RADIO
By this point in the season, you should start to have a decent feel for your fantasy baseball teams. It's never too early to start addressing your team's weaknesses, especially in roto leagues where you have to pay close attention to your team's performance in each of the five hitting and pitching categories (assuming you are playing in a standard 5x5 league).
There are dozens of waiver wire articles across the industry each week, but how many of them break down the available hitters by which categories they are most capable of contributing?
My goal is to give you the top options this week for each of the five offensive categories. All hitters will be under 50% rostered on Yahoo and listed in order of my preference.
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Runs Scored (R) - Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Boosters
Brenton Doyle, OF - COL (46%)
Doyle is surging right now for a Rockies offense that is finally starting to make some noise after a quiet start to the season. He has scored nine runs in his last eight games, taking his season total to 28 (good for the 8th most in all of MLB).
Connor Joe, 1B/OF - PIT (45%)
When the Pirates brought Connor Joe back this season, he was expected to be strictly a platoon player at first base or in the infield, starting against left-handers. But the combination of the lack of production from Rowdy Tellez and Joe's solid hitting (.293) have forced the offensively starved Pirates to play Joe just about every day as they simply need his bat in the lineup.
Connor Joe does it again! pic.twitter.com/Z44k9jXYB8
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) May 15, 2024
Mike Tauchman, OF - CHC (20%)
Tauchman is right behind Doyle with 26 runs scored this season. He's bounced all around the Cubs lineup but has spent a good chunk of the season up in the two-hole where he's done a great job of getting on base (.391 OBP) and setting the table for Cody Bellinger, Christopher Morel, and the rest of the Chicago sluggers.
He's scored seven runs over his last 10 games and is available in twice as many leagues as the rest of this group.
Josh Smith, 3B/SS/OF - TEX (44%)
Smith's production has slowed down recently as the entire Texas offense has been struggling a bit. But he's still scored 21 runs this season and is sporting a solid .372 OBP. He might occasionally sit against a lefty, but he's proven to be an extremely valuable utility man in real life and for fantasy baseball teams.
Also consider: Tyler Freeman (CLE), Leody Taveras (TEX), and Ceddanne Rafaela (BOS)
Home Runs (HR) - Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Boosters
Eddie Rosario, OF - WSH (34%)
Rosario is a guy who was hitting around .100 up until the calendar turned over to May. Then, all of a sudden, something clicked and the veteran slugger went on a rampage, clubbing four home runs and driving in 11 runs over his next eight games. If he's still floating around on your wire, grab him while you can as it's a lot harder to find home runs on the wire than it is to find some of these other offensive stats.
Carlos Santana, 1B - MIN (13%)
Another veteran who is red-hot at the plate is Carlos Santana. He homered in four consecutive games before having his streak broken last night in New York. He still has a solid power stroke, even in his age-38 season, and the Twins plan to keep his bat in the lineup on a daily basis.
Carlos Santana has homered in every game this series! pic.twitter.com/UNlnNC0rFE
— MLB (@MLB) May 12, 2024
JJ Bleday, OF - OAK (12%)
The Oakland lefty has been heating up in May; well, I suppose it started on April 30 when he swatted two solo shots against my Pirates. He's added two more long balls this month and is up to five home runs on the season and a .248 average. He's making more contact now and while his home park is not a great one for hitting dingers, Bleday gets to face Houston and Kansas City on the road for the rest of the week.
Paul DeJong, SS - CWS (9%)
DeJong has been one of the few bright spots for the White Sox lately, hitting three home runs over the last week to give him six on the season. At .248, he's sporting his best batting average in five years and is only three years removed from a 19-home run campaign back in St. Louis. He's still just 30 years old.
Also consider: Joc Pederson (ARI), Andrew Vaughn (CWS), and Luke Raley (SEA)
Runs Batted In (RBI) - Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Boosters
Shea Langeliers, C - OAK (39%)
Langaliers has been streaky this season, once hitting three home runs in one game and two in another - that's five of his nine home runs in two games.
Shea Langeliers' 3 ABs today: home run, double, triple.
He is a single shy of the cycle! pic.twitter.com/KKMwSus2rl
— MLB (@MLB) May 8, 2024
His advanced metrics look great and he's starting to get it going again. He's now up to 24 RBI on the season and should continue to hit in the heart of the Oakland lineup.
Connor Joe, 1B/OF - PIT (45%)
Carlos Santana, 1B - MIN (13%)
Mitch Haniger, OF - SEA (14%)
Haniger is hitting just .214 this season but has driven in 21 runs and continues to hit third for Seattle. The Mariners offense has slumped in May, but Haniger is going to continue to get RBI opportunities. If they start to turn it around soon, he should have the chance to go on another RBI streak.
Also consider: JJ Bleday (OAK), Jeimer Candelario (CIN), and Jesus Sanchez (MIA)
Stolen Bases (SB) - Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Boosters
Jacob Young, OF - WAS ( 36%)
Young's production has slowed considerably as of late, but he still has 13 steals on the season despite playing in just 33 games. With Lane Thomas still on the IL, Young should continue to get playing time and has shown he will continue to run when he gets the chance.
Brenton Doyle, OF - COL (46%)
Doyle has eight steals on the season and is getting it done in multiple offensive categories. His rostership continues to rise daily, grab him while you can!
Johan Rojas, OF - PHI (6%)
Rojas has been a nice source of steals this season with nine on the year. He hits out of the nine-hole for Philly and has a quietly productive season in terms of stolen bases.
Masyn Winn, SS - STL (11%)
Winn has been the everyday shortstop for the Cards this season. And while he has yet to hit a home run, he's batting .280 with eight stolen bases. The Cardinals have disappointed overall, but Winn has been a steady low-end producer of batting average and steals.
Also consider: Trey Lipscomb (WAS), Dylan Moore (SEA), and Zach Neto (LAA)
Batting Average (AVG) - Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Boosters
Josh Rojas, 2B/3B - SEA (27%)
You won't find many leadoff hitters who are hitting .333 on the season on the waiver wire, but Rojas is widely available. The good news is that he continues to hit and boost that average, but the bad news is that he doesn't have a run scored, home run, or RBI in his last seven games. That should change soon, as Seattle has just been slumping pretty badly. But also know that the quality of the offense hitting behind him diminishes his value a bit.
LaMonte Wade Jr., 1B/OF - SF (19%)
Wade Jr. is hitting .323 and has worked his way into the lineup just about every day instead of just being a strong side platoon player vs. righties. He's been excellent at getting on base and was riding an eight-game hitting streak before running into some tough pitching this week from the Dodgers.
Tommy Pham, OF - CWS (9%)
Pham is hitting .308 over his first 17 games with the White Sox. He's a .260 lifetime hitter, so we should probably temper expectations a bit here. As the leadoff man for the White Sox, he looks like he's shortened his swing a bit with a focus on making more contact and not worrying about power. As long as he's hitting and getting on base, he's worth considering in deeper leagues and formats.
Also consider: Trevor Larnach (MIN), Wilyer Abreu (BOS), and Jonny DeLuca (TB)
I hope this helps you out! Maybe we can turn this into a weekly column going forward. Good luck and happy hunting, RotoBallers!
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