NL-Only and AL-Only Waiver Wire for Week 14

July 1, 2021

Matt Wallach outlines his favorite week 14 waiver wire pickups and adds for deep leagues, and AL-only or NL-only fantasy baseball leagues for the 2021 MLB season.

Welcome back to the NL-only and AL-only pickups column. Each week, I'll look at five players who are under 15% rostered in Yahoo! leagues and who can be considered as options to add in deep-league formats, such as 15-teamers or AL or NL-only leagues.

I'll also include a recommendation for what to do with each player on your roster. And lastly, I'll take a look at some of my picks from the previous week to see how they're performing.

Without further ado, let's get into it.

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Yonathan Daza - OF, Rockies

10% rostered
Recommended move: Add for this week

Daza has been recommended before, and it's usually been during weeks where the Rockies have a plethora of home games. That's the case again, as it turns out that the Rockies have all home games this week, which makes Daza a good option for a hitter stream this week.

Daza has pretty much been as advertised this season, with a high .325 batting average, and little else. He's not hitting for much power at all (.096 ISO) and his Statcast stats don't offer much hope in that department either. He's not swiping many bags, but he does have some decent counting stats in terms of runs and RBI, but for the most part, Daza is a one-category option, but he does have the chance to help out big time this week, with so many home games on the docket.

To make things better, the Rockies face some pretty poor pitching staffs this week, with the Pirates and Cardinals both coming to town, so the opportunity is even greater for Daza to make an impact this week. Pick him up for extended stretches at home, and hopefully, he'll elevate your squad's batting average for the week.

Garrett Cooper - 1B/OF, Marlins

6% rostered
Recommended move: Add for the long haul

Cooper was dropped by many fantasy managers when he went on the injured list earlier this month, but now he's back and it seems some have forgotten about him. He was off to a slow start, but eventually started to heat up before going on the injured list, with a .339/.431/.581 slash line from May 12th through June 7th, his final day before hitting the injured list.

Well, Cooper is back in action and has been hitting well in the three games he's played, hitting .571 with a home run in those games, as he picks up right where he left off. Cooper hits the ball plenty hard, with a 50.8% hard-hit rate on the year, but his profile is ultimately limited due to an elevated strikeout rate (27.8%), and a high groundball rate that is pushing 50%. When he gets it in the air though, it goes, as he does have a strong HR/FB rate of 16.7%, which has been even better during his hot stretch dating back to May 12th at 23.5%, which is right in line with his career average of 20%, which is quite encouraging to see. He may not provide a high batting average or any speed at all, but Cooper should be a good, underrated power option, due to the other imperfections within his profile.

The issue of playing time does need to be raised though, as the season goes on and the Marlins looking more and more like pretenders than contenders, the team could start to sit veterans such as Cooper in favor of younger outfielders, such as Jesus Sanchez. In fact, it may already be starting, as Cooper didn't start one of the three games the team has had since he came off the injured list. He may not be in the lineup every day, which does hurt his overall value, but if he continues to play well, he'll likely be in there the majority of the time. All in all, Cooper is a quality hitter with power upside that is probably under-rostered right now.

Nicky Lopez - 2B/SS, Royals

3% rostered
Recommended move: Add for a few weeks

Lopez is another hitter that got off to a slow start this year, with a wRC+ mark of 84 and 68 in April and May, respectively. He's been playing much better in June, though, and it has flown a bit under the radar. He's not contributing much in terms of power, but for the month he's running a .339/.423/.355 slash line (124 wRC+), all while chipping in two stolen bases, bringing him to seven total for the season.

Additionally, playing time for Lopez should be locked in for the foreseeable future, as Adalberto Mondesi recently went on the injured list for the third time this season with an oblique injury that will keep him out of action for a long time.

The upside of a high batting average-speed combo will always be intriguing for fantasy purposes, and Lopez has been doing it well for pretty much a month now, and if he keeps it up, he won't be rostered at this rate for much longer. If you can swallow the lack of power or counting stats on your roster, Lopez should be a solid middle infield option going forward.

Eli White - OF, Rangers

1% rostered
Recommended move: Add for a few weeks 

Yet another player who got off to a dreadful start this season is White. From the start of the season through May 13th, he had a wRC+ of just five. That rightfully earned him a demotion to the minors, but was recalled in early June, and since then, he is hitting at a very solid .263/.344/.474 (127 wRC+), with three home runs in that span.

Strong play like that will definitely get the attention of fantasy managers, and while it is a small sample still, it's still been an impressive stretch that would help out many fantasy managers in deep formats. While he has hit for good power since coming back to the Majors, it likely won't stick, as he hasn't made much hard contact in this recent hot stretch (29.3%), but with a fly ball and line drive heavy profile (37% fly ball rate, 21% line drive rate), he could still get good results. He seems to be more of an all-around type of player--doing enough pretty much everywhere and not hurting in one particular category. It's not a glamorous profile, but it does help, especially when it comes with every day playing time--which seems like it'll be there for White. David Dahl (ribs) is set to return soon, but the injury to Willie Calhoun (forearm), should keep White in there most of the time. Pick him up and see if he can maintain this profile for a while longer.

Lars Nootbaar - OF, Cardinals

1% rostered
Recommended move: Add for this week

Nootbaar is a real deep option for those looking for a hitter to stream for this week. Nootbaar recently got the call to join the Cardinals after tearing up AAA with a 158 wRC+ in 22 games, and with the Cardinals needing reinforcements in the outfield.

He's yet to fully find his footing at the plate through his first week of Major League plate appearances (43 wRC+ in 25 plate appearances), but if there was a week for him to start to get things going, it would be this one. The Cardinals face off against the woeful pitching staff of the Diamondbacks (notably missing Zac Gallen), before heading off to hitter-friendly Colorado for a four-game set later in the week. Those factors make Nootbaar an intriguing hitter stream this week, and while he may not provide much power, considering he never hit for much of it during his minor league career, but there is the potential for some of it in friendly hitting conditions along with a high batting average. It's a riskier option, but for this looking to gamble a bit, starting Nootbaar this week could end up paying off.

Reviewing Last Week's Picks

At the end of each week's post, I'll review what happened with last week's picks and offer a suggestion for them in the future.

Abraham Toro (3B, HOU)

Last week: 8% rostered. This week: 9% rostered. 

With news that Bregman isn't due back for the Astros for at least a month, it's going to be the Toro show at third base for a bit. He didn't have the best week, with just an 80 wRC+ as he has started to cool off after a hot stretch, but the profile is still intriguing. His performance will likely ebb and flow as he gets more playing time, but he should bounce back after a rough week. Hold him for now.

Current recommendation: Hold. 

Wilmer Flores (1B/2B/3B, SF)

Last week: 6% rostered. This week: 19% rostered. 

Flores was recommended last week due to the Giants facing off against many left-handed starters. Flores hits lefties well, and he did so last week with a 137 wRC+ in that span. He's been playing so well in June (152 wRC+), that he's now the team's everyday third baseman. As long as he's playing well and in the lineup every day, he's going to stay in most managers' fantasy lineups.

Current recommendation: Hold. 

Kevin Pillar (OF, NYM)

Last week: 4% rostered. This week: 3% rostered. 

Pillar was recommended last week with the caveat of him being a short-term, week-to-week option. The Mets are now starting to get healthier with the team's true centerfielder, Brandon Nimmo (finger), expected to return this weekend, which should push Pillar to the bench. Pillar didn't exactly help out fantasy squads much last week, either. He did hit two home runs, but posted just a 45 wRC+, while striking out 34.5% of the time. This is a drop.

Current recommendation: Drop. 

Chas McCormick (OF, HOU)

Last week: 3% rostered. This week: 3% rostered. 

With Kyle Tucker (COVID-19) returning last week, McCormick was moved to the bench. It was unclear who would be getting the center field job between him and Myles Straw, but it seems like the job is clearly Straw's. McCormick has gotten the odd start for the team, but is likely relegated to sporadic playing time right now, which makes him a drop. The profile is still nice, though.

Current recommendation: Drop. 

Brian Goodwin (OF, CHW)

Last week: 1% rostered. This week: 1% rostered. 

The White Sox outfield is still ravaged by injury, which has kept Goodwin in the lineup. He's been hitting second for the team on a consistent basis and has been the type of league-average hitter he was expected to be, as he hit for a 97 wRC+ last week. He doesn't have an eye-opening profile, but he's solid enough for deep league consideration. I would hold him for now.

Current recommendation: Hold. 

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