NL-Only and AL-Only Waiver Wire for Week 3

April 16, 2021

Matt Wallach outlines his favorite week 3 waiver wire pickups and adds for deep leagues, and AL-only or NL-only fantasy baseball leagues for the 2021 MLB season.

With the Major League season fully underway, it's time for fantasy managers to take a little bit of inventory on their roster and see how their players have performed thus far and whether or not any action is needed. Injuries have been piling up, playing time is being ironed out, and players are inserting themselves into the conversation due to strong play.

With that, the waiver wire remains as active and important as ever, as every manager decides where they can improve on the margins and set themselves up for a key matchup win and eventually hope to move up the standings. This week is a bit of a quieter week for waiver wire pickups, especially compared to the first couple of weeks as a lot of the hot targets that would normally be covered in a post like this are now well above the 15% rostered rate. Instead, we'll have to look at some less flashy, yet still dependable names.

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. Now, without further ado, let's get into it.

Bryan Reynolds - OF, Pirates

12% rostered
Recommended move: Add for the long haul

While Reynolds' teammate Phillip Evans has easily been the most impressive Pittsburgh Pirate so far this year, Reynolds hasn't been a slouch either. Evans' rise has taken some of the spotlight off of Reynolds, who came into the 2021 season off a disappointing 202o campaign where he didn't quite live up to the high bar he set after a strong rookie season back in 2019.

Reynolds was not much of a priority during draft season, and it still seems a bit odd for him to be so under-rostered, considering the strong start. While he hasn't, and may never, match the .503 slugging percentage he showed in 2019, Reynolds is performing well overall with a .297/.366/.432 triple slash, and he's already homered once. Also encouraging is that so far this season, Reynolds is putting a ton of barrels on the ball with an 11.5% barrel rate. He has also been pulling the ball a lot more so far with a 57.7% pull rate. An increased pull rate could indicate some increases in power, which would pair nicely with an increase in barrel rate.

It ultimately does remain to be seen in Reynolds will turn into more of a power threat, but for now, he provides a nice floor as he should maintain a good batting average. He has everyday playing time locked down and will be a regular in the top third of the Pirates' order. The Pirates' lineup admittedly isn't spectacular, which maybe causes some of the team's promising players such as Reynolds to get overlooked, but that allows fantasy managers the opportunity to pick them up quietly. Reynolds could be a nice, quiet pickup for those in deeper formats.

Zach McKinstry - OF, Dodgers

11% rostered
Recommended move: Add for a few weeks

While the Dodgers don't look to have missed a beat so far this season, the team has had a shaky bill of health to start the season with both Mookie Betts and Cody Bellinger missing time. Betts returned to the lineup on Tuesday, but Bellinger ended up on the injured list. That has opened the door for a player like McKinstry, who is just yet another quality depth piece who the Dodgers seem to churn out on the regular.

He's been getting a ton of opportunities thus far, and had gotten seven straight starts prior to Tuesday. He has done extremely well, to the tune of a .321/.355/.679 slash line, with two homers and 10 runs driven in. That output should regress some, as he wasn't exactly known for his power as a prospect, but he should still be an about-average bat who could provide some upside with the batting average. What makes McKinstry so appealing though is his versatility, as he can play every position on the diamond, save for catcher and pitcher. While he's only outfield eligible in Yahoo! right now, he could very easily get both second and third-base eligibility at some point this season, giving managers who get in early a chance for a versatile replacement when injuries and underperformance inevitably happen down the line.

The playing time situation is still a bit hairy though, which is why the recommendation is to add just for a few weeks. Bellinger's stay on the injured list is expected to be short, and after that, McKinstry may be out of a spot because of how loaded the team is. However, other hitters such as AJ Pollock and Gavin Lux have gotten off to slow starts this year, which could provide McKinstry some more playing time if he continues to do well and those two continue to struggle. It's more of a wait-and-see thing, but for right now, pick him up and enjoy his hot streak.

Jed Lowrie - 2B, Athletics

9% rostered
Recommended move: Add for a few weeks

It probably says more about the current state of the Oakland A's offense that Lowrie is a legitimate fantasy option than anything that has to do with Lowrie himself, but here we are with the old veteran being fantasy relevant yet again.

So far, the A's have been one of the league's worst hitting teams, and Lowrie has been one of the few members of the team who has actually been producing. He's shown good hard-hit ability and plate discipline thus far en route to a .316/.395/.474 triple slash, with two home runs, 11 RBI, and nine runs scored. He's been providing a lot of value thus far, and as long as he is hitting, he is going to be in the lineup.

Of course, it should be mentioned that Lowrie is 36 years old and didn't take a Major League plate appearance last season. It's not exactly a good profile to bet on, so some regression should be coming for Lowrie. At that point, he may no longer be as fantasy relevant, even if he is in the lineup every day. For now, he's helping to keep the A's offense afloat, and if a manager is in need of a second base fill-in for a few weeks, Lowrie is as good an option as any right now. Enjoy the throwback trip and the solid production.

Starlin Castro - 2B, Nationals

9% rostered
Recommended move: Add for the long haul

Castro was recommended last week as a potential option for some extra counting stats due to the Nationals' situation with COVID. He's seen a two percent increase in roster rate since then, and the Nats are mostly back from their early COVID outbreak, but that hasn't changed much for Castro's role.

Castro didn't quite take full advantage of the increased opportunity last week, but if you started him, you at least got a high .296 batting average out of it, albeit with not much else by way of power with just one extra-base hit.

The main appeal for rostering Castro is that he'll get plenty of opportunities for counting stats as he'll be in the lineup pretty much every day. While he didn't land a home run last week, he still did his part in contributing counting stats, as he drove in six runs in his first seven games, which certainly provided some good fantasy value. Keep Castro on your roster if you have him, or consider picking him up for solid - albeit unspectacular - counting stats and a good batting average.

JT Brubaker - SP, Pirates

4% rostered
Recommended move: Add for the long haul

Similar to the aforementioned Reynolds, not much of a spotlight has been placed on Brubaker. Some of that is due to the Pirates being the Pirates and not on many peoples' radars, but also due to Brubaker's mixed track record. The 27-year-old was never much of a highly touted prospect and has just 56.2 innings of Major League experience, with not all of it going quite well.

He had a 4.94 ERA in his debut last year, but there were some areas that made him intriguing coming into this season.  His ERA estimators looked a lot more encouraging, notably with a 4.08 FIP and 4.14 xFIP. He was above-average in strikeout rate (23.4%) and about average in walk rate (8.3%). He also had a similar league average-ish HR/FB rate (14.3%). All of these metrics added up to nearly average FIP and xFIP marks. He's shown flashes before, and now with a full-time starting gig, it's time to see if he can be legitimate.

He's made two starts thus far. The first of which was against an extremely potent Reds offense and in Cincinnati to boot. He only made it four innings and walked four as well, but he did strike out six and held a good offense to just one run. He also contained the Cubs in his second start with one run allowed in 5 1/3 innings, and the control was much better with just one walk allowed. Brubaker may not be consistently great, but he may be an undervalued arm, and with more good performances like the two he's had to start the season, he'll have some serious fantasy appeal. Right now, he's probably more of a streamer in an ideal world, but in deeper leagues, he could be a higher-upside option who is usually not readily available on the waiver wire. If you can start him in his more favorable matchups, that would be an added benefit as well.

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.

Taylor Trammell (OF, SEA) 

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

It's been a bit mixed at the plate for Trammell through his first couple dozen plate appearances in the Majors. He had just two hits through his first 25 plate appearances but had two home runs and three hits total in the next nine. He still hasn't stolen a base yet, even though he's gotten on quite a bit with a .353 OBP. We knew things were going to be a bit rocky as he started facing Major League pitching, and the steals should come soon. Hold here.

Current recommendation: Hold

Kyle Isbel (OF, KC)

Last week: 7% rostered. This week: 5% rostered. 

Isbel has definitely cooled off after a hot start as he is just two for his last 20, with a whopping 60% strikeout rate. He still is hitting the ball relatively hard, but he's not making enough contact at all. He can be held and kept on the bench, but you may not have that luxury. This is a drop for most.

Current recommendation: Drop

Jason Heyward (OF, CHC)

Last week: 5% rostered. This week: 4% rostered. 

Not many Cubs are hitting well currently, and Heyward is no exception at .152/.200/.273. He had just two hits in the weekend series against Pittsburgh, and he's hitting in the bottom third of the order. There should be some sort of bounceback statistically, but there's no reason to hold on waiting for it to happen, as he'll likely be sitting around on waivers for a while. Feel free to drop.

Current recommendation: Drop

Jay Bruce (1B/OF, NYY)

Last week: 3% rostered. This week: 2% rostered. 

The hope was that Bruce would provide some cheap counting stats, but he has not looked good at the plate at all with just three hits in 32 plate appearances. He's already been dropped to ninth in the order when he does start, and due to the team's acquisition of Rougned Odor, he isn't even a lock to be starting daily. It sounded good in theory, but he's just not getting it done and there are other options. Easy drop.

Current recommendation: Drop

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