FAAB Frenzy and Waivers Wild: Week 22

Every Monday, this column will break down the most popular waiver wire and free agent acquisitions from 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 21 Overview

Hitters

The Tampa Bay Rays led all teams with 40 runs; the lowest run total for a team in a week since the Phillies — 39 runs in Week 7. Though the Rangers had a strong seven-game week “on paper”, they managed a league-low 18 runs in Week 21. Alec Burleson was the only hitter with double-digit RBIs (12). The only three hitters with four home runs were Alex Bregman (3 on Wednesday), Miguel Vargas, and Lawrence Butler. Pete Alonso drew leadoff duties for the first time in his career on Friday. Through Sunday’s contests, he is on an eight-game hit streak, slashing .552/.639/1.034. The three highly-coveted shortstop prospects who were acquired in free agency last weekend did not play well. Angel Genao went 3-15 (1 RBI, 1 SB), George Lombard Jr. was 5-20 (1 RBI, 1 SB), and Kaelen Culpepper went 5-19 for 1 RBI. Top catcher add, Moisés Ballesteros, continued to run cold, going 2-21 and is now batting .140 with no runs batted in as a member of the Angels. Rays outfielder Chandler Simpson pulled his batting average up to .309, led all hitters with four stolen bases, and is now five behind MLB leader Nasim Nuñez in the category, 40 to 35.

Pitchers

There were zero pitchers with two wins among the 32 two-start pitchers in Week 21. In fact, there was only one pitcher who won two games all week and he only threw 2.1 innings: Athletics converted reliever, Luis Medina. On the flip side, starters Hunter Brown, Tanner Bibee, Patrick Sandoval and Jake Irvin all endured two loses apiece. Angels southpaw Reid Detmers led all pitchers in strikeouts (17). He threw six innings of one-run ball against the Rangers earlier in the week, and pitched eight scoreless innings with no walks and 11 punchouts against the Royals over the weekend. He is one of nine qualified starters with a strikeout rate over 28%, though nowhere close to Major League leader Jacob Misiorowski (39.8%) and runner-up, Dylan Cease (36.3%). The Miz is flirting with something special as no starting pitcher has ever held a strikeout rate of 40% or greater in a season. Shane Bieber‘s 41.1% in 2020 doesn’t count because it was a truncated season. Gerrit Cole‘s 39.9% in 2019 was the closest anyone has come. That year, Cole produced the fourth-highest strikeout mark (326) in a single season and Justin Verlander struck out 300 that year. If Misiorowski stays healthy, he should be able to exceed Garrett Crochet’s 255 K’s from last season. The only pitchers with 250+ strikeouts since the Covid season are Spencer Strider (281 in 2023), Cole (257 in 2022) and Crochet. Robbie Ray came close (248) with the Blue Jays in 2021. Blue Jays closer Louis Varland was the only closer to secure four saves last week. New (temporary?) Mets closer was the only pitcher with three. None of last week’s top closer FAAB acquisitions (Dylan Smith, Yennier Cano, Luke Weaver) recorded a save last week.

Most Added Players: NFBC Main Event, NFBC OC, and Fantrax

The man, the myth, the immediate Major League record setter! What an epic debut for Cardinals rookie outfielder Joshua Báez who made history with his three dingers. The prices were massive. Richard Zito in my Main Event league must have been saving his money (or sleeping at the wheel all season) for the slugging phenom. His $500 bid was the contest high. The worst thing is that the handful of folks who drafted a ton of Báez shares did not have the pleasure of seeing those three home runs in their starting lineups, since his promotion was announced after lineups had already locked for the weekend. C’est la vie. Perhaps he’ll do it again. Nah. A $160 AWB is pretty darn high for this time of the year. Can you imagine what the market price would have been if he was promoted in June when we were all still swimming in our free agent budget like Scrooge McDuck in his vault. At the time of Báez’s promotion, he was leading his Triple-A league in HR (34), RBI (90), R (79) and stole 21 bases. Báez also had the 11th highest strikeout rate (29.5%) in the International League. Let’s see what this kid can do the rest of the season and if it’s enough to crack the 40 ADP next season. I couldn’t afford him, but will be rooting for him. Unless you’re a diehard fan of another NL Central team, it’s very hard not to love that core of hitters the Cardinals have there.

Were it not for Báez’s promotion, more free agent dollars would have spent on Rockies outfielder Zac Veen and Nationals first baseman Abimelec Ortiz, as both would have easily gone for $50-plus. Veen made quite the splash, hitting two homers with five runs batted in and a highlight steal of home base on Sunday. Upon his promotion, Veen was one of the most productive hitters in Triple-A, slashing .327/.402/.635 with 82 R, 24 HR, 87 RBI, and 18 SB in 445 PA (100 games). The big concern about investing too many of our FAAB dollars in Veen is that currently projects to be a strong-side platoon bat, and the Rockies are facing 4-of-6 southpaws in Week 22. Veen should start in at least one of those games, maybe two, but is a tough inclusion into starting lineups. The 5’10”, 230-pound Ortiz can mash with the best of them. He’s been enjoying the two-hole against RHPs, hitting four dingers in his last four starts. The Nats are expected to face six RHPs this week, and we must always strike when the iron is hot, so Ortiz is an excellent addition to power-light fantasy squads this week. The following week, they should face mostly righties and will play a four-game series against a Rockies squad with a horrendous rotation and even worse bullpen. Royals third baseman Maikel Garcia was a strong pickup at a reasonable price ($24 AWB) as he is set to be activated ahead of Monday’s contest. Garcia had a breakout 2025 (.286-81-16-74-23) and stole 37 bases in 2024. He has been on the injured list with a wrist injury since June 22. Vinnie Pasquantino and his healing wrist (technically, hamate) will be activated on Monday as well. Pedro Ramírez’s stock rose greatly on Sunday with his playing time expected to increase due to Dansby Swanson’s oblique injury and IL stint (out for 4-6 weeks, essentially the rest of the season). Cooper Pratt was added in 25% of Main Events with the expectation of a quick IL stint based on reports that he will be activated by the Brewers on Wednesday. Joe Musgrove reached 70 pitches in his most recent rehab start and was averaging over 95 mph with his fastball, two ticks higher than his career mark. Musgrove was the top SP FAAB recommendation in my weekly Trust the Gut column at FTN, though his $11 AWB was much lower than my $20-$35 range. Musgrove might join the Padres rotation against the Twins this weekend or against the Pirates early next week.

If Kodai Senga is humming, will Devin Williams even get his job back? Williams was a pricey signing for the Mets, but he’s had a poor season (4.66 ERA, 1.66 WHIP) and his shoulder strain may keep him sidelined for several weeks. Senga has looked dynamic in his new role, so it made sense for managers desperate for help in the saves category to prioritize him. Angels fireballer Ben Joyce isn’t expected to make back-to-back appearances, but that shouldn’t stop him from being the lead closer as the bullpen’s top righty. Joyce earned saves on Wednesday and Saturday, while left-handed co-closer Samy Natera Jr. converted his save chance last Tuesday. This duo is a nasty and formidable 1-2 punch and among the only bright spots on this Angels roster, along with Detmers. Daniel Palencia has made five rehab appearances since August 5 and should be activated soon, though he may not be a lock to take the job back from veteran Jacob Webb, who has been stellar. Webb’s ERA is down to 2.33 and his 19.7 K-BB% is the best mark of his career, by far. Webb’s 16.4% swinging-strike rate is the eighth best mark among relievers with at least 40 innings pitched. Ready to be hurt again, I picked up Jordan Lawlar in several leagues this weekend. Lawlar has been on a tear in his Double-A rehab assignment, crushing five homers in four games there.

Rafael Flores Jr. was a sharp addition in Fantrax leagues over the weekend. He replaces Endy Rodríguez (IL) as the team’s power-hitting co-catcher who can step in to play first base against lefties when Spencer Horwitz is platooned out of the lineup. The former Yankees prospect, who was acquired by the Pirates in a package for David Bednar, crushed 3 HR with 8 RBI over a two-game stretch on Thursday and Friday. San Francisco Giants burly right-hander (6’3”, 244) Blade Tidwell had an excellent outing against the Astro on Monday (5.2 IP – 4 H – 1 ER – 1 BB – 6 K), but couldn’t clean up his week. The road Rockies put the hurting on him on Saturday, as Tidwell served up six earned runs on three hits and walked five batters. It may be unwise trusting him in our lineups for a single start against the Red Sox in Fenway Park this week. Nationals southpaw rookie Jackson Kent hopes to one-up Tidwell’s week in what will be his second and third Major League starts. Kent draws the Rangers in Texas on Tuesday and should then draw a start in Miami this Sunday.

Possibly Bad Drops of the Week

Griffin Jax was a popular add in 15-team Main Events, but was discarded on 22 Online Championship leagues this past Sunday. Jax elbow injury isn’t as bad as it may have originally appeared. He is already throwing from 120 feet, and though he likely won’t be activated when first eligible this Friday, the wait for Jax may not be longer than that. A healthy Jax will be a vital part of the Rays rotation and their World Series hopes. After a rough first few weeks as a reliever, Jax locked in as a dominant starter, producing a 3.16 ERA (3.19 xFIP), 1.14 WHIP and a 20% K-BB% (27% K, 7% BB) over 18 starts.

This one is a bit more of a reach because he may get demoted, but it is possible that power-hitting Reds rookie outfielder Héctor Rodríguez was dropped prematurely in a few dozen OCs. Someone must have spiked his cup of coffee with spoiled milk or poisonous lettuce because he has been ice cold — 2-for-24 with no runs batted in — and he has been on the bench against the last three opposing right-handed starters. The Reds play eight games this week, including five at Great American Ball Park, and he could get back into the mix and get hot. There’s only one problem: he almost certainly won’t be in the lineup for the first game of the Reds-Cardinals doubleheader against a lefty starter (Quinn Mathews) and it’s too risky to start him without knowing if he’ll even play or stick with the club. I bet he pulls the Tyler O’Neill Special and has a productive series…on our benches or in the FA pool.