FAAB & Waiver Wire Report (Week 9)
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
Marcelo Mayer: Promoted to the majors and could play third base for a couple of months. In AAA, he hit .271/.347/.471 with 9 HR and 2 SB.
Parker Meadows: Just began his rehab (2 G, 6 PA), so he should join the team in a week or two. If he’s available, it’s time to add a top-100 bat.
Jake Meyers: Continues to hit (.309/.369/.428) with speed (8 SB) and some power (3 HR).
Chase Meidroth: Turning into a decent source of batting average (.309 AVG) and steals (8 SB).
Gavin Sheets: Continues to play and hit (.841 OPS, 9 HR).
José Caballero: Playing (10 starts in 11 games) and a great source of stolen bases (15 SB).
Robert Hassell III: The prospect only has 8 PA so far in the majors. In AAA, the 23-year-old hit .288/.337/.405 with 4 HR and 9 SB. Ranked possibly too high based on the unknown.
Trevor Larnach: Hitting a boring yet solid .243/.320/.403 with 7 HR on the season.
Miguel Andujar: Hitting for batting average (.312 AVG) but nothing else (3 HR, 1 SB).
Nolan Schanuel: Playing and positive in batting average (.280) but not much else (3 HR, 1 SB).
Daulton Varsho: The .203 AVG can be a drag, but 7 HR in just 75 PA is a boost for teams devoid of power.
Nathan Lukes: Starting every game and hitting .264/.369/.425 with 4 HR.
Miguel Vargas: Hot in May (.246/.321/.522, 5 HR) and at least worth being a bench replacement.
Will Benson: Just facing righties, but on fire by hitting .333/.415/.833 with 5 HR in just 41 PA. Next week, he’s scheduled for just four righties, so not a great option.
Addison Barger: Starting but not much else so far (.258 AVG, 2 HR, 1 SB).
Alejandro Osuna: Promoted by the Rangers. Across two minor league levels, the 22-year-old hit .280/.385/.413 with 2 HR and 8 SB. Here are his unimpressive Steamer600 comps.
Matthew Lugo: Been decent in 37 PA with 3 HR and a .250 AVG. I worry that he can’t keep his batting average up with a 38% K%.
Kody Clemens: A strong side platoon bat who has hit .318/.388/.682 with 3 HR since joining the Twins.
DJ LeMahieu: Off the IL and already has a 1 HR in 24 PA.
Ramón Laureano: Dealing with an ankle injury, and was not starting every game even when he was healthy. He has an .852 OPS with 6 HR and 2 SB.
Denzel Clarke: Just promoted to the majors after hitting .286/.436/.419 with 0 HR and 7 SB in AAA.
Giancarlo Stanton: Still weeks away until he comes off the IL, just so he can go back on the IL again.
Catchers
Drake Baldwin: Hitting a solid .337/.379/.551 with 5 HR while playing half the time.
Carlos Narváez: Also hitting a solid .291/.357/.480 with 5 HR.
| Name | Previous Roster% | Current Roster% | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marcelo Mayer SS BOS | 35% | 40% | 5% |
| Trevor Larnach RF MIN | 35% | 38% | 3% |
| Nolan Schanuel 1B LAA | 33% | 37% | 4% |
| Gavin Sheets DH SD | 33% | 36% | 3% |
| Jose Caballero RF TB | 32% | 38% | 6% |
| Daulton Varsho CF TOR | 29% | 37% | 8% |
| Giancarlo Stanton DH NYY | 27% | 30% | 3% |
| Jake Meyers CF HOU | 25% | 28% | 3% |
| Drake Baldwin C ATL | 24% | 39% | 15% |
| Parker Meadows CF DET | 22% | 23% | 1% |
| Miguel Vargas 3B CHW | 15% | 35% | 20% |
| Chase Meidroth SS CHW | 13% | 26% | 13% |
| Miguel Andujar LF ATH | 13% | 15% | 2% |
| Addison Barger 3B TOR | 10% | 13% | 3% |
| Will Benson RF CIN | 5% | 35% | 30% |
| Robert Hassell CF WAS | 5% | 13% | 8% |
| Carlos Narvaez C BOS | 4% | 8% | 4% |
| DJ LeMahieu 2B NYY | 4% | 7% | 3% |
| Denzel Clarke CF ATH | 2% | 7% | 5% |
| Matthew Lugo 3B LAA | 2% | 6% | 4% |
| Kody Clemens 2B MIN | 2% | 5% | 3% |
| Ramon Laureano LF BAL | 1% | 3% | 2% |
| Nathan Lukes CF TOR | 1% | 2% | 1% |
Starting Pitchers
Slade Cecconi: Add now and find out if the 3.27 ERA (2.65 xFIP), 11.5 K/9, and 1.09 WHIP are real.
Hunter Dobbins: Solid start to the season with a 4.21 ERA (3.33 xFIP) and 7.9 K/9. If he could lower his .348 BABIP, he’d possibly be a top-50 starting pitcher.
Colton Gordon: He’s been hit around in both starts (.345 BABIP, 1.9 HR/9), but his 18.6 K%-BB% is on par with Kevin Gausman, Matthew Liberatore, and Max Fried.
Noah Cameron: He’s living off an insane .103 BABIP over three starts to post a 0.93 ERA (4.20 xFIP). While three of his secondaries have a 15% or higher swinging-strike rate, his fastball is not missing bats (1% SwStr%). In his last start, he dropped the fastball usage to 24% and got 8 K.
Hayden Birdsong: I wrote too much on Birdsong and missed that he allowed 11 Runs this season, with six being earned, to keep his ERA at 1.91. A solid 4.00 ERA talent.
Michael Lorenzen: A 4.00 ERA campaign as a bench streamer.
Andre Pallante: His 62% GB% keeps him in games, but a career-low 5.6 K/9 keeps him from being a decent fantasy option.
Chris Paddack: Projecting to be a 4.50 to 5.00 talent. He might be a bit better, but not much.
Davis Martin: Martin’s K%-BB% doubled from April (7%) to May (14%), mainly from his walk rate going from 8% to 2%. The biggest change is upping his cutter (9% SwStr%, 53 botStf, 94 Stuff+) usage from 15% to 41%. Effectively, he dumped his sinker, slider, and curve. He’s changed, and it seems for the good.
Logan Evans: I wish there was more swing-and-miss and his game (7.0 K/9, 8% SwStr%). He continues to throw six pitches between 27% and 8% usage, with the cutter having a >10% SwStr%. I’m having a tough time setting his value and he might be a little to high but he hasn’t shown the ability to constantly suck like most of the arms ranked below him.
Ryne Nelson: He’s been a bit unlucky (64% LOB%) with his 4.60 ERA about a run higher than his ERA estimators. Betting on his talent not degrading too much while transitioning from starting to relieving.
Mick Abel: Great debut (6 IP, 9 K, 0 BB, and 0 ER) but back in AAA. Add if a team has bench room or if he gets promoted.
Mike Burrows: After dominating AAA (2.51 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 11.4 K/9), he got it up in his debut (5 IP, 3 K, 2 BB, and 2 HR in 5 IP). All the damage came against his four-seamer (3% SwStr%, 2 HR, 45 botStf, 87 Stuff+). Ranked high on the AAA numbers.
Adrian Houser: Don’t add pitchers with more walks than strikeouts. That said, this isn’t the same Houser with his fastball up about 2 mph. He’s leaning into his four-seamer. I’m not ready to add, but I will see how his next start goes.
Bailey Falter: A .247 BABIP has him with a 3.50 ERA and 1.13 WHIP. Once the BABIP regresses to his historical levels (.288 BABIP), his ERA and WHIP will increase.
Taijuan Walker: His 2.97 ERA is low because he only allowed 0.7 HR this year (career 1.3 HR/9). All signs point to him being a low-4.00 ERA talent.
Zack Littell: Not much to get excited about with his strikeout rate dropping from 8.1 K/9 to 5.8 K/9. His fastball is at a career-low 91.7 mph.
Ryan Yarbrough: In the Yankees rotation with a 3.38 ERA (3.97 xFIP), but has struggled over his career as a starter (4.66 ERA, 1.20 WHIP). I’ll need to see a few more starts before believing the result from an 89-mph fastball.
Randy Vásquez: His 0.5 K-BB% is the lowest among pitchers with 30 IP. Managers are eyeing his two starts next week against the Marlins and Pirates.
Logan Allen로건: While the 3.86 ERA (4.92 xFIP) isn’t too bad, his 1.53 WHIP (4.3 K/9) does as much ratio damage as a 5.69 ERA.
Miles Mikolas: His 0.5 HR (career 1.1 HR/9) keeps his 3.51 ERA in check and well below his 5.00 ERA estimators. I’m not adding especially with career-lows in strikeout rate (5.4 K/9) and fastball velocity (91.7 mph).
Patrick Corbin: Nothing has changed from his horrible seasons with the Nationals. He’s had similar eight-game stretches of a sub-4.00 ERA, but it quickly jumped back over 5.00.
Quinn Priester: Possibly added for his Pirates matchup. His 1.8 K-BB% is the third lowest among pitchers with 30 IP.
Pitching Prospects
Jacob Misiorowski: In AAA, the 23-year-old righty has a 1.55 ERA (3.59 xFIP), 0.92 WHIP (3.4 BB/9), and 10.8 K/9.
| Name | Previous Roster% | Current Roster% | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Lorenzen SP KC | 39% | 43% | 4% |
| Andre Pallante SP STL | 35% | 36% | 1% |
| Jacob Misiorowski SP MIL | 28% | 38% | 10% |
| Zack Littell SP TB | 25% | 33% | 8% |
| Hayden Birdsong RP SF | 22% | 62% | 40% |
| Patrick Corbin SP TEX | 17% | 27% | 10% |
| Chris Paddack SP MIN | 16% | 28% | 12% |
| Miles Mikolas SP STL | 14% | 18% | 4% |
| Quinn Priester SP MIL | 13% | 18% | 5% |
| Logan Allen SP CLE | 12% | 15% | 3% |
| Hunter Dobbins SP BOS | 12% | 15% | 3% |
| Mick Abel SP PHI | 9% | 36% | 27% |
| Noah Cameron SP KC | 9% | 21% | 12% |
| Taijuan Walker SP PHI | 9% | 12% | 3% |
| Randy Vasquez SP SD | 8% | 17% | 9% |
| Bailey Falter SP PIT | 8% | 15% | 7% |
| Logan Evans SP SEA | 8% | 12% | 4% |
| Davis Martin SP CHW | 5% | 7% | 2% |
| Ryne Nelson RP ARI | 3% | 6% | 3% |
| Colton Gordon SP HOU | 3% | 4% | 1% |
| Slade Cecconi SP CLE | 2% | 7% | 5% |
| Michael Burrows SP PIT | 1% | 4% | 3% |
| Ryan Yarbrough RP NYY | 1% | 6% | 5% |
| Adrian Houser SP CHW | 0% | 2% | 2% |
Relievers: Saves-based ranks
Jordan Romano: Good reliever who is the closer.
Jorge López and Jose A. Ferrer: With Kyle Finnegan hurt, one will be the closer.
Dennis Santana: Average reliever who is sharing the closer duties.
Matt Strahm: Good reliever who is the backup closer.
Abner Uribe: Great reliever who is the backup closer.
Jason Adam: Good reliever who is the backup closer.
Shelby Miller: Good reliever who is again the backup closer.
Brendon Little: Great reliever who may be the backup closer.
Daniel Palencia: OK reliever who could be the backup closer.
Drew Pomeranz: Good reliever who is a couple of steps away from closing.
Huascar Brazobán: Good reliever who is a few steps away from closing.
Randy Rodríguez: Great reliever who is a few steps away from closing.
Luis Mey: Great reliever who is a few steps away from closing.
| Name | Previous Roster% | Current Roster% | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jordan Romano RP PHI | 38% | 74% | 36% |
| Jason Adam RP SD | 38% | 40% | 2% |
| Shelby Miller RP ARI | 29% | 30% | 1% |
| Dennis Santana RP PIT | 27% | 30% | 3% |
| Abner Uribe RP MIL | 12% | 17% | 5% |
| Matt Strahm RP PHI | 9% | 14% | 5% |
| Huascar Brazoban RP NYM | 5% | 9% | 4% |
| Randy Rodriguez RP SF | 5% | 8% | 3% |
| Brendon Little RP TOR | 4% | 6% | 2% |
| Drew Pomeranz RP CHC | 3% | 5% | 2% |
| Luis Mey RP CIN | 3% | 5% | 2% |
| Daniel Palencia RP CHC | 1% | 9% | 8% |
| Jorge Lopez RP WAS | UNK | 1% | UNK |
| Jose Ferrer RP WAS | UNK | 1% | UNK |
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.
Are we rolling the dice with Slade over arms like Jack Leiter or Sandy Alcantara?