Braden Shewmake (2B/SS, ATL) - Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 7

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues

ROSTERED IN: 1% of Leagues

ANALYSIS: With infielder Ehire Adrianza landing on the 10-day injured list, the Braves promoted top-prospect Braden Shewmake.

Former Triple-A teammate and current shortstop Vaughn Grissom has not been a delight at the plate of late. Over the past 13 games, he is 10-for-43 with a .494 OPS. Defensively, he's already made four errors on the season, four of them committed in the past 11 games.

With Atlanta calling up Shewmake, there's a strong chance that the Braves shortstop plans will be re-evaluated if he can make an impact at the big-league level. He was slashing .243/.282/.456 with a 79 wRC+ at Triple-A Gwinett before his promotion on Friday. He is regarded as a plus defender, but his bat will be the biggest question mark in his time in the big leagues.

His raw power (five homers) has come into play early on in the season through 24 games and is just two shy of shattering his seven homers in 2022. He owns a .456 SLG at Gwinnett, which isn't exactly the norm for Shewmake who has a career-high of just 12 homers.

In terms of the underlying metrics, there hasn't been anything eyepopping to classify Shewmake as an advanced hitter. He owns a .318 wOBA, .256 BABIP, .214 ISO, with a 19.1% strikeout rate, and 5.5% walk rate. Although the 25-year-old hasn't been particularly coveted for his abilities at the plate, it will need to come into play if he plans of competing with Grissom at shortstop.

Shewmake is certainly one of the more polished defenders in the Braves system, and as previously mentioned, his bat raises concerns. He is still an honorable waiver add for fantasy managers considering that his fielding prowess could potentially oust Grissom from his job. He is available in almost every league and will make his debut as the ninth hitter against the Orioles on Friday.

More Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups

Jacob deGrom - Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups (Week 25)

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues ROSTERED IN: 75% of Leagues ANALYSIS: Texas Rangers starting pitcher Jacob deGrom is on the verge of returning to the major leagues and should be rostered in all formats. The former two-time Cy Young winner underwent Tommy John surgery last summer and began a rehab assignment in late August. Through […]

Andy Smith 5 months ago

Kumar Rocker - Fantasy Baseball Prospects Waiver Wire Pickups (Week 25)

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 15% of Leagues ANALYSIS:  Texas Rangers starting pitching prospect Kumar Rocker is set to make his major league debut on Thursday and should be added in all standard leagues. Rocker has had a rocky start to his professional career. He was originally drafted by the New […]

Andy Smith 5 months ago

Jasson Dominguez: Fantasy Baseball Prospects Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 25 (2024)

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 35% of Leagues ANALYSIS: The New York Yankees called up their top prospect, Jasson Dominguez, before Monday's series opener against the Kansas City Royals. Dominguez hit sixth and played left field in his second major league start of the season. In that contest, he went 1-for-4 with […]

Joey Pollizze 5 months ago

Will Wagner - Fantasy Baseball Prospects Waiver Wire Stashes (Week 23)

BALLER MOVE: Use as Streamer for Rest of Season / Stash in Dynasty Leagues CALL-UP ETA: In Majors ANALYSIS: Will Wagner, the son of legendary closer Billy Wagner, was acquired by the Toronto Blue Jays at this year’s trade deadline from the Houston Astros as part of the Yusei Kikuchi return. The 26-year-old currently ranks […]

Jake Kleiner 6 months ago

Connor Norby - Fantasy Baseball Prospects Waiver Wire Stashes (Week 22)

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deeper Leagues CALL-UP ETA: August 19 ANALYSIS: Connor Norby is finally making his much-anticipated debut for the Miami Marlins. Norby, who was acquired at the trade deadline in the deal that sent Trevor Rogers to Baltimore, was playing with Miami's Triple-A team in Jacksonville since being traded but was activated by Miami […]

Dan Palyo 6 months ago