One of the mot impactful changes for deep fantasy baseball leagues was the added incentives for teams to call up prospects earlier in the season. This new rule made it advantageous for team to start the clock early on young prospects by giving them a chance at earning future draft pick reward. As a result, we now start to see a steady stream of new prospects arrive around late May and June that make for prime waiver wire targets. In this week’s deep league waiver wire target article, we’ll spotlight a couple of new player debuts and former standout players returning to relevance in the majors.
Deep League Waiver Wire Targets for Week 10
15-Team Mixed League Targets
1. Matthew Lugo, OF, Guardians (22% rostered)
Our first mixed-league relevant waiver wire target involves a prospect whose recent call-up had little notoriety in Matthew Lugo. Ranked the Angels’ 15th overall prospect by Baseball America, the book is still out on Lugo’s true potential. Interestingly, he’s actually the nephew of Carlos Beltran and show flashes of his uncle’s high-end talent at times in his minors career. In fact, that upside was evident in his first week of action where he hit three home runs. Overall, Lugo has a .273 batting average with five runs and six RBI in his first 11 games. While he has slowed down a bit in the last couple of games, if he can keep his batting average in that range he’ll prove to be a valuable fifth outfielder option in mixed-leagues.
Matthew Lugo has 5 XBH and 5 RBI through his first 8 career MLB games 💪 #RivalryWeekend pic.twitter.com/tRIEeuMFvP
— MLB (@MLB) May 18, 2025
2. Luis Urias, 2B/3B, Athletics (23% rostered)
Not too long ago Luis Urias was a highly touted prospect for the Padres along with Fernando Tatis. Though, Urias was know more for his consistent hit tool and fielding than Tatis’ power and speed. Yet, his plate production hasn’t really ever carried over into the majors to the level of initial expectations. A career .297 hitter, Urias has only hit for a .234 average so far in the majors. However, his fresh start with the Athletics seems to have unlocked his true potential. He’s hitting .270 on the season and has really come alive as of late with a .304 batting over his last seven games. Most impressive is the home run production with six already in just 111 at bats. Urias may finally be reaching his prospect potential so target him this week on the waiver wire for a viable middle infield option.
Luis UrÃas is a BALLER. #Athletics pic.twitter.com/EaxHKjtKCc
— Uprooted (@uprootedoakland) May 21, 2025
AL-Only League Waiver Wire Target
David Fry, C/1B/OF, Guardians (22% rostered)
One of the biggest deep league waiver wire darlings last season was David Fry of the Guardians. Why? Well, David Fry provides a unique combination of valuable fantasy skills. Firstly, he’s a rare catcher eligible player that found his way into the lineup nearly everyday last season. Also, he was an on-base machine last season, with a .356 OBP, that resulted in 44 runs and 4 steals in 122 games last season. Despite being limited to a DH-only role this season, due to injury recovery, he should step into a semi-regular lineup spot on his return soon. Though that could quickly increase into regular playing time with a return to past production-levels.
David Fry is back rehabbing in Akron! 👀#GuardsBall pic.twitter.com/xWAXHDopJf
— Brady Hamilton (@BradyH_216) May 20, 2025
NL-Only League Waiver Wire Target
Liam Hicks, C, Marlins (8%)
There may be no position more valuable in AL or NL-only leagues than catcher. In fact, like tight ends in fantasy football, the replacement value of a high-end catcher is massive compared to a waiver wire replacement. However, when a player on the waiver wire is producing at an elite level, they should garner immediate waiver claim consideration. That’s the case presently with Liam Hicks of the Marlins. While he’s hitting .277 on the season so far, he’s hit a blazing .348 over his last 15 games. More impressive is his recent run of a .381 batting average in his last seven games. Those ratios will return to a reasonable number in the long-term, but Hicks can give a timely boost to a team’s batting average ratio in the short-term.
It’s incredible how polished a hitter Liam Hicks is. His plate discipline and bat to ball are ELITE, and the way he optimizes his game is incredible. Elite squared up% and pulls balls in the air too.
He can become a truly elite hitter with a bat speed increase. What a pickup. pic.twitter.com/QuNcsr5gtW
— MDV (@Mardevicre) May 20, 2025
Got a few deep league waiver wire targets of your own? Tell me who is standing out to you by sharing in the comments below.
