We have made it through another week of action, and there continue to be endless injuries we need to account for on our rosters. Unfortunately, there have also been a lot of solid and slow starts from players that leave us wondering what to do with those roster spots.
Each week I will highlight a few players to target in your weekly FAAB process, but know there are many others available and, more importantly, others that may be better fitting for your teams. If you have any questions, please ask me on Twitter (@bdentrek).
Remember that we’ll be using Yahoo for player percentages, and we’ll keep our suggestion to players rostered in no more than 60% of leagues.
Fantasy Baseball FAAB Waiver Wire Report
Hitters
Rostered: 52%
Suggested Bid: 8%
McCormick has been on quite the heater for the Astros of late. Since June 29, he has been hitting .389 with five home runs while scoring 13 runs, driving in 14, and stealing three bases. He has a 1.208 OPS with a 16.2% barrel rate and a 43.2% hard-hit rate. McCormick is locked in and entered the weekend riding a seven-game hitting streak.
Yordan Alvarez returns on Monday, which will cause some playing time issues for the Astros, but it will be hard to keep McCormick out of the lineup while producing so well.
Rostered: 29%
Suggested Bid: 14%
Julien’s first run with the Twins was less than stellar, but after a short trip to the minors, he returned on June 10 and has been a fantasy gem. Since the 10th, Julien has been hitting .378 with nine doubles and five home runs. He’s been hitting near the top of the order most games and has scored 17 runs while also stealing two bases. The positive hit tool was always discussed when it came to Julien, but the power has been better than expected and goes in line with an 18% barrel rate and 47.5% hard-hit rate.
Jorge Polanco is returning soon, but the Twins want to play Polanco at 3B to keep Julien in the lineup. Make sure Julien is in your lineup too.
Rostered: 14%
Suggested Bid: 9%
We always knew Kirilloff could hit; it was just a matter of staying healthy. After his recent stint on the IL, Kirilloff has returned and is hitting very well. Since July 1, Kirilloff has been hitting .311 with three home runs and 13 RBI. Those three home runs came in his five games entering the weekend. Kirilloff hit another home run and added a double on Friday night, increasing his fantasy value. Enjoy Kirilloff’s great production while he is healthy.
Pitchers
Rostered: 17%
Suggested Bid: 13%
Pivetta has struggled most of the season, even forcing a demotion from the starting rotation to the bullpen. Things have changed as Pivetta has become piggyback to an opener in recent outings. Over his last four outings, since this new roll began, Pivetta has thrown 18.1 innings while allowing five earned runs, striking out 34, and collecting two wins.
Pivetta looks like a new man in this new role and has resurfaced as a very serviceable fantasy pitcher.
Rostered: 8%
Suggested Bid: 6%
It has been a rough year for Matz, who was removed from his starting role at one point this season. He re-entered the rotation recently and has made three starts. Over the three starts, Matz has allowed five runs over 14.2 innings while striking out 19. His last start in Chicago was solid, as he threw five innings while allowing one run and striking out six.
Matz may have some rough outings from time to time, but he has shown the ability to be very fantasy relevant in the past and could do just that for the season’s final two months as well.
Rostered: 1%
Suggested Bid: 1%
Medina fits the bill if we are looking for a deeper league target. It has not been a great season, but he has shown some quality improvements that showcase fantasy goodness over recent starts. Over his last five starts, Medina has allowed nine earned runs over 26 innings while striking out 27. He has allowed one run or less in three starts while striking out 15 over his last two.
There may be some growing pains still to come for Medina, but he has showcased the ability to take on some of the best lineups in baseball and succeed.
Closers
Rostered: 20%
Suggested Bid: 2%
After a horrible 2022, Scott has regained some dominance in the bullpen for the Marlins. Scott has not allowed a run in his last eight outings while striking out 16 over nine innings. Scott has shown the ability to close in the past, and with AJ Puk‘s recent struggles, we could see Scott gaining another chance to lock down some saves over the season’s final two months.
Rostered: 13%
Suggested Bid: 6%
Scott McGough looked to be the lockdown closer for the DBacks, but his recent struggles have opened the door for Ginkel to have his shot at closing games. Ginkel has picked up saves in each of his last two outings. He has earned those save chances as he has allowed only one run over 8.1 innings with eight strikeouts since returning to the DBacks on June 27.
For now, Ginkel should get most of the save chances, making him very fantasy relevant.
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