We crushed last week’s article. David Fry, Davis Schneider, Joey Ortiz, Robert Gasser, Tylor Megill, Zack Littell and Gavin Stone were all recommended, and any of those guys could have helped you across the board. A few have had their rostership percentage double or triple since then, and that’s one of our biggest goals. Finding waiver wire options for every week is the primary objective, but to stumble into some must-roster players is a bonus. With that in mind, let’s look at the guys we love for this week.
This list comprises the 10 main categories in roto leagues. Under each category, you’ll find a player who can specifically help you with that individual stat. Most players will offer help in more ways than one, but their primary contributions should come under the category in which they are listed.
I’ll be putting out a similar piece every week, so check back every Sunday, as I’ll have a new list of players not previously mentioned. Without further ado, here are this week’s category-based fantasy baseball waiver wire additions.
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- MLB Prop Bet Cheat Sheet
- Weekly Fantasy Baseball Content
Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups (Week 11)
Home Runs
Adam Duvall might kill your batting average, but he’s one of the best bets for a couple of bombs on your waiver wire. We wouldn’t have used him before the Ronald Acuna injury but he’s started every game since then. The volume of at-bats matters because Duvall has homered in three of the last eight games he’s started, generating a .531 SLG in that span. We’re talking about a slugger with a .469 SLG and .230 career ISO, recording three 30-homer seasons throughout his career. He also gets four games against Washington, who ranks 20th in WHIP and 25th in xwOBA.
RBI
Ryan O’Hearn (1B, OF – BAL): 26%
We had Ryan O’Hearn in here a few weeks ago, and he rewarded us with a great week. What’s most important when evaluating O’Hearn is that he faces six righties. This slugger always hits cleanup when Baltimore matches up with a right-hander, and that’s massive since the Os are projected to face six of them in this seven-game week. That means we could get 25-30 at-bats for O’Hearn in the cleanup spot of one of the best lineups in baseball. That’s an optimal spot for RBI, especially since O’Hearn has a .349 on-base percentage (OBP) and .830 OPS with the platoon advantage in his favor this season.
Runs
Charlie Blackmon (OF – COL): 7%
This is a case of simple math. Charlie Blackmon is not the All-Star player we loved in the past, but he still bats leadoff every time Colorado faces a righty. It’s easy to understand why, with Blackmon generating a .350 OBP and .841 OPS against right-handers throughout his career. Since the Rockies have three home games, they should be one of the highest-scoring teams of the week in a seven-game week. We would project them to score 30-35 runs, and we’d have to imagine Blackmon will provide at least a few of those as their primary leadoff hitter. It’s no scary group of righties either, facing guys like Frankie Montas, Graham Ashcraft, Hunter Greene, Kyle Gibson and Andre Pallante.
Batting Average
Jake Meyers has been one of the best players in the American League over the last month. The outfielder has a .349 AVG, .431 OBP and .954 OPS across his last 18 games. That .350 average and .430 on-base percentage are some of the best numbers around, and they should continue since Houston plays him every day. They’ve increased his role, moving him up to the five-spot in their lineup. We couldn’t ask for better matchups, with Meyers matching up with Reid Detmers, Tyler Anderson, Griffin Canning, Kyle Gibson, Andre Pallante and Miles Mikolas.
Steals
TJ Friedl (OF – CIN): 38%
TJ Friedl sits on many waiver wires because he’s spent most of the year on the injured list (IL). He’s been held to just eight games this year, but he’s got two steals in those eight games. More importantly, he finished last season with 27 steals, establishing himself as the Reds’ primary leadoff hitter. That’s a huge boost when you look at their schedule, with Cincy playing seven games this week. Not many teams have seven games, and it looks even better since three of them are in Coors Field against the worst pitching staff in the sport. The other four games are against Chicago, but four matchups in Great American Ball Park should have Cincy as the highest-projected offense of the week.
ERA
Jameson Taillon (SP – PIT): 30%
This is one of the safest bets of the season. Jameson Taillon hasn’t allowed more than three runs in any start this year, totaling a 2.84 ERA and 1.26 WHIP. That makes it hard to believe he’s still sitting on most waiver wires, especially since he has a home start against the White Sox. Chicago sits last in runs scored, OBP, OPS, wOBA and xwOBA, while Taillon has tallied a 2.11 ERA and 1.13 WHIP at Wrigley Field this season. We’d use anybody against the White Sox, particularly a guy who hasn’t gotten blown up in a single start all year.
Strikeouts
Matt Waldron has been exciting fans with his knuckleball and is currently amid the best stretch of his career. The Padres pitcher has a 1.96 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 12.1 K/9 rate across his last four starts. The strikeout stuff is what matters in this section. His 12.1 strikeouts per nine innings is a genuinely ridiculous rate. That can happen with these knuckleball guys, and a two-start week should allow him to grab 10-15 strikeouts easily. It’s not like these are tough matchups, with Arizona ranked 17th in wOBA and Los Angeles sitting 24th in OBP and 19th in strikeout rate.
WHIP
Trevor Williams (SP – WAS): 44% | (vs. NYM, vs. ATL)
It’s hard to believe Trevor Williams is in this section, but the veteran is having the best season of his career. The righty hasn’t allowed more than six hits or three runs in any of his 11 starts, generating a 2.22 ERA and 1.08 WHIP. When seeing that, you’d think he was facing the White Sox and Marlins every week, but he’s faced the Rangers, Phillies, Braves, Mariners and Orioles over his last six starts. Facing the Braves and Mets this week sounds scary on the surface, but Atlanta is 28th in runs scored over the last 30 days, while the Mets sit 21st in wOBA. Williams also gets two home starts, providing a 1.69 ERA and 0.70 WHIP in Washington this year.
Wins
Logan Allen (SP – CLE): 23% | (vs. KC, at MIA)
Logan Allen has been awful at times this season, but he’s starting to pitch better. Before a nightmarish start in Coors Field a few days ago, Allen allowed just three runs over his previous three starts. He recorded a win in all of those. Allen plays for the hottest team in baseball right now and has a 6-3 record despite posting a 5.83 ERA. We’d anticipate Allen entering both matchups as a favorite, with the Miami one being the better matchup. The Marlins rank in the bottom three in runs scored, OBP and wOBA. All we’re looking for are wins, and Allen is one of the only pitchers on the waiver wire who will be favored twice this week.
Saves
Jose Alvarado has been losing his grip on this closer’s gig, while Jeff Hoffman has been fantastic. The hard-throwing righty has only allowed one run since April 10, accruing a 0.49 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and 11.3 K/9 rate in that span. Philly has taken notice of this surge, giving Hoffman four saves over the last two weeks. That’s forced Alvarado into an eighth-inning role. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Hoffman steal all of the saves from here on out. This is one of the best teams in baseball. Hoffman could record 20 saves from here on out if he retains this role.
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Joel Bartilotta is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Joel, check out his archive and follow him @Bartilottajoel.
