It’s important to have a plan when scouring the fantasy baseball waiver wire or placing your weekly free agent acquisition budget (FAAB) bids. Below are some players rostered in fewer than 50% of fantasy baseball leagues to consider as the trade deadline approaches.
Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups
Runs
Miguel Vargas (1B – CWS) | 27% on Yahoo; 28% on ESPN
Miguel Vargas is batting .226 with 54 runs, 12 home runs, 41 RBI and four stolen bases. His 54 runs scored are good for the top 50 in the league, and he’s the only player on his team with at least 40 runs.
The White Sox likely won’t have anyone score close to 100 runs; however, Vargas’s pace of 83 runs can help most fantasy team builds. He’s scored 10 runs over his past eight games, batting primarily fourth in the lineup.
Home Runs
Giancarlo Stanton (DH – NYY) | 32% on Yahoo; 11% on ESPN
Giancarlo Stanton has been productive since being activated from the injured list (IL). Over 28 games, he’s batting .227 with 13 runs, seven home runs and 20 RBI. Aaron Judge went on the IL with an elbow injury, and manager Aaron Boone said Stanton may get some reps in the outfield.
It helps his fantasy value to have more opportunities to get at-bats. However, it’s worrisome for a player who has struggled to stay healthy. As long as he’s healthy, though, he has some of the best power in the game.
RBI
Austin Hays (OF – CIN) | 22% on Yahoo; 16% on ESPN
Austin Hays looked like a world-beater early in the season, but was slowed by multiple IL stints. Despite the injuries, he has a .282 average, 38 runs scored, 10 home runs, 40 RBI and two steals. The Cincinnati Reds play six games at home next week, and Hays should be able to provide RBI batting mostly fourth or fifth.
Stolen Bases
Chandler Simpson (OF – TB) | 39% on Yahoo; 13% on ESPN
Chandler Simpson is way under-rostered. In roto leagues, he should be universally rostered, but his 45 combined runs and RBI are lowering his usefulness. Still, he has the third-most steals in the league, and he has only played two-thirds of the games of most players on the list.
Simpson’s sprint speed is in the 99th percentile, and he has an 84% success rate. He has a real chance at leading the league in steals, even playing significantly fewer games.
Batting Average
J.P. Crawford (SS – SEA) | 21% on Yahoo; 13% on ESPN
J.P. Crawford is batting .273 with 45 runs scored, seven home runs, 38 RBI and five steals. He rarely whiffs (17.6% strikeout rate) and his expected batting average matches his actual average. His walk rate is very good, but the at-bats that end in a walk do nothing for his batting average. He’s also not taking advantage on the basepaths.
Crawford is batting leadoff for the Mariners, who just added lineup protection behind him in Josh Naylor, and should continue to see pitches to hit. There aren’t too many leadoff hitters available on the waiver wire at this time of year.
Wins
Slade Cecconi (SP – CLE) | 20% on Yahoo; 8% on ESPN
Slade Cecconi has a 3.76 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 7.8 K/9, five quality starts and five wins. He’s pitched at least six innings in five of his last six starts. The Guardians have two favorable matchups next week against the Rockies and Twins. Both teams are in the bottom 11 in wOBA against right-handed pitchers.
Strikeouts
Edward Cabrera (SP – MIA) | 41% on Yahoo; 17% on ESPN
Edward Cabrera has a 3.48 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 9.4 K/9, three quality starts and four wins. He gets the Cardinals and a Yankees team without Aaron Judge. The Yankees are in the bottom seven of strikeout rate against right-handed pitching; the Judge loss won’t help that ranking.
ERA & WHIP
Cade Smith (RP – CLE) | 27% on Yahoo; 17% on ESPN
Cade Smith has been one of the best relievers in baseball since joining the league. He has a 3.02 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 13.2 K/9, 19 holds and three saves. There’s a real chance Emmanuel Clase is traded. Smith would be the next guy up. His xBA and xERA are in the 91st and 95th percentiles, respectively.
Saves
Robert Garcia (RP – TEX) | 24% on Yahoo; 5% on ESPN
Robert Garcia is having a solid year for the Rangers. He’s got a 2.68 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 9.8 K/9 and eight saves. Luke Jackson (designated for assignment) and Chris Martin (IL) have the bulk of the other saves for the Rangers, but are both out of the picture. Garcia is the closer, for now.
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