Waiver Wire Targets - June 22
Some players to get on the waiver wire, brought to you by Jon and Blake Meyer
I’d have to admit that I’ve failed at my goal from the beginning of the season to get a waiver wire targets article out weekly. The first few weeks were strong, I was on top of it! But I couldn’t keep it going.
The Daily Notes does function pretty well as a waiver wire targets article. I talk about a bunch of players every day in those, and they’re not guys that are universally owned already.
But we have a piece this week. Blake Meyer from Fake Baseball has shared his work with us again. But before we get to him, here’s a few names at each position that have caught my eye lately.
Catcher
Agustin Ramirez (MIA): The numbers have been descending, but there’s still plenty of good in the profile. He has a .352 xwOBA (+.017 over expectation) in his last 140 PAs, and the home run rate has been solid all year.
First Base
Ben Rice (NYY): He may have been dropped in your league recently since he’s been slumping. But the slump has been largely bad luck driven. He’ll also grab C eligibility soon (if not already), and that means he’ll keep keeping a good amount of playing time even with Giancarlo Stanton back. He’s at a .411 xwoBA in his last 94 PAs. And somehow his SLG is just .372 in that time. Doesn’t make a lot of sense, and I think his homer yesterday are a sign of more to come.
Nick Kurtz (ATH): Just in case you’re in an 8-10 team league that has really strong rosters. Those are the only leagues where Kurtz would still be unowned. But he’s a top ten 1B easily for me now, so you can feel comfortable dropping a good player for him if you have to.
Nolan Schanuel (LAA): He’s hitting .297/.383/.430 over his last 150 PAs. He added swing speed this offseason, and we’re seeing a little bit of that with three homers in these last 150 PAs and an elevated 8% Brl%.
Second Base
Luis Garcia Jr. (WSH): I don’t know how available he truly is, but he’s been great lately. His 12% K% over the last 115 PAs have driven a .321 batting average. He’s also homered four times in that time for a .541 SLG.
Tyler Freeman (COL): Here’s a deep, deep league cut. Freeman is hitting .257/.434/.488 with a 6% K% over his last 99 PAs. That’s a good batting average target, but it doesn’t come with much power (3.8% Brl%).
Colt Keith (DET): He’s truly been a better player this year after getting that rookie year under his belt. He’s at .272/.327/.457 in his last 100 PAs and the quality of contact has been a lot better all year.
Third Base
Max Muncy (LAD): He’s kept it rolling, and now over his last 127 PAs he has a pristine .302/.441/.563 slash line with seven homers and a 14% K%. A 14% K% for Muncy is unheard of, and it makes him an auto-start at the 3B position.
Ryan McMahon (COL): McMahon is having a nice season despite an elevated 31% K%. The walk rate is up to 13%, which drives a .330 OBP. If we look at May-June, he’s hitting .275/.366/.531 with 10 homers, really doing some damage. A bright spot in the black of the Rockies lineup this year.
Shortstop
David Hamilton (BOS): He’s locked into playing time now with Devers and Campbell out of town, and that means the stolen bases will flow.
JP Crawford (SEA): If you had Crawford all year, you’d be pretty happy with the guy. He’s quietly hit .290/.402/.400 with six homers. He’s getting on base a ton, and that will work in any sort of fantasy league (to varying degrees).
Outfield
Jo Adell (LAA): It’s looking like Adell should be universally owned right now. His K% has settled around 25%, and he’s brought the barrel rate up to 14.7%. That’s a super competitive combo, and the guy steals bases too. The homers keep coming. It’s looking like he’s finally figured out how to get results out of that raw talent.
Brandon Marsh (PHI): I’ll never really buy into the guy, but we know that he has times where he hits the ball well and steals some bags. He’s on one of those runs right now, slashing .316/.394/.474 over his last 66 PAs with a 13.6% Brl% and a 21% K%. Somehow, that’s turned into just one homer. He’s only for super deep leagues.
Addison Barger (TOR): He just keeps on getting it down. Over his last 80 PAs since the masses noticed him, he’s hit .297/.350/.622 with six homers. He’s not relenting.
Cam Smith (HOU): Things have been a bit better lately. We do expect a young kid like this to improve more and more with experience. Smith is hitting .272/.322/.432 in his last 87 PAs with two homers on a high .357 xwOBA.
Starting Pitcher
I’ve talked in detail about these names during the last few weeks of Daily Notes, so I’ll just rattle off the names for you. This is genearlly the order I’d prioritize them in.
Chase Burns (CIN)
Will Warren (NYY)
Jacob Lopez (ATH)
Charlie Morton (BAL)
Slade Cecconi (CLE)
Mike Soroka (WSH)
Mike Burrows (PIT)
Ben Brown (CHC)
Brandon Walter (HOU)
Ryan Gusto (HOU)
Chad Patrick (MIL)
Brayan Bello (BOS)
Colton Gordon (HOU)
Max Meyer (MIA)
That’s it for me. I’ll again say that if you’re really looking for my roster advice, the best place to consistently get that is through the Daily Notes. I put a lot of time and effort into those, and they’re a great resource for your fantasy roster management, and hopefully some entertainment from time-to-time as well.
Let’s see what Blake has for us!
Catcher
Carlos Narvaez - Boston Red Sox
ESPN: 7% | Yahoo: 20% | CBS: 33% | Fantrax: 44%
He may not be the most exciting name in baseball, but he’s become one of the most consistent. He’s top five at the position in runs scored, fourth in OBP (amongst catchers with at least 200 AB), and third in doubles. The Red Sox trust him enough to be their everyday backstop, and at this point, so do I. It’s not often you find a catcher who hits for average AND puts up good counting stats for a good team. Narvaez is that guy, and also just so happens to play in a good Red Sox lineup.
First Base
Josh Smith - Texas Rangers
ESPN: 11% | Yahoo: 22% | CBS: 61% | Fantrax: 70%
Six straight multi-hit games for the super utility extraordinaire (prior to his hamstring issue that flared up), and he’s showing no signs of slowing down. There’s a lot to love here, with him being position eligible in four different spots, he’s also the king of runs scored. He has gone for 10 in his last five games, and while he has failed to steal a base in those 10 games, there are plenty of signs pointing to that changing soon. He does lack much pop in his bat, but he’s borderline elite in a few categories right now. Points leagues as well. Add him and enjoy the roller coaster ride.
Nolan Schanuel - Los Angeles Angels
ESPN: 12% | Yahoo: 15% | CBS: 47% | Fantrax: 71%
Since the day he was called up, there hasn’t been much excitement in the fantasy baseball world. He’s a guy who consistently puts up average production at a position typically reserved for power hitters. Despite that, I’m really starting to come around to the idea of Schanuel being a serviceable option at this point in the season. In his last 17 games, he has multiple hits in seven of them, including five doubles, two home runs, and 11 runs driven in. He’s hitting consistently in the two hole and has become one of the better clutch hitters in baseball, hitting .308 with RISP. That combo alone should raise some eyebrows. He’s not going to be an exciting pickup, but he’ll be a productive one.
Second Base
Colt Keith - Detroit Tigers
ESPN: 5% | Yahoo: 9% | CBS: 29% | Fantrax: 64%
Since May 26th, the Keith-Meister has sneakily been one of the most productive second base eligible players in baseball. In those 15 games, he’s produced eight XBH, driven in 10, and has an .878 OPS, which is right in line with what we had HOPED he could produce this season. He’s hitting the ball extremely hard, and while he chases more pitches than I’d like, seeing his zone contact rate jump to just shy of 90% gives me hope. At this point, he’s eligible both at the middle infield and the corner infield positions, which makes me like him even more. He’s worth an add if you’re looking to boost your second base production, but just know he does have a tendency to have prolonged cold stretches as well. Ride the production out now while you can.
Ernie Clement - Toronto Blue Jays
ESPN: 12% | Yahoo: 18% | CBS: 29% | Fantrax: 43%
Another guy who falls into the “boring but productive” category is Clement. And I’m ok with that. He first made my waiver wire list either two or three weeks ago, and the dude hasn’t stopped hitting since, especially as of late. He’s not going to blow the doors off in the power department, but his contact is leading to a healthy 26% line drive rate, which is leading to plenty of opportunities to find himself on base. He’s always made excellent zone contact (93.2% this season, 92.1% career), so this type of production seems more likely to stick than in most other instances. Add him if he’s available, especially with him being eligible at up to four positions, depending on what platform you play on.
Third Base
I tried hard to find a different third base option, but there are none that I like more this week than Josh Smith and Ernie Clement. Add one of those guys!
Shortstop
Joey Ortiz - Milwaukee Brewers
ESPN: 4% | Yahoo: 4% | CBS: 9% | Fantrax: 35%
One of my favorite waiver wire guys last season has now become one of my favorites for this week. After a slow start to the season, Ortiz has found his way into a nice little five-game hitting streak where he’s getting on base, stealing, and scoring runs. For a guy as void of home run power as he is, that’s about as much as you can ask for. He’s swinging more while making the same high contact he typically does. A recipe that makes for an xBA 50 points higher than his current .203 average. He’s flying under many people’s radars, but with that Brewers lineup firing on all cylinders right now, the heat may be rubbing off on Ortiz. If it is, he’s going to have some very productive stretches in the near future.
I hate doing this twice in one article, but Clement and Smith are my second and third favorite shortstop options right now as well!
Outfield
Mickey Moniak - Colorado Rockies
ESPN: 1% | Yahoo: 3% | CBS: 6% | Fantrax: 20%
I said it when he initially signed with the Rockies, and I’ll say it again: Moniak playing his home games in Coors Field is going to be one of the most fun things to watch this baseball season. Not because it’s going to be overwhelmingly good, but because the mix of highs and lows was likely to be incredibly drastic. Moniak has real deal, grown man strength power. The problem has always been the fact that he’s such a free swinger who makes terrible contact. That’s been the case this season as well, but on the flip side, he’s managed to take advantage of being the strong side of a platoon where he gets to only face right-handers. Nine of Colorado’s next 12 games come at home, which means Moniak’s power should continue to be on full display. I’m not a fan of adding him in points leagues, but in leagues where you need the home run upside, he’s your guy right now.
Isaac Collins - Milwaukee Brewers
ESPN: 0% | Yahoo: 0% | CBS: 1% | Fantrax: 7%
The lowest rostered guy on this list also just so happens to be maybe my favorite addition this week for the short term. He has a proven minor league track record of XBH ability and speed (49 XBH, 24 stolen bases in 113 games in 2024), and we’re starting to see flashes of it now in the bigs. He’s getting an extended run thanks to Garrett Mitchell’s injury, and he’s taking full advantage. In his last 11 games, he has five XBH (three dingers), has driven in nine, scored seven runs, and has walked (8) just about as much as he’s struck out (10). As long as he continues to get everyday playing time in that Brewers lineup, I like Collins. Especially in deeper leagues and points leagues. If you’re looking for short-term production with long-term potential, Collins is probably the best option in the outfield.
Pitchers I Like
Chase Burns - Cincinnati Reds
Jacob Misiorowski - Milwaukee Brewers
Taj Bradley - Tampa Bay Rays
Jake Irvin - Washington Nationals
Emerson Hancock - Seattle Mariners
I hope you guys enjoyed my first article for the MLB Data Warehouse. If you enjoy this content and want to see more, remember to check out my Substack, Fake Baseball, where I put out tons of weekly fantasy baseball content covering everything you’ll ever need for a successful fantasy baseball season. Also, be sure to follow me on X to keep up with all the random baseball-related things I have to say.
I look forward to putting more content out right here for you guys every week!