Here are some waiver wire targets ahead of Week 12 that you should consider adding. The following recommendations are organized as deep and shallow league targets. Of course, the players you choose to add and drop from your team should largely depend on your league size and roster construction.
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Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Recommendations
Deep League Targets
C Yainer Diaz – HOU
Yainer Diaz has continued earning playing time thanks to a torrid June so far. He has a .333 AVG with two home runs, four runs, and four RBI this month. He is up to 4/13/9/.261 on the season. Here is his most recent moon shot:
Yainer Diaz – Houston Astros (4)
pic.twitter.com/NOR4tHBdER— MLB HR Videos (@MLBHRVideos) June 15, 2023
With Diaz earning more and more playing time, he is an excellent addition in deeper leagues. He definitely could and should continue producing if he maintains his role.
Diaz has a 14.1% barrel rate and a 44.9% HardHit rate that would rank second and fifth respectively among qualified catchers if Diaz had enough at-bats. Those, combined with a 43% FB rate and an 11% HR/FB rate mean that Diaz has the potential to surpass his projections of four or five more home runs over the rest of the season.
Diaz has a scary high 50% chase rate, but his aggressive approach seems to be working. Because of this plate approach, he has made contact with 65% of pitches he has swung at outside of the zone. He has a 77.3% overall contact and an 18% K rate.
With catcher being such a thin position, and Diaz’s rostership so low, he should be an immediate add from the waiver wire.
1B Nick Pratto – KC
Unfortunately, this recommendation comes with the news that Vinnie Pasquantino will miss the rest of the season. This is a prime opportunity for Nick Pratto to produce.
Pratto already has four homers, 21 runs, 18 RBI, and a .278 AVG on the season. The .418 BABIP actually appears reasonable with his 31.6% LD rate, although both will likely regress along with his batting average. His flyball rate is about 11% lower than his career FB rate, but his HR/FB rate is nearly identical to his career average rate. If he can transfer some of his LD rate to his FB rate, he could dramatically increase the pace of his home runs.
His chase rate is an impressive 23.4%, but he has just a 70.8% contact rate. This could partially be due to a low 43.2% contact rate on pitches outside of the zone. With more playing time, that could adjust as he sees the ball better.
Pratto has been making excellent contact, with a 9.5% barrel rate and a 41.1% HardHit rate. This is a great time to add him from the waiver wire, especially for those that rostered Vinnie P.
2B/3B Ramon Urias – BAL
Ramon Urias missed time thanks to a hamstring injury, but he has been impressive since returning on May 26. Since then, he has hit .282 with a home run, seven runs, and four RBI. He has two homers, 19 runs, 20 RBI, and a .280 average on the season.
Urias possesses a high 51% GB rate, but has a lot working in his favor. He has a career-best 10% barrel rate and a 45% HardHit rate. His 21% LD rate and 39% pull rate point to a hitter doing the right things to keep racking up hits.
Urias has a career-low 7% HR/FB rate, which should hopefully tick up closer to his career 13.9% rate as the season progresses.
Urias is eligible at multiple positions and is widely available. With some positive regression to his power numbers likely on the way, he makes for a great waiver wire target this week.
OF Will Brennan – CLE
Will Brennan has progressively improved each month this season. He hit .204 in April, .250 in May, and .378 so far in June. He has four homers, 17 runs, 19 RBI, six steals, and a .271 on the season.
Brennan has shown excellent bat-to-ball skills so far this season. He has an 81.9% contact rate while driving the ball 25.7% of the time. This has been his calling card throughout his career in the minors. He never ended a stop in the minor leagues with a strikeout rate above 17%, and his strikeout rate for the Guardians this season sits at 15.3%.
Brennan has improved his groundball rate from last season by 7%, dropping it to 45% this year. That is notable, as both his LD and FB rates have increased. If he can get a little more lift on the ball and take his FB% up a little more, he could really increase his home run rate.
Even without an increase in his home run rate, he still possesses great value. He projects to reach double-digit home runs and steals. Most projections have him set for fewer than 300 PAs the rest of the way, but if he can force his manager’s hand and earn consistent playing time, he could far outproduce those projections.
If Brennan is available, he is worth consideration from the waiver wire.
SP Tarik Skubal – DET
Tarik Skubal may still be a little ways away from returning to Detroit’s rotation, but this is the time to strike, especially if you have IL room.
Skubal has a career 9.57 K/9 rate. Over his three seasons in the majors, he gradually improved his walk rate, home run rate, and groundball rate.
He features a slider, fastball, curveball, changeup, and sinker. Each of his pitches aside from his sinker had at least a 23% whiff rate in 2022. His changeup was especially great that season, with a 47.9% whiff rate and a 27.9% putaway rate.
He finished with a 3.52 ERA in 117.2 IP in 2022. If Skubal continues his strikeout and walk trends, he should be able to replicate close to what he did last season. Snag him off the waiver wire now, while you can.
Shallow League Targets
C Patrick Bailey – SF
Patrick Bailey continues to wield a hot bat as the primary catcher for the Giants. He is up to a .329 AVG on the season. That batting average is propped up by a .444 BABIP, likely due to a 35.4% LD rate and a 48% pull rate.
It is not just his bat that will keep him in the Giants’ lineup, though:
Logan Webb lauds Patrick Bailey's work behind the plate 🙌 pic.twitter.com/JdletzcBzY
— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) June 13, 2023
Bailey has three home runs, eight runs, and 17 RBI in 75 PAs. His 23% HR/FB may be sustainable thanks to a 16% barrel rate that would rank 13th in baseball if he qualified. His 50% HardHit rate would tie J.D. Davis for 23rd in baseball.
Bailey has also shown great plate discipline so far, with a 29% chase rate and a 78.6% contact rate. He has done a great job at avoiding ground balls, posting a 37.5% GB rate.
He likely will not be able to maintain a batting average above .300, with a strikeout rate approaching 30%. But Bailey’s skills should make him a consistent fixture in the lineup and a great waiver wire add for this week.
3B Jake Burger – CWS
Despite 15 home runs, 26 runs, 35 RBI, and a .250 AVG, Jake Burger is still available on some waiver wires.
Perhaps fantasy managers worry about his 31.6% K rate, his 45% chase rate or his 66.7% contact rate limiting his upside for AVG. They are right to worry, but his ability to hit for power should outweigh those concerns.
Burger is just shy of qualifying, but if he did, his 21.5% barrel rate would rank first in baseball. His 52.3% HardHit rate would rank 16th in baseball. Those have led to homers like his most recent one here:
JAKE BURGER! AGAIN! pic.twitter.com/1pxMCir7aO
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) June 15, 2023
Burger has also done an excellent job of putting the ball in the air and avoiding grounders. His LD/GB/FB rates are 21.5%/35.5%/43%, with a 32% HR/FB rate and a 52.3% pull rate. These are excellent numbers and signal that a .272 BABIP and .250 AVG may be low.
His rest of season projections for AVG land between .230-.260. If he can keep this up, he could hit closer to .260 rest of season than .230.
If he is available on your waiver wire, you should find a way to get Burger on your roster.
SS Ezequiel Tovar – COL
Ezequiel Tovar started the season extremely slow. He finished with a .213 AVG in April with no home runs. He is up to a .247 AVG with five homers, 31 runs, 35 RBI, and three steals. Here is his most recent homer:
Ezequiel Tovar – Colorado Rockies (5) pic.twitter.com/eQdI2Co03O
— MLB HR Videos (@MLBHRVideos) June 11, 2023
His current performance is closer to what most expected in the offseason. He has improved his chase rate and contact rates from his 35-game stint in 2022. His contact rate is up to 73% this season.
Tovar has a 28% LD rate, which supports his .327 BABIP. He also dropped his 50% GB rate from last season to 39.5% this season. These are likely reasons why he has been able to sustain a high BABIP and may point to some positive regression to his AVG.
Tovar projects for double-digit homers and steals over the rest of the season. He does not have the best hard contact data, so fantasy managers should not expect a ton of homers the rest of the way. But he is absolutely worth a waiver add with his upward trajectory.
OF Luis Matos – SF
Luis Matos has just three PAs under his belt at the major league level, but what he has done in the minors this season makes him worthy of an add in fantasy.
Between AA and AAA this season, he had 10 home runs and 15 steals. He finished with a .304 AVG in 31 games at AA and a .398 AVG in 24 games at AAA.
Matos has finished with double-digit homers and steals in all of his minor league seasons except his first, but he did steal 20 bases that year.
Those looking for some outfield depth with the ability to hit for power and to run should consider adding Matos from the waiver wire.
SP James Paxton – BOS
James Paxton has made a triumphant return to the majors after pitching just 21.2 innings in 2021 and 2022 combined.
He had a late start this season, so he has just 32 IP so far, but he has looked great. Paxton has a 12.38 K/9 rate, a 2.81 BB/9 rate, a 79.6% LOB rate, and a 3.09 ERA.
Paxton leans heavily on his fastball, but also features a curveball, cutter, and changeup. His fastball is among the best in baseball so far, ranking 23rd in whiff rate and 13th in putaway rate among pitchers who have thrown their fastball in at least 50 PAs. It has a ton of horizontal break, which makes it extremely difficult to hit.
Here is his fastball and his curveball in an overlay that shows how difficult he has been to hit:
James Paxton, 95mph Fastball and 81mph Knuckle Curve, Overlay pic.twitter.com/PGG8OKSsN7
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 13, 2023
His best pitch has arguably been his changeup. It has a 61.5% whiff rate and a 33.3% putaway rate. Opponents have had a difficult time with it, achieving just one hit against it when Paxton has thrown it 33 times.
Paxton has been injury prone over his career, but you should not worry about that now. Trust his performance and add him from the waiver wire immediately.
Other Players to Add from Waivers
Here are a few other players available in a range of league sizes that you should consider adding if they are on your waiver wire.
- C: Gary Sanchez, Fracisco Alvarez
- CI: Jace Peterson (2B), Ke’Bryan Hayes, Harold Ramirez (OF), Ryan McMahon (2B), Corey Julks (OF), Emmanuel Rivera, Spencer Torkelson, Jordan Walker (OF), Ryan Noda, Owen Miller (2B), Ezequiel Duran (SS/OF)
- MI: Orlando Arcia, Bryson Stott, Whit Merrifield (2B), Matt McLain, Luis Garcia, Trevor Story
- OF: LaMonte Wade Jr. (1B), Luke Raley (1B), Ji Hwan Bae (2B), Mauricio Dubon (2B/SS), Michael Taylor, Nolan Jones, Eddie Rosario, Leody Taveras, Jack Suwinski, Jesus Sanchez, Manuel Margot, Andrew McCutchen, Bryan De La Cruz, Lane Thomas, Brent Rooker
- SP: Ranger Suarez, Julio Teheran, Bailey Ober, Eury Perez, Domingo German, Johan Oviedo, Garrett Whitlock, Rich Hill, Kyle Hendricks, Brayan Bello, Edward Cabrera, J.P. France, Kyle Bradish, Kyle Gibson
- RP: Clay Holmes, AJ Minter, Jason Adam, Will Smith, Craig Kimbrel, A.J. Puk, Kendall Graveman, Adbert Alzolay
Prospect Waiver Wire Watch
A number of prospects are worthy of consideration for waiver wire claims due to being called up or potentially being called up. Here are a few to consider adding.
- ATL SP AJ Smith-Shawver – should remain in the starting rotation as long as he performs well
- CIN SS Elly De La Cruz – already has five steals, has one homer, striking out a bunch
- LAD SP Bobby Miller – 23:7 K:BB ratio in 23 IP
- STL SP Matthew Liberatore – hard to count on in fantasy with a 5+ ERA
- CIN SP Andrew Abbott – 10:7 K:BB across 11.2 IP.
- CIN SP Brandon Williamson – decent outing against KC, but still over a 5 ERA
- CIN 1B/3B Christian Encarnacion-Strand – .349 AVG and 17 homers in 44 games at AAA
- BAL OF Colton Cowser – another BAL minor leaguer that should get the call soon; 8/45/32/5/.329 at AAA
- NYM 3B Brett Baty – playing nearly every day; producing, but struggling with the AVG
- ChC 1B Matt Mervis – AVG below the Mendoza Line
- PIT SP Luis Ortiz – going to continue to get run with PIT while Vasquez is out