Is it ever going to end? Part of me doesn’t even want to ask that question, as at this point, I’m simply afraid of the answer. Every time we look up, there is another injury. And we aren’t talking about insignificant players either, these are players critical to our fantasy team’s success. This doesn’t even contemplate those who are struggling to perform to their potential. All this means is that the waiver wire is getting a lot of use to begin the season. It is also, very quickly, becoming depleted. However, there are no excuses, so let’s dig into some waiver wire adds to consider for the upcoming week.
As we go through this process on a weekly basis, the criteria for inclusion will be any player rostered in less than 50% of Fantrax leagues (as of 4/10). Our options will be listed at increasing levels of availability.
Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Recommendations
Elias Diaz, C, Colorado Rockies
Streaming catchers is often a popular, and prudent, strategy. Now that we have almost two weeks of games under our belt, it’s time to start evaluating every facet of our rosters. That includes the catcher position.
Depending on your league structure and rankings, Elias Diaz was borderline draftable. Should you be looking to make a change, you can do a lot worse than the Rockies’ backstop. Through the first 10 games of the season, Diaz is hitting .324 with one home run and six RBI. Regular playing time shouldn’t come as a surprise here, he played in 141 games last year, and he isn’t a liability in the batting average department either. Last year, Diaz hit a solid .267 with 14 home runs and 72 RBI and that should continue in 2024.
Alec Marsh, SP, Kansas City Royals
Alec Marsh certainly caught our attention with his first start of the season. That is what happens when you throw seven innings of one-run ball. Marsh allowed just two hits and one walk while striking out five to pick up the victory against a tough Baltimore team. In what should have be a favorable matchup against the White Sox, Marsh’s next start wasn’t nearly as successful. While he limited the damage to three runs, Marsh did allow eight hits in 4.2 innings although did walk just one batter.
Marsh isn’t necessarily overpowering, with an average fastball velocity around 94 miles per hour, but he generally delivers the strikeouts. That hasn’t been the case bso far, and his last start takes some of the luster off, but Marsh is still worthy of our attention. The fact that he is a healthy pitcher isn’t insignificant either. The key stat here is that there has just been one barreled ball against Marsh in two starts.
James McArthur, RP, Kansas City Royals
With two saves to this point, the evidence is pointing towards James McArthur being the closer in Kansas City. Will Smith hasn’t gotten off to the best start, and McArthur certainly has the higher upside. The right-hander finished 2023 strong and he also has a victory this year while striking out seven batters in six innings. Control has worked in McArthur’s favor as well this year with just one walk which helps to limit the damage.
Hunter Renfroe, OF, Kansas City Royals
With three players from the Kansas City Royals in a row, what is going on here? Hunter Renfroe hasn’t gotten off to the best start, but that could represent a buying opportunity. Renfroe hit 20 home runs last year after averaging 30 home runs in the two years prior and continues to be a power threat. With hits in six straight games, albeit one hit in each, Renfroe’s batting average is up to .171. Renfroe has two RBI each in two of three games and he should be increasingly active in that department.
Luis Garcia, 2B, Washington Nationals
Prior to the season, it wasn’t solidified that Luis Garcia was going to be the starting second baseman for Washington. A strong Spring Training changed that, after all there certainly is opportunity in Washington, and Garcia has gotten off to a strong start.
This doesn’t mean that Garcia is perfect though. He has both minimal power and speed, but the second baseman is hitting .323 through 10 games. With a career .266 average, Garcia is a solid option option should you find yourself with a hole in your middle infield.
Ivan Herrera, C, St. Louis Cardinals
Based on the way Ivan Herrera has been hitting as of late, the Cardinals will have to find a way to keep his bat in the lineup. It was a rough year at times for Willson Contreras last year, and a hand injury temporarily kept him out of the lineup. Then we look up, and on Wednesday, Herrera went deep for the third time this week.
Herrera is now hitting .290 with seven RBI on the season, and we should expect to see him continue with regular playing time. Throughout his career, mostly in the minor leagues, Herrera has shown the ability to hit for a solid batting average with some power.
Blaze Alexander, SS, Arizona Diamondbacks
Now with regular playing time, Blaze Alexander began by taking advantage of Coors Field. Alexander went deep for the second time this season on Wednesday as a follow-up to a strong Spring Training. For the next few weeks, we will get a chance to see what Alexander can do with regular playing time.
We do have to keep an eye on the strikeouts, but at the bottom of Arizona’s strong batting order, Alexander is in a position to succeed. Regular playing time is important here, and it’s not something that’s insignificant in our current climate. While he didn’t run last year in Triple-A, Alexander did steal 10 stolen bases in 2022 and 17 in 2021.
Wade Miley, SP, Milwaukee Brewers
As we see so many pitchers heading to the Injured List, Wade Miley is one of the few going in the opposite direction. Miley was activated on Wednesday and he allowed one run on one hit while walking two batters in four innings. The southpaw isn’t going to overpower anyone, in fact, he didn’t strike out a batter on Wednesday but managed to get results.
That is not to say Miley is anything more than a streamer, but he did finish with a 3.14 ERA last year. With a 4.33 xERA, there will be some stress, but Miley also finished with a 3.16 ERA in 2o22 and a 3.37 ERA in 2021. As long as you manage the matchups and set expectations for the lack of strikeouts, Miley can provide some much-needed innings.
Joey Gallo, 1B/OF, Washington Nationals
I can’t believe we are back to Joey Gallo. The one thing we can’t lose site of though is Gallo’s power. It goes without saying that an OBP league is a much better spot for Gallo but go into this with your eyes open. With a 34% strikeout rate, Gallo hasn’t changed, but he also has three home runs and a 14.9% walk rate. If you are looking for home runs, you will get them as he continues to have a spot in the middle of Washington’s lineup.
Ben Brown, SP, Chicago Cubs
Despite being a top prospect and having the requisite tools and potential, Ben Brown struggled last season. He did strikeout over 12 batters per nine innings in 72.2 innings at Triple-A, but Brown also walked more than six batters. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise then Brown posted a 5.33 ERA; albeit with a 4.66 FIP.
Brown’s major league career got off to a similar start as he allowed six runs in just 1.2 innings against Texas. The good news though, is that he followed that up with four innings of one-run relief against the Rockies. In his first career start, things got even better. Brown threw 4.2 innings of shutout baseball against the Padres. Perhaps of greater importance, is that in his last 8.2 innings, Brown has 10 strikeouts compared to just two walks. This is a situation where we look to the talent.