There is a lot of baseball left to be played. You should not sell yourself short when it comes to improving your team. Any edge or improvement that you can find could truly make a difference. Don’t stop evaluating your team and looking for ways to improve. As you continue working to improve your team, let’s take a look at some Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Adds for Week 12.
In doing our weekly diligence, the criteria for inclusion will generally be any player rostered in less than 50% of Fantrax leagues (as of 6/12). The popularity of Dynasty leagues on Fantrax does sway some of these percentages compared to other platforms, but these are players who should be on your radar.
Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Recommendations
David Hamilton, SS, Boston Red Sox
It doesn’t that David Hamilton is going to stop running anytime soon. The shortstop added four more stolen bases to his ledger over the past seven days. That brought him up to 13 stolen bases on the season. After picking up 10 hits in his last 26 at-bats, Hamilton is now hitting .296. There isn’t much in the way of power here, four home runs and 10 RBI, but he does have 21 runs scored.
Hamilton has found his way into an everyday role with the Red Sox, and we can’t overlook his speed.
Charlie Blackmon, OF, Colorado Rockies
It’s clear that Charlie Blackmon is not the same player he was in the prime of his career. With 10 hits in his last 28 at-bats, along with two stolen bases, Blackmon has seemed to find a groove as of late.
With home runs on the season, Blackmon is no longer a power threat. He is hitting a solid .257 for the season after his recent hot stretch with 25 RBI and 30 runs scored. At 7.8%, Blackmon is still walking at a solid rate while also making contact as he’s striking out just 12.1% of the time. We know that the Rockies can’t quit their veterans, so they’ll continue to run Blackmon out there regularly. It’s nothing spectacular, but there is solid production.
Paul DeJong, SS, Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are not very good. With that being said, it still counts for something that Paul DeJong is batting cleanup.
DeJong has three home runs and seven RBI in the last seven days while bringing his batting average up to .236. In reality though, that’s not why we are here. The power production out of DeJong is real as he is up to 13 home runs on the season. This is where the White Sox struggles come into play as DeJong only has 28 RBI and 28 runs scored. As long as he hits home runs though and works on the batting average, there is value in the middle infield. It does need to be noted though that DeJong has an impressive 11.4% barrel rate.
Carlos Santana, 1B, Minnesota Twins
There are usually a few times a year when Carlos Santana ends up on a waiver wire list. With eight hits and nine RBI in his last 24 at-bats, that is certainly warranted.
While Santana is hitting just .230 on the season, his .308 OBP does look better. With 10 home runs and 33 RBI, Santana continues to be a solid producer in the middle of Minnesota’s lineup. There is a track record of success here, and you can do worse than using Santana to plug a hole.
Tobias Myers, SP, Milwaukee Brewers
Tobias Myers picked up his third victory of the season on Wednesday with six innings of one run ball against Toronto. Myers has found success in the eight starts since his promotion with his ERA now sitting at 3.76. Home runs are something to keep an eye on as Myers is allowing close to two per nine innings.
With an average fastball velocity around 93 miles per hour, Myers isn’t truly overpowering, but hitters aren’t truly squaring him up either. However, this is more of a streaming situation, and next week’s matchup against the Angels qualifies as such.
Randy Vasquez, SP, San Diego Padres
The overall body of work so far this season is less than ideal for Randy Vasquez, but things have improved as of late. In his last three starts, Vasquez has 13 strikeouts in 16.2 innings while posting a 3.78 ERA. That brought his ERA down to 4.93 on the season as he continues to find his footing in his first season with the Padres.
With two starts in the upcoming week, Vasquez pops up on our radar. While his first start does come against Philadelphia, it should be a solid matchup against Milwaukee. The good news is that Vasquez limits the walks, 1.88 per nine innings. It might not be the smoothest ride, but Vasquez does seem to be finding his footing.
Tyler Kinley, RP, Colorado Rockies
Here we are once again. Let’s follow the bouncing ball and chase those saves. At least for the moment, Jalen Beeks is out and Tyler Kinley is for the Colorado Rockies. Again, it’s important to acknowledge the territory here and understand that this could be temporary, but saves are saves. And right now, the job belongs to Kinley.
After picking up three saves in the last seven days, it’s clear who sits atop the depth chart. That gives Kinley five saves on the season, along with four holds, but he did allow a two-run homer in his last outing. On the season, Kinley’s ERA sits at 8.10, but he does have a 4.83 xERA if that offers comfort.
Kinley does generate strikeouts, 10.13 per nine innings, but he also struggles with walks at 4.73 per nine innings. Long balls are another area of concern, 2.36 per nine innings and a 28.6% groundball rate don’t exactly allow you to rest easy. But, right now he is the closer, and we can’t ignore that.
Ryan Stanek, RP, Seattle Mariners
As Andres Munoz continues to deal with a back injury, Ryan Stanek has been the clear beneficiary. After picking up two saves in the last seven days, Stanek is up to five on the season. Munoz didn’t require a trip to the Injured List, but it likely will linger at times.
Previously this season, Stanek has stepped into the role as he has five saves on the season along with 10 holds. With a 4.21 ERA and 1.33 WHIP, Stanek has been up and down this season. He will strike out a batter an inning and 3.57 xERA offers some level of optimism. At the very least, Stanek will be used in high-leverage situations and should be in line for some more saves.