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Another thrilling week of baseball has come and gone, bringing us to the perfect time to explore first base and third base fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups for Week 15 — July 1 through July 7.
July is here, Rotoballers, and it's beyond time to start locking in. Isiah Kiner-Falefa has clearly put his disastrous tenure with the Yankees behind him, and he looks like a completely different player from the Blue Jays this season. He's still just 34 percent rostered. Meanwhile, Noelvi Marte was reinstated from his suspension and already looks like a solid addition to fantasy lineups.
Moreover, Jose Miranda led the charge for the Twins' scorching offense in June, and Jhonkensy Noel was recently promoted to the majors and launched a home run in his first at-bat. Lastly, Michael Toglia of the Rockies might finally be making a name for himself in the bigs. There were lots of exciting storylines and players to follow this past week, let's take a look at them and examine who you should consider adding in Week 15.
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Waiver Wire Pickups for Shallow Leagues (30-50% rostered)
Isiah Kiner-Falefa, 2B/3B/SS/OF, Toronto Blue Jays (34% rostered)
While the Blue Jays are still a mess as a team, Isiah Kiner-Falefa seems much more comfortable with Toronto than in New York. He's hit three home runs, scored 12 runs, and driven in four in his last seven games, good for a .464 batting average. Facing his former team on Saturday, IKF went 4-for-5 with three runs scored and an RBI.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Isiah Kiner-Falefa combine for 7 hits in the @BlueJays win. pic.twitter.com/LfSU0Jp36A
— MLB (@MLB) June 29, 2024
He's had a great month offensively overall, posting a .857 OPS across 26 games. Kiner-Falefa has already surpassed his home run total from last year (6) and is four RBI shy of eclipsing his 37 in 2023. In other words, signing with the Jays may have been the best move for him now if only the rest of his teammates could pick it up.
Noelvi Marte, 3B, Cincinnati Reds (48% rostered)
If you decided to stash Noelvi Marte, you reaped the rewards of his three-hit night in his return to the majors on June 27. Since being reinstated, he's also scored four runs and added a pair of RBI and two stolen bases. The 22-year-old is picking up right where he left off last season with Cincinnati.
Welcome back, Noelvi Marte!
He’s got 3 hits now in his first game of 2024🔥
— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) June 28, 2024
Marte will now work to overcome his 80-game PED suspension and help the Reds earn an NL wild-card berth. If he continues to produce offensively and swipes some bags on the basepaths, then surely those around him will forget his past mistake.
Waiver Wire for Deeper Leagues (10-30% rostered)
Jose Miranda, 3B, Minnesota Twins (20% rostered)
The Twins' offense was red-hot in June, scoring 140 runs across 25 games, but unfortunately, Minnesota only managed 13 wins. Still, Jose Miranda had an incredibly productive month, an encouraging sign for the third baseman. He slashed .329/.389/.570 with three home runs and 18 RBI in 23 June games.
Jose wanted to bring his friends home! pic.twitter.com/kX8CBz4017
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) June 27, 2024
Like much of the Twins' core, Miranda has been plagued by injuries, preventing him from reaching his full potential. Now that the 26-year-old cousin of Lin-Manuel Miranda is healthy and receiving regular playing time, he's been able to showcase his abilities. He's collected 11 RBI and batted .423 in his last seven games.
Jhonkensy Noel, 1B/3B/OF, Cleveland Guardians (12% rostered)
Like the Twins, the Guardians have been on a roll this month and hold a 7.5-game lead over Minnesota for first place in the AL Central. This past week also saw the debut of Jhonkensy Noel, who homered in his first major league at-bat on June 26. He smoked a Grayson Rodriguez 97-mph fastball 413 feet into the stands at Camden Yards.
First big league at-bat, first big league homer for Jhonkensy Noel!
The @CleGuardians' No. 26 prospect clobbers a 413-ft roundtripper. pic.twitter.com/DnzpYqV6Rh
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) June 26, 2024
It left the bat at 106.5 mph, and somehow, Noel's second career home run on Saturday was even more impressive. Although a bit controversial because it appeared to have gone foul, he still obliterated a baseball nonetheless. It was hit 115.4 mph, which is Cleveland's hardest-hit HR under Statcast (2015), per Sarah Langs. The 22-year-old has tremendous power and would be invaluable to fantasy lineups.
Deeper Waiver Wire Options to Consider (Under 10%)
Michael Toglia, 1B/OF, Colorado Rockies (5% rostered)
Former first-round pick Michael Toglia has struggled to remain at the big league level with the Rockies. However, the 25-year-old went off in June, notching a double, two triples, five homers, and 15 RBI across 21 games this month.
Big Mike Blast 💥 pic.twitter.com/Z9eLZZdA2n
— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) June 26, 2024
The 6-foot-5 switch-hitter also has the benefit of having Coors Field as his home ballpark, so hopefully, he can rip some more moon shots into the Colorado night when the Rockies return home this week against the Brewers and Royals.
More Waiver Wire Pickups to Consider
- LaMonte Wade Jr., 1B/OF, San Francisco Giants (12% rostered)
- Carlos Santana, 1B, Minnesota Twins (39% rostered)
- Jake Burger, 1B/3B, Miami Marlins (46% rostered)
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