FAAB & Waiver Wire Report (Week 14)
Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images
In this article, I cover the players using CBS’s and Yahoo’s ADD/DROP rates. Both sites have the option for daily and weekly waiver wire adds. CBS uses a weekly change while Yahoo looks at the last 24 hours. Yahoo is a great snapshot of right now, while CBS ensures hot targets from early in the week aren’t missed. I start players being added at CBS who started the week on less than 40% of rosters.
The players are ordered for redraft leagues by my rest-of-season preference, grouped by hitters, starters, and relievers.
Batters
Caleb Durbin: Hitting .333/.364/.625 in June with 5 HR and 3 SB after some changes.
Henry Bolte: It’s a little surprising to see his rostership rate still qualifies him. While he has just 2 HR, it comes with a 10 SB and a .317 AVG. All this while leading off.
Willi Castro and Jake McCarthy: Both are regulars, and the Rockies have seven home games. Must adds for the week.
Denzer Guzman: Starting at third base while batting .254/.323/.441 with 3 HR in 65 PA.
Blaze Alexander: He’s playing (11 starts in 13 games) while batting .305/.361/.435 with 3 HR and 8 SB in 198 PA.
Cooper Pratt: The speedster (5 SB in 35 PA) finally has an extra base hit. The on-base machine (14% BB%, .371 OBP) hopefully will hit some home runs after hitting six in AAA.
Nasim Nuñez: A .371 AVG in June doesn’t make him such a one-category contributor (0 HR, 31 SB) anymore.
Samad Taylor: Starting and hitting at the top of the Giants’ lineup. A .512 BABIP has him batting .361/.435/.426 with almost no power. Enjoy the 6 SB.
Lars Nootbaar: Nootbaar (2 HR, .290 AVG in 74 PA) seemed to be in a platoon but started against the last two lefties. I was out in shallower leagues where platoon bats stay on the wire, but now I’m back in.
Josh Bell: He’s doing Josh Bell things with 9 HR and a .244 AVG in 318 PA.
Anthony Volpe: Only 1 HR (5 Barrels) in 124 PA. His 14% BB% is the only item making him a major league talent. I know the 7 SB help in roto leagues, but he’s not a good hitter. At least he’s started in nine straight games.
Dylan Crews: A sub-2% walk rate (.265 OBP) is the second lowest since 2021 (Williams Astudillo in 2021 at 1.4%). In roto league, his 5 HR, 3 SB, and .230 AVG could be usable, but a .654 OPS will eventually get replaced.
Esteury Ruiz: Ruiz has struggled over his career against righties (.775 OPS vs LHP, .612 OPS vs RHP), so the Marlins aren’t starting him every game (six starts in the last 10 games). Overall, his 4 HR and 16 SB with a .273 AVG should play. The only rabbit hitting for power. Frustrating player.
Lane Thomas: In 210 PA, he has 5 HR, 3 SB, and a .216 AVG. Prorating those stats out, it’s a boring player stuck in an ineffective offense. Deep league bench bat.
Nick Loftin: Started 12 straight games and batting .275/.354/.507 in June. Looking over his profile, there is no reason for the improvement (steady plate discipline and power). Hot hand play.
Matt Shaw: He was hitting and playing for a six-game stretch, but he has just two starts in the last four games. His stats are pretty blah (4 HR, 4SB, .244 AVG). I’m not sure how to value him going forward.
Andrew Benintendi: Strong-side platoon bat with 10 HR on the season.
Owen Caissie: The strong-side platoon bat is hitting for power in June (.275 ISO, 4 HR), but not batting average (.216 AVG). And he only has a 32% K% in June.
Trevor Larnach: Strong-side platoon bat (5 HR, 2 SB, .280 AVG) who faces just four righties next week.
Donovan Walton: The 32-year-old is a possible strong side platoon bat who is batting .329/.353/.524 with 3 HR in 86 PA. Nothing here.
Tommy Edman: He’s taking advantage of a .450 BABIP by hitting .360/.429/.400 (1 XBH) with no stolen bases. Since coming off the IL, he started in just six of nine games. Could be a poor short-side platoon bat.
Ryan Kreidler: Started five straight games at short, but Tristan Gray is back at short. The 28-year-old Kreidler his batting .289/.366/.500 with 4 HR.
Catchers
Target these five.
Francisco Alvarez: In 184 PA, he has 8 HR and a .256 AVG. Great if healthy.
Yainer Diaz: Since coming off the IL, he is hitting .292/.346/.500 with 1 HR.
Victor Caratini: After some changes, he’s on fire, hitting .351/.431/.632 in June with 4 HR.
Endy Rodríguez: In just 96 PA, he has 3 HR, 2 SB, and a .256 AVG.
Kyle Teel: Just off the IL and already has a home run in 15 PA.
Settle for these guys.
Cooper Ingle: Catcher qualified but starting as Cleveland’s DH. He had a .967 OPS with 12 HR in AAA.
Joe Mack: Steady but boring .252 AVG and 4 HR in 132 PA.
Jonah Heim: Providing a little more power (6 HR) than the other catcher options while not being a batting average sink (.243 AVG).
J.T. Realmuto: The 35-year-old is a batting average drag (.204 AVG) with just 5 HR and 3 SB.
Carson Kelly: Starts about half the time and had a nice .277 AVG and 4 HR.
Logan O’Hoppe: Not doing much this year (4 HR, .234 AVG). Ignore.
Mickey Gasper: Only three starts in the last eight games. No home runs or steals and just a .243 AVG.
Hitting Prospects
Joshua Báez: In AAA, the 22-year-old outfielder is batting .270/.339/.617 with 26 HR and 13 SB in 316 PA.
Luis Lara: In AAA, the 21-year-old outfielder is batting .328/.436/.458 with 7 HR and 20 SB in 315 PA.
Sean Keys: Across AA and AAA, the 23-year-old first baseman is batting .284/.409/.619 with 21 HR and 7 SB in 286 PA.
| Name | Previous Roster% | Current Roster% | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Francisco Alvarez | 40% | 45% | 5% |
| Henry Bolte | 40% | 44% | 4% |
| J.T. Realmuto | 40% | 43% | 3% |
| Yainer Diaz | 39% | 41% | 2% |
| Willi Castro | 38% | 52% | 14% |
| Dylan Crews | 37% | 45% | 8% |
| Joshua Baez | 34% | 50% | 16% |
| Jake McCarthy | 34% | 40% | 6% |
| Kyle Teel | 32% | 41% | 9% |
| Carson Kelly | 32% | 36% | 4% |
| Nasim Nunez | 29% | 40% | 11% |
| Owen Caissie | 29% | 33% | 4% |
| Andrew Benintendi | 28% | 30% | 2% |
| Cooper Pratt | 26% | 35% | 9% |
| Anthony Volpe | 23% | 27% | 4% |
| Lars Nootbaar | 23% | 25% | 2% |
| Caleb Durbin | 21% | 33% | 12% |
| Josh Bell | 21% | 30% | 9% |
| Logan O’Hoppe | 21% | 26% | 5% |
| Luis Lara | 20% | 22% | 2% |
| Blaze Alexander | 18% | 27% | 9% |
| Tommy Edman | 17% | 25% | 8% |
| Matt Shaw | 17% | 25% | 8% |
| Joe Mack | 16% | 23% | 7% |
| Samad Taylor | 14% | 26% | 12% |
| Endy Rodriguez | 12% | 18% | 6% |
| Trevor Larnach | 11% | 16% | 5% |
| Denzer Guzman | 8% | 15% | 7% |
| Victor Caratini | 7% | 18% | 11% |
| Esteury Ruiz | 6% | 11% | 5% |
| Cooper Ingle | 5% | 10% | 5% |
| Lane Thomas | 5% | 7% | 2% |
| Mickey Gasper | 4% | 7% | 3% |
| Jonah Heim | 3% | 6% | 3% |
| Sean Keys | 2% | 4% | 2% |
| Nick Loftin | 1% | 5% | 4% |
| Donovan Walton | 1% | 3% | 2% |
| Ryan Kreidler | 0% | 2% | 2% |
Starters
Griffin Jax: He has thrown 5 IP in his last four starts (MIA, LAA, WSN, KCR) and threw 88 pitches in his last one. He got two Wins over that stretch. During the four-game stretch, he posted a 0.90 ERA (2.88 xFIP), 1.05 WHIP, and 9.5 K/9.
Walker Buehler: Slowly improved his strikeouts, walks, and groundball rate as the season has gone on. He’s pitching like a 3.00 ERA talent.
Jake Bennett: Since his June promotion, he has a 3.31 ERA (2.83 xFIP), 0.92 WHIP (0.6 BB/9), and 9.9 K/9. One change since his first promotion is that he’s now throwing his four-seam fastball (15% SwStr%) more often than his sinker (3% SwStr%). He used to throw his sinker more. Also, he’s not walking anyone with just 1 BB in 16 IP. Add now.
Brandon Sproat: He’s been showing some improvement as seen here:
First, he’s got his walks under control with a 2.2 BB/9 in June to go with a 3.48 ERA (3.17 xFIP) and 0.92 WHIP. Additionally, he’s moved away from an ineffective cutter (1.034 vsOPS). Finally, he’s keeping the ball on the ground more. Solid sleeper coming into a two-start week (vs CIN, at ARI).
Anthony Kay: Kay has been great over his last three starts (3.60 ERA, 3.83 xFIP, 10.2 K/9, and 1.13) by increasing his slider usage by 18% points. Add on the talent change, especially with starts against Cleveland and Boston lined up.
Sean Burke: Burke’s fastball velocity spiked two games ago to a season high of 96.2 mph, but it dropped 0.8 mph in his next start. I don’t see a breakout and have him being a 4.00 ERA talent. Seems like a bench streamer.
Sean Manaea: While his last start was a clunker (3 ER in 3 IP), he remains solid since introducing his cutter (3.76 ERA, 3.42 xFIP, 1.18 WHIP, and 9.6 K/9).
Ian Seymour: Since being stretched out, he has a 2.84 ERA (4.34 xFIP, 3.85 botERA), 0.79 WHIP (.159 BABIP), 9.0 K/9. During those four games, he’s faced the Royals, Nationals, Angels, and Red Sox. One major league lineup out of four isn’t bad. I’d buy into a 4.00 ERA talent but not much more.
Martín Pérez: For now, the Martín Pérez tour continues with three winnable starts heading into the All-Star break (STL, NYM, STL). His stats look great (3.00 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 7.5 K/9) as he continues his cream puff schedule.
Shane Drohan: Since moving to the rotation, he’s been fine, except for a few too many walks (3.1 BB/9, 1.35 WHIP). He feels like a bench streamer to use against the Reds and Diamondbacks next week.
Keider Montero: Montero’s rate stats have been great over his last six appearances with a 2.20 ERA and 0.86 WHIP. The problem is that he has averaged 3 K in those appearances. He’s thriving on batted ball luck (.223 BABIP, 0.6 HR/9) while not walking anyone (0.8 K/9). ERA estimators and STUPH models point to a low-4.00 ERA pitcher.
David Peterson: I’m intrigued to see if the Cubs can find a way to get him to throw strikes (4.0 BB/9 in ’26, 3.8 BB/9 for his career). The 8.3 K/9 and 51% GB% are workable, but his 1.65 WHIP is doing as much ratio damage as a 6.40 ERA. I’m not starting, but I might treat him as a hurt arm. Ranked on possible upside.
Jose Cabrera: Two starts so far. One shutout and one blowup (4 ER in 5 IP). So far it’s a 4.55 xFIP with just 6.3 K/9.
Alan Rangel: The 28-year-old struggled (4 ER, 4 K, and 2 BB in 4 IP) in a spot start. The righty has an elite changeup (26% SwStr%), but his fastball doesn’t miss any bats (2% SwStr%). Sounds like he’ll start again against the Pirates. I’m not sure how to value him. Ranked higher than he should be on the unknown.
Javier Assad: In three starts since joining the rotation, he has a 2.70 ERA (4.30 xFIP, 4.67 botERA), 0.96 WHIP (.213 BABIP), and 5.9 K/9. His overall strikeout rate is even worse at 5.5 K/9. I think he’s worth streaming against the Padres next week.
Tyler Mahle: In his return from the IL, he dropped his cutter and added 1.1 mph to his average fastball velocity. I’m not sure how to value them, but he posted a 2.94 botERA. I wish he had more than an 8.6 SwStr% (8.0 SwStr% on the season). I’m intrigued enough to want to see more, but don’t want to add him to my rotation.
Reynaldo López: Lopez seems to have added a curve (13% SwStr%, 53% GB%) over his last three appearances. The curve won’t matter as long as he has a 4.1 BB/9. During his first five starts, he posted a 4.6 BB/9. In the next 11 bullpen appearances, it was a 4.8 BB/9. In these last three appearances, it’s a 1.1 BB/9. I’m not sure I buy into 8 IP of fewer walks, but I will monitor to see if I need to buy in if he keeps it up.
Eric Lauer 라우어: I don’t understand how Lauer was so bad with the Blue Jays (6.69 ERA) and so good with the Dodgers (2.54 ERA) with his xFIP and SIERA in both cases around 5.00. Now, Lauer does have a .165 BABIP that will regress upward, and the 95% LOB% won’t last. His two-start week against the Athletic$ and Padres will be tempting. I don’t buy him, but it has cost me so far.
Kyle Leahy: I’m sure Leahy was being added for his two-start week (ARI, MIA) and will head to the wire with the Cubs and Brewers coming up. Every sign points to him being a low to mid-4.00 ERA talent.
Robert Gasser: Since being promoted, Gasser has been solid with a 3.74 ERA (3.52 xFIP), 1.15 WHIP, and 10.0 K/9. There are no changes to his arsenal, but he is throwing strikes (6.4 BB/9 before demotion, 2.5 BB/9 since promotion). One issue right now is that the team seems to be skipping him in the rotation.
Brady Singer: Singer is in a two-start week. Singer has thrown better in June with a 4.08, but I couldn’t find any change in talent. All signs point to him being a 4.50 ERA talent, so he’ll need the perfect matchup to start.
Luinder Avila: While he’s allowed 1 ER in four of his last five starts (8 ER in the other one), his 6.3 BB/9 and subsequent 1.41 WHIP are unplayable.
Injured pitchers
Dean Kremer: He’s destroying AAA with a 0.87 ERA (1.92 FIP) and 11.3 K/9. Add now
Cristian Javier: I’m out on Javier until he finds some command. In his rehab assignments, it’s a 4.6 BB/9. Before going on the IL, an 8.7 BB/9.
Pitching Prospect
Karson Milbrandt: In AAA, the 22-year-old righty has a 1.20 ERA (5.12 xFIP), 1.27 WHIP (6.6 BB/9), and 9.0 K/9 in 15 IP.
| Name | Previous Roster% | Current Roster% | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Martin Perez | 39% | 48% | 9% |
| Sean Burke | 34% | 59% | 25% |
| Griffin Jax | 33% | 47% | 14% |
| Walker Buehler | 31% | 35% | 4% |
| Anthony Kay | 29% | 34% | 5% |
| Brady Singer | 27% | 34% | 7% |
| Sean Manaea | 27% | 28% | 1% |
| Keider Montero | 25% | 29% | 4% |
| Shane Drohan | 23% | 27% | 4% |
| Javier Assad | 21% | 32% | 11% |
| Kyle Leahy | 18% | 24% | 6% |
| Karson Milbrandt | 18% | 20% | 2% |
| Brandon Sproat | 17% | 29% | 12% |
| Tyler Mahle | 16% | 19% | 3% |
| David Peterson | 14% | 15% | 1% |
| Ian Seymour | 13% | 17% | 4% |
| Reynaldo Lopez | 13% | 15% | 2% |
| Cristian Javier | 12% | 13% | 1% |
| Eric Lauer | 11% | 19% | 8% |
| Dean Kremer | 10% | 11% | 1% |
| Robert Gasser | 8% | 10% | 2% |
| Jake Bennett | 6% | 17% | 11% |
| Luinder Avila | 4% | 6% | 2% |
| Jose Cabrera | 0% | 5% | 5% |
| Alan Rangel | 0% | 3% | 3% |
Relievers: Saves-based ranks
Yoendrys Gómez: Average reliever who is the closer.
Alex Lange: Below-average reliever who is the closer.
Dylan Lee: Elite reliever who is a step away from closing.
Luke Weaver: Great reliever who is a step away from closing.
Adrian Morejon: Good reliever who is a step or two away from closing.
Garrett Cleavinger: Average reliever who is a step or two away from closing.
Kevin Kelly: Average reliever who is a step or two away from closing.
Brad Lord: Average reliever who is a few steps away from closing.
Eduard Bazardo: Average reliever who is a couple of steps away from closing.
Hurston Waldrep: A long reliever at this point. Walks way too many batters to be fantasy relevant.
| Name | Previous Roster% | Current Roster% | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yoendrys Gomez | 36% | 41% | 5% |
| Alex Lange | 34% | 36% | 2% |
| Dylan Lee | 22% | 24% | 2% |
| Hurston Waldrep | 16% | 19% | 3% |
| Luke Weaver | 16% | 18% | 2% |
| Adrian Morejon | 16% | 18% | 2% |
| Kevin Kelly | 12% | 14% | 2% |
| Brad Lord | 10% | 12% | 2% |
| Garrett Cleavinger | 6% | 8% | 2% |
| Eduard Bazardo | 5% | 7% | 2% |
Jeff, one of the authors of the fantasy baseball guide,The Process, writes for RotoGraphs, The Hardball Times, Rotowire, Baseball America, and BaseballHQ. He has been nominated for two SABR Analytics Research Award for Contemporary Analysis and won it in 2013 in tandem with Bill Petti. He has won four FSWA Awards including on for his Mining the News series. He's won Tout Wars three times, LABR twice, and got his first NFBC Main Event win in 2021. Follow him on Twitter @jeffwzimmerman.
Samad Taylor: Starting and hitting at the top of the Giants’ lineup.
Typo alert, Samad is a Padre
Will Blaze Alexander keep playing regularly now that Holliday, Basallo, and Beavers are all healthy? Seems like Blaze and Mayo will have to share 3B, and I’m not sure which will end up playing more, or whether Blaze will move around to get at-bats at other positions.
Burke stays ballin