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We made it, folks. Another long, cold winter is in the books and a fresh baseball season is underway! Of course, we all know the best way to get the full entertainment value out of our national pastime is to dominate your fantasy league; that's where we come in.
RotoBaller's MLB Team is here to help throughout the journey that is the 2024 baseball season. This little niche of the internet will focus on waiver wire options at shortstop and second base. We may still be in the first series of the season, but there's already plenty of intrigue on the waiver wire. It's never too early to upgrade your roster, so without further ado, let's dive in!
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 fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups for Week 2 – April 1 through April 7.
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Waiver Wire Pickups for Shallow Leagues
Brandon Lowe, 2B, Tampa Bay Rays (40% rostered)
The past two seasons have been riddled with injuries for Brandon Lowe, but there's no denying that when healthy, he's one of the premier power hitters at second base. Well, he's healthy to start the 2024 season and reminded us of his abilities by swatting a grand slam on Friday night. Yes, the possibility of an injury is ever-present for any player, but now feels like a good time to bring up the last two times Lowe played a full season's worth of games.
| Year | Games | PA | HR | SLG | OPS |
| 2020 | 56 | 224 | 14 | 0.554 | 0.916 |
| 2021 | 149 | 615 | 39 | 0.523 | 0.863 |
Of course, the 2020 season was only 60 games, but for that 2020-21 stretch Lowe was a top-five 2B in fantasy. As for his more recent performance, his batted-ball metrics last season were pristine. He posted a 91.7 mph average exit velocity and a 47.5% hard-hit rate, so expect continued power production. Simply put, the upside Lowe offers is seldom available on waivers. If he's out there in your league, count yourself lucky, and go grab the 29-year-old slugger.
Ceddanne Rafaela, SS/OF, Boston Red Sox (48% rostered)
Play elite defense, and earn at-bats. That's the simple path to playing time for 23-year-old prospect Ceddanne Rafaela. Normally, fantasy players could care less about a player's glove, but in Rafaela's case, his elite defense at three premium positions (2B, SS, CF) should keep him in the lineup every day. If he's getting regular playing time, he should be an asset in category leagues because Rafaela can flat-out fly.
He's already been measured by Statcast with a 28.7 mph sprint speed, good for 85th percentile in baseball. Better than his speed, is his ability to swipe bags. Check out the damage he inflicted on the base paths during his ascent to the Majors:
| Year | Level | SB |
| 2021 | High-A | 23 |
| 2022 | Double-A and Triple-A | 28 |
| 2023 | Double-A, Triple-A, and MLB | 39 |
Rafaela isn't exclusively a speedster, however, as he popped double-digit homers at every stop in the minors and swatted two dingers in his cup-of-coffee with Boston last season. The No. 4 prospect for the Red Sox has legitimate 15-homer, 30-steal upside. Add him for the steals, and enjoy whatever other production comes along with it.
Waiver Wire Pickups for Deeper Leagues
Tim Anderson, SS, Miami Marlins (23% rostered)
Baseball is rough. Tim Anderson posted one bad season and was cast aside by the rebuilding White Sox. To be clear, Anderson's 2023 season was rough. He posted his worst K-rate since 2018 and set career-worst marks in several other important metrics, including ISO, wOBA, and wRC+. To make matters simpler, he had a .245 batting average after hitting .300 or better every season from 2019-2022.
Anderson has a long track record as an above-average fantasy shortstop. No, there is no way to spin his 2023 numbers to make them look good, but isn't everyone entitled to a down year? This is a 30-year-old player who posted an OPS over .800 for three straight years from 2019 to 2021. The Marlins took a shot on a bounce-back season from Anderson and he's worth a flier in deeper fantasy leagues to see if he can regain the form that made him a two-time All-Star and former batting champion. So far, so good.
Tim Anderson with an RBI double in his first Marlins at-bat! pic.twitter.com/gef7fy7lHV
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) March 28, 2024
Geraldo Perdomo, 2B/SS/3B, Arizona Diamondbacks (8% rostered)
File this under the "boring, yet productive" section of fantasy player. There's nothing sexy about what Geraldo Perdomo brings to the table, but the guy is solid across the board, has tons of positional eligibility, and is primed to get everyday at-bats for a good Diamondbacks lineup. His ownership in fantasy remains low as he wasn't supposed to be an everyday player, but after Jordan Lawlar (thumb) was optioned to Triple-A and then subsequently injured, Perdomo will get another opportunity.
Where Perdomo shines is elite plate discipline. He walked 12.9% of the time last season and has a career K-rate under 20%, meaning he should be on base plenty. Last season he posted a sturdy .353 on-base percentage and it led to 71 runs scored. Similar production should be expected this season making Perdomo a solid fill-in option for deeper fantasy leagues.
Waiver Wire Watch List
Joey Ortiz, 2B, Milwaukee Brewers (2% rostered)
Joey Ortiz was considered the lesser of the two prospects Milwaukee received from the Orioles in the Corbin Burnes trade, but the 25-year-old will get his shot to make it in the Majors after being stuck in the logjam that was the loaded Baltimore farm system. He should see plenty of at-bats at both second base and third base as he played both positions in Milwaukee's first game, where Ortiz went 1-for-4.
Spring Training is inherently a small sample, but Ortiz played his way onto the big league roster by slugging .459 with two homers, seven runs, and seven RBI in 15 Spring games. Last season in Triple-A, he slashed .321/.378/.507, so there's some prospect pedigree here.
He's far from a must-add in fantasy, but any older prospect getting a shot in the majors is worth monitoring. He's got appeal in deeper leagues and should be on the radar of all fantasy players as we get into the meat of the 2024 season.
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