Go win those championships. This is what you prepared and worked for all season. The deeper the league though, the more difficult things are. At some point, it becomes a battle of attrition. Finding healthy players, let alone productive ones, really becomes a challenge. Fear not though, as we have you covered. Let’s dig into some deep league fantasy baseball waiver wire adds for the upcoming week. At the least, we are looking at players rostered in less than 25% of Fantrax leagues.
Fantasy Baseball Deep League Waiver Wire Recommendations
Mason McCoy, SS, San Diego Padres
With Ha-Seong Kim sidelined, Mason McCoy has found himself with regular playing time at shortstop for San Diego. With just two RBI and one stolen base in nine games, McCoy has yet to show much power or speed while hitting .261. In Triple-A this season though, McCoy did prove to be a stolen base threat.
The shortstop stole 25 bases in 108 games while scoring 52 runs and driving in 50. McCoy hit a solid .261, but his upside is limited. However, the stolen base upside can’t be overlooked. When looking at deep league waiver wire options, the playing time though is more important. The good news is that McCoy can deliver in that department as part of a solid San Diego lineup.
Vidal Brujan, 2B/3B/SS/OF, Miami Marlins
It might be easier to list where Vidal Brujan isn’t eligible than where is. For deep league waiver wire adds, it truly doesn’t get better than that.
Of course, we do need at-bats and production as well. We never want it to come at the expense of an injury, but with Xavier Edwards sidelined, that does appear to be the case for Brujan. He is an exciting and versatile player, and while it seems like we are always wanting more, we aren’t asking for much here. Just one hot streak from Brujan where he steals a few bases is truly all we need.
The fact that his strikeouts are down to 19.1% this season does help his production. Don’t go looking for power here as Brujan has only barreled one ball all season. However, his speed and stolen base potential could make an impact.
Andres Chapparo, 3B, Washington Nationals
Anytime you find a cleanup hitter available on the waiver wire, it’s always going to generate attention. However, we do need to note that Andres Chapparo only has three RBI and one home run in his last 11 games.
From a prospect perspective, Chapparo isn’t going to make any waves, but he has a strong track record of production. Granted it has come in Triple-A, but with 23 home runs in 105 Triple-A games this year, he owns the skill set. Chapparo will hit for a solid average, and with 85 minor-league RBI this season, he can be a run producer as well.
Trevor Larnach, OF, Minnesota Twins
Strictly a platoon player thanks to a .183 batting average against southpaws this season, Trevor Larnach shouldn’t be overlooked in deeper leagues. Thanks in part to Minnesota’s careful use of Larnach, he is hitting .258 on the season.
With 14 home runs, 45 RBI, and 45 runs scored in 89 games, Larnarch can be a strong source of production when in the lineup. Being on the strong side of a platoon certainly helps here as well.
Larnach has 68 at bats in 20 games so far in August. His production has forced the Twins to continue to give him playing time. The outfielder is hitting .309 with three home runs and 11 RBI in what has been his best month of the year. The fact that he bats at the top of the order also helps.
Patrick Corbin, SP, Washington Nationals
Be aware of the risk here. At one point a few years ago, Patrick Corbin earned an expensive contract. That success didn’t last long, but the left-hander continues to show flashes of success.
In August, that success was certainly on display. Corbin won two of his five starts while recording a 3.76 ERA and striking out 24 batters in 26.1 innings. Granted, we are dealing with some risk as his WHIP was 1.41, but his sinker and slider mix did show some upside.
Corbin’s first start of next week comes against the Marlins, that puts him on the radar as a deep league waiver wire addition.
Garrett Cleavinger, RP, Tampa Bay Rays
Regardless of what is going on, there are always Tampa Bay relievers that emerge from a fantasy perspective. With Pete Fairbanks on the Injured List, there are some saves up for grabs on the Rays. While Garrett Cleavinger is not the first name atop the list for saves in Tampa’s bullpen, he is in the mix.
Even if he only grabs an odd save, Cleavinger still has value. He is up to four saves on the season and has a 2.77 ERA in 52 innings. Cleavinger is striking out close to 11 batters per nine innings. With less risk than most streaming starters, Cleavinger’s strikeouts do have value.
Brant Hurter, SP, Detroit Tigers
One of the fun things about deep leagues is that players emerge onto your radar from nowhere. That is certainly the case with Brant Hurter as the Tigers hunted for rotation help.
Despite a 5.80 ERA in 71.1 innings at Triple-A this year, the Tigers summoned Hurter this month as they needed rotation help. Upon closer inspection, Hurter did have a 4.42 FIP while striking out about a batter inning. Hurter had a 50.7% ground ball rate in following up a strong Double-A season. Last year, Hurter with a 3.28 ERA in 26 starts at Double-A which put him on Detroit’s radar.
While he doesn’t throw hard with an average fastball velocity of 92.8 miles per hour, Hurter does a decent job of striking batters out. In five starts with Detroit, Hurter has an 8.34 K/9 but more importantly, he is walking just over one batter per nine innings. A 57.8% groundball rate has worked in Hurter’s favor.
Expecting the same level of success, a 3.57 ERA could be tough, but Hurter does have a 2.66 xERA.