night's game against the Padres and was replaced in the next half-inning by Casey Schmitt. He had an X-ray on his hand, but manager Bob Melvin said that the X-ray was negative, and he is day-to-day while dealing with a contusion. Schmitt will likely get most of the playing time if Wade misses a few games, and Jerar Encarnacion could also be in the mix after making his season debut on Monday night. Wade has struggled this season, hitting only .167 with one home run and a .251 wOBA in his 50 games. Schmitt has only hit .186 with a .264 wOBA in his 16 games, so neither option has been on the fantasy radar at this point. Encarnacion has a very high ceiling, so monitor his playing time and see if anyone can emerge as a fantasy option at the position for the Giants.

San Francisco Giants first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. will retreat to the bench for Tuesday's game in Motown against the hosting Detroit Tigers. Casey Schmitt is making the start at first base and is batting seventh against Tigers right-hander Jack Flaherty. The Giants are giving Wade a day off against a right-hander as he continues to struggle at the plate in 2025. The 31-year-old is hitting just .161/.270/.263 with a .533 OPS, one homer, 14 RBI and 12 runs scored in 137 games, including going 12-for-57 (.211) with three doubles, a triple, four RBI, five runs scored, seven walks and eight strikeouts in 20 games in the month of May. Wade could sit more often against righties if he continues to struggle. Schmitt hasn't been all that much better in a reserve role, going 7-for-30 (.233) with no homers and three RBI. He has a hit and an RBI in his lone at-bat against Flaherty.

San Francisco Giants first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. (rest) is out of the starting lineup ahead of Friday's game against the Los Angeles Angels. Wade will take a seat for the second straight game as the Angels send left-hander Tyler Anderson to the mound on Friday. Wade hasn't been much of a fantasy option anyway considering he's 5-for-49 with one home run and seven RBI on the season. In his absence Casey Schmitt will cover first base and bat sixth against Anderson. Schmitt hasn't been any better this season as he's 4-for-23 heading into Friday's contest.

San Francisco Giants first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. will take a seat against a left-hander in Thursday's series finale against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Casey Schmitt will start at first and bat fifth against Phillies southpaw Cristopher Sanchez. Wade just hasn't been able to find it at the plate early in the 2025 season despite San Fran's hot start, as he's hitting just .102 (5-for-49) with a homer, three doubles, a triple, seven RBI, eight walks and 20 strikeouts in 59 plate appearances. The 31-year-old could probably use a day off heading into a weekend series in Anaheim against the Los Angeles Angels. Schmitt hasn't fared a whole lot better and will be a low-upside DFS play on Thursday. The 26-year-old has gone 4-for-19 with no homers, two RBI and a run scored as a bench option for the Giants. He has never faced Sanchez in his career.

San Francisco Giants outfielder Mike Yastrzemski and first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. are not in the starting lineup on Saturday afternoon as the Giants will face left-handed pitcher Nick Lodolo. Instead, Luis Matos will enter the outfield and bat sixth, and Wilmer Flores will shift to first base. This opens up the designated hitter spot for Casey Schmitt. Yastrzemski did not see many opportunities against southpaws last season, either. Across 140 total games, Yastrzemski posted a .231/.302/.437 slash line with 16 doubles and 18 round-trippers. Wade also saw limited opportunities against southpaws last season but was productive in his limited stint, as he slashed a .324/.429/.412 line across 43 plate appearances. Both Flores and Matos are worth a look in DFS while facing Lodolo, who held a 4.76 ERA in 2024.

San Francisco Giants first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. is expected to be the leadoff hitter against right-handed pitching to begin the season. Wade lacks the speed of the usual leadoff hitter, but makes up for it by drawing walks. Wade is hitting below .220 this spring, but he also has 10 walks, which does help make up for his lack of a batting average and lackluster speed. The 31-year-old would likely see a boost in fantasy value with the move to the top of the lineup. The leadoff hitter usually gets more at-bats and sometimes better pitches to hit because pitchers don't want to walk the first batter before getting to the two or three hole hitter.

San Francisco Giants manager Bob Melvin said that the team is toying with the idea of using outfielder Jung Hoo Lee in the third spot in the batting order in 2025 as he returns from a season-ending shoulder injury. First baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. is also healthy, and the Giants like his on-base skills at the top of the order in the leadoff spot. So as things stand at the beginning of spring training, it looks like Wade will lead off, followed by new shortstop Willy Adames, Lee, third baseman Matt Chapman and outfielder Heliot Ramos in the top half of the order. Lee played in only 37 games in his first year with San Fran in 2023, and while he made plenty of contact, his superior on-base skills from Japan didn't transfer over. A move down the order slightly would mean fewer runs scored but also give him more chances to drive in runs. Lee hit the ball hard in his small sample size last year, so more power could be coming in 2025.