FAAB & Waiver Wire Report (Week 22)

In the article, I cover the players using CBS’s (about 40% or less initial roster rate) and Yahoo’s ADD/DROP rates. Both hosting 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. The players are ordered for redraft leagues by my rest-of-season preference grouped by starters, relievers, and hitters.

Batters

Note: Besides Crews, I don’t have a strong feeling for any of these hitters. None stick out as must-adds but provide some positives and negatives at every position. It’s time win next week and keep the season going.

Pete Crow-Armstrong: Finally hitting for average (.288 AVG) and power (.271 ISO, 3 HR) in August to go with the 23 SB on the season.

Ernie Clement: Solid, balanced season with 10 HR, 8 SB, and .272 AVG.

Ramón Laureano: Hitting .302/.333/.528 with 6 HR and 2 SB in 111 PA since joining the Braves.

Jorge Polanco: Now that he’s healthy, Polanco is hitting .275/.353/.539 with 7 HR in 116 PA in the second half.

Gavin Lux: Since hitting the ball hard, he has a 1.059 OPS (.426 BABIP) in the second half.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa: A middling season (8 HR, 6 SB, .275 AVG) that can be helpful since Kiner-Falefa is qualified at several positions (2B, SS, 3B, OF).

Jhonkensy Noel: True power play (10 in 116 PA) and not a batting average (.250 AVG) drain yet. He has started in eight of the last 10 games.

Spencer Horwitz: A bit of power (8 HR) and batting average (.263 AVG) in 260 PA. It’ll play in some leagues, not in others.

Whit Merrifield: Just a source of steals (16 SB in 259 PA) but not much else. Started in 22 straight games for the Braves.

Carlos Santana: Steady power bat (18 HR) who plays every game.

Ramón Urías: Starting at third with a .716 OPS and 8 HR.

Otto Lopez: Continues to start every game while only providing speed (14 SB in 298 PA).

Brendan Rodgers: Worth adding now that he has seven games at home next week. On the season, he has a .867 OPS at home and .612 OPS on the road.

David Peralta: Productive (6 HR, 2 SB, .278 AVG), strong-side platoon bat with seven righties on the schedule next week.

Parker Meadows: He’s improved since being called up with a .533 OPS (35% K%) in the first half and a .946 OPS (18% K%) in the second. Speed is the only trait (9 SB) I’d count on.

Connor Norby: Compared to when he was on the Orioles, Norby has gotten his strikeouts under control (38% to 12%). He seems to have lowered his swing path (25 deg LA to 5 deg, 20% GB% to 50%). Miami might have acknowledged Norby doesn’t have plus power and turned him into a line-drive hitter.

Jonah Bride: All his home runs came in the second half when he decided to pull the ball (45% Pull% in 1H, 54% in 2H) in the air (60% GB% in 1H, 43% in 2H). The newfound pull-power might make Bride fantasy relevant.

Paul DeJong: Started in six of the last eight games. Since joining the Royals, he is hitting .311/.373/.578 (.407 BABIP) with 3 HR.

Spencer Torkelson: Posted a .597 OPS before getting demoted to AAA where he hit .239/.356/.442 with a 31% K%. Since returning, he has a 1.036 OPS with improved plate discipline and power.

Shay Whitcomb: With Bregman hurt, Whitcomb starts at third base for the Astros. He posted great numbers in AAA (.909 OPS, 25 HR, 26 SB) and a respectable .804 OPS in the majors.

Will Wagner: Average only bat (.344/.364/.438) with no power or speed. Strong-side platoon bat with seven righties on the schedule next week. There might be some untapped power if he hits the ball in the air more (52% GB% in AAA, 56% in the majors).

Jace Jung: For now, he is overmatched with a 39% K% and no power (.042 ISO).

Dairon Blanco: While stealing bases (23 SB in 118 PA), he’s only on the short side of an outfield platoon. If he gets full-time at-bats, roster immediately in Roto leagues.

Alex Call: Solid player (.343/.425/.525, 3 HR, 5 SB in 113 PA) but got hurt on Friday night. [On IL, drop with little time left in the season].

Catchers

Adrian Del Castillo: While a .478 BABIP helps, Des Castillo continues to just shove by hitting .341/.400/.610 with 3 HR and 1 SB.

Joey Bart: Hitting a solid .277 AVG with 12 HR so far with the Pirates.

Keibert Ruiz: After struggling in the first half (.584 OPS), he’s back to being a league-average hitter (.749 OPS).

Hitting Prospects

Dylan Crews: The 22-year-old will be promoted to the majors on Monday. In 449 PA across two minor league levels, the top prospect hit .270/.342/.451 with 13 HR and 25 SB.

Starting Pitchers

Bowden Francis: By throwing strikes (0.7 BB/9) and adding a splitter, he’s been outstanding in the second half (3.30 xFIP, 0.64 WHIP, 8.6 K/9).

Cody Bradford: Turning into a solid starter (3.56 ERA, 3.86 xFIP, 8.6 K/9, 0.95 WHIP) who has missed a beat since returning from the IL.

Ryne Nelson: After improving from the first half (4.52 xFIP) to the second half (3.10 xFIP), he will remain in the rotation.

Martín Pérez: After making some adjustments with the Padres, he’s been outstanding (2.74 ERA, 3.40 xFIP, 9.0 K/9, 0.96 WHIP) in 23 IP.

Jack Leiter: Leiter may be promoted to make a mid-week start. In three major league starts, he was horrible with a 16.39 ERA and 2.57 WHIP. While he throws hard (96-mph fastball), he walks too many batters (5.8 BB/9 in ’24 majors, 5.2 BB/9 in ’23 minors). This season in the minors, he had a 4.5 BB/9 until mid-July. In the four starts since then, he has just a 2.8 BB/9 to go with a 14.2 K/9. He can’t be ignored and needs to be added in all leagues to see if those results can continue.

DJ Herz: High strikeout arm (11.1 K/9) prone to blowups because of his flyball nature (1.5 HR/9, 37% GB%). He’s a 4.00 ERA talent to be streamed against weaker opponents.

Andrew Heaney: A solid streaming option as a 4.00 ERA talent with a strikeout per inning. An amazing two-step next week at the White Sox and home versus Oakland.

Zebby Matthews: One good and one bad start have him with mixed results (3.60 ERA, 5.29 xFIP 1.10 WHIP, 5.4 K/9) since being promoted.

Davis Martin: This ranking may be entirely based on this changeup gif.

Davis Martin had self-admittedly always struggled to throw a changeup despite elite spin talent and mid-90’s fastball velo.pic.twitter.com/vDfc1j7hna

— Art Of Baseball (@ArtOfBaseball) August 17, 2024

He added the changeup over the last three games with a 14% SwStr% that goes great with his slider and its 15% SwStr%. Now he needs to find an average fastball and throw more strikes (8.5 BB/9 in his first two starts, 3.4 BB/9 in his last three starts).

Osvaldo Bido: He’s turned around this season from a 5% K%-BB% in the first half to 18% K%-BB% in the second half. Besides dropping his walk rate from 5.7 BB/9 to 3.6 BB/9, he’s leaning into his changeup more (14% SwStr%).

Matthew Boyd: He’s been lucky so far because of a .172 BABIP and 85% LOB%. Both push his ERA down to 3.38 while he has a 4.92 xFIP. To be a viable fantasy starter, he needs to improve on his 6.8 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9.

Luis L. Ortiz: While he posted decent stretches this season, he’s been horrible in the second half (4.98 ERA, 5.68 xFIP, 5.5 K/9, 3.2 BB/9).

Albert Suárez 수아레즈: While a flyball pitcher (35% GB%) he has not allowed many home runs (0.6 HR/9). This luck is why his 3.18 ERA is more than a run less than his 4.49 xFIP. He’s shown a small second-half improvement with his K%-BB% going from 10% to 13%.

Mitch Spence: He’s been startable at times but the overall results are not desirable (4.67 ERA, 4.14 xFIP, 1.33 WHIP, 7.6 K/9) Next week, he has two starts, at the Reds and the Rangers.

Keider Montero: Targeted because of his start against the White Sox and should get the Angels next week. While he hasn’t been average (5.15 ERA, 4.28 xFIP, 1.33 xFIP, 7.4 K/9), he is a fine streamer when facing cupcakes.

 

Will Warren: He’s been struggling (9.68 ERA, 1.81 WHIP) from the combination of too many walks (3.1 BB/9) and home runs (1.5 HR/9), including his time in AAA (3.3 BB/9, 1.7 HR/9). He has too many issues to work through to wait for the changes in 2024.

Julian Aguiar: Just made his major league debut by going 4 IP with 2 K, 1 BB, and 2 ER. For now, I’m not interested in below-average prospect reports and STUPH grades.

Aaron Civale: Besides the start at Oakland, the 29-year-old has not been a decent starter this year with the deadly combination of too many walks (3.1 BB/9) and home runs (1.7 HR/9) leading to a 4.84 ERA (4.36 xFIP).

Frankie Montas: He has been bad this year (4.57 ERA, 4.55 xFIP, 1.39 WHIP) but with games at St. Louis and Oakland, many fantasy managers streamed the two start week.

Joey Estes: Added because of his two-start week (vs TB, vs MIL) and not his talent (5.16 xFIP).

Valente Bellozo: His extreme flyball nature (23% GB%) hasn’t caught up with him yet (0.8 HR/9). The lack of home runs, when combined with his 85% LOB% and .258 BABIP, make him one of the luckiest starters (2.45 ERA, 4.82 xFIP). His fastball sits at 90 mph and of his five pitches, his slider is the only one with a near league-average swinging-strike rate (13% SwStr%). There is no way I’d have him near my roster with his next start being in Colorado.

Cade Povich: He’s struggled in 10 major league starts (6.10 ERA, 5.92 xFIP, 6.3 K/9, 1.62 WHIP). With a month to go in the season, managers don’t have time to wait and see if he can figure it out. He’s working with a new arsenal (no cutter, more curves) but the results stay the same. Some pieces exist for a decent starter, but maybe more of a 2025 consideration.

Cooper Criswell: Unstartable in the season’s second half with a 4% K%-BB% with his strikeout rate dropping from 7.8 K/9 to 4.6 K/9. His fastball is down about 1 mph and only has a 2% SwStr% on the season. Nothing of interest here.

Edward Cabrera: I don’t get the demand for someone with a 5.2 BB/9 leading to a 1.47 WHIP and 5.65 ERA. Unrosterable no matter the matchup.

Relievers: Save-base ranks

Lucas Erceg: Good reliever who is the closer.

Michael Kopech: Good reliever who is the closer.

Calvin Faucher: Good reliever who is the closer.

Jason Foley: Average reliever is most likely the closer.

Seranthony Domínguez: Good reliever who struggled a bit but still seems to be the closer.

Porter Hodge and Jorge López: Good relievers who appear to be co-closers.

Tyler Kinley: Below-average reliever who may be the closer.

Colin Poche, Edwin Uceta, and Manuel Rodriguez: These are good relievers and one may end up as the closer or they could continue to share the role. Nobody knows.

Tyler Holton: Below-average reliever who is most likely not the closer.