Each and every incremental move you make during a fantasy baseball season ultimately pushes you toward that championship. Our rosters are never static, and even to a small degree, there are always moves to be made. As you continue working to improve your team, let’s take a look at some Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Adds for Week 7.
In doing our weekly diligence, the criteria for inclusion will generally be any player rostered in less than 50% of Fantrax leagues (as of 5/08). 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
Paul Skenes, SP, Pittsburgh Pirates
For those who have been staring at Paul Skenes on your bench all season, the time has come. If Skenes happens to be available in your league, he shouldn’t be.
Skenes is getting the call to the show this weekend as he makes his first career start for the Pittsburgh Pirates. At this point, there really isn’t anything left for Skenes to prove at the minor league level. In 27.1 innings at Triple-A this year, Skenes is striking out an insane 14.82 batters per nine innings. The right-hander has a 0.99 ERA and 51% groundball in that stretch and his dominance of opposing hitters was obvious.
The talent is certainly there, and the next step for Skenes is to figure it out against major league hitters. One factor to note though, is the Pirates will likely be stingy with his innings.
Kyle Manzardo, 1B, Cleveland Guardians
A trip to the Injured List for Steven Kwan appeared to be what Kyle Manzardo needed to get the call to the big leagues. After going hitless in his first two starts, Manzardo got his first career hit off the bench on Wednesday.
Manzardo has always had strong plate skills, but there are concerns about his ability to hit left-handed pitching. While he historically made strong contact, Manzardo wasn’t viewed as an overwhelming power hitter. So far this year though, the first baseman has nine home runs in 29 Triple-A games. At the same time, he is hitting .303 with a strikeout rate of just 17.2%.
The Guardians didn’t call Manzardo up to sit, but the majority of his at-bats will come at DH. His solid plate approach should work to his advantage here.
Jonny DeLuca, OF, Tampa Bay Rays
After coming off the Injured List, Jonny DeLuca has been busy in the Tampa Bay outfield. We know that the Rays like to platoon as much as possible, and the right-handed hitting DeLuca could suffer there. Tampa Bay is also at full strength now, but if DeLuca continues to hit as he has, it will be hard for the Rays not to continue rolling him out there.
After going hitless on Wednesday, DeLuca is now hitting .350 in 23 plate appearances with a home run, 10 RBI, and two stolen bases. We aren’t looking at a true power hitter in DeLuca, but he has shown the ability to hit for a solid batting average at most stops while adding a few stolen bases.
While DeLuca is currently hot, the fact that he doesn’t strike out much helps, there aren’t any notable tools here. Tampa Bay is the perfect situation for DeLuca and he can be a solid contributor, but don’t over-invest here either.
Vidal Brujan, 2B, Miami Marlins
Vidal Brujan is very fast. Throughout the minor leagues, Brujan has shown the ability to steal bases with regularity. To this point, that hasn’t translated to much at the major league level, but it is a set of skills and tools that Brujan owns.
Following the trade of Luis Arraez, Brujan shouldn’t have an issue finding playing time. Over the past week, Brujan has received regular playing time and picked up two stolen bases. The strikeouts are way down, 8.5%, and putting the bat on the ball helps here as the objective is to reach first base. As long as you aren’t looking for anything else out of Brujan, you won’t be disappointed as long as he continues to run.
Jon Singleton, 1B, Houston Astros
No, we didn’t go back in time to when Jon Singleton used to be a top prospect. Singleton went from being a great story at the end of last season to the starting first baseman in Houston this season. Granted it took a brutal start to the season for Jose Abreu to make that happen, but here we are.
The batting average is always going to be an issue; he’s hitting .239 on the season, but Singleton’s power is beginning to show through with regular playing time. He’s up to three home runs and eight RBI and he should enjoy the platoon advantage on most days. If you are on the quest for power, Singleton could be worth a look.
Danny Jansen, C, Toronto Blue Jays
There are few times when at least a few teams aren’t looking to improve their catching situation. For as long as Danny Jansen is healthy and receiving regular playing time, there is a clear correlation here, he should be on your radar.
After hitting 17 home runs with 53 RBI in just 86 games last year, it’s not hard to apply that rate to even 130 games. With a .311 batting average and three home runs through 15 games this year, the same logic applies. Jansen has an insane slugging percentage of .667 with a .604 xSLG to go along with a 15.4% barrel rate. Let’s just hope he can stay healthy now.
Hayden Wesneski, SP, Chicago Cubs
Prior to seeing that Hayden Wesneski was making two starts this week, he was on my list. The fact that he opens the week against Atlanta is tough but he then closes the week off against Pittsburgh.
Kyle Hendricks is getting close to returning to action, so there is some concern, but based on performance, Ben Brown appears to be the likely casualty. Wesneski has certainly earned the right to remain though. In five games, three starts, Wesneski has a 1.59 ERA with a FIP of just 2.32. The walks are down (1.59 per nine innings) and the ground ball rate has seen a slight jump to 46.3%. What has helped drive the success here is that just two balls have been barreled against Wesneski this year. Additionally, opposing hitters have an average launch angle of just 7.2 degrees.
Trevor Williams, SP, Washington Nationals
Alright Trevor Williams, we see you. After throwing five shutout innings against Baltimore in his last start, Williams has four victories in seven starts with a 1.96 ERA. Obviously, he isn’t going to keep that pace up, but a 3.04 xERA and 2.50 FIP play as well.
Williams is generating a career-high 49% ground ball rate while walking just under three batters per nine innings. With 7.36 strikeouts per nine, Williams isn’t going to overpower anyone, but it’s hard to argue with the results. A 4% barrel rate plays a large part here. Williams has increased his slider usage from 18.1% to 30.2% this year and he is seeing positive results.
The fact that Williams is making two starts this week is also a mixed bag. He begins the week against the White Sox but closes it against the Phillies. However, based on the results, it’s hard to ignore Williams.
Patrick Sandoval, SP, Los Angeles Angels
When it comes to Patrick Sandoval, I feel like this is not the first time we have done this dance. Sandoval generally shows flashes of success and also mixes in some rough starts. After picking up his second victory of the season against Pittsburgh earlier this week, that is where we are currently at. However, there might be more to it this year.
The seven shutout innings, he scattered just three hits and a walk while striking out seven, brought his ERA down to 4.84 on the season. However, his 3.44 xERA and 2.90 FIP paint a more attractive picture. Sandoval is limiting home runs (0.46 per nine innings) while striking out a career-high 10.38 batters per nine innings. With a 3.6% barrel rate against, hitters are having issues squaring up Sandoval as well. It’s worth a look to see if this is when Sandoval puts things together.
Trevor Megill, RP, Milwaukee Brewers
After previously being used in high-leverage situations before heading to the Injured List, Trevor Megill is back. This time he is securing saves in the ninth inning. With a perfect ninth inning on Wednesday, Megill is up to three saves on the season. While there is still some flux in Milwaukee’s bullpen, we should treat Megill as the closest thing they have to a closer.
Megill is averaging 99.1 miles per hour with his fastball, but he is striking out just under a batter per inning. Last year, he struck out 13.5 batters per nine innings, so I’m not sure we should be too concerned there. We do have to keep an eye on the walks, a little over three per nine innings, but Megill continues to get results. A .190 BABIP against and a groundball rate of just 28.6%, last year it was 30.5%, do give me some cause for concern as well.
However, it’s all about results, and Megill is getting them.
Phil Maton, RP, Tampa Bay Rays
It seems like each week we are just going to feature a different Tampa Bay reliever. The quest for saves is a crazy endeavor.
Maton grabbed a save over the past weekend, but his 5.93 ERA isn’t doing him any favors. However, relievers have a strong degree of variability and one bad outing could skew those numbers. If you need to speculate on saves, Maton could be worth a look as we know Tampa Bay uses relievers interchangeably.