FAAB Frenzy and Waivers Wild: Week 14

Every Monday, this column will break down the most popular waiver wire and free agent acquisitions of the weekend. I dig into the top adds on the ever-popular Fantrax and in the NFBC Online Championship (OC), a national mid-stakes contest with 240 total leagues of 12 and a six-figure grand prize. Reviewing player adds between the two should provide us with a well-rounded perspective and barometer of the fantasy baseball marketplace.

Week 13 Overview

The Minnesota Twins had a bonanza week on offense as they visited the Rangers and Diamondbacks. They led the Majors in runs scored (50), fueled by lightly rostered hitters Josh Bell (8 RBI), Trevor Larnach (7) and Ryan Kreidler (6). On the flipside, the Mariners were stymied by the Orioles and Red Sox. They only scored 15 runs across their six games. Kyle Schwarber socked a league-high five home runs, adding to his Major League lead (29). Zach Neto and Pete Crow-Armstrong hit four apiece. PCA is atop our Player Rater over the last 30 days with a roto stat line of 20 R, 10 HR, 18 RBI, 6 SB, .387 AVG. Tigers catcher Dillon Dingler is second on the Player Rater. Dingler has hit nine homers over the last month and Rockies catcher Hunter Goodman has 10. Dingler’s 220 wRC+ in June is the fourth highest behind PCA, Shohei Ohtani, and Jac Caglianone. Dodgers outfielder Andy Pages has fallen into a bit of a slump. He’s 10-51 (.196) over the last two weeks, with just four runs batted in. Jazz Chisholm Jr. leads all hitters with seven stolen bases over the last two weeks.

Due to postponements and some injuries and demotions, there were only 22 two-start pitchers last week. Zack Wheeler, Logan Gilbert, and Chase Burns all pitched well and earned two wins apiece. Gilbert had an epic week, punching out 18 batters (10 vs. BAL, 8 vs. BOS) over 13.1 innings. Recent FAAB pickup Walbert Ureña threw five shutout innings with six strikeouts and a win on Saturday, against the A’s in Sacramento. Ureña’s 2.41 ERA over 67.1 innings is impressive, but his peripherals (4.32 xFIP, 4.47 SIERA) portend more of a league-average pitcher. The scariest part of his profile is the 12% walk rate. Ureña lines up for two home starts over the next two weeks, against the A’s and the Red Sox. New closers Louis Varland and Jacob Latz continue to dominate for their respective teams. Varland has four saves and 12 strikeouts in 7.1 innings over the past two weeks. Latz hasn’t allowed a run since May 26, and sports phenomenal ratios — a 1.51 ERA and a 0.59 WHIP. It’s nice to see these former starters dominate as their team’s ninth-inning men.

NFBC OC and Fantrax – Most Added in FAAB

There were oodles of Eury Pérez shares sitting right under our noses in OCs as his rehab start and impending activation seemed to pop out of nowhere. Pérez was the most popular addition in Online Championship leagues, going for a tick under $100 on average. Out since May 27 with a thigh injury, Pérez 51 pitches (3.2 innings) in a rehab start last Thursday (3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K), and his next start might come Wednesday, at home for the Marlins against the Rangers. Pérez wasn’t his usual, dominant self over 12 big-league outings before the injury (4.60 ERA, 4.22 xFIP, 10.6% BB, 13.8% BRL), but he racked up strikeouts around his career average, over 27 percent. Be patient with Pérez if he starts slowly. He may reach five innings in this return start, and the two starts in Week 15 are a pitcher’s nightmare — at Coors Field (Rockies) and at Sutter Health Park (Athletics). If he remains healthy, the better version of Eury will come to fruition after the All-Star break. As a top 100 fantasy pick this spring, the $99 average spend is quite reasonable.

Matt Shaw is back in our lives. Well, our roto lives, that is. He was waiver wire fodder for most of the season because he spent more than a minimum stay on the IL, played sparingly upon return, and wasn’t very productive. Moisés Ballesteros was optioned, and the Shaw Show returned last Monday. Popcorn was included, but more importantly, so was an everyday role in right field, facing both LHPs and RHPs. He produced a homer, six runs and seven runs batted in along with a .286/.348/.619 line in those five games last week, batting sixth against right-handed pitchers. Hopefully, those steals become a part of the Shaw Show again, as the Cubbies play seven on the road against the Mets and Brewers this week.

Kyle Teel has been chomping at the bit to join on the offensive fun the White Sox are having, and that time is just about here. The baseball scholar/future MLB manager who apparently carries a notebook of his opponents’ advanced stats, won’t just fit in on this roster, he should excel. Despite a prolonged setback in mid-May, Teel got back on a rehab assignment on June 16, and has been crushing it. Most recently, a fabulous performance on June 19, going 5-for-6 with three runs and an RBI. Drew Romo has two minor-league options left and might be the odd man out when Teel is activated. It’s always nice to upgrade our C2 spot and avoid the headache and self-shame of streaming the likes of Henry Davis and Danny Jansen.

Daulton Varsho returned in style on Saturday, hitting a three-run bomb off reliever Trent Thornton, which sparked an eight-run comeback over the Cubs. Varsho will play every day and bat in the middle of the lineup. The Blue Jays start a 10-game homestand where they’re projected to face 8-of-10 RHPs. This was one of the better acquisitions this weekend for the power-starved, at a reasonable cost of $21. As long as he’s healthy, Varsho will remain on OC rosters.

Milwaukee’s rookie shortstop Cooper Pratt’s $15 AWB in OCs was reasonable in comparison to NFBC Main Events ($37). Had the Brewers promoted him five weeks earlier when we had more of our allocated budget to spend, Pratt may have earned an AWB well over $100. The Joey Ortiz as an everyday infielder train had to come to a halt at some point, and Pratt is already off and running with his new role as their full-time shortstop. Though he bats in the bottom third, he’s still part of a strong offense and will have plenty of run-producing opportunities. He’s also fast and was a semi-prolific base-stealer in the Minors. This skill should manifest in the Majors. The market got this one right; $15 is worthy price for him.

Nationals speedster Nasim Nuñez has a very specific role on fantasy baseball rosters: help gain standings points in the stolen base category. Nuñez is tied with Bobby Witt Jr. for the Major League lead with 28. Unlike Witt, Nuñez usually bats at or near the bottom of his lineup and offers nothing power-wise. He has no home runs and no barrels. Fantasy managers should be careful deploying more than speed-only guy in their starting lineup unless the category standings clearly guide them to do so. Starting Nuñez, David Hamilton and Jake Mangum at once will have negative ramifications on the HR and RBI categories.

I dropped Lawrence Butler in a couple of my NFBC OCs while 30% of the field added him. Butler’s playing time has been trending up, but this isn’t an ideal acquisition in shallow 12-teamers unless the manager is able to bench him. The best way to optimize Butler in our starting lineups is when the Athletics are at home and they play all (or mostly) right-handed pitchers. In Week 14, the A’s are on the road and are slated to face 3-of-6 southpaw starters.

Tommy Edman finally made his season debut on Wednesday, earning immediate leadoff duties against a lefty and starting at third base for Max Muncy. Edman hit sixth on Friday (playing left field) and sixth again on Saturday (third base), then had the day off on Sunday, though had a pinch-hit opportunity late in the contest. Edman went 0-for-4 in his debut and had five hits in nine plate appearances over the next two games. Edman can also play second base, but will mostly play in the outfield and platoon with Muncy when an opposing lefty is on the mound.

Somehow Zack Gelof still isn’t 100% rostered in Fantrax leagues. Gelof has been on fire over the last two weeks (.347/.407/.735, 5 HR, 2 SB) and has led off for the A’s in each of his last three starts. He likely won’t stay atop this lineup for the rest of the season, but manager Mark Kotsay has been riding the hot hand. Gelof flexibility across three positions is a huge asset for his managers.

Either fantasy folks are ageist or they don’t seem to be paying attention to what Paul Goldschmidt is doing in his age-38 season. Goldy is consistently batting in the top third of the Yankees lineup and has been quite productive. This month, Goldschmidt is slashing .333/.347/.623 with 6 HR, 18 RBI and a 165 wRC+.

Andre Pallante was added in 7% of leagues with a home two-step (vs. Diamondbacks and Marlins) on tap. Pallante’s swinging-strike rate of 8.9% remains below league average among starting pitchers, though he has boosted his overall strikeout rate to 19.3%, well over his career rate of 16%. Usually an extreme groundball pitcher, Pallante’s GB% this season is down considerably — 53.3% compared to 59% in 2025 and 62% in 2024. Pallante has been better on the road (2.73 ERA) than at home (4.53) and will hopefully have some positive regression this week at Busch Stadium.

Chicago Cubs righty reliever Jacob Webb was a popular addition in all formats, though he might have been even more popular if not for a three-hit, three-run disaster against the Blue Jays on Saturday. Webb and 39-year-old lefty Caleb Thielbar are currently a mini-committee with Daniel Palencia sidelined. The Cubs bullpen has been hit hard with injuries, with Palencia, Hunter Harvey, Porter Hodge, and lefty Riley Martin all on the shelf. Don’t count out Phil Maton from earning save chances as well. Maton has a 1.59 ERA in seven June appearances, but has four walks over those 5.2 innings. Perhaps Maton can harness his control and reduce his career-worst 11.9% walk rate closer to his career mark of nine percent.

Drop of the Week

Ridding our squads of Andrew Painter probably should have been done long ago. Over the last two weeks, it’s been an exodus, with his roster rate in OCs down to 15%. Recently demoted, Painter is in some rare company after his latest implosions. Among pitchers with at least 65 innings pitched, his 7.06 ERA ranks third worst behind only Rockies ransacks Kyle Freeland (7.36) and Michael Lorenzen (7.11). On the other end of the spectrum, there are six starters with at least 65 innings pitched who have earned run averages of 2.00 or lower: Jacob Misiorowski (1.45), Ohtani (1.47), Cam Schlittler (1.71), Cristopher Sánchez (1.80), Ben Brown (1.85), and Chase Burns (2.00). Brown’s innings as a starter only account for 62% of his total innings pitched this season. His ERA over those eight starts is 1.70. Talk about a timely acquisition six weeks ago!

Week 14 Predictions

Anthony Kay (White Sox) and Ryan Feltner (Rockies) both produce higher roto-valued two-start weeks than Tigers lefty, Framber Valdez.

Kyle Bradish (Orioles) torches the Angels and Nationals, allowing just two earned runs and racking up 17 strikeouts.

Fernando Tatis Jr. hits his third and fourth home runs of the season against Atlanta Braves pitchers this series.

Mets and Brewers pitchers finally ice the scorching-hot Pete Crow-Armstrong and put his streak to an end. The Cubs will average fewer than three runs per game this week.

Pete Alonso leads all hitters with six home runs this week, the first to hit more than five in a Mon-Sun fantasy week. Gunnar Henderson will hit three.