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Welcome back, RotoBallers, to Week 24 of the MLB season and another edition of our first base and third base waiver wire pickups.
We're approaching the final weeks of fantasy baseball, and the waiver wire could be your best chance to improve your roster for a championship push.
Let’s keep rolling along with some names to consider as fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups for this upcoming week of the MLB and fantasy baseball season – September 19th through September 25th.
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Waiver Wire Pickups for Shallow Leagues (40-59% rostered)
Ke'Bryan Hayes, 3B, Pittsburgh Pirates (55% rostered)
Hayes has had a disappointing overall season, slashing .246/.315/.352 with seven home runs, 38 RBI, 51 runs, and 17 stolen bases over 508 plate appearances in 122 games. He had turned things around recently and is starting to heat up at the plate. The 25-year-old is hitting .289 (11-for-38) with two doubles, one homer, two RBI, and seven runs scored across 42 plate appearances over his last 10 games, including multi-hit efforts in four of those 10 contests.
Hayes was a highly touted prospect and had a lot of hype heading into the 2021 season, but a wrist injury limited him to 96 games. He hasn't been able to hit for power consistently but should pitch in towards average, runs, and stolen bases. Hayes makes hard contact, evidenced by his hard-hit percentage being in the 88th percentile, and shown he can steal bases as his sprint speed is in the 67th percentile. Fantasy managers searching for the categories average, stolen bases, and runs should add him in all league formats.
Joey Meneses, 1B/OF Washington Nationals (50% rostered)
I mentioned Meneses in my 1B/3B waiver wire pickups article a few weeks ago. He has shown no signs of slowing down since the calendar switched to September. The 30-year-old is slashing .306/.328/.516 with three home runs, 12 RBI, nine runs, and three walks across 67 plate appearances in 14 games, including multi-hit efforts in three of his last five contests.
Meneses is eligible at first base and outfield, hitting in the heart of the Nationals order. The veteran continues to rake and has been impressive overall for Washington this season. He is slashing .323/.352/.561 with nine home runs, 23 RBI, 25 runs, and seven walks over 165 plate appearances in 38 games in 2022. Meneses won't help in the stolen base category as his sprint speed is in the 19th percentile, but he will contribute homers, runs, and RBI, making him a solid addition in all league formats.
Waiver Wire Pickups for Deeper Leagues (20-39% rostered)
Gio Urshela, SS/3B, Minnesota Twins (33% rostered)
Urshela has been racking up the hits recently, slashing .378/.429/.486 with a homer, two RBI, five runs, and three walks over 42 plate appearances in his last 10 games. He has collected a hit in eight of his previous 10 contests, including four multi-hit efforts. Overall, the 30-year-old is slashing .273/.321/.424 with 12 home runs, 55 RBI, and 50 runs over 125 games in 2022.
Urshela is eligible at shortstop and third base, hitting in the middle of the order for the Twins. His statcast data is excellent in xBA (78 percentile) and xSLG (64 percentile). The Twins have seven games next week against the Royals and Angels, where the only tough matchup will be against dual-threat Shohei Ohtani. Fantasy managers can plug him right into their lineups for Week 24. Urshela is heating up at the right time and should contribute in average, OBP, and runs in the season's final two weeks.
Josh Jung, 3B, Texas Rangers (21% rostered)
I mentioned Jung in last week's 1B/3B waiver wire article. Jung's contract was selected from Triple-A Round Rock on September 9th. Since being called up, he is hitting .250 with two home runs, four RBI, three runs, and a stolen base over eight games. The 22-year-old was set to finish the 2022 regular season as the Rangers' primary third baseman as Texas looks to see what they have in the young slugger.
June is considered one of the best pure hitters in the 2019 draft. Before getting the call to the big leagues, he slashed .274/.317/.526 with six home runs, 24 RBI, 14 runs, and a stolen base in 22 games with Triple-A Round Rock. He missed most of the season due to a torn left labrum. Texas has six games at home, with two of the six contests against southpaws, where Jung is hitting .308 against lefties this year. The upside is there with Jung, and he could provide fantasy managers a boost to close out 2022.
Others to Consider
- David Villar, 1B,2B, 3B San Francisco Giants (6% rostered)
- Carlos Santana, 1B, Seattle Mariners (5% rostered)
- Brian Anderson, 3B, OF Miami Marlins (2% rostered)
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