Austin Lowell | Sat, Aug 17th 2024, 7:54am EDT

Top 8 Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups: Week 21 (2024)

Another week in the books and that means it’s time for another dose of top waiver wire pickups. Before you set your roster for the week read through or at least skim this next piece and see if a few of these players are available in your league. There’s a variety of positions highlighted as well as skill sets listed. Hopefully, there’s something for everybody so let’s get right to it.

The following eight players are all rostered in fewer than 55% of Yahoo leagues. They may be in the middle of a hot streak, or on the verge of beginning one. Either way, this next group of standouts can help aid your team right now.

I also have to mention that I do not repeat players week to week so if there’s a glaringly obvious player not listed, he’s almost surely been spotlighted before. With that said, it’s not a bad idea to look over the last few weeks’ articles to see if any of those studs are still available. A few of them are performing like All-Stars and are still widely available.

Without further ado, here are this week’s top waiver wire pickups for Week 21 of fantasy baseball.

Top 8 Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups (Week 21)

Zebby Matthews (SP – MIN): 14%

Zebby Matthews is another homegrown strike-throwing machine the Twins have become known for. The Twinkies love their strike throwers and Matthews is as accurate as they come. This season, in both Double-A and Triple-A, Matthews averaged fewer than a walk per nine innings while still striking out better than 10 batters per nine innings. His K-BB% was an astronomical 27.3% and he finished Double-A with an ERA below 2.0. He also maintained nearly a 50% ground ball rate.

Now in The Show, Matthews performed as expected. In his Major League debut, the 6-foot-5 righty lasted five innings while allowing two runs on five hits with zero walks. He also struck out five. Matthews was a bit homer-prone at the Minor’s highest level, but his lack of walks and high strikeout totals should keep him on the plus side of production. He’s still widely available, so now is the time to make a move.

Kerry Carpenter (OF – DET): 53%

Kerry Carpenter has one of the sweetest swings in all of baseball. I’ve been singing his praises since he was first called up in 2022 and hit six home runs in just over a month. Flying mostly under the radar in Detroit, he’s quietly put together solid numbers this season when he’s been able to play.

The oft-injured masher was just activated from another lengthy stay on the injured list (IL), this time due to a lumbar stress fracture. With his back injury behind him, Carpenter was able to return with a vengeance, launching three home runs in his first two games. The Tigers are turning their lineup over to the youth of their system so they should be a fun squad to follow the rest of the season. With one of last week’s highlighted pieces, Parker Meadows raking in front of Carpenter, expect many RBI chances for the Detroit DH as well. He’s worth a look in most league types.

Jace Jung (2B – DET): 5%

While his older brother is scuffling in Texas, Jace Jung has been grinding in Toledo. The former first-round pick received his call-up on Friday and hit fifth in the lineup. Detroit also DFA’d Gio Urshela, paving the way for everyday playing time for Jung. He didn’t put up eye-popping numbers this season in the Minors but has come on strong lately and does have 43 homers over the last year and a half.

Jung will likely strike out a lot. But with plenty of power in his bat and a chance to play every day in the middle of the lineup, the 12th overall pick from the 2022 draft is worth a shot in deeper leagues. Especially those that require an MI or CI (middle, corner infielder). He only qualifies at second base for the moment, but his 3B eligibility should be activated before the week is up.

Tommy Edman (2B, SS, OF – LAD): 26%

Tommy Edman is about to take the field for the first time in 2024 and it’s not going to be for the Cardinals. A trade deadline pickup for the Dodgers brings another five-tool weapon to Los Angeles. Edman is known for his speed and defense but the Jack-of-all-Trades Edman can hit for average and power as well. He’s a poor man’s Trea Turner for no better comparison and he’s going to qualify all over the diamond.

It may take his bat a few weeks to warm up but playing nearly every day in the Dodgers’ lineup is something I want as many shares of as I can. Edman is a must add with his activation coming early next week.

Valente Bellozo (SP – MIA): 6%

A soft-tossing righty as a fantasy commodity? It’s been surprising, but after tuning in to see the 24-year-old blank the Phillies over seven innings on the road, I was sold. Valente Bellozo has now started five games in the Majors this season and has allowed zero runs in three of them. The Mexicali native has lasted at least five innings in every outing and has only surrendered two runs over his last three games.

Bellozo was acquired from the Astros in April to provide depth to what began as a very deep Marlins rotation. After being decimated by injuries and a few trade deadline deals though, Bellozo is now getting his chance to shine.

Some of those lazy fly balls he so often gives up may eventually reach the stands. But as long as the young righty continues to utilize his five-pitch mix, he should be able to keep hitters off balance enough to continue to put up zeros. The rookie standout is worth a look in deeper leagues.

Junior Caminero (3B – TB): 52%

Junior Caminero is likely still a year away from really becoming a standout in fantasy leagues. The second-highest-ranked prospect in baseball still has a ways to go but all the hype and upside surrounding this young man makes him a worthwhile addition.

The Rays top prospect just recently turned 21 and he didn’t do a whole lot in Triple-A. While his power numbers were decent, they were nothing like the earth-shattering figures he registered in Double-A the year prior. Caminero figures to be a stud in the Rays lineup for many years to come and will likely play nearly every day the rest of the season but I’d add him and stash him for now just to see how he performs over the next few weeks. It’s always better to take a wait-and-see approach than to miss out on a player completely.

David Hamilton (SS, 2B – BOS): 22%

I have to show some love for David Hamilton after he was dropped in nearly 60% of leagues. The Texas native stopped hitting, so he was rightfully handed his walking papers in most leagues. However, for those patient enough to hold onto him, the return has been excellent (lately).

While Hamilton’s average hasn’t shot back up to where it was in early June, the young speedster has been putting up strong numbers in other categories. Over his last 12 games, the Sox shortstop has hit two homers, stole five bases and knocked in eight runs. He’s back to playing every day and with the quality of hitters up and down Boston’s lineup, I fully expect Hamilton to continue to fill up the stat sheet.

He may not record too many multi-hit games, but with all the other ways he can help you, Hamilton and his 31 steals are worth rostering. Add the multitalented infielder ASAP now that he’s back playing every day and producing.

Mark Vientos (1B, 3B – NYM): 51%

I’ve been a Mark Vientos fan since 2022 after he put up back-to-back seasons in the Minors with a .300+ ISO. ISO measures a player’s power numbers by taking their slugging percentage (SLG) and subtracting their batting average (anything above .200 is great). The issue with Vientos is that he’s a bit streaky. Fantasy managers seem to have little patience for the Mets’ third baseman as his ownership chart looks like something out of the New York Stock Exchange. The moment he goes through a dry spell over around 20 at-bats he’s dropped in nearly 20% of leagues. Which ironically, has hurt most owners because right after he tends to get dropped, Vientos goes on a home run bender.

This month, despite hitting seven home runs over the last 23 days, the 23-year-old’s rostership dipped below 50% again (in Yahoo leagues). It’s as if fantasy managers are expecting him to put up Aaron Judge-like numbers or else they move on. I understand he’s young and has little track record to speak of but the man crushed Minor League pitching for years and now has a .275 average with a near .900 SLG. (over 293 plate appearances). I mean, what more could you want from the man? He’s knocked in 48 in just 265 at-bats and he’s even scored 39 runs.

The Mets think so highly of Vientos they’ve moved him up to the two-spot in the lineup. There they are hoping he can add some much-needed pop to the top of the order. Vientos is a stud and if you add him and he goes 3-for-18, don’t drop him. Another three-home run performance is right around the corner.

Austin Lowell is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Austin, check out his archive.

NFL

MLB

NBA

NHL