Each week during the season, the waiver wire presents new opportunities to improve your roster—and how you manage your FAAB budget can be just as important as who you add. In this weekly FAAB Report, we’ll break down the top waiver wire targets along with recommended bid ranges to help you stay aggressive where it matters while still managing your budget for the long haul.
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Week 12 MLB FAAB Report
Brandon Young (SP – Baltimore Orioles) – 43% Rostered
I highlighted Young in last week’s FAAB report, and if you didn’t pick him up, there is still time, as he is still under 50% rostered across FanTrax leagues. I mentioned the pickup was somewhat speculative as he faced a tough Mariners offense, but he looked terrific on Wednesday, generating 67% ground balls and striking out five for 25 fantasy points. It was his second straight win and fourth straight quality start.
The K rate (17.6%) is well below average, but he does have spike performances, tallying five or more strikeouts in 50% of his starts. Those performances don’t appear to be a fluke either as he backs it up with a chase rate (35.4%) that sits in the 89th percentile across the league.
While there is still risk as the upcoming schedule is tough, he makes a ton of sense in points leagues as a two-start pitcher next week.
Wade Meckler (OF – Los Angeles Angels) – 25% Rostered
Meckler has been a pleasant surprise for the Angels organization after being picked up on waivers this offseason. He posted a .347/.450/.525 slash line over 28 games in Double A, which earned him a promotion to the Angels in late May. The hot heating has continued as he enters the weekend with a .316/.391/.509 slash line, 10 runs, and 12 RBI in his first 18 games.
He doesn’t qualify for Baseball Savant but is projected to be in the 75th percentile or better in multiple categories. He has a good feel for the strike zone, striking out under 20% of the time while walking over 10% of the time, which leads to a strong OBP. That profile has helped him push his way up the lineup as he has hit third in the lineup in eight straight games.
He doesn’t come with a ton of power upside, but has been very consistent and is worth a pickup in all formats with the opportunity he has been given.
Andre Pallante (SP – St. Louis Cardinals) – 46% Rostered
This is the second time Pallante has made the FAAB Report this season. He has been a very serviceable streaming option that is turning into a hold and strong mid-to-back-end of a fantasy rotation. Holding opponents to two or fewer earned runs in four of his last five starts has lowered his ERA to 3.88 on the season, helping a surprise Cardinals rotation to crack the Top 10 in ERA for the season.
The only knock on Pallante is that he lacks strikeout upside (18.8% K rate), but he limits hard contact and has an elite 52% groundball rate (90th percentile on Baseball Savant). That has also helped keep the pitch count down, giving him four quality starts in his last eight starts.
He faces the Padres 26th ranked offense this upcoming week and then will get the Diamondbacks (22nd) and Marlins (15th) in a two-start week 13. He is a terrific pickup in all formats.
Paul Goldschmidt (1B – New York Yankees) – 56% Rostered
At 38 years old, Goldy is still putting up excellent fantasy numbers. He has been a key contributor with Aaron Judge on the IL, with hits in eight of nine games and three multi-hit games in his last five. The hot streak goes back even further as he is slashing a very impressive .330/.389/.557 over his last 26 games with six home runs and RBI.
The advanced stats back up the strong start as he is 86th percentile or higher in all three expected stats and is hitting the sweet spot a ton. You are getting a run producer hitting at the top of the lineup on the 2nd-ranked offense in baseball.
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