We are coming to the end of the fantasy baseball regular season in a couple of weeks. As unfortunate as that is, it’s becoming a sad reality. Those of you who are fantasy sports junkies like me will likely move on to fantasy football, but fantasy baseball will always be my main love. While we still have these last couple of weeks left, I’m going to continue doing my best to give you league-winning fantasy advice.
Now, if we can just have a moment of silence for the death of that weird version of Julio Rodriguez that showed up to start the season. He hit just .238 through the end of June and now he’s closing in on .280 and one of the highest WAR in the league. He went from someone many people were labeling a first-round “bust” and has found a way to turn things around at the right time. He’s doing it all in category leagues, and he’s been great in points leagues as well. In my home points league, he’s scored 48 points in his last six games. One of which he put up no points at all. That’s absolutely absurd.
While you’re not likely to ever find production like that off of the waiver wire, it is still possible to find starter-worthy players if you look in the right places. Plenty of guys have been overlooked for way too long. Some have recently been called up and have many managers hesitant to roster them. That’s where I come in. Here’s my Week 20 breakdown of the top waiver wire players you need to be focusing on.
Tommy Pham (OF – ARI)
Pham has had a weird year. At least by fantasy baseball standards. He was drafted by many as someone who had late in the draft upside. Someone you could depend on as a back-end starter who would give ok production and then he found a way to be average for the majority of the year. Injuries didn’t help, obviously, but outside of his excellent June he just really wasn’t productive. Now he’s found a new home in Arizona and has become the productive version of him we hoped for.
In his nine games since joining the team he’s hitting .313 with five XBH, nine RBI, seven runs scored and he stole a base. He’s consistently hitting third in the order and getting everyday playing time in the outfield. Arizona is a great team this season with a ton of productive hitters around him in the lineup, which helps Pham immensely. With already having double-digit home runs and steals, Pham should be able to continue being a solid contributor in both moving forward.
Noelvi Marte (SS – CIN)
Outside of Christian Encarnacion-Strand (who is turning it around as of late), every prospect the Reds call up seems to turn to gold. Marte feels like the next to be blessed by Great American Ballpark. The centerpiece in the Luis Castillo trade, Marte has always been touted for his hitting production and upside. Across three different levels in the minors this season, Marte is slashing .279/.358/.454 with 35 XBH and 18 stolen bases in 93 games. His 30% line drive rate at the Triple-A level shows he can make production contact at the major league level and having such a hitter-friendly home ballpark is going to treat him very well.
It remains unseen as to just where they’ll fit him in the lineup, but Marte is too good of a prospect not to see regular at-bats. Shortstop is a deep position in the fantasy baseball world, but Marte’s upside makes him well worth an add.
Masyn Winn (SS – STL)
Another shortstop makes the list, but this one is for different reasons. See, Noelvi Marte is a big power bat that’s likely to play other positions at some point and lead with his XBH ability and play poor defense. Winn is a defense first prospect whose bat profiles much differently. Now don’t get me wrong, Winn does have a little pop in his bat, but his hit tool far outweighs his power.
In 105 minor league games, he amassed 40 XBH while stealing 17 bases. He also struck out just 16.7% of the time at the Triple-A level and hit .288 with a .359 OBP. He had a great batted ball profile in the minors with a 24% line drive rate and the ability to hit the ball to all fields.
What you’ll need to keep in mind with Winn is he’s likely to be the type of player who excels in points leagues but isn’t great in other league types. He profiles as a hitter similar to Andrew Benintendi and Sal Frelick. There’s still solid production to be had, he’s just not going to light the world on fire with home runs in four straight games or anything like that. If you’re looking for steady, consistent production at a middle infield position, Winn is going to be your guy.
Stone Garrett (OF – WAS)
I swear I’m not trying to go all National League players on this list. I’ll mix it up, I promise, Garrett has just been too on fire not to add to this list. In his last seven games, Garrett is hitting .520 with a 1.493 OPS. He has multiple hits in five of those seven games and seven of those hits have gone for extra bases. He plays for the Nationals who are a very light-hitting team, but much like teammate Joey Meneses, Garrett is finding a way to still drive in plenty of runners. He has 11 RBI in that seven-game timeframe.
He’s not someone who is going to blow you away with his power, but he had enough pop in his bat last year to at least leave you hopeful. In 130 games during the 2022 season, he hit 32 home runs and 30 doubles. He makes good quality contact with a 10% barrel rate and a hard-hit rate just shy of 50%. Should he continue to hit more in the middle of the order as he has as of late, this may very well be a productive end of the year for the National’s outfielder.
Logan O’Hoppe (C – LAA)
Told you guys I’d make sure it wasn’t all National League Players. O’Hoppe injured his shoulder just 16 games into his rookie season and many people, including myself, figured he was done for the season. Lucky for us, the Angels, and O’Hoppe himself that wasn’t the case. The power-hitting rookie catcher is back and hopefully better than ever.
In those first 16 games, he hit dead last in the order. That was to be expected with how stacked that Angels lineup actually was at the start of the season. Hitting dead last is a good way to minimize your fantasy value. He made the best of it though hitting four home runs and driving in 13 while hitting .283. He had great quality of contact measurables as well. He had an average exit velocity of 93 MPH, a barrel rate just shy of 13%, and a respectable 43.4% hard-hit rate.
Catcher has found itself to be a deep position this year in terms of consistent production. Not all of those producing are of the top-tier variety, though. Coming into the season I had O’Hoppe as a top 12 catcher and with him being back and healthy I think It’s fair to assume he regains his rightful place in the top 12 moving forward.
Pablo Reyes (SS, 2B – BOS)
Is it another shortstop? yes. But this one at least comes with second-base eligibility and that’s what we are going to key in on. Coming into this season, second base was widely believed to be the weakest position and it’s lived up to every bit of that. So finding solid production at the position this close to the fantasy baseball playoffs can’t be overstated. In the month of August, Reyes has been an absolute stud.
He’s hitting .326 in August with five XBH, nine runs scored, and six RBI. Of those 13 games, he only had RBI in two of them which makes his RBI total a bit misleading, but Reyes is the definition of a guy who’s doing everything right at the moment. He has five multi-hit games in August, an average exit velocity above 90%, and an 87.3% contact rate that most hitters can only dream of obtaining.
In category leagues, Reyes may struggle to find you great production, but in points leagues, he’s a killer. His 11% strikeout rate in August combined with some XBH ability and great contact mean he’s the type of player you can add for your playoff push that’ll give you a competitive edge against the rest of the league. He’s rostered in less than 5% of leagues and has plenty of viability in all leagues 12 teams or larger.
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