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Man, does it feel good to have baseball back in our lives! If you're like me, you likely opened various fantasy apps on your phone, only to see "no game" next to every player. Still, it felt good to look at your leagues every day, if only to feel like we were still playing fantasy baseball even though the major leaguers were on break.
Regardless, the "Second half" of the season is underway and it felt good to watch parts of tons of games on Friday and Saturday. Despite the misnomer for the portion of the season after the All-Star break, we're well past the actual halfway point of the season in terms of games played. We're entering crunch time, and now is the time to make a swing for the fences if you need to climb up the standings.
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 18 -- July 22 through July 28.
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Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups for Shallow Leagues
Zack Gelof, 2B, Oakland Athletics (46% rostered)
Of all the players available in over half of fantasy leagues, no one boasts as much upside as Zack Gelof. Let's be clear, Gelof has plenty of downside as well. After all, he was batting under .200 on the season well into June thanks to a sky-high K-rate. However, if your back is against the wall and need a huge second half, Gelof is the guy to roll the dice on.
As a rookie last season, Gelof mashed to the tune of 14 homers in 69 games with a .506 slugging percentage. We caught a glimpse of that production this past June when he swatted six homers and posted a .810 OPS with a respectable .247 batting average. The oddity about that month? Gelof posted his highest K-rate of any month this season. Go figure!
At the end of the day, Gelof will be a streaky hitter who whiffs way too often and hits tons of homers. If he's got an extended hot streak in him later this season, you'll be glad you added him now. Rostering the 24-year-old isn't for the faint of heart, but those in need of a miracle may find one playing second base for Oakland.
Masyn Winn, SS, St. Louis Cardinals (34% rostered)
The Cardinals have flown under the radar for a team that occupied a playoff spot at the All-Star break. Similarly, its young shortstop Masyn Winn has been overlooked in fantasy for a player having a rock-solid sophomore campaign. Through 88 games, Winn is slashing .284/.332/.406 with five homers, 42 runs, 33 RBI, and nine stolen bases.
Better yet, he's shown improvement across the board in his underlying metrics which implies he could sustain, or even improve, his production in the second half:
| Year | Age | xBA | xSLG | xwOBA | xwOBAcon |
| 2023 | 21 | 0.214 | 0.285 | 0.25 | 0.271 |
| 2024 | 22 | 0.259 | 0.314 | 0.289 | 0.325 |
Winn won't be a huge power threat, but he's hitting the ball harder this season, getting on base thanks to elite plate discipline, and boasts 88th percentile sprint speed. Winn plays virtually every day for a sneaky-good lineup, and he's not a complete zero in the power department, as evidenced by his five homers and .406 slugging percentage. He's a solid fantasy option for anyone, but especially in points leagues where his walks and lack of strikeouts directly contribute to fantasy production.
Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups for Deeper Leagues
Brandon Lowe, 2B, Tampa Bay Rays (25% rostered)
Brandon Lowe has had an up-and-down season -- and career -- when it comes to battling various injuries. One thing that has always been up, however, is his elite power from a middle-infield position. Simply put, when Lowe is healthy, he hits dingers. Well, right now, Lowe is healthy and he's blasted nine homers in his last 30 games played while posting a .564 slugging percentage in that span.
Lowe is one of the few middle infielders with an average exit velocity over 90 MPH, which is even more impressive when you factor in his 24.8% K-rate and 10.3% BB-rate, both of which rank better than the league average. Toss in an 18.4-degree average launch angle, a 14.7% barrel rate, and a massive .441 xwOBA on contact, and you've got a profile tailor-made for hitting homers. As long as Lowe remains on the field, he should be a solid contributor in fantasy.
Brandon Lowe off the damn scoreboard!!#SoloShotSwag #1626 doubles the Tampa lead!#Rays | #Guardians | #MLB
pic.twitter.com/u3BL8v5y2f— Dominic Manna (@DominicManna44) July 14, 2024
Angel Martinez, 2B/SS/3B/OF, Cleveland Guardians (12% rostered)
Guardians rookie Angel Martinez is the perfect deep-league fantasy add as he does everything well, and boasts eligibility all over the diamond. No, he doesn't do anything great, but he's a five-category contributor who has been batting second for a lethal Guardians lineup, leading to plenty of runs and RBI opportunities sandwiched between All-Stars Steven Kwan and Jose Ramirez.
On the season, Martinez is slashing .275/.373/.451 and has more walks than strikeouts, a feat he also accomplished in Triple-A where he posted an absurd .953 OPS. It's still too early in his career to draw any definitive conclusions from his Statcast metrics, but early returns are positive and Martinez should stick around with Cleveland for the remainder of the season.
Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Watch List
Jacob Wilson, SS, Oakland Athletics (12% rostered)
Athletics prospect Jacob Wilson was originally set to be higher in this article based on his insanely good production in the minors. However, he was removed from Oakland's 13-3 beatdown of the Angels on Friday night due to tightness in his hamstring, so for now let's list him in the "Watch List" section and see what happens. Given the score of the game, his removal may be precautionary, and if he does avoid the injured list, Wilson is a very intriguing prospect for fantasy.
The sixth overall pick in last year's MLB Draft, Wilson flew through the minor leagues. His calling card is an elite hit tool, combined with otherworldly plate discipline. This season between Double-A and Triple-A, Wilson posted a 99.1% zone-contact rate meaning, for all intents and purposes, he doesn't whiff when he swings at pitches in the strike zone. That certainly aided in his minor league-leading 3.3% K-rate and helped him bat .427 at the upper levels of the minors.
Keep an eye on Wilson's status this week, but he's worth knowing about when he does rejoin the A's, and if he avoids the IL, has appeal in fantasy leagues that value batting average.
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