RADIO
We've reached the end of April and it feels like baseball has been going on forever. The first month of the season delivered a ton of excitement, so it's a bit of a reality check when you realize we've got five months of baseball left. It's a marathon, not a sprint, or so they say.
We're still about a month away from Memorial Day, which is traditionally the first measuring stick for a baseball season, real life or fantasy. With so much baseball left, there's a ton of time to climb the standings after a slow start and waiver wire additions now can still have a huge impact on the season. Let's dig into the top options available this week.
As a reminder, we'll be looking at pickups for shallow leagues (30-49% rostered) and deeper formats (10-29%), as well as highlighting prospects in the single digits who may get the call and 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 6 – May 1 through May 7.
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Waiver Wire Pickups for Shallow Leagues
Mauricio Dubon, 2B/SS/OF, Houston Astros (44% rostered)
If your team is weak in batting average or runs scored, go add Dubon now. The speedy 28-year-old won't offer much else, but he's batting .305 and leading off for one of the best lineups in baseball.
Dubon's slap-hitting style naturally leads to high batting averages thanks to a strikeout rate of just 8.2 percent, which is the fifth-best mark in baseball. He ranks in the 97th percentile in whiff rate and 93rd percentile with a .310 xBA which will have him on base often ahead of the big boppers in the Houston lineup.
Josh Rojas, 2B/3B, Arizona Diamondbacks (44% rostered)
I wish the D-Backs coaching staff loved Rojas as much as I do. Rojas is off to a good start this season as he's got 27 runs-plus-RBI through just 22 games, but he still can't seem to crack the lineup every day. Rojas leads off versus right-handers but sits versus lefties more than you'd like for a fantasy asset.
Still, life finds a way and it's only a matter of time for Rojas to get more consistent playing time. His career splits show a .257 hitter vs RHP and .259 hitter vs LHP. Let's get this guy on the field more, his splits are not a reason to be benched vs LHP:
Waiver Wire Pickups for Deeper Leagues
Ezequiel Duran, 2B/SS/3B, Texas Rangers (8% rostered)
Since Corey Seager (hamstring) landed on the injured list, the Rangers have used Duran and Josh Smith to fill in at shortstop. However, Duran is hitting and Smith is not as Duran is 14-for-42 with 10 RBI since Seager went down while Smith is batting under .200.
Duran has flashed elite upside in the past as evidenced by his 112.8 MPH max exit velocity. He's worth a shot in deeper leagues until Seager returns and possibly beyond.
Rodolfo Castro, 2B/SS/3B, Pittsburgh Pirates (15% rostered)
As the first-place Bucs continue to turn heads, fantasy managers should be turning to some of the players responsible for all this winning. Castro has been a huge part of this Pirate lineup as he is tied for seventh among all shortstops with 12 RBI.
In addition to driving in runs, Castro is getting on base at a .385 clip thanks to an elite 11.1 percent walk rate. With multi-position eligibility, now is the time to hop on the Pirate bandwagon. (Or would it be the Pirate ship?)
Other Options to Consider:
- Oswaldo Cabrera, SS/OF, New York Yankees (10% rostered)
- CJ Abrams, 2B/SS, Washington Nationals (22% rostered)
Prospect Watch
Jordan Lawlar, SS, Arizona Diamondbacks (4% rostered)
The top prospect for the D-Backs has been tearing up Double-A thus far. Lawlar is already up to four homers on the season and recently sparked an 11-run comeback, including a three-run homer and a walk-off single.
In addition to excellent power, Lawlar already has six stolen bases without being caught. We've seen other players in recent seasons skip Triple-A, so if Lawlar keeps mashing, we may see him in the Bigs at some point in 2023.
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