Waiver Wire Targets - June 29
The best waiver wire options at every position ahead of fantasy baseball's week 15
Blake’s picks are below with the full analysis he usually brings. But here’s a list of names I’m interested in right now.
Hitters
Jo Adell (LAA)
Jasson Dominguez (NYY)
Caleb Durbin (MIL)
Colt Keith (DET)
David Hamilton (BOS)
Kyle Stowers (MIA)
Otto Lopez (MIA)
Casey Schmitt (SF)
Cam Smith (HOU)
Nolan Gorman (STL)
Pitchers
Will Warren
Michael Soroka
Jacob Lopez
Brandon Walter
Lance McCullers Jr.
Chad Patrick
David Festa
Pitcher Stashes
Emmet Sheehan
Joe Boyle
Kyle Harrison
Catcher
Gary Sanchez - Baltimore Orioles
ESPN: 2% | Yahoo: 6% | CBS: 14% | Fantrax: 15%
The biggest benefactor of the Adley Rutschman injury is the ageless wonder himself, Gary Sanchez. The dude has shown up in the Orioles lineup and done what he does best, and that's hit dingers. In the fantasy baseball world, the best ability is availability, and that is something Sanchez is going to get a lot of for the next few weeks. He’s proven over his career that the power is legit, and while the batting average isn’t going to impress anyone, the home runs and RBI opportunities should continue to be plentiful. He’s worth an add in deep single-catcher leagues and two-catcher leagues.
First Base
Donovan Solano - Seattle Mariners
ESPN: 1% | Yahoo: 3% | CBS: 2% | Fantrax: 8%
The theme of these articles over the last few weeks has seemingly been “boring is beautiful”. That is probably going to be the case once again this week, and Solano is the start of that. First of all, he’s not here because of his two-dinger game. He does not have the power to do that more than once, and he was aided by some crazy wind in Chicago. The reason he’s here is the fact that Solano has been an ELITE hitter since May 24th. In his 57 plate appearances since then, he’s slashing .423/.474/.615 with 15 RBI and a strikeout rate below 16%. He’s mainly hitting singles, but he’s proven over the course of his career to be a guy who can carry a high average. That Mariners offense is clicking on all cylinders, so take advantage of Solano and his on-base ability and the RBI opportunities that come with it.
Nolan Schanuel - Los Angeles Angels
ESPN: 14% | Yahoo: 17% | CBS: 53% | Fantrax: 75%
He was here last week, and he’s here once again. Something has clicked for Schanuel this season, and he’s been quite the fantasy asset at the first base position. He’s gone from boring on base guy to a well-rounded player who’s flashed some power potential as of late. Four home runs and seven XBH in his last 11 games, and a .328 average with RISP on the season make Schanuel a sneaky good option right now and for potentially the rest of the season.
Second Base
Caleb Durbin - Milwaukee Brewers
ESPN: 4% | Yahoo: 12% | CBS: 23% | Fantrax: 48%
If you’ve been frequenting Fake Baseball for a while, you’d know I have a soft spot for Durbin. I’ve affectionately coined him as the “Infield Steven Kwa,n” and it becomes more and more true by the week. ELITE zone contact (93.1%), a low swinging strike rate (5.3%), and doubles power with the potential to find his way into 10-12 home runs and stolen bases make him a sneaky good option. He’s also been on an absolute tear in the run scoring department with the Brewers offense being incredibly hot. In his last 13 games, he’s scored 14 runs, which is tied for the third-best in baseball. In that timeframe, he’s also hitting .383 with a .955 OPS. He’s multi-position eligible and should be added in most leagues at the moment.
Otto Lopez - Miami Marlins
ESPN: 9% | Yahoo: 11% | CBS: 26% | Fantrax: 57%
There are few hitters in baseball as hot as Lopez is right now, which means if he’s available in your league, it likely won’t be for much longer. Over the last eight games, he’s had multiple hits in five of them, scored nine runs, driven in 13, and had four XBH, including dingers in back-to-back games. All of this from a guy coming into the season touted for his speed. We haven’t seen the stolen base numbers as of late that you hoped to see from him, but he’s doing enough in all the other categories to make him a very intriguing option. His upside was already talked about coming into this season, and we may finally be seeing it come to fruition.
Third Base
Matt Vierling - Detroit Tigers
ESPN: 1% | Yahoo: 2% | CBS: 5% | Fantrax: 37%
Vierling seems to have been bitten by a radioactive injury bug coming into this season; the guy can’t catch a break. The good news, though, is that he’s now finally healthy (once again), which means he should be on everyone’s fantasy radar. 2024 was a prime example of why. 49 XBH, 80 runs scored, six stolen bases, and a .257 average made Vierling a guy with both a safe floor and a decent ceiling. He’s more than likely going to continue hitting in the bottom third of the lineup, but the Tigers have scored the fourth most runs in baseball this season, so he should have no problem finding his way into a bunch of counting stats. His return from injury flew under the radar, so use this as your opportunity to add a guy eligible in a ton of positions, putting up the kind of numbers you’ll be more than happy with moving forward. Or at least until he’s injured again.
Cam Smith - Houston Astros
ESPN: 11% | Yahoo: 33% | CBS: 74% | Fantrax: 74%
Every week, I add one guy who’s a bit more rostered than I’d typically like to put on here, but they’re just too good for me to not add for those of you who still have them available in your league. Cam Smith has finally started clicking at the plate, and the results have been scary good. Like, better than even the most optimistic people expected him to be this season. He started out slowly this season, like most other rookies did, and now he’s become not only one of the most productive rookies but one of the most productive players in all of baseball. Since going 0-for in a five-game stretch against the Rays and Pirates, Cam has hits in 17 of his last 20 games, including five doubles, four home runs, and an OPS over .900. He has reached must add territory in all leagues.
Shortstop
Otto Lopez, Caleb Durbin, and Matt Vierling are all shortstop eligible, and all three would be my favorite options to add at the position this week as well. Ernie Clement gets an honorary mention as well, but don’t overthink it. If you need a shortstop, add one of those three.
Outfield
Jo Adell - Los Angeles Angels
ESPN: 15% | Yahoo: 40% | CBS: 68% | Fantrax: 76%
If you look up “post hype sleeper” in the dictionary, a big, fat picture of Jo Adell is waiting for you. I had mentioned on twitter two weeks ago that I went to write about why you shouldn’t be adding Adell in fantasy baseball,l but the more research I did, the more I fell in love with him. That’s still true to this day. The raw power has always been real; it’s the contact that’s been the issue. This year, that’s changed. His zone swing rate has come up considerably (73.1%), but so has his zone contact (82.4%), and his chase rate is at the lowest of his career as well (30%). Combine all of those with his elite power metrics and swing speed (this man swings HARD), and you get someone with the ability to flirt with 40 home runs should he continue to produce at his current level. A number only a handful of players in baseball have the ability to produce. Despite the lower batting average (he does have a .272 xBA!), we are finally witnessing what it looks like when Adell puts it all together and who knows, this still may not even be his final form.
Dominic Canzone - Seattle Mariners
ESPN: 1% | Yahoo: 1% | CBS: 3% | Fantrax: 14%
DO NOT add Canzone if you’re looking for a boost in the batting average department. DO add Canzone if you’re looking for a major boost in the home runs and good vibes departments. He is everything Jo Adell is right now, minus the stolen base ability. He hasn’t played many games at the major league level this season (just 18), but he’s already hit five dingers, and that man doesn’t know how to hit anything other than no-doubters. All five of his home runs have gone 396+ feet, and he’s now hit 19 total in just under 400 career at-bats. With the Mariners opening up a spot in right field, Canzone feels like a lock as the strong side platoon guy out there for the foreseeable future. If that’s the case, you should continue to get plenty of home run production out of him. It’ll also make seeing his pimp job after every home run that much more entertaining. He’s more of a short-term, deep league addition, but there’s still plenty of value to be had from a guy hardly rostered in any leagues at the moment.
Honorable Mentions
Ernie Clement - Toronto Blue Jays
Isaac Collins - Milwaukee Brewers
Tyler Freeman - Colorado Rockies
Brooks Lee - Minnesota Twins
Pitchers I Like
Jacob Lopez - Athletics
Janson Junk - Miami Marlins
Brian Bello - Boston Red Sox
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.
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