Deeper Hitter Pickups for Fantasy Baseball: Waiver Wire Report for Week 19

We’re coming up on Week 19 of the fantasy baseball season. Trade deadline rumors might be fogging up your fantasy brain, but it's time to lock back in. Fantasy baseball necessitates hyper-vigilance, especially in deeper leagues where the waiver wires are quickly stripped of talent. This weekly article will outline the upcoming schedule, two-start pitchers, and a few waiver targets rostered in less than 5% of leagues.

It’s good practice to maximize at-bats and starts. A quick look at upcoming schedules for the 19th week of the MLB season could give you the edge in this week’s play. There are plenty of two-start pitchers this week who should end up providing great value.

This article will discuss some deeper-league fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups for Week 19, July 31 through August 6. While the season may have settled in, the waiver wires are still hot. Rostered percentages can change quickly. So be quick to check your leagues for their availability. Key point -- this list will focus on rostered players in less than 5% of Yahoo leagues.

Fantasy Baseball Schedule Outlook

This week has some great schedules to target for fantasy. There is only one team with five games on their schedule. 12 teams have a full slate of games this week, so fewer players will provide extra at-bats.

In this week's weather report: clear skies again for much of the country, but a decent bit of rain hitting the East Coast on Friday/Saturday.

• Seven Games - BAL, HOU, LAA, NYY, SEA, TOR, ARZ, CHC, CIN, MIA, MIL, PHI
• Six Games - TEX, PIT, LAD, CWS, NYM, SD, KC, MIN, SF, COL, BOS, TB, ATL, CLE, STL, WAS
• Five Games - DET, OAK

Fantasy Baseball Two-Start Pitchers

There are pitchers of varying quality on this week's two-start streamers list. For more insight, check out my article on this week’s two-start pitcher streamers.

• Kyle Gibson (@ TOR, vs. NYM)
• Kyle Bradish (@ TOR, vs. NYM)
• Brayan Bello (@ SEA, vs. TOR)
• Domingo German (vs. TB, vs. HOU)
• Carlos Rodon (vs. TB, vs. HOU)
• Zach Eflin (@ NYY, @ DET)
• Dylan Cease (@ TEX, @ CLE)
• Noah Syndergaard (@ HOU, vs. CHW)
• Zack Greinke (vs. NYM, @ PHI)
• Pablo Lopez (@ STL, vs. ARZ)
• J.P. France (vs. CLE, @ NYY)
• Framber Valdez (vs. CLE, @ NYY)
• Griffin Canning (@ ATL, vs. SEA)
• George Kirby (vs. BOS, @ LAA)
• Bryce Miller (vs. BOS, @ LAA)
• Jon Gray (vs. CHW, @ MIA)
• Edward Cabrera (vs. PHI, @ TEX)
• Sandy Alcantara (vs. PHI, @ TEX)
• Taijuan Walker (@ MIA, vs. KC)
• Ranger Suarez (@ MIA, vs. KC)
• Jake Irvin (vs. MIL, @ CIN)
• Marcus Stroman (vs. CIN, @ ATL)
• Justin Steele (vs. CIN, @ ATL)
• Andrew Abbott (@ CHC, vs. WAS)
• Ben Lively (@ CHC, vs. WAS)
• Corbin Burnes (@ WAS, vs. PIT)
• Freddy Peralta (@ WAS, vs. PIT)
• Johan Oviedo (vs. DET, @ MIL)
• Jack Flaherty (vs. MIN, @ COL)
• Ryne Nelson (@ SF, @ MIN)
• Zac Gallen (@ SF, @ MIN)
• Austin Gomber (vs. SD, @ STL)
• Peter Lambert (vs. SD, @ STL)
• Julio Urias (vs. OAK, @ SD)
• Seth Lugo (@ COL, vs. LAD)
• Alex Cobb (vs. ARZ, @ OAK)

Deeper Infield Waiver Wire Pickups

Michael Massey (2B), Kansas City Royals - 2% Rostered

After an encouraging rookie year, Kansas City Royals second baseman Michael Massey is slashing .216/.270/.344 with a 25.9% strikeout rate in 77 games this season.

But Massey is showing signs of life. He has slashed .276/.323/.655 with three home runs, five runs, seven RBI, and one stolen base in eight games since July 19.

Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino tweeted about Massey changing his hitting approach to increase pull rate. While an increased pull rate isn't an automatic cure-all for hitting problems, Massey's spray chart shows that the left-handed hitter fares much better when he pulls the ball.

The 25-year-old is already bound for positive regression with a .317 xwOBA compared to a .269 wOBA. An everyday second baseman with solid baserunning skills (top-50 in Statcast runner runs), decent pop (>60th percentile for hard-hit rate, average exit velocity, and max exit velocity), and a recent improvement in plate approach is a prime pickup.

Connor Wong (C), Boston Red Sox - 3% Rostered

A month ago, I talked about Connor Wong's incredible home splits. That article mentioned that Wong could be a significant fantasy contributor in an early-July homestand. Wong performed expectedly well in that stretch, slashing .438/.474/.563 in six games at Fenway. He repeated that performance in a recent four-game homestand against the Atlanta Braves and the New York Mets, going 7-for-15 with three runs.

Boston is on the road for a series against the Mariners, but they'll return home for a 10-game homestand against the Blue Jays, Royals, and Tigers.

His near-everyday role gives him ROS appeal in deeper leagues, but everyone should consider adding him ahead of this home stand.

Endy Rodriguez (C), Pittsburgh Pirates - 5% Rostered

People are far too impatient with prospects. Endy Rodriguez was rostered en masse upon his promotion and dropped in the same fashion after starting his career 5-for-21 with one home run and four strikeouts.

With very few catchers left on the wires, a 23-year-old with one of the best hit tools at the position should not be overlooked.

Gabriel Arias (1B/3B/SS/OF), Cleveland Guardians - 1% Rostered

With everyday shortstop Amed Rosario traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers, Gabriel Arias now moves into the starting role for the Guardians. The 23-year-old has struggled in his first 76 games as a major-league hitter, slashing .193/.306/.315 with a 31.3% strikeout rate.

A permanent move to shortstop should do some good for the 23-year-old. The presence of Rosario forced Arias to right field; as a right fielder, Arias slashed .085/.218/.191 in 55 plate appearances.

The Guardians have other options, but three straight starts mean they likely want to see what they have with Arias. If Arias lands the starting role, he'll be a strong contributor in fantasy baseball with his impressive speed, power, and positional flexibility.

Deeper Outfield Waiver Wire Pickups

Ryan Noda (OF/1B), Oakland Athletics - 4% Rostered

A jaw injury pushes Ryan Noda back into the under-five territory. While Noda is only about a week into his three-week recovery, he's the type of guy you wait on. Noda is a must-roster bat in OBP leagues, with a 17.6% walk rate that ranks behind the eagle-eyed Juan Soto.

While his 65.6% contact rate is not ideal, his .447 xwOBAcon and 14.4% barrel rate have translated into solid counting numbers (11 home runs, 38 RBI, 43 runs) out of the second spot in Oakland's batting order.

You'd be hard-pressed to find a better IL stash in deeper leagues.

Matt Wallner (OF), Minnesota Twins - 2% Rostered

A prospect promotion that flew under the radar in the past few weeks was Matt Wallner, the fifth-ranked prospect in Minnesota's system (by MLB Pipeline). He has started in 10 straight games since his recall, slashing .222/.317/.500 with three home runs, four RBI, and seven runs.

With an everyday role and 70-grade raw power, Wallner is an enticing pickup this week.

Mike Tauchman (OF), Chicago Cubs - 4% Rostered

The emergence of 32-year-old Mike Tauchman is another surprise in a season that's been chock-full of them. Since July 15, Tauchman is slashing .351/.429/.595 with two home runs, nine runs, and 11 RBI.

He has secured a role as the strong-side platoon bat in center field. The Cubs are likely to sell platoon mate Cody Bellinger at the deadline, making it possible for Tauchman to get a full-time role.

More Waiver Wire Pickups and Streamers