MLB Fantasy Baseball: Hot Waiver Wire Options for you to Scoop Up!
MLB Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Options to Add
Hello and welcome to the next edition of Hot Waiver Wire Options for MLB Fantasy! We are here to offer you a new list of players that you should consider adding to your squad. Also, we would like to show you our recent success with a few of the options previously discussed in waiver wire posts.
Last 10 games: Hitters
OF Aaron Hicks NYY – Two home runs, five RBIs, two stolen bases and seven runs scored
INF Jorge Polanco MIN – .297 batting average, five RBIs, five runs scored and two stolen bases
OF Harrison Bader STL – .310 batting average, one home run, three RBIs, six runs scored, and two stolen bases
INF/OF Alen Hanson SF – .297 batting average, 11 hits, one home run, four RBIs, six runs scored
INF Jake Bauers TB – Two home runs, seven RBIs, eight runs scored and a stolen base
Last 5 days: Pitchers
SP Matt Harvey CIN – Five innings pitched, one earned run, two walks, and five strike outs
RP Will Smith SF – Three innings pitched, two hits, 0.00 earned run average, three strike outs
RP Adam Ottavino COL – 3.1 innings pitched, two holds, three strike outs
SP/RP Collin McHugh HOU – 4.2 innings pitched, one win, one hold, five strike outs
SP Shane Bieber CLE – Seven innings pitched, one win, six strike outs
For those of you that are new to MLB Fantasy “Waiver Wire Options” posts, take a look below to see how it works!
Long-term or short-term help. Some players listed may only help in short-term. Others may fill long-term needs.
Read on if your team needs a reboot in the talent department to start the second half of the season!
MLB Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Options: Infielders with a Catcher in there!
INF/OF Niko Goodrum DET (ESPN 17.5% – Yahoo! 26%)
Goodrum has been a pleasant surprise for the Tigers this year after spending the entirety of his career in the Twins farm system and appearing in 11 big league games. With the Tigers, Goodrum has eight home runs and seven stolen bases.
The power numbers were not always there for him in the minors but have been improving each year. In 2017 with the Twins AAA affiliate, Goodrum had 13 home runs, 66 RBIs and 11 stolen bases in 127 games. With the opportunity in Detroit, he is proving to be a double-digit home run and steals guy which could help any fantasy team in the short-term.
INF Adalberto Mondesi KC (ESPN 2.2% – Yahoo! 2 %)
This 22-year old has a very familiar name. He is the son of Raul Mondesi, but is definitely starting to make a name for himself. He is an athletic middle infielder with great speed. For the Royals AAA affiliate in 2017, Mondesi had 13 home runs, 52 RBIs, 52 runs scored and 21 stolen bases.
This year was no different as he already had 10 stolen bases and five home runs through 29 games. It was time for him to be brought up to the big league club. In 20 games with the Royals, Adalberto has five stolen bases and two home runs. If he can improve his OBP, expect those stolen base numbers to increase drastically.
C Austin Hedges SD (ESPN 3.6% – Yahoo! 8%)
I wonder what his yard looks like because he could use a good trim of the hedges under his nose. OK, I get it, a terrible pun! Hedges has been hot as of late. Although he hits at the bottom of the order for an underwhelming team, he is at that important catcher spot for you and your fantasy team.
Don’t let his .240 batting average fool you, because in the last two weeks, he has hit for average and power. He has two home runs, six RBIs and three runs scored. However, it’s the underlying stats that are most impressive.
In those two weeks, Hedges has boasted a .550 BABIP and a .497 wOBA. He has created a ton of run opportunities with a wRC+ of 222. Mr. Mustache has hit safely in eight out of the last nine games with four multi-hit games.
MLB Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Options: Low Owned Outfielders
OF Jake Cave MIN (ESPN 1.6% – Yahoo! 2%)
Jake Cave is looking like a promising young player for the Twins. He has only been with the major league club for 24 appearances, but has proven to be an impactful player at the plate and in the field. He made a highlight real catch versus the Cubs diving towards the wall fully stretched. But he’s proven to be a pest at the plate.
Cave has hit big league pitching after a successful 2017 in AAA. He has a .417 BABIP and a .324 batting average to go along with an excellent ISO of .254. It won’t be long before those power numbers go up as he has three home runs through 24 games to go along with 12 RBIs and a stolen base. If he can continue to earn regular playing time with the Twins, he could have a positive impact on your team.
OF Nick Williams PHI (ESPN 6.7% – 6%)
Nick Williams is only in his second season with the big league club. The 6’3″ left-handed hitter is showing his power already, as he has almost surpassed his home run total from last season. He has played in 85 games thus far in 2018 and has 11 home runs and 34 RBIs. He also has a .440 SLG% and an ISO of .190.
If he keeps this pace up, he could break out for 20+ home runs on the season. Throughout his minor league career he had hit for average to go along with the power and regularly sat in the .800’s in OPS. He has a good eye at the plate as well as he has only swung at 35.8% of pitches outside of the strike zone compared to 67.8% in the zone.
Williams has also improved his contact rate by almost 7% between 2017 and 2018. He is proving to be one of the young and exciting players on a Phillies team that is loaded with talent like Rhys Hoskins, Aaron Nola and Odubel Herrera.
MLB Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Options: Pitchers with Upside.
SP Andrew Suarez SF (ESPN 16.1% – Yahoo! 23%)
Although Suarez did not earn the win in his last outing, he pitched well at home against a solid Chicago Cubs offense. He went six innings and gave up only three hits while striking out five. Over his last four starts he is 1-1 giving up only one earned run in each game, including a great outing in his loss at Coors. His win total does not justify how well he is pitching.
He is a true five pitch pitcher. He generally uses a four seam fastball, but mixes in a sinker, slider, change-up and curveball. Suarez sports a 8.25 K/9 and a 52.5% ground ball rate. San Francisco may be in fourth place in their division, but they have stayed with the pack trailing first place by three games.
RP Lou Trivino OAK (ESPN 20.8% – Yahoo! 29%)
The 24-year old rookie is displaying his talent in California. He has been used in a plethora of scenarios with ten holds, four saves and seven wins. Trivino strikes out batters at a high rate with a 10.23 K/9. He has certainly earned the trust of his coaches and teammates being used in high leverage situations.
Trivino has faced 160 batters and only allowed six earned runs and 23 hits. He features great velocity in his four seamer and sinker that sit around 98 mph. He also has that knee-buckling curveball that at 81 mph, to change the comfort and eye level of the hitter.
RP Jeremy Jeffress MIL (ESPN 29.3% – Yahoo! 46%)
Similar to Trivino, Jeffress is an uncomfortable at bat for most hitters. He throws a lot of junk relying mostly on his 95 mph sinker and a knuckle-curve. Remember, Jeffress is not far removed from a successful season as a closer in 2016 when he had 27 saves for the Brewers before being moved to the Rangers.
Last season he was brought back to a Brewers team that was no longer declining as they fought for a chance at the playoffs all year. They look to be a team that will be competitive for years to come, and Jeffress has become an important piece as one of their veteran relievers.
Jeffress is 6-1 with three saves. They have a very strong bullpen this season with established closer Corey Knebel, and seemingly unhittable Josh Hader. Jeffress is the man though that has proven this year to be a solid ERA and WHIP guy for your team. He has a 0.99 ERA and a 0.84 WHIP while giving up a career best batting average against of .161.
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