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Baseball season is officially in full swing. If you have an interest or a need in tweaking with your team, then you have come to the right place. This FAAB fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups series will be looking at Week 8 -- May 13 through May 19 -- and will point out free agents to target and how much FAAB you should allocate for them.
Baseball is a long season, and your FAAB budget has to last you an awfully long time. For the next 16 weeks, we must carefully place bids and target players who will fill holes in our team. Pay close attention to this in category leagues and spend big on a player if you need a specific category filled urgently.
Below are a few players with ownership percentages under 50% in Yahoo leagues that could benefit your roster and provide you with an added boost in several categories. I will also include what percentage of your FAAB budget you should look to spend on each player. Let’s get started!
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Luis Garcia, 2B, Washington Nationals
40% rostered
FAAB Bid: < 5%
The Nationals second baseman has quietly been a top-100 player in fantasy during the opening month of the season, thanks to his sneaky combination of power and speed. Overall, the 23-year-old has a .330/.385/.500 line with three long balls and seven swiped bags. He has a .500/.591/.889 slash line in the past week (April 30 - May 7).
His underlying metrics are quite positive, suggesting that Garcia may just be hitting his stride and could be in for a big summer. He is currently in the top 93rd percentile with a 52.5% hard-hit rate and the top 93rd percentile with a .531 xSLG.
Luis García Jr. gives the Nats the lead with a three-run homer in the 7th! pic.twitter.com/FuGOeVNNrc
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) May 4, 2024
Garcia typically bats toward the top half of a surprisingly good Nationals lineup, making him a worthwhile addition if you need some middle infield depth. He can provide a nice balance of power and speed with decent counting stats in a Nationals team that is looking quite good early on.
Jonny DeLuca, OF, Tampa Bay Rays
20% rostered
FAAB Bid: <2%
After opening the season on the injured list with a broken hand, DeLuca made his Tampa Bay debut this week and has looked very good, albeit in this short time. DeLuca has been penciled in as a starter in every game and has posted a .389/.450/.722 line with one round-tripper and two swiped bags. This may be a promising sign that skipper Kevin Cash wants DeLuca’s name on the lineup card, and he can be viewed as an everyday starter going forward.
Of course, this is not a guarantee, as he may eventually lose playing time once Jonathan Aranda and Brandon Lowe return from the injured list. For the short term, if you need a fifth outfielder in deeper leagues, DeLuca should be a solid contributor to both the power and speed categories.
Michael Massey, 2B, Kansas City Royals
10% rostered
FAAB Bid: <1%
Massey has begun to find his footing following a rough start to the season and is worth adding in deeper formats. Massey has launched all three of his home runs this season within his past 10 games, and has a .357/.355/.750 line during this time frame.
Want to give some recognition to a deep league add in Michael Massey! Over the last 6 games:
9-24 (.375) / 2 HR / 5 RBI
If he’s out there I’m taking a flier on him!👀
pic.twitter.com/QgznKWdYs8— Andrew DeCeglie (@Andrew_FBB) May 8, 2024
However, I would encourage points league players to pay close attention to Massey as he has a stellar 8.2% K rate. With his strong contact skills and low K rate, he can become very valuable in points leagues and in deeper roto leagues if you are looking for a stable batting average contributor.
Danny Jansen, C, Toronto Blue Jays
15% rostered
FAAB Bid: <10% if you need a catcher, <1% for others
I wrote about Danny Jansen last week, but he is still extremely under-rostered. After returning from an early season wrist injury, Jansen has shared catching duties with Alejandro Kirk, but that does not seem to be the case anymore. Jansen started every game from May 1 - May 8 and has a firm hold on the starting catcher job north of the border.
With his current performance, I find it hard to believe that Jansen will lose many of those starts. In 15 games this season, the 29-year-old has a .311/.404/.667 line with three home runs. His underlying metrics are outstanding, and once he qualifies, he will be ranked among the top hitters in baseball.
If you need a second catcher and Jansen is still on the waiver wire, pay up for him.
Jesse Winker, OF, Washington Nationals
22% rostered
FAAB Bid: <2% for others
Who had a Jesse Winker bounce-back on their 2024 season bingo card? I certainly did not. Winker is slowly showing signs of his former 2021 self with his new team. After having disappointing seasons in the past two years, Winker looks fantasy-relevant once again. Across 35 games with his new club, Winker posted a .252/.367/.415 line with four home runs and four swiped bags.
JESSE WINKER HAS GIVEN THE NATS THE LEAD!!! pic.twitter.com/NBkAuJ9DvY
— optimistic nats fan (@optimistic5518) May 5, 2024
The 30-year-old has been hitting the ball much harder this season, which is paying dividends with his recent production. His 7.6% barrel rate is an almost 3% improvement on his previous two seasons' numbers and sports a 38% hard-hit rate, which is nearly 5% points higher than the rate posted over that same time.
While these numbers are not jaw-dropping, they are a great sign of improvement and make Winker worth adding in deeper formats if you are looking for some power. He can also provide a solid amount of counting stats playing every day for a Nationals team that is just above .500.
Trevor Williams, SP, Washington Nationals
23% rostered
FAAB Bid: < 5%
The surprising start to the Nationals’ season provides yet another name for this week’s column. Trevor Williams has been a stable pitcher through just over the first month of the season, sporting a 1.96 ERA and 1.06 WHIP through 36 ⅔ innings with 30 strikeouts. The 32-year-old veteran has never been this successful, so is the production something we can invest in?
Under the hood, he has an above-average 3.04 xERA and .226 xBA. In addition, he has an excellent 4.0% barrel rate and a strong 48.0% ground ball rate. The ground-ball rate helps to offset his poor strikeout numbers.
Will Williams hold a sub-2.00 ERA the entire summer? Obviously not. He will probably settle in around the mid-2.00s, which can make him a solid fantasy contributor in standard leagues. However, do not count on Williams for strikeout production. Throughout his career, he has always averaged under a strikeout per inning. Shop elsewhere for K’s, but there is still some value in other categories.
Patrick Sandoval, SP, Los Angeles Angels
6% rostered
FAAB Bid: <5%
After having a few rough outings in the early part of April, Sandoval has turned in three straight solid performances and is worth adding in most formats. In these recent three starts, the Southpaw has tossed 17 ⅔ innings with a 2.55 ERA and 1.08 WHIP and tallied 21 punchouts.
Patrick Sandoval, Painted 89mph Slider. 🖌️🎨
6th K pic.twitter.com/bxxV3rHQOE
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 8, 2024
This is a big jump from his 6.75 ERA and 1.83 WHIP he posted in his first five starts of the campaign. Sandoval has done well limiting hard contact (3.6% barrel rate, 34.5% hard-hit rate) but struggles with limiting free passes, which could hurt him down the road.
With his high strikeout upside, which he has shown at times this season and throughout his up-and-down career, he is worth adding in deeper formats, but be careful when inserting him in your lineup.
Chris Paddack, SP, Minnesota Twins
15% rostered
FAAB Bid: <8%
Talk about a hot streak. The 28-year-old has been lights-out since struggling in his first three appearances. In his past four starts, Paddack has a 1.93 ERA and 1.16 WHIP with 28 strikeouts across 23 ⅓ innings.
One key reason for this success is that Paddack has significantly lowered his walk rate. After offering five walks in his first three starts, Paddack has allowed just three in his past five games. However, he still is surrendering a hefty amount of hits. He has allowed 24 hits in his last 23 ⅓ innings, which can hinder your team’s WHIP ratio.
Nonetheless, many fantasy managers have seen their pitching rotation completely decimated by injuries, and you can do much worse than adding Paddack to your squad.
Shane Baz, SP, Tampa Bay Rays
25% rostered
FAAB Bid: <10%
After undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2022, Baz is nearing the end of his long recovery process. He completed his second rehab outing on Friday, May 10, and could join the major league roster before the end of the month.
The Rays will be very cautious with his workload, as he has pitched just 40 ⅓ innings in the past two seasons combined.
Shane Baz, Dirty 81mph Curveball...and Sword. ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/HT1e5siP6s
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) July 3, 2022
However, the 24-year-old has elite strikeout potential and has a path to a solidified role in the rotation, with Ryan Pepiot (knee) on the 15-day injured list. If you are looking for an upside play, Baz is your target.
Simeon Woods Richardson, SP, Minnesota Twins
13% rostered
FAAB Bid: <5%
Since Louie Varland lost his spot as the fifth man in the Twins rotation, Simeon-Woods Richardson has proved himself more than capable of remaining there for the foreseeable future. Through four starts (20 ⅔ innings), the 23-year-old has a 1.74 ERA and 1.06 WHIP with just over a strikeout per inning with 21,
Wood-Richardson has an excellent 6.0% walk rate, which is a significant reason for his low WHIP. However, his underlying metrics are not pretty and could suggest that he is due for regression. The former second-round pick has a high 45.6% hard-hit rate and a very low 31.6% ground-ball rate, which suggests he has gotten a bit lucky.
Nonetheless, in deeper formats, he is more than capable of serving as a lower-tier starting pitcher on your roster. He should provide you with good outings in the right matchups and could be in line to receive several opportunities to win behind a strong Twins team.
Prospects On The Waiver Wire
Kyle Manzardo
25% rostered
FAAB Bid: <15%
After Steven Kwan (hamstring) was placed on the injured list, the Guardians promoted their top prospect, Kyle Manzardo. Manzardo was dominating Triple-A pitching with a .303/.375/.642 line and was on the brink of promotion well before Kwan's injury.
Manzardo should see time as Cleveland's primary designated hitter, making him a must-add in all formats. If he performs well, the 23-year-old could remain on the major league roster for the entire summer. He is a must-roster.
Paul Skenes, SP, Pittsburgh Pirates
85% rostered
FAAB Bid: <25%
If Paul Skenes is somehow your waiver wire, be ready to unload your FAAB on him this weekend. Prepare to spend at least 20% on the most hyped pitching prospect since Steven Strasburg.
Coby Mayo, 3B, Baltimore Orioles
10% rostered
FAAB Bid: <2%
Coby Mayo has been flashing elite power down in Triple-A and could be the next budding star making their way up to Baltimore. He just launched his twelfth home run of the season on Friday and is showing elite power potential.
Coby Mayo belts his 12th homer of the season (and third this month) 🔥@OsPlayerDev | @NorfolkTides pic.twitter.com/gJbE7VrDP1
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) May 10, 2024
Grab him now at a discount.
Junior Caminero, 3B, Tampa Bay Rays
45% rostered
FAAB Bid: <10%
Junior Caminero will always remain in this column until he is called up. He is the best hitter currently in the minor leagues and could easily finish as a top-10 third baseman in fantasy once he is promoted.
Christian Scott, SP, New York Mets
20% rostered
FAAB Bid: <15%
Christian Scott was tearing up Triple-A before making his major league debut last week. He looked great in the outing, tallying six strikeouts across six innings, and only surrendered one run. Home runs inflated his ERA in the minors this season but does not discredit his elite strikeout potential.
Christian Scott generated 18 Whiffs in his fantastic MLB debut
Here are all of them: pic.twitter.com/kTQG6qa5fz
— Thomas Nestico (@TJStats) May 5, 2024
If you were afraid to add him last week and he is still available, be prepared to spend big this time around.
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