FAAB Frenzy and Waivers Wild: Week 9

Every Monday, this column will break down the most popular waiver wire and free agent acquisitions of the weekend.

Fantasy baseball managers know that our game is the ultimate test of grit, grind, tenacity, and patience. Unlike fantasy football, where league titles can be won with minimal in-season activity, fantasy baseball leagues require incessant attention and activity. Particularly when it comes to free agent adds and drops. Real-life baseball managers are constantly adjusting batting orders, players are frequently optioned to and promoted from the Minor Leagues, and injuries occur almost daily. There’s no resting on our laurels. We must always stay vigilant with league news and notes and remain active on the waiver wire if we want to win our leagues.

Every week, I’ll 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 8 Overview

Last week, only four teams played seven games — the Dodgers, Giants, Astros, and Mariners. I liked how the matchups lined up for shallow-league, strong-side platoon streamers, Luke Raley and Dominic Canzone. Raley hit .350 with 2 HR, 4 RBI and a stolen base. Canzone was mostly a disappointment, providing the bulk of his production with one swing of the bat — a grand slam on Tuesday. He had 6 RBI on the week, but went 4-19 (.211). The “sneaky” Jesus Rodriguez play did not work out for deeper-league managers. He went 0-11 with 1 RBI and 1 SB. Daniel Susac was activated on Friday and should earn 60-plus percent of the starts behind the plate for now. Dodgers outfielder Andy Pages managed a meager .115 average for the week, but drove in six batters. We enter Week 9 with Pages leading the majors in RBI (41), one ahead of Liam Hicks. What a world.

Kyle Schwarber continued his power surge, slugging four dingers in Week 8 after slugging five in Week 7. He’s the major league leader with 20. Schwarber has a 32.9% strikeout rate. The last time he finished a season with a rate above 30% was in 2017 with the Cubs (30.9%). Others with a league-high four home runs last week: Daylen Lile, Gavin Sheets, and Angel Martínez. Sheets did most of his damage in the four-game series in Seattle, smashing three over the weekend. It’s likely Sheets gets the cool side of the pillow this week with Dodgers pitchers and two A’s lefty starters on deck. Martínez stole three bases, one shy of teammate José Ramírez’s league-best, four. The Guardians and Rays are tied for most stolen bases in the AL (51), six short of the MLB leader, the Miami Marlins (57). Ramírez is the only player with 20 swipes this season.

The top three hitters in 5×5 roto, per our Fantasy Player Rater, are all catchers! It’s Drake Baldwin ($42.3), Ben Rice ($38.7), and Shea Langeliers ($35.3).

Here are some of the hitters who have been going through a rough patch over the last two weeks:

• Moisés Ballesteros, 1-26 (.038) — did not start against RHPs on Saturday or Sunday
• TJ Friedl, 2-25 (.080) — demoted from leadoff to hitting eighth and sitting against LHPs
• Bryce Eldridge, 2-24 (.083) — inconsistent playing time; started only three of the last eight games

Last week, 26 starting pitchers started two games, if we include Brayan Bello and Miles Mikolas who entered one game each after openers. Five of those starters earned wins in each of their starts (19.2%) — Zack Wheeler, Bailey Ober, Michael Soroka, Drew Rasmussen and Adrian Houser. Paul Skenes led all pitchers in strikeouts (17 in 13 innings). Behind him was a five-way tie with 13: Soroka, Roki Sasaki, George Kirby, Eury Pérez, and Cristopher Sánchez, who only pitched once last week (a complete game shutout).

Cade Smith was the only reliever with three saves last week, for the second straight week. He leads the AL with 14 and tied for the MLB lead with Mason Miller. Yankees closer David Bednar has 10 saves, but horrific ratios (4.95 ERA, 1.55 WHIP).

Here are the relievers with a walk rate over 13 percent, who are either the closer or loosely part of a closer-committee:

• Bryan Abreu, 23.7% — In the mix with lefty Bryan King until Josh Hader returns. On Sunday, he earned his first save since April 1.
• Graham Ashcraft, 18% — The Reds bullpen is a disaster between Ashcraft, Tony Santillan, Tejay Antone, Pierce Johnson and lefty Brock Burke.
• Hogan Harris, 16.5% — The top lefty in the A’s bullpen. Harris has a 2.45 ERA and a 4.56 SIERA.
• Lucas Erceg, 16.3% — The Royals undisputed closer. His walk rate in May is better: 10.7 percent. If anyone there looms, it’s their top lefty, Daniel Lynch IV.
• Caleb Kilian, 14.6% — His two friends BABIP (.156) and LOB (95.7%) have helped keep his ERA under 2.00 (1.80). He’s the closer until he isn’t.
• Brock Burke, 14.4% — He is the top southpaw in this bullpen, part of a five-man committee.
• Seranthony Domínguez, 13.3% — He has 10 saves and a 4.82 ERA. Despite the fat contract (2 yr, $20M), he can eventually lose his job if someone in that bullpen steps up.

NFBC OC and Fantrax – Top Adds

It was a huge weekend of overall spending in the NFBC, highlighted by two speedy rookie outfielders, A.J. Ewing and Henry Bolte. Ewing was acquired for an average of $132 in 238-of-240 12-team Online Championships and in all 60 Main Events for an average of $197. I’m going to go on record and call this an overpay fueled by a hot first week and a heavy New York-based market. Ewing stole 70 bases in the minors (High-A, Double-A) last season and had 17 through his first 30 games at Triple-A this season. The stolen bases won’t be a problem, but the other four categories might be. There is not timetable for Luis Robert Jr.’s return and we’re all aware of his inability to stay healthy over the years. What if he’s back in say early July and Ewing is running cold at that time? He’s only 21 with limited experience at Triple-A. If and when opposing pitchers start figuring him out, we’d have had four-to-five weeks with him in our lineups and they may not all be helpful ones. Moreover, speed isn’t hard to find on the waiver wire or free agency this season. Austin Martin may not be all that, but he could easily beat Ewing out rest-of-season and he cost 92% less. Victor Scott II and Jake Mangum aren’t great options, but they’re essentially free. Just some food for thought. I cover the entire player pool with recommended bid ranges every weekend in my Trust the Gut FAAB column at FTN (note: subscription based).

% Lgs Added is the % of leagues that added the player (240 total leagues); AWB stands for Average Winning Bid

Minimum: Added in 25% of leagues, $10 AWB

Call me an old roto fuddy duddy if you will, but I don’t understand the large-sized winning bids on Bolte either. In fact, 14 of the winning bids in OCs were between $200 and $226. How does a manager justify the spend when veteran outfield-eligible hitters like Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Willi Castro, and Ramón Laureano are available? Sure, Gurriel is off to a slow start since being activated and Laureano’s bat has been ice cold. Making a move for Bolte could end up being the right one, but spending 20-40% of your remaining budget in a 12-teamer on a rookie in a crowded outfield doesn’t scream positive expected value. Though we’re all human and are all guilty of chasing shiny, new toys, those who have played fantasy baseball for longer recognize this as a risky game that often ends up in a harsh lesson (which some of us keep re-learning). Bolte was crushing it in the minors (41-12-28-17-.348 in 177 PA/37 games). Heck, maybe he will rise above the fray, lock in consistent playing time and be a rare exception. As of now, the odds are stacked against him because the Athletics’ outfield is already crowded, and soon, defensive wizard Denzel Clarke will be activated. Poor Carlos Cortes is slashing .346/.400/.558, yet he hasn’t cracked their starting lineup against a righty in two of the last four games. I guess it’s a good problem for manager Mark Kotsay to have, but something’s got to give, and it may not break the way Bolte Bros want it to.

Many managers were kicked in the gut with news of Cal Raleigh and Francisco Alvarez getting hurt and going on the IL. Many opted for more batting average punishment via Logan O’Hoppe, while most avoided replacing Raleigh or Alvarez with the ice cold bats of Tyler Stephenson, Austin Wells, or even rookie Joe Mack. Instead, many chased last week’s box scores in the form of Keibert Ruiz (2 HR – 8 RBI – .375). This Nationals offense is on fire and they play seven games this week, but I’d be shocked if Ruiz continued to run hot. Over the next two weeks, the Nats face some tough pitching rotations and bullpens (4 vs. Mets, 3 at Braves, 3 at Guardians, 3 vs. Padres). Just 10 days ago, Ruiz was losing playing time to Drew Millas! Ruiz is hitting the ball harder this season, albeit still below average (89.6 EV, 6.6% BRL, 40.8% HH) and 57% of his RBI this season have been produced over his last six games. If there’s a silver lining, it’s that the cost of acquisition ($10) was low and we’d have no qualms about dropping him if it doesn’t work out. Isn’t streaming catchers fun?

Quick Hits

Zebby Matthews — There’s a path for Zebulon to stick in the Twins rotation. That plan is currently underway with Simeon Woods Richardson (0-6, 7.71, 1.86) likely moving into the bullpen. The move there is more closely related to giving lefty Kendry Rojas an opportunity to get stretched out and a chance as a starter. Taj Bradley will be activated soon, and there’s only one spot for Matthews or Rojas. It’s up to Matthews to pitch another strong outing on Tuesday (home, vs. Astros) and keep things rolling.

Braxton Garrett — His first start since 2024 went very poorly (5 ER, 5 BB in 1.1 IP/13 TBF), but it also helped keep his price reasonable. With Robby Snelling out of the picture, Garrett has a chance to lock himself into this rotation and rediscover that magic he had over 47 starts between 2022 and 2023 (3.63 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 23.8% K, 5.1% BB). It may take Garrett some time, but I do believe he will provide positive fantasy value this season. He’s a sequencing craftsman with good stuff and plus control, not a power arm.

Grayson Rodriguez — Granted, he had to face the scorching-hot Dodgers in his first start since 2024 and it did not go well (7 ER, 4 BB), but let’s still consider this a warning sign. If that start went well, Rodriguez’s AWB would have been over $30. That last start is a low bar, so it wouldn’t be shocking to see him pitch better in his next start (home, vs. Rangers) and the one after that (at Tigers).

Roster % is the current % of leagues rostering the player; (+/-) is the % of leagues the player was added to in the previous week 

J.T. Ginn is in a good spot this week with two road starts (Angels, Padres) following two gems against the Cardinals and Phillies (14 IP – 1 ER – 1 BB – 11 K). Rarely do fantasy managers get nice things.

JJ Bleday will have his ups and downs, but he isn’t leaving this Reds offense anytime soon. Bleday’s power metrics are sizzling (92.6 EV, 14.8% BRL, 53.7% HH) despite the small sample this season. Though they were already trending in that direction in the second half of 2025, as his ISO rose from .167 to .243 after the All-Star break.

I’m a big fan of Ezequiel Duran, but not just because they have a series at Coors Field on tap. It might be sad to say, but the Rangers really need his bat in the lineup. This offense is thin and it could get worse if Corey Seager’s MRI sheds bad news.

Not sure where the Gage Workman love is coming from in Fantrax. The former Rule 5 pick is a platoon bat who will might get cut when Javier Báez and Gleyber Torres‘ returns force matters in that infield. Also, that’s quite some chutzpah asking for Gretzky’s 99, a number that perhaps should be retired in all sports.

Drop of the Week

Many bid adieu to Matt Wallner, Late-Round Power Savior, weeks ago. This weekend, the rest of us said our final farewells. Or did we? Unless he’s hiding an injury or gets hurt, Wallner will pull an Undertaker and be back in our fantasy lives sometime this summer.