With each new week, it seems a new crop of viable waiver wire targets emerges in a key position with high talent scarcity. A couple of weeks ago it was the outfield and last week it was middle infield. Now, this week, it’s with the catcher position. That’s why we’ve included two targets for only leagues, along with several other positional waiver wire targets, to help those playing in deep fantasy baseball leagues make the right player pickups.
Deep League Waiver Wire Targets for Week 11
15-Team Mixed League Targets
1. Manuel Margot, OF, Twins
Back in 2017, Manuel Margot was a consensus top 50 prospect in all of baseball for the Padres. His standout speed and fielding ability drew high praise while his power potential created much promise for fantasy managers. While those skills materialized in the majors leagues, his hit tool never fully developed which led to years of platoon roles. After starting this season as the Twins’ fourth outfielder, Margot has found his way into regular playing time and has made the most of the opportunity. Margot has been red-hot the last two weeks, batting .379 during that span. In a more projectable sample size of the last 30 games, Margot is batting .292 with a .361 OBP, making him a viable waiver target in all five outfielder leagues.
Manuel Margot is 21-for-58 (.362) against left handed starting pitchers this season.#VoteTwins • #VoteMargot https://t.co/TTtria46x4 pic.twitter.com/xt5SAk6sn3
— Twins Ribbies (@TwinsRibbies) June 12, 2024
2. Alex Vesia, RP, Dodgers
Nothing is more unpredictable in baseball than relief pitching. Last year it looked like Alex Vesia was lost on the mound at times throughout the season, ending the year with a 4.35 ERA. This year, he’s performing amongst the elite relievers with a 1.20 ERA and a minuscule 0.83 WHIP. What’s most impressive is the dominant strikeout rate which is at over 16.0 K/9 in the last month. While Vesia can only help your pitching ratios at this point with just two saves, he’s seemingly worked his way into the likely replacement at closer should another injury arise for Evan Phillips.
Alex Vesia has rediscovered the fastball that spurred his arrival to the big leagues.
Now, he’s back in a prominent role in the Dodgers bullpen. https://t.co/hvBENhiZQX
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) June 11, 2024
AL-Only League Targets
1. Spencer Horwitz, 1B, Blue Jays
Like an unexpected thundercrash, Spencer Horwitz has taken the Blue Jays by storm over the last week. Batting a spectacular .389 across his first week of games, he’s quickly ascended the lineup to the role of leadoff hitter. For those that followed Horwitz in the minor leagues, this batting surge shouldn’t be too surprising. Last year he hit .337 at AAA and he was on a near identical pace early this season, before his call-up, with a .335 batting average. Despite the stellar plate approach, Horwitz offers very little in power or speed. As a result, the fantasy profile is limited to AL-only for the time being until greater contributions are made in other categories like runs and RBI.
“I’m in there trying to do damage and put some runs on the board.”
Spencer Horwitz on batting leadoff after going 2-4 with a walk and an RBI in the Blue Jays 3-0 win over the Brewers. pic.twitter.com/dYyeOwvfgs
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) June 12, 2024
2. Jose Trevino, C, Yankees
Ever since Gary Sanchez’s breakout seasons in 2016 and 2017, the catcher position has been an open hole in the Yankees lineup. With Jose Trevino’s recent ascension, it seems there may be new hope for some stability. After one good and one subpar season with the Yankees, it seems Trevino is now finding his stride in his third season by batting a respectable .272 with six home runs. While this isn’t a world-beater stat line, it does put him in the top 12 for catcher batting averages so far this season. The hope is that Trevino can bring the same stability to fantasy managers in AL-only leagues.
Just passing the baton. Just, literally, going up there and having an at-bat for the team.
– Jose Trevino on the first-inning offense pic.twitter.com/7Th2tHLgl8
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) June 13, 2024
NL-Only League Targets
1. Austin Slater, OF, Giants
Yet another hitter making the most of their time in the majors as an injury fill-in is Austin Slater. With both Nick Ahmed and Marco Luciano on the IL, Slater has been able to get quite a few at-bats over the last week. In June he has a .462 batting average with three RBI in four games. His playing time will continue for at least another week or two at minimum, but there’s speculation that Luciano could remain in AAA after his rehab assignment. If so, Slater could remain in the super-utility role indefinitely for the Giants, providing key stat contributions for NL-only fantasy managers.
Austin Slater with the #walkoff winner for the @SFGiants! pic.twitter.com/jZPAMTdZGV
— MLB (@MLB) June 11, 2024
2. Garret Stubbs, C, Phillies
Fantasy managers who lost J.T. Realmuto this week in NL-only leagues are likely reeling. A small silver lining is the chance at a suitable replacement with the Phillies next player up in catcher Garrett Stubbs. In his career, Stubbs has proven to be average at best at the plate with a lone season batting above .250 in his five-year career. And while he’s below that pace so far this season he has found other ways to contribute with four steals already. What brings appeal to Stubbs is both his recent hot-hitting, .286 over the last seven games, as well as general placement in the powerful Phillies lineup. If he can maintain a decent batting average the counting stats should follow. Any additional steals from the catcher position would be a nice perk, too.
Garret Stubbs With a Single puts runners on first and third 2 out #RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/v6qtToconk
— Lucasparmenter23 (@Lucasparmenter0) June 12, 2024
Got a few deep league waiver wire targets of your own? Don’t be greedy! Drop some names in the comments below.