FAAB & Waiver Wire Report (Week 4)

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

Nelson Velázquez: While the .421 BABIP won’t last, he’s one of the few available power plays who can make a real difference.

Bryan De La Cruz: The 27-year-old is on fire with 4 HR and .286. He’s been moved near the top of the Marlins lineup.

Jacob Young: For roto leagues, it’s tough to ignore Young’s 6 SB. While his .582 OPS could be better, he could be a game-changer with the stolen bases.

Jesse Winker: He’s healthy and providing production (1.010 OPS, 2 HR, 2 SB) for Washington.

Luis García Jr.: The 24-year-old is moving up in the lineup because he’s hitting (.815 OPS, 4 SB). His StatCast HardHit% is up from 36% to 52% and his Barrel% from 6% to 16%.

Amed Rosario: Six straight starts while hitting .333/.343/.515 with 2 HR and 2 SB. This rank is aggressive but it’s tough to find a well-rounded bat on the waiver wire.

Blake Perkins: Continues to play (started in eight of nine games) and hit (.937 OPS, 2 HR, 2 SB).

Jonatan Clase: I understand Pages and Clase might be ranked too high, but with a small sample, I’d prefer to go aggressive early. Clase stole 55 bases in 2022 and 79 bases this season. The Mariners let him play (three straight starts).

Andy Pages: The 23-year-old prospect was just promoted and in 11 PA, he has struck out five times. The Dodgers are giving him full-time at-bats.

Masyn Winn: He’s stolen three bases and has a .346 AVG (.439 BABIP).

Harrison Bader: Playing every game, hitting (.788 OPS), and stealing bases (3 SB).

Brenton Doyle: Next week is the first full week at home for the Rockies. Doyle is one of the few guys on the team hitting (.810 OPS, 3 HR).

Mitch Haniger: Steady contributor with a .292 AVG and 3 HR.

Jurickson Profar: Accumulator. Plays every game with acceptable stats.

Blaze Alexander: Continues to be a productive hitter with a .340 AVG (.406 BABIP), 3 HR, and 1 SB.

Mark Canha: Patience at the plate (10% BB% to 15% BB%) has led to more walks and strikeouts. While his batting average is down (.262 to .219), his walk rate is up (16% to 20%). A matchup streamer.

Orlando Arcia: Steady/Boring at the shortstop position. A .400 BABIP has his batting average up to .354.

Abraham Toro: Playing (11 straight starts, 10 while leading off) and hitting (.728 OPS, 2 HR).

Brett Baty: Dealing with a hamstring issue right now. On the season, he has cut his strikeout rate from 28% to 19% and raised his batting average from .212 to .305. He is trading contact for less power (.110 ISO to .068 ISO).

Anthony Rendon: While not hitting for any power (.041 ISO), he has stolen three bases while being the leadoff hitter. Now on the IL

LaMonte Wade Jr.: A .974 OPS fueled by a .516 BABIP. Still just on the strong side of a platoon.

Wilyer Abreu: Strong-side platoon bat with 4 SB on the season. He’s scheduled to face five righties next week.

Ryan O’Hearn: Strong side platoon bat who continues to hit (4 HR, .288 AVG). Three lefties on the schedule next week so is only deep league viable.

Cavan Biggio: Started in eight of 10 games while hitting fine (.275/.362/.392). He’s overcoming a 35% K% with a .433 BABIP.

Gavin Sheets: With everyone hurt on the White Sox, Sheets still can’t get out of a platoon. He’s hit fine (.873 OPS, 3 HR) in his limited sample.

Edward Olivares: While hitting (.798 OPS, 3 HR), he’s not playing enough to be relevant in most leagues.

Jose Miranda: Since being promoted, he’s started seven times in 11 games. This year, he’s not struggling as much with his OPS up almost 200 points (.566 OPS to .745 OPS). Tough one to rank.

Josh Smith: Career .250 BABIP hitter has a .356 BABIP this year. A want-to-be Luis Arraez.

Gabriel Arias: Has six starts in seven games. His .385 BABIP is about 100 points higher than his career average (.297 BABIP). The BABIP has offset his 30% K% to finally post a reasonable .282 AVG (career .214 AVG). Projections remain underwhelming.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa: Maybe he can provide a steal or two but nothing else. Ignore.

Austin Martin: So far he has nine starts in 11 games while hitting .242/.306/.333 since being promoted.

Tommy Pham: Has not yet played any games. His value changes depending on how a fantasy team can stash him until he returns.

Catchers

Ryan Jeffers: After struggling to start the season, he now has a .255 AVG and 3 HR.

Iván Herrera: Has a .275 AVG with a low .258 BABIP. If the BABIP regresses up, his stats will look even better. Good hitting catcher with 3 HR so far.

Connor Wong: While Wong hasn’t walked yet in 44 PA, he has 3 HR and a .349 AVG.

Elias Díaz: Three straight home series will have the Rockies catcher on everyone’s radar.

Hitting Prospects

Joey Loperfido: In AAA, the 25-year-old is hitting .297/.397/.797 with 10 and 2 SB in 78 PA.

Heston Kjerstad: In AAA, the 25-year-old is hitting .342/.425/.726 with 8 HR and 1 SB in 87 PA.

Starters

José Buttó: I have him ranked at the top but it’d be off the charts if he could limit the walks (5.0 BB/9) with everything else looking great (1.65 ERA, 11.6 K/9). Roster now and hope the walks come down for an elite arm.

José Soriano: As a starter, he has a 5.00 ERA (3.14 xFIP), 12 K/9, 5 BB/9, 1.33 WHIP in 9 IP. The 99-mph fastball has disappointing results (6% SwStr%) but his curve (14% SwStr%) and slider (21% SwStr%) are creating a ton of misses. Good so far but I feel there may be another gear or two to him.

Paul Blackburn: He has finally allowed three runs while working with the combination of a few walks (2.9 BB/9) and a ton of ground balls (54% GB%).

Trevor Rogers: Rogers has been fine with his average fastball velocity down 0.7 mph. He’s using the same arsenal but the lack of velocity has his strikeouts down to 8.7 K/9 but his 52% GB% helps to limit damage.

Jameson Taillon: In his first start back, his average fastball velocity was down 1 mph but otherwise he looked himself. He’s a career 3.99 ERA pitcher so he is probably a guy to start in three-quarters of all matchups.

Keaton Winn: It’d be nice if Winn could get more swing-and-miss (7.0 K/9) but his splitter’s swinging-strike rate is down from 18% last season to 10% this year. His 57% GB% is keeping him in games. A 4.00 ERA talent with the hope for some upside.

Ryan Weathers: A 81% LOB% is keeping his 2.70 ERA (4.29 xFIP) down, especially since he’s struggling with walks 4.1 BB/9 (1.35 WHIP). He might be taking a step forward with more velocity (+0.9 mph on FBv), throwing his fastball less than 50% of the time, and leaning into his changeup (19% SwStr%) for a career-high 24% of the time.

Landon Knack: A decent debut with 4 K, 1 BB, 2 H, and 2 ER in 5.0 IP. His fastball sat at 93 mph and he didn’t miss many bats. His slider (15% SwStr%) and change (14% SwStr%) performed better. It’s tough to know how long he’ll be up.

Albert Suárez 수아레즈: In his first start, he lasted 5.2 IP with 4 K and 0 ER. He attacks batters with a 96-mph fastball (21% SwStr%) and slider/cutter (12% SwStr%) and flashes a change. I feel it’s a great week to roster and see if he can repeat the results.

Nick Nastrini: One respectable start so far (5 IP, 5 K, 2 BB, 2 ER, and 3 H) with another scheduled on Sunday. He attacked hitters with a 94-mph fastball and two secondaries that got some swing-and-miss (change 17% SwStr%, slider 20% SwStr%).

Edward Cabrera. He struggled with walks in his rehab starters (5.7 BB/9) but returned to the majors and just walked one batter over 6 IP. I would love to buy into a one-game change, but his career 5.3 BB/9 scares me. I’d approach him as a roster-and-bench to see if he can repeat the results.

Trevor Williams: He’s doing a great job of appearing as a 4.00 ERA talent. Not allowing any home runs won’t continue but his strikeout (8.0 K/9) and walk (3.5 BB/9) are comparable to streamable options like Lance Lynn and Marcus Stroman. I know the team context is horrible but there are worse options.

Yariel Rodriguez: In two starts, the results have been amazing (15.3 K/9, 2.35 ERA, 1.30 WHIP) but it is only over 7.2 IP. The Jays have shown no signs of increasing his workload so he’s tough to roster knowing he won’t get a Win.

Ben Brown: After his ugly first appearance, Brown had been great (8.6 K/9, 1.23 ERA, 3.75 xFIP, 0.75 WHIP). He’s now been moved to long relief with Taillon off the IL. Probably a drop in shallow leagues.

Darius Vines: Vines was OK in his first start (4 K, 3 BB, 1 ER, and 4 H in 4.2 IP). He starts on Sunday and his talent level will clear up.

Mitchell Parker: Another guy with a Sunday start that will like set his demand going forward. He debuted with a 92-mph fastball with a curveball (13% SwStr%) and flashed a splitter. His fastball must have a ton of rise with a 0% GB% in AAA and 27% in his first start.

Jonathan Cannon: The 23-year-old throws the kitchen sink (five pitches: four-seam, sinker, change, cutter, and slider). It’s tough to know if any of them are average or better. The STUPH models hate both fastballs and love the slider. For now, I might stay away but with the right pitch mix, he could be interesting.

Jake Irvin: The 27-year-old is pitching to a mid-3.00’s ERA talent by striking out a respectable number of batters (7.8 K/9) and not walking anyone (2.4 BB/9). The weird thing is that he is achieving his swing-and-miss with just his fastball (11% SwStr%). All of his other secondaries have a sub-8% SwStr%. I could be too low here but his profile rarely succeeds.

Colin Rea: While Rea is usually an afterthought, he has some demand because of his 2.70 ERA (82% LOB%). His strikeout rate (5.9 K/9) is at a career-low with his average fastball velocity down 1.2 mph. A mid-4.00 ERA talent who is streamable 25% of the time.

Matt Waldron: There is nothing here with a 4.74 ERA (4.64 xFIP) and 1.53 WHIP. The knuckleball is cool and getting respectable results (10% SwStr%, 35% GB%) but the rest of his pitches are horrible. I maintain his best bet is to go all in on the knuckleball.

Michael Lorenzen: Posted more walks than strikeouts in his first start off the IL and found a way to keep the Tigers from scoring. Maybe in a few weeks I’d consider rostering him, but there are too many other arms I like.

JP Sears: He has lost 0.8 mph off his fastball and is struggling to strike out batters (3.9 K/9). Additionally, his walk rate is up to 3.9 BB/9 over 20 IP. Speculate elsewhere.

Joe Ross: Ross needs to show signs of getting his 4.9 BB/9 under control. His 1.64 WHIP and 4.91 ERA are category killers and make him unrosterable. The extra strikeouts are great and could help his value once he finds the strike zone.

Bailey Falter: Nothing to be excited about here with few strikeouts (4.5 K/9) and an overreliance (62% usage) on a 91-mph fastball. He’s earned his 4.70 career ERA.

Ben Lively 라이블리: Lively has made zero changes between ’23 and ’24 but a 3.60 ERA after one start has everyone excited. Like Falter, Lively has earned his career 5.01 ERA.

Jack Leiter: The prospect got a call to the majors and fell flat on his face (7 ER, 8 H, 3 BB, and 3 K in 3.2 IP). He’s already been demoted back to the minors).

Starting Prospects

Christian Scott: In AAA, the 24-year-old has a 3.77 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, and 16.3 K/9 in 14 IP.

Cade Povich: In AAA, the 24-year-old has a 0.83 ERA, 0.74 WHIP, and 13.7 K/9 in 21 IP.

Relievers: Save-based ranks

James McArthur: Average reliever who is the closer.

Kirby Yates: OK reliever who is now the closer.

Jeff Hoffman: Great reliever who seems to be sharing the closer’s role.

Colin Poche: Great reliever who may be sharing the closer’s role.

Jason Adam: Good reliever who may be sharing the closer’s role.

Hunter Harvey: OK reliever who is the backup closer.

Ryne Stanek: Good reliever who is the backup closer … for now.

Justin Slaten: Good reliever who is a couple of steps away from closing.

Brooks Raley 레일리: OK reliever who is a couple steps away from closing.

Orion Kerkering: Good reliever who may be a couple of steps away from closing.

Hunter Gaddis: Now a great reliever who is a couple of steps away from closing.

Andrew Kittredge: Good reliever who is a few steps away from closing.

JoJo Romero: Good reliever who is a few steps away from closing.

Yimi Garcia: Good reliever who is now a couple of steps away from closing.

Reed Garrett: Garrett might have had the greatest week ever for a reliever with 2 W, 1 Save, 10K, and 0 ER.

Matt Strahm: Great middle reliever.

Elvis Peguero: Some random reliever who fantasy managers are rostering because he has three Wins.