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It's the middle of June and the time is now to make a push in your league. The season is almost half over, which means the fantasy season is about 60% over. Our deep league playoffs start in just eight weeks! That's only eight more matchups to try and move up the standings. Don't let players that aren't producing thwart your playoff push. Let's take a look at some better options.
It's important to know your league's scoring. Points league scoring vastly differs on ESPN, CBS, Yahoo!, and Fantrax. Most leagues also have start limits. Remember those when deciding whether to pounce on a streamer this week. For example, pitchers gain two points for a win on ESPN but also lose two points for a loss. Yahoo gives eight points for a win, and losses don't count against you at all!
Be sure to check all of our fantasy baseball lineup tools and weekly lineup resources:
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- Who should I start? Fantasy baseball player comparisons
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We're not saying to drop a key piece of your team for these guys, but dropping a bench player for a guy on a heater could be the difference between winning and losing your matchup in a points league. It's okay to be patient in roto and category leagues. Points leagues are a different animal. Roster percentages and positions are taken from ESPN.
Fantasy Baseball Pitcher Waiver Wire Pickups - Points Leagues
Shallow Leagues
Erick Fedde, CWS (47% Rostered)
Fedde has been solid yet unspectacular all season. This is based on a great matchup in Detroit on Friday and his uptick in strikeouts (31 over his last five starts). He's not a guy I would throw out there every time, but this is his third consecutive plus matchup. He should deliver for us streamers once again.
Braxton Garrett, MIA (32.6% Rostered)
Garrett has only made seven starts this season thanks to an injury derailing his campaign's start. The results have been a mixed bag so far. He has a drool-worthy matchup against the free-swinging Mariners in South Florida on Sunday. Those extra strikeouts could put you over the top at the end of the week if you can stand the few runs he'll inevitably give up.
MacKenzie Gore, WAS (31.5% Rostered)
Yes, he had a blowup against the Mets earlier this month. It happens, and the Mets' offense is coming around...especially against lefties. Gore has 37 strikeouts over his last five starts and has allowed one run in each of the other four that wasn't the blowup. I'll trust him in tomorrow's tilt against Arizona. No matter what, the strikeouts are going to be there. That's a big deal on Yahoo.
MacKenzie Gore has arrived!
He owns a 3.24 ERA and 2.91 FIP in 75.0 IP and registered a MLB Season high 25 whiffs yesterday
His added velocity and vastly improved his command. High fastballs and low secondaries are a blueprint for success, and he is executing it to a tee pic.twitter.com/vKjLciwzu2
— Thomas Nestico (@TJStats) June 15, 2024
12-Team Leagues
Kyle Gibson, STL (19.4% Rostered)
It's not often that a pitcher has a renaissance in the middle of his age 36 season, but here we are. Gibson has 21 strikeouts in 18 2/3 innings over his last three starts while allowing only six runs. He has a great matchup today in Miami. The Marlins are striking out at a 23.1% clip against righties in the last month. I'm apprehensive about Gibson, too, but the price is right (free), and it's a great matchup.
Miles Mikolas, STL (14.7% Rostered)
I know...I feel dirty just typing this. However, Mikolas has been the right kind of dirty over his last couple of starts -- one of which was at Wrigley. Mikolas has 11 strikeouts in 13 1/3 innings with just one earned run allowed. On top of that, he has only allowed six baserunners in that span. He's not making mistakes. The Giants are a tough matchup, but they are much better against lefties. Mikolas has a streak of five straight quality starts. I think we can count on at least one more.
Deep Leagues
Cal Quantrill, COL (11.1% Rostered)
The guy allowed only three runs in five innings against a Dodgers team that has historically pulverized him...in a home game. I think we can trust him against the Nationals at home as well. Quantrill has had a nice season. He's not going to wow you with strikeouts, and he still walks more batters than he should, but he'll get you some outs. He had two clean outings before the Dodgers game, so he's pitching well right now.
Jonathan Cannon, CWS (1.2% Rostered)
Maybe we need to pay more attention to Cannon. He came within one out of a complete game shutout against Houston last night. He has allowed just one run in 15 2/3 innings with 11 strikeouts in his first two starts since his recall on June 7. Cannon gets a dream matchup in Detroit on Sunday to help you close out the week in style!
Also consider:
- Jake Irvin, WAS (41.2% Rostered), Sunday at COL
- Gavin Stone, LAD (43% Rostered), Thursday at COL
- Tyler Anderson, LAA (28.6% Rostered), today vs. MIL
- Ben Lively, CLE (22.5% Rostered), Saturday vs. TOR
- Brandon Pfaadt, ARI (22.2% Rostered), today at WAS
- Andrew Abbott, CIN (19.2% Rostered), Friday vs. BOS
- Taj Bradley, TB (16.3% Rostered), today at MIN
- Mitchell Parker, WAS (14.8% Rostered), Saturday at COL
- Tobias Myers, MIL (7.1% Rostered, Sunday at SD
- Tylor Megill, NYM (6.8% Rostered), Saturday at CHC
Fantasy Baseball Catcher Waiver Wire Pickups - Points Leagues
Shallow Leagues
Logan O'Hoppe, LAA (47.4% Rostered)
It took a while, but y'all finally came around on O'Hoppe. He has at least one hit -- including a five-hit effort -- in 10 of his last 11 games. He won't be available for free much longer.
Francisco Alvarez, NYM (34% Rostered)
Alvarez has six RBI in seven games since his return from the IL. He also has seven hits over his last three games. Six of those (and four of the RBI) have come in the first two games of the Texas series. The Mets' offense is cooking right now. Pick up Alvarez before your opponents realize that he's back.
12-Team Leagues
Connor Wong, BOS (22% Rostered)
Wong's hitting streak is now up to 10 games. He hasn't homered in that span, but he does have five runs scored and six RBI. Wong is fifth in catcher points on ESPN over the last two weeks. There is no way he should be free in nearly 80% of leagues.
Deep Leagues
Tyler Soderstrom, OAK (7.9% Rostered)
Four of Soderstrom's five homers on the season have come since June 10. He has at least one hit in 10 of his last 12 games as well. Soderstom still sees some time at 1B, which makes him really valuable at a position that sees starters sit twice per week.
Ivan Herrera, STL (3.1% Rostered)
Herrera has a modest five-game hitting streak during which he has driven in three runs and even stole a base! The steals mean a little less in non-category leagues, but it's a nice little bonus on every site but ESPN. He is getting plenty of playing time while he's hot, so ride him over your struggling starting catcher.
Also consider:
- Luis Campusano, SD (33.3% Rostered)
- Jose Trevino, NYY (2.7% Rostered)
- Jacob Stallings, COL (0.8% Rostered)
Fantasy Baseball Infield Waiver Wire Pickups - Points Leagues
Shallow Leagues
Ezequiel Tovar, SS, COL (37.2% Rostered)
Tovar has slowed down a little, but he gets to close out the week at Coors and has four extra-base hits in the last three games. 11 RBI in the last 10 games, and the three homers to go with it still makes Tovar worth picking up.
Ezequiel Tovar with a 3-run BLAST
Rockies had scored 1 run in their last two games before this. Dude is a stud
— Aniello Piro (@MediaByAP) June 12, 2024
Jeimer Candelario, 1B/3B, CIN (33.6% Rostered)
The rostered percentage doubled since last week, so it's nice to know some of you listened. Candelario's torrid June continues. He has a seven-game hitting streak going and has a hit in all but one June game. He has six homers, 15 RBI, and nine runs scored this month.
12-Team Leagues
Joey Ortiz, 2B/3B, MIL (21.7% Rostered)
Ortiz isn't getting on base at a really high clip or anything. He's not even putting up big counting stats. What he is doing is walking an average of once per game. He also has hits in three of the last four games. This points to Ortiz seeing the ball very well right now. The production will be soon to follow.
Ceddanne Rafaela, SS/OF, BOS (11.9% Rostered)
The entire Red Sox team is hitting north of the border, but they should be able to continue that heading back to Fenway for the weekend. Rafaela is riding a seven-game hitting streak -- including a ridiculous 11 hits in 15 tries over the last three games. He has a homer, four RBI, six runs scored, and a pair of steals in that span. He's another guy you need to jump on quickly.
Deep Leagues
Zach Neto, SS, LAA (6.5% Rostered)
It's easy to forget that Neto was the 13th overall pick in the 2022 draft. He struggled a bit last year in 84 games in the majors, but he's figuring things out now. Neto is hitting .346 with three homers, seven RBI, and six runs scored in the last week. The Angels only play three games the rest of the week, but Neto could be a pickup for longer than just the rest of the week.
Nolan Schanuel, 1B, LAA (2.1% Rostered)
Schanuel is hitting .458 over the last week with a homer, five runs scored, three RBI, and a steal. He's doing a little bit of everything leading off for the Angels. This still isn't a lineup that strikes fear in pitchers, but Schanuel is logging a lot of points getting on base at this pace.
Also consider:
- Jackson Merrill, SS/OF, SD (40.2% Rostered)
- Thairo Estrada, 2B/SS, SF (34% Rostered)
- Willi Castro, 2B/SS/3B/OF, MIN (19.9% Rostered)
- Brendan Donovan, 2B/OF, STL (18.6% Rostered)
- Andrew Vaughn, 1B, CWS (11.7% Rostered)
- David Hamilton, SS, BOS (9.6% Rostered)
- Carlos Santana, 1B, MIN (9.1% Rostered)
- Davis Schneider, 2B/OF, TOR (8.4% Rostered)
- Joey Meneses, 1B, WAS (4.3% Rostered)
- Enmanuel Valdez, 2B, BOS (1.5% Rostered)
- Ernie Clement, 3B, TOR (0.5% Rostered)
Fantasy Baseball Outfield Waiver Wire Pickups - Points Leagues
Shallow Leagues
Tyler O'Neill, BOS (41.7% Rostered)
Tyler O’Neill since his IL activation:
9 games
.382 AVG
4 HR
9 RBI
10 Runspic.twitter.com/GZ3E1vFk32— Kirk Snyder (@dynastyinfo411) June 19, 2024
This one shocked me. How in the world is O'Neill still available in more than half of ESPN leagues? He has six hits in his last three games. Three of those are homers, and he has driven in four. O'Neill has six runs scored in the last three games, which means he has scored every time he has been on base. That marks six multi-hit games in the last nine for O'Neill. Run, don't walk, to waivers for this pickup!
Heliot Ramos, SF (38.5% Rostered)
There's hot, then there's Ramos. He is hitting .387 with seven homers, 18 RBI, and nine runs scored in 15 June games. There is no way he should be this widely available. Ramos isn't slowing down anytime soon.
12-Team Leagues
J.D. Martinez, NYM (18.9% Rostered)
If you want to know why the Mets are Amazin' lately, look no further than J.D. He is hitting .385 with three homers, nine RBI, and four runs scored over the last week. He has at least one hit in 11 of 14 contests this month. It took a while, but he is finally coming around. The good news is that you can grab him in most leagues for free.
Joc Pederson, ARI (10.6% Rostered)
Pederson has two homers and 10 RBI in the last five games alone! We've seen hot streaks from him in the past. They are fleeting, but you might as well jump on and ride this one out. The Diamondbacks do face two lefties the rest of the week, so be prepared for Joc to sit tomorrow and on Sunday.
Deep Leagues
Jarred Kelenic, ATL (6.9% Rostered)
Kelenic isn't Ronald Acuna Jr. As long as you realize that, you'll be happy with the production that he's giving out of the leadoff spot for the Braves. Kelenic is hitting .296 with two homers, two steals, three RBI, and four runs in the last week. That's great production from a guy available in 93% of leagues.
Jason Heyward, LAD (0.7% Rostered)
We don't all have fantasy teams like the Dodgers have. The Dodgers have the luxury of rotating outfielders against whatever pitcher is on the mound. Heyward has four hits, a homer, and six RBI in the first two games of this series. Heyward won't start against a lefty tomorrow, but he has a nice series against the Angels over the weekend. Heyward didn't start against a lefty last night either, but he did notch a pinch-hit grand slam.
Also consider:
- Jorge Soler, SF (45.2% Rostered)
- Nolan Jones, COL (43.2% Rostered)
- Wyatt Langford, TEX (38% Rostered)
- JJ Bleday, OAK (18% Rostered)
- Byron Buxton, MIN (13.6% Rostered)
- Andy Pages, LAD (12% Rostered)
- Jose Siri, TB (1.8% Rostered)
- Hunter Goodman, COL (0.6% Rostered)
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