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Welcome to another exciting rendition of waiver wire additions, the middle infielder edition! In this space, we usually focus on players under 50% rostered that could make an impact in fantasy, but let's not forget about that gray area between 50% rostered and universally rostered. There's a plethora of players just above the cutoff for this article that if given the choice, should be added above the names recommended below.
For example, in Yahoo! leagues, the speedy Red Sox duo of Ceddanne Rafaela (69%) and David Hamilton (66%) are both available in roughly two-thirds of leagues. Other high-upside players like Jonathan India (54%) and Nick Gonzales (52%) should be rostered in more leagues, as well. It is always good to remember to check for players who may have slipped through the cracks in your league when making waiver claims. If your league mates are on the ball, then keep reading below as we've got a fresh batch of names widely available in fantasy.
As a reminder, we'll be looking at pickups for shallow leagues (30-49% rostered) and deeper formats (10-29%), as well as highlighting players in the single digits who deserve a spot on your watch list at the very least. These are your second base and shortstop fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups for Week 14 -- June 24 through June 30.
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Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups for Shallow Leagues
Zack Gelof, 2B, Oakland Athletics (43% rostered)
Through the first two months of the season, Zack Gelof looked like one of the biggest busts in fantasy baseball as he was batting an abysmal .179 on May 31. The sophomore slugger turned things around in June, however, and has flashed the upside that made him a top-150 pick during draft season. It's admittedly a small sample, but through 17 June games, Gelof is batting .268 with a whopping .557 slugging percentage while five of his eight homers this season have come since the calendar flipped to June.
He's still got a ways to go before his season-long numbers look respectable, but if this is the start of the turnaround for Gelof, he doesn't belong on waivers. As a rookie last season, Gelof blasted 14 homers and stole 14 bases in only 69 games. Toss in 40 runs, 32 RBI, and a .504 slugging percentage, and you can see why many fantasy managers projected a breakout campaign in 2024. Gelof offers more upside than most players available on waivers, and now is the time to pick him up if he was dropped in your league.
Zack Gelof is BACK.
3 HRs in 3 games:
393 feet
434 feetAnd now 422 feet.
All 3 were 105 mph or more.
— Karl Buscheck (@KarlBuscheck) June 20, 2024
Masyn Winn, SS, St. Louis Cardinals (35% rostered)
The inverse of Gelof is Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn, who struggled mightily as a rookie last season but has shown tangible improvement in his sophomore campaign. In addition to across-the-board improvements in his surface-level stats, Winn is also making better contact while flashing the skills that made him a high-end prospect in the first place.
| Masyn Winn | Games | BA | OBP | SLG | xBA | xwOBA |
| 2023 | 37 | .172 | .230 | .238 | .214 | .250 |
| 2024 | 67 | .293 | .339 | .427 | .277 | .303 |
It's not just better contact helping Winn thrive this season. His plate discipline remains elite as evidenced by his sub-20% strikeout rate and his 16.3% whiff rate, which ranks in the top-seven percent among all qualified hitters. Lastly, Winn boasts 89th percentile spring speed which has already led to eight stolen bases this season. Add it all together, and you've got a potential five-category contributor in fantasy who should be rostered in significantly more leagues.
Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups for Deeper Leagues
Paul DeJong, SS, Chicago White Sox (21% rostered)
Young players aren't the only ones making noise in fantasy. Former Cardinal standout Paul DeJong is quietly having a resurgent season with the White Sox and should be added by any fantasy manager in need of power. DeJong's 14 homers are tied with Corey Seager for second-most among shortstops and DeJong ranks second in ISO behind only Gunnar Henderson. That's elite company for someone only batting .238 on the season.
Yes, DeJong is a drag on batting average thanks to a sky-high strikeout rate, but when he does hit the ball, he hits it hard. This season, DeJong is sporting a career-best in barrel rate (10.6%), hard-hit rate (43.4%), and xwOBA on contact (.405). That means we should expect continued power production which could also come with plenty of runs and RBI, especially if DeJong gets traded to a lineup better suited for fantasy production.
14th home run of the season for Pauly D ‼️ https://t.co/dwiLYgOL16 pic.twitter.com/oOPjznBi5m
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) June 16, 2024
Zach Neto, SS, Los Angeles Angels (28% rostered)
It's been a lost season for the Angels, but one bright spot has been Zach Neto who has firmly established himself as the shortstop of the future in Anaheim. Through 72 games, Neto is slashing a cool .254/.330/.440 to go along with 10 homers and nine steals. His run and RBI production have been lacking while batting mostly near the bottom of a dreadful Angels lineup, but we can only focus on the things Neto can control, and that means the arrow is pointing up for the 23-year-old.
What Neto can control is his Statcast data, which shows a player scalding baseballs this season. He's already set a new career-best max exit velocity with a 111.3 MPH blast earlier this season, which looks even better when combined with his .403 xwOBA on contact and .459 xSLG. Neto has all the tools to be a useful fantasy asset and could still be had off waivers in over 70% of fantasy leagues.
Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Watch List
Romy Gonzalez, 2B/SS, Boston Red Sox (0.1% rostered)
It was supposed to be Orelvis Martinez in this slot, but with his 80-game suspension for violating the league's PED rules, we'll turn to Gonzalez. This is mostly due to him being a terror on the basepaths, but Gonzalez has at least one hit in four of his last five starts. He's even seeing some time in center field, which could give him that coveted position eligibility.
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