Waiver Wire Report (Week 22)

There are just not a lot of available good hitter options this week. One issue is that quite a few teams are going with platoons and most of these teams are facing a mix of righties and lefties making most fantasy irrelevant. As for starting pitcher options, it’s one of the best weeks since the first couple of months with several guys returning from the IL, rookie call-ups, and relievers transitioning to starting.

In the article, I cover the players using CBS’s (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.

Hitters

Jake Meyers: So far, so good with Meyers hitting .311/.338/.525 with 3 HR and 1 SB. There are some major plate discipline red flags (30% K%, 3% BB%) and a .410 BABIP. There’s a chance his batting average could drop 100 or more points when his BABIP starts to regress. The strikeouts might also continue since he’s seen 34% sliders and has a 21% SwStr% against them.

Nicky Lopez: He’s started 19 straight games while mostly batting second. While he provides no power (.072 ISO) he’s a fine source of batting average (.282) and on-base (.353) along with a ton of steals (18).

Odúbel Herrera: While he’s been fine all year (.725 OPS with 11 HR and 4 SB), he’s heated up in August (306/.363/.583 with 5 HR). After not playing in 2020, it might have taken him a while to get back in the game. From the first to the second half of the season, he’s seen his ISO go from .149 to .220 and his strikeout rate drop from 18% to 12%. Both improvements would be career bests, so it’ll be interesting to see if they stick.

Connor Joe: Joe has leadoff for 16 straight games while hitting .293/.383/.497 with 10 HR on the season. He takes advantage of Denver’s thin air for a 1.072 OPS at home and a .735 OPS on the road. With four home games next week, he’s a decent add with the only issue being what will be his role be once Tapia comes off the IL.

Frank Schwindel: He has been a pleasant surprise by hitting .327/.375/.577 with 5 HR in 32 games. I figured the league would find a weakness and his little run would be over. The league did by throwing feeding him more non-fastballs hoping he’d chase pitches out of the zone. Schwindel was the one who immediately adjusted and started walking more. For those managers in need of first base help, he remains a decent option.

Andy Ibáñez: He’s started 11 straight games and has moved up the second spot in the lineup. It’s not a game-changing profile (.263/.303/.419 with 6 HR), but being qualified at two positions (second and third) while playing every day makes him a deeper league option.

Nick Solak: He struggled to start the season (.658 OPS) and was demoted. He’s been better (.750 OPS with 1 HR and 1 SB) while starting five of six games since being recalled. The biggest improvement is from dropping his strikeout rate from 24% to 5%. In AAA, he had a 17% K% so I don’t buy that he’s eliminated most of his swing-and-miss, but it’s an encouraging trend.

Ian Happ: He’s been on the strong side of an outfield platoon with Michael Hermosillo, so Happ needs to hit to be fantasy relevant. While he is just hitting .201/.303/.381 for the season but it is up to .268/.333/.561 with 6 HR in August.

Yadiel Hernandez: While he’s hitting .298/.355/.464 with 7 HR and 3 SB, he’s now on the strong side of a platoon with Lane Thomas. He’s just a weekly play depending on the number of righties the team is facing.

Brandon Marsh: He’s provided some speed (3 SB) since being promoted, but not much else (.264/.338/.376 with 1 HR). His batting line is quite impressive. He has needed a .464 BABIP to offset a 40% K%.

Catchers

Daulton Varsho: He’s starting to play more (seven of last ten games) while hitting .295/.385/.632 since the break. While the stolen bases aren’t there (4 SB), he’s a must roster catcher.

Elias Díaz: Start at home (.869 OPS) and sit (.644 OPS) when not in Denver.

Riley Adams: He’s not been a batting average (.250 AVG) or on-base (.338 OBP) drag from the catcher position and sometimes that’s all that can be asked.

Starters

Bailey Ober: While being homer prone (1.8 HR/9), he’s a fine pitcher who should be in fantasy rotation 75% of the time with a 9.4 K/9, 1.24 WHIP, and 4.06 ERA. It’s similar production to Luis Castillo, Sean Manaea, and Nathan Eovaldi. Good but not great pitchers.

Nestor Cortes: He’s a good starter (2.56 ERA, 4.17 xFIP, 1.07 WHIP, 9.6 K/9), but his rotation spot is up in the air. it depends if Andrew Heaney’s move to the bullpen is permanent. His ranking assumes he’s starting. If not, he’s near the bottom of the list.

Ranger Suárez: His last start (6.2 IP, 7 K, 1 BB, 99 pitches) helped alleviate some of my doubts about him transitioning to be a starter. While a 1.46 ERA will not last his 66% GB% helps cover up other issues.

Daniel Lynch: He has thrown well enough that his season-long stats are looking somewhat reasonable (4.74 ERA, 1.53 WHIP, 7.4 K/9) after his three early blowups … somewhat. He has only allowed nine runs in six games since being recalled while winning four of those games.

Kyle Freeland: I’ve noticed he’s been pitching decent (3.00 ERA, 9.0 K/9, 1.04 WHIP in the second half), but I have not been able to pull the trigger. Since July 1st, he’s either been at Colorado or faced the Dodgers, Padres, or Giants on the road. He’s gotten to the point that he should only be benched in tough home matchups.

Miles Mikolas: He’s been fine (7.4 K/9, 1.28 WHIP, 2.70 ERA) since coming off the IL, but has been limited to 84 and 76 pitches. Additionally, when he’s been productive in the past, his groundball rate hovered around 50% but it’s at 38% this year. Matchup play for now.

Erick Fedde: He debuted a new slider and he had his first double-digit strikeout game of the season. Also, he laid off his sinker (56% GB%, 5% SwStr%) and changeup (77% GB%, 7% SwStr%) by throwing both at season lows. The pitch mix change might lead to more flyballs, but hopefully, the strikeouts continue.

Edward Cabrera: What’s left in some FAAB budgets will be used to add the highly-touted Cabrera this week. In AAA, he generated a ton of strikeouts (14.7 K/9), but a 5.8 BB/9 led to a 1.40 WHIP. While he was a disappointment in his debut by only striking out two batters while walking three in six innings of work. His changeup was the only pitch that generated any decent swing-and-miss (13% SwStr%). His fastball and slider generated none. While I’m interested in the pedigree, there is no way I’m starting him this next week.

Adrian Houser: In his first start off the IL, there was some good and bad. On the positive side, his fastball velocity was up to his previous range along with allowing no runs. As for negatives, he was only 68 pitches over 3.1 IP. Maybe he’ll throw enough to get a Win this week, but it’s probably going to be another week until I trust him to throw five innings.

J.A. Happ: He had a 6.77 ERA and 4.97 SIERA with the Twins. Since joining the Cardinals it’s a 2.22 ERA with a 4.76 SIERA. The only way I can explain the improvement is Cardinals devil magic.

Glenn Otto: After being decent in AAA (10.5 K/9, 2.6 BB/9), he threw five shutout innings in his MLB debut (73 pitches). While he has a change and curve, he mostly threw his fastball (94 mph) and slider (23% SwStr%). With a home start against Colorado next, I’m interested.

Eli Morgan: Since he’s got the home runs under control in the second half (3.4 HR/9 in 1H, 1.2 HR/9 in 2H), his ERA is better at 4.58 but he’s still got work to do. He’s found a way to raise his groundball rate from 21% to 32%. That’s helped some, but he’s still got a ways to go until he’s someone to start even 50% of the time.

Paul Blackburn: He’s thrown OK since being recalled (4.09 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 6.6 K/9). I’d rather gamble on some of the other available options especially since he throws in Toronto next week.

Antonio Senzatela: He’s in the middle of a two-step with a good first start (6 K, 2 BB, and 1 ER in 6 IP). Today is the scary home start against the Dodgers. For now, I’ll just stream his road starts.

Drew Rasmussen: Much of his fantasy value hinges on remaining a starter. The Rays are finally getting healthy and Rasmussen might end up as a tandem starter. Even if he gets the nod, his strikeout is almost half of that as a starter (11.9 K/9 to 6.5 K/9) and he’s throwing just 50 to 60 pitches per start.

Chris Archer: While he didn’t allow any runs in his first start off the IL, he only threw 41 pitches. Also, his fastball was down almost 2 mph from 2019. He has been able to generate a ton of strikeouts (14.2 K/9 in 6 IP) by throwing 50% sliders, but he might not be able to go so slider-heavy as he goes deeper into games.

Humberto Mejía: He’s starting in the majors and is not completely embarrassing himself (8.2 K/9, 4.91 ERA). He’s likely to struggle with home runs since he only has 31 GB%.

Relievers – Saves-based ranks.

Scott Barlow: Good reliever who is the closer.

David Bednar: Good reliever who is the closer.

Paul Sewald: Great reliever is who is most likely the closer.

Mychal Givens: Good reliever who is most likely the closer.

Tyler Clippard: Decent reliever who is the closer.

Michael Lorenzen: Good reliever who may be the closer.

Drew Steckenrider: Good reliever who may be the closer.

Chad Green: Great reliever who is next in line for Saves.

Adam Ottavino: OK reliever who may be next in line for Saves.

Collin McHugh: Good long reliever.