Waiver Wire & FAAB Report (Week 17)
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
Corey Julks: Started in nine of last ten games (6 HR, 15 SB, .282 AVG). Solid add if the playing time remains.
CJ Abrams: Hit leadoff in three straight games which could help him add to his 14 SB so far this season. Also has 7 HR.
Joey Votto: No surprises. Hitting for power (.383 ISO) but has just a .233 AVG because of a career-high 33% K%.
Mickey Moniak: Seems to be the centerfielder with Trout on the IL. Hitting .319 (.413 BABIP) with 10 HR in 141 PA.
Johan Rojas: The 22-year-old was just promoted to the majors with two centerfield starts. In AAA, he was hitting .306/.361/.484 with 9 HR and 30 SB. Already has a stolen base in the majors.
Zack Gelof: Since being promoted, the 23-year-old top prospect has started both games while batting sixth. In AAA, he hit .304/.401/.529 with 12 HR and 20 SB. I have him fairly high for the stolen base potential.
Matt Vierling: Finally starting all the time while hitting .275 AVG with 7 HR and 5 SB (5 CS).
Zach Neto: He just came off the IL and started his first game back. He’s hitting a solid 6 HR, 5 SB, and .251 AVG on the season.
Mike Ford: Only starts against righties and crushes them (.992 OPS, 9 HR). Next week he’s scheduled to face six righties (4/2).
Garrett Cooper: Steady accumulator (12 HR, .258 AVG) who is hitting all the time in the middle of the lineup.
Ryan O’Hearn: Continues to start at first while hitting .312/.361/.532 with 7 HR in 155 PA.
Will Benson: Successful as a strong-side platoon bat (.876 OPS, 4 HR, 7 SB). The Reds are scheduled to face five righties next week (4/1).
Alek Thomas: Strong-side platoon bat who is hitting .328/.339/.574 since being called up in late June. This week, Arizona is expected to face five righties (3/2).
Zach Remillard: While the 29-year-old doesn’t hit for power, he does have a decent average (.317 AVG) to go with 3 SB.
Trey Cabbage: In AAA, he was hitting .287/.358/.576 (31% K%) with 23 HR and 24 SB. Using a PCL to MLB adjustment, I would expect him to hit around .207/.251/.418. In AAA, his swinging-strike rate was over 22% on non-fastballs.
J.P. Crawford: Steady (.750 OPS, 8 HR), boring, and leading off.
Nick Gonzales While he is at the bottom of the Pirates lineup, he is an everyday starter (.276/.306/.483 and 2 HR in 62 PA).
Dane Myers: Six straight starts in center field with .880 OPS and 1 HR so far in 25 PA.
Mauricio Dubón: A fine Altuve replacement but Dubon’s playing time will likely dry up when Altuve comes off the IL.
Donovan Solano: He has taken over the Twins first base duties while hitting fine (.814 OPS).
Alex Call: Since being recalled to play center field, he’s hitting .353/.450/.706 with 2 HR and 2 SB.
Jonathan Aranda: While the 25-year-old did get promoted to the majors, he’s barely playing. He was solid (16 HR, .342 AVG) in AAA.
Adam Frazier: Starting about half the time while putting together a balanced season (12 HR, 7 SB, .240 AVG).
Dominic Canzone: The 25-year-old was performing great in AAA with an OPS (1.065) higher than McCarthy’s (.952) and Thomas’s (.927) AAA stats. He has been promoted but has only started one game in four chances. I’m interested if his playing time increases.
Catchers
Yainer Diaz: Been great for a catcher with a .263 AVG and 10 HR.
Tyler Soderstrom: The prospect has some legit power but a ton of swing-and-miss in his game. In AAA, he only saw fastballs 44% of the time with his swinging-strike rate on non-fastballs is over 15% (28% K%). In his debut, he was thrown 15 pitches (33% SwStr%) and just one fastball.
Hitting Prospects
Jackson Holliday: He just got promoted to AA but in High-A he was hitting .314/.452/.488 with 5 HR and 17 SB.
Colt Keith: The 21-year-old was just promoted to AAA after hitting .325/.391/.585 with 14 HR and 2 SB in AA.
Sebastian Walcott: The 17-year-old is just starting into complex ball (55 PA).
| Name | Initial Roster% | Final Roster% | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joey Votto 1B CIN | 36% | 53% | 17% |
| C.J. Abrams SS WAS | 36% | 44% | 8% |
| Yainer Diaz C HOU | 32% | 35% | 3% |
| Adam Frazier 2B BAL | 32% | 34% | 2% |
| Corey Julks LF HOU | 30% | 43% | 13% |
| Mauricio Dubon 2B HOU | 30% | 32% | 2% |
| Jackson Holliday SS BAL | 29% | 31% | 2% |
| Mickey Moniak RF LAA | 27% | 36% | 9% |
| J.P. Crawford SS SEA | 27% | 34% | 7% |
| Zachary Neto SS LAA | 26% | 27% | 1% |
| Nick Gonzales 2B PIT | 19% | 25% | 6% |
| Garrett Cooper 1B MIA | 18% | 24% | 6% |
| Tyler Soderstrom C OAK | 16% | 28% | 12% |
| Will Benson LF CIN | 15% | 20% | 5% |
| Alek Thomas CF ARI | 13% | 15% | 2% |
| Colt Keith C DET | 11% | 15% | 4% |
| Jonathan Aranda 2B TB | 11% | 13% | 2% |
| Ryan O’Hearn 1B BAL | 10% | 12% | 2% |
| Matt Vierling RF DET | 8% | 9% | 1% |
| Zack Gelof 3B OAK | 3% | 12% | 9% |
| Donovan Solano 1B MIN | 3% | 5% | 2% |
| Zach Remillard 2B CHW | 3% | 5% | 2% |
| Johan Rojas CF PHI | 3% | 3% | 0% |
| Dane Myers CF MIA | 2% | 11% | 9% |
| Mike Ford DH SEA | 2% | 7% | 5% |
| Dominic Canzone RF ARI | 2% | 5% | 3% |
| Alex Call CF WAS | 1% | 2% | 1% |
| Sebastian Walcott SS TEX | 0% | 3% | 3% |
Starters
Cristopher Sánchez: We are on six starts and he’s still shoving (3.26 ERA, 8.0 K/9, 0.99 WHIP, 54% GB%).
Quinn Priester: The 21-year-old is getting promoted from a two-start week (vs CLE, at LAA). In AAA this season, he posted an 8.6 K/9, 1.36 WHIP, 3.59 BB/9, and 4.31 ERA. While he has a high walk rate, it should drop to around 3.0 BB/9 in the majors. Additionally, here are his AAA pitch results thanks to Sam Wirth (@SamWirthSports).
He’s got a five-pitch arsenal (ignoring the cutter) with a couple of swing-and-miss pitches (change and slider), two worm killers (sinker and curve), and his four-seamer (under 93 mph). I think he should be added where possible but benched to see how the two-start week plays out.
Michael Lorenzen: Serviceable starter (4.03 ERA, 4.21 xFIP).
Clarke Schmidt: He’s been decent at times this season (4.40 ERA, 8.9 K/9, 1.39 WHIP). Bench streamer.
Ben Lively 라이블리: While he’s given up quite a few home runs (1.7 HR/9, 4.84 FIP). The rest of his profile points to a league-average pitcher (3.83 ERA, 8.7 K/8, 1.24 WHIP).
José Quintana: Scheduled to make his debut on Wednesday. He threw a combined 15 IP of rehab with 4.60 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 9.2 K/9, and 4.6 BB/9. His fastballs averaged around 89.5 mph which is about 2 mph less than he did last season (91.3 mph). He’s only this high to stash him to see if he steps up once in the majors.
Jameson Taillon: He’s been bitten by a 58% LOB% and 1.6 HR/9 even though his STUFFF values point to a better pitcher. Projections point to him being a part-time streamer.
Nick Pivetta: OK long reliever (or any other decent reliever).
Graham Ashcraft: The STUFFF numbers remain great but not the results (5.95 ERA, 1.56 WHIP, 6.5 K/9). He’s thrown better over his last three starts (1.45 ERA, 56% GB%, 1.18 WHIP) but there are some major underlying issues (4.76 xFIP, 5.3 K/9).
Matt Manning: His 3.72 ERA and 1.03 WHIP are low because of a .200 BABIP. His ERA estimators are over 5.00 because he doesn’t strike out many batters (6.2 K/9) and walks too many (3.1 BB/9).
Brandon Bielak: While a 3.79 ERA (4.63 xFIP) is playable, his 1.47 WHIP (3.5 BB/9) is not. Only useful as a Win Streamer when starting.
Tommy Henry: A 3.75 ERA while all his ERA estimators are over 5.00. I can’t find any recent improvements. Heavy regression is expected.
Carlos Carrasco: He has made some recent improvements, especially to his slider, but to be a decent pitcher he needs to get the walks under control (4.0 BB/9, 10% K%) and quit throwing his curve (9% usage, 7% SwStr%, 33% GB%).
Hyun Jin Ryu: Starting his rehab with his fastball velocity averaging 87.6 mph. The last time he was in the majors, it was at 89.3 mph.
Austin Gomber: He and his deserving 6.19 ERA is giving Corbin a fight for the basement dweller.
Patrick Corbin: A consistent 5.00+ ERA pitcher.
Pitching Prospect
Jacob Misiorowski: In High-A, the 21-year-old has a 1.83 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, and 11.0 K/9 in 19 IP.
| Name | Initial Roster% | Final Roster% | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tommy Henry SP ARI | 38% | 45% | 7% |
| Michael Lorenzen SP DET | 38% | 40% | 2% |
| Clarke Schmidt SP NYY | 37% | 41% | 4% |
| Carlos Carrasco SP NYM | 31% | 34% | 3% |
| Graham Ashcraft SP CIN | 24% | 28% | 4% |
| Jameson Taillon SP CHC | 21% | 23% | 2% |
| Ben Lively SP CIN | 19% | 25% | 6% |
| Matt Manning SP DET | 18% | 30% | 12% |
| Jose Quintana SP NYM | 15% | 16% | 1% |
| Patrick Corbin SP WAS | 13% | 15% | 2% |
| Brandon Bielak SP HOU | 10% | 13% | 3% |
| Cristopher Sanchez SP PHI | 9% | 24% | 15% |
| Quinn Priester | 9% | 12% | 3% |
| Hyun-Jin Ryu SP TOR | 8% | 11% | 3% |
| Austin Gomber SP COL | 7% | 10% | 3% |
| Jacob Misiorowski SP MIL | 5% | 7% | 2% |
Relievers (Saves-based ranks)
Jordan Hicks: Great reliever who is the closer.
Adbert Alzolay: Good reliever who is the closer.
Hunter Harvey: Good reliever who is the closer.
Trevor May: Below-average reliever who is the closer.
Daniel Bard: Below-average reliever who seems to be sharing the closer duties.
Tanner Scott: Good reliever who is the backup closer.
Michael King: Good reliever who is the backup closer.
Joel Payamps: Great reliever who is the backup closer.
| Name | Initial Roster% | Final Roster% | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jordan Hicks RP STL | 57% | 59% | 2% |
| Hunter Harvey RP WAS | 36% | 39% | 3% |
| Michael King RP NYY | 30% | 32% | 2% |
| Adbert Alzolay RP CHC | 28% | 34% | 6% |
| Daniel Bard RP COL | 19% | 22% | 3% |
| Tanner Scott RP MIA | 13% | 17% | 4% |
| Nick Pivetta RP BOS | 12% | 17% | 5% |
| Joel Payamps RP MIL | 9% | 16% | 7% |
| Trevor May RP OAK | 9% | 11% | 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.
Jordan Hicks is not a great reliever and he’s only kind of the closer. He’s probably a trade candidate, so monitor that maybe, of where he could land.
Hicks and his career 5.16 BB/9 are not even rosterable for me in my S+H leagues. I might not know what the word “great” means if it applies to a pitcher who has no idea where the ball is going but throws hard.
Yeah I’m baffled by the use of “great” to describe Hicks. His strikeout rate is up, but he’s still walking more than 10% of batters and is generally the same guy he’s always been. He’s definitely in the bottom third of full-time closers, which seems a far cry from “great.”
All of these RP descriptions look like stock answers chosen from a drop-down box. Maybe the wrong one got clicked?
And Alzolay has a 98th xERA, so unclear why he’s not great.