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As the baseball season chugs along, it's becoming harder and harder to find quality waiver wire options. Any player worth a darn is likely already rostered, and those struggling players are running out of time to turn their season around. That doesn't mean there aren't diamonds in the rough, however. There are plenty of quality options putting up good numbers for their teams who have flown under the radar in the majority of fantasy leagues.
Time is running out on the season, but there are still roughly two months of baseball left, so there's still enough time to make a charge up the standings. If you're in the market for an upgrade at one of the middle infield positions, you're in luck. We've got a fresh batch of names under 50% rostered who can help your squad as we enter crunch time of the fantasy season.
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 21 -- August 12 through August 18.
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Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups for Shallow Leagues
Brandon Lowe, 2B, Tampa Bay Rays (47% rostered)
It feels like Brandon Lowe is in this column weekly, but at under 50% rostered, he remains one of the most underappreciated players in baseball. Lowe is on the shortlist for most impactful 2B in fantasy thanks to outlier power for what is traditionally a position void of power hitters. Among 2B with at least 250 plate appearances, Lowe's .527 slugging percentage ranks second to only Ketel Marte. They are the only two players slugging over .500 whose primary position is 2B.
As you'd expect, Lowe's batted-ball metrics are off-the-chart as well for the position he plays. He ranks first among all 2B in barrels-per-PA and he ranks in the top-five in virtually all relevant Statcast categories. If we widen the scope from just 2B to all players, Lowe still ranks as one of the best pure hitters in the sport. He ranks in the 95th percentile among all hitters in xSLG (.537), and is also 92nd percentile or better in wOBA (.372), xwOBA (.373), and xwOBA on contact (.465). Simply put, Lowe has no business being on waivers in any type of fantasy league.
| Brandon Lowe | Stat | 2B Rank |
| SLG | .527 | 2nd |
| Barrels/PA | 10.20% | 1st |
| Average Exit Velocity | 90.6 MPH | 2nd |
| Hard Hit% | 45.40% | 3rd |
| xwOBA | .373 | 2nd |
Masyn Winn, SS, St. Louis Cardinals (38% rostered)
In the intro, we referenced players putting up solid seasons that have flown under the radar, and that description fits Masyn Winn to a tee. The slick-fielding shortstop has posted solid numbers for the Cardinals, but remains widely available in fantasy, in part, because shortstop might be the deepest position in fantasy. The depth of the position leaves quality options, like Winn, on waivers deep into the season for anyone who may need a boost here in mid-August.
On the season, Winn is slashing a healthy .281/.331/.420 and is one home run away from a 10/10 season as he's got nine homers and 10 steals on the season. His counting stats are lagging a tad since he was buried in the bottom of the order early in the season. However, Winn has been the primary leadoff hitter for St. Louis since mid-June and he's been highly productive with 39 runs scored and seven homers batting out of the leadoff spot this season. His profile isn't for everyone, but Winn is at least average in all five Roto categories, and he has the potential to finish strong batting ahead of the big bats for the Cardinals.
Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups for Deeper Leagues
Isiah Kiner-Falefa, 2B/SS/3B, Pittsburgh Pirates (24% rostered)
Isiah Kiner-Falefa isn't the sexiest name in fantasy baseball, but he's provided sneaky-good value in the past when he's gotten the chance at everyday at-bats, and that's exactly the situation he finds himself in now for the Pirates. Pittsburgh acquired IKF from Toronto at the trade deadline and, thus far, he's played every game for his new club. The 29-year-old utility man may never settle at one position, but his versatility has him playing frequently for the Pirates while that multi-positional eligibility is oh-so-sweet to have on a fantasy baseball roster.
As for his bat, which is what we care about for fantasy, he's had a quality season to the tune of a .293 BA with seven homers and a .429 slugging percentage. He'll never be a huge power threat at the plate, but Kiner-Falefa rocks elite plate discipline as his 13.5% K-rate and 13.6% whiff rate rank in the 93rd and 97th percentile, respectively. Lastly, he's been hot to start his Pirates career as he's got three multi-hit efforts in his first six games wearing yellow and black. It's still a small sample, but Kiner-Falefa has been a spark for the Pirates thus far and he can do the same for your fantasy team.
Brendan Rodgers, 2B, Colorado Rockies (9% rostered)
A week ago, we highlighted just how good Brendan Rodgers has been at home ahead of a six-game week of games at Coors Field for the Rockies. This week, let's just appreciate how good Rodgers has been since the All-Star break, venue be damned. In the second half, Rodgers has crushed baseballs to the tune of a .328 batting average with an eye-popping .899 OPS. His rate stats look great across the board, albeit in an 18-game sample.
| Rodgers | PA | BA | OPS | wOBA | wRC+ |
| Second Half | 74 | 0.328 | 0.899 | 0.39 | 138 |
Now, one hot steak isn't enough to declare Rodgers has been anything more than the middling fantasy option he's been for most of his career. That being said, he is hot right now and will continue to play half his games -- both this upcoming week and for the rest of the season -- in the hitter's paradise that the Rockies call home. This won't last forever for Rodgers, but those in need of a quick fix should feel comfortable riding the hot hand currently manning the keystone for Colorado.
Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Watch List
Colson Montgomery, SS, Chicago White Sox (4% rostered)
At this point in the season, we're officially on prospect watch as teams will soon be able to call up top prospects while retaining their rookie eligibility for next season. One team that may want to see what they have for the future is the Chicago White Sox. You may have heard, but the Southsiders recently lost 21 straight games, and fired manager Pedro Grifol, as the team barrels to a historic loss total.
Part of the beauty of baseball is the eternal hope for the future, regardless of how bad things may be going in any individual season. For Chicago, the future is 22-year-old shortstop Colson Montgomery, who is expected to debut later this season, according to MLB.com. Montgomery is a former first-round draft pick and currently the number-one ranked prospect for the White Sox as he bids his time in Triple-A waiting for the call to the majors.
His numbers this season aren't spectacular, but Montgomery crushed the lower levels of the minors and, at this point, what more do the White Sox have to lose by calling up a talented player? Fantasy managers don't need to stash Montgomery now, but when he gets the call, he offers intriguing upside, particularly in keeper or dynasty formats.
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