RADIO
Due to the All-Star break, there hasn't been much action since we reviewed the best middle infield waiver options last week - just two days' worth of games. As a result, I would still happily recommend everyone who was featured in this space at that time, though the Rays' handling of Vidal Brujan gives me some pause regarding his ROS outlook.
Most of the players who will be written up in this feature won't be the next breakout star. Some may only be useful for a brief period. A few might not provide any value at all. It's the nature of the beast; if these players were slam dunks, they wouldn't be widely available for free. We're looking for plausible upside with naught but opportunity cost. By considering a wide swath of factors including but not limited to evidence of a change in approach, favorable upcoming schedules, and plain ol' potential, the goal is simply to find as much marginal value as possible.
As a reminder, we'll be looking at pickups for shallow leagues (30-49% rostered) and deeper formats (10-29%), as well as highlighting players in the single-digits who deserve a spot on your watch list at the very least. These are your second base and shortstop waiver wire pickups for Week 17 - July 19 through July 25.
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Pickups for Shallow Leagues
Myles Straw, SS/OF, Houston Astros (48% rostered)
Straw was a popular add in June, when he hit .330, scored 17 runs, and swiped six bases in 25 games while also adding his first two home runs of the year. He's cooled off in July, but is still worth rostering in many formats for his speed. His contact ability and high walk rate should continue to give him stolen base opportunities and keep his runs total respectable. And while he isn't a true-talent .300 hitter, he does have an above average hit tool.
Josh Rojas, 2B/SS/OF, Arizona Diamondbacks (40% rostered)
Though Rojas has been stuck on 10 home runs since June 28 and hasn't stolen a base since July 3, he's gone 6-for-12 with three doubles since this column was last published. The 27-year-old offers eligibility at three positions and was pacing toward a 20/10 season before the recent slowdown in those categories, along with 80+ runs and a tolerable batting average.
Pickups for Deeper Leagues
Jed Lowrie, 2B, Oakland Athletics (23% rostered)
Lowrie has homered in each of his last three starts (he only appeared as a pinch-hitter on Saturday) and owns an overall .268/.339/.435 line with 11 homers and 86 R+BI in 87 games. Based on career-highs pretty much across the board in his batted ball data (exit velocity, max exit velo, barrel rate, and hard-hit rate), Statcast thinks his results undersell him. If you're not sold on the value of "expected" stats, here's an actual one: 1.166 OPS so far in July.
Nico Hoerner, 2B/3B/SS, Chicago Cubs (17% rostered)
Hoerner missed over a month after colliding with teammate Ian Happ in the field. He went hitless on July 4 in his first game back and has hit safely in every game since, going 9-for-26. Only one of those hits was for extra bases as the 24-year-old has little pop to speak of, but he can hit for average (.327 on the year) and he stole three bases in 21 games prior to his injury.
Josh Harrison, 2B/3B/OF, Washington Nationals (11% rostered)
Harrison went 3-for-3 with a double on Saturday, lifting his season line to .279/.355/.391. He also has five homers and five steals on the year. These are not game-breaking or league-winning numbers, but the 34-year-old can be a quality bench piece in many formats thanks to his positional versatility.
The Watch List
Ramon Urias, 2B/SS, Baltimore Orioles (1% rostered)
This is admittedly a pretty deep cut, but Urias has been productive so far this year, slashing .282/.352/.436 with four homers and 30 R+BI in 122 plate appearances. He's filled in admirably for the injured Freddy Galvis (quadriceps) and had solid minor league numbers the last couple of years.
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