RADIO
This week we'll flip our calendars to July, which is always a good time to take stock of our fantasy teams. In terms of months, we're halfway through the season and MLB teams have all played more than half their games. If your team is lingering in the middle of the pack, now is the time to get aggressive in trying to make a charge up the standings.
Below is a fresh batch of waiver wire names who could heat up in the summer months and be difference makers in fantasy down the stretch. Even as the season flies by, there's still plenty of time to gain ground in the standings and push toward the playoffs if your league has a postseason.
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 15 -- July 1 through July 7.
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Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups for Shallow Leagues
Zack Gelof, 2B, Oakland Athletics (41% rostered)
Oakland sophomore second baseman Zack Gelof was the cover boy for this column one week ago and saw his roster rate actually drop, despite his stretch of three-straight games with a homer. On one hand, it makes sense that a player batting under .200 won't get added in a ton of fantasy leagues, but he's shown signs of improvement in June after a horrendous start to the season.
Through 21 June games, Gelof has five homers after hitting only three in April and May combined. His .230 batting average in June isn't ideal, but it does come with a .320 wOBA, so he's getting on base more often and it's led to 19 runs-plus-RBI this month. If Gelof can get going with the bat, his upside is as high as anyone available in over 50% of fantasy leagues. Last season, Gelof blasted 14 homers and racked up 14 steals in 69 games while posting a hefty .840 OPS. It may be a stretch to label Gelof a potential "league winner," but he has the talent to get hot in the second half and stuff the stat sheet for fantasy managers.
Zach Neto, SS, Los Angeles Angels (31% rostered)
Angels shortstop Zach Neto has taken a major step forward in his second season, giving the lost franchise some hope for the future. Neto's surface-level stats look good on their own; he's batting .257 with a .432 slugging percentage, to go along with 10 homers and 11 steals. It's been a solid season for the 23-year-old, however, when we look under the hood, there's even more reason to expect that the best is yet to come for Neto.
Compared to his rookie season, Neto has made improvements in his barrel rate, average exit velocity, xwOBA, and xwOBA on contact. This essentially means he's hitting the ball harder than last season and he's getting the barrel of the bat to the ball more often. He's also set a new max exit velocity for his career with a 111.3 MPH blast earlier this season. Toss in above-average sprint speed and improved plate discipline and we could see Neto really take off in the second half of this season.
Since June 1
Logan O’Hoppe: .308/.343/.538 144 wRC+
Zach Neto: .263/.321/.513 132 wRC+
It’s been fun to watch these two mature at the plate this season. #RepTheHalo
— Jack Janes (@JackJanes_) June 28, 2024
Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups for Deeper Leagues
Nick Gonzales, 2B/SS, Pittsburgh Pirates (28% rostered)
It would appear a recent 0-for-17 slump really spooked some fantasy managers, as two weeks ago he was over 50% rostered. Yes, it can be frustrating to see those 0-fers in your fantasy lineup, but we should follow the lead of the Pittsburgh Pirates and keep the faith in the former top-10 MLB Draft pick. Even with his recent slide, Gonzales is still slashing .281/.311/.438 on the season and his batted-ball metrics suggest there could be more to come.
Gonzales currently has a .276 xBA with a .452 xSLG while sporting a 10.3% barrel rate. His average exit velocity of 89.3 MPH is both above league average, and a 3.5 MPH improvement over his rookie season last year. Other batted-ball metrics like a sturdy 41.5% hard-hit rate and a .422 xwOBA on contact all paint the picture of a young hitter figuring things out at the Major League level. If he was dropped in your league, now is the time to go out and scoop him back up.
Nick Gonzales was never in a “slump” folks
He was hitting the ball hard the whole time.
Now he is getting rewarded
— Kody Duncan (@KodyDuncanPGH) June 25, 2024
Brendan Rodgers, 2B/SS, Colorado Rockies (6% rostered)
Brendan Rodgers missed some time with a hamstring injury, but he returned last week and went 5-for-15 with a homer in his first four games back. Rodgers never fully lived up to the prospect hype that was once attached to his name, but he's quietly had a productive season as he's slashing .279/.313/.400 with four homers, 26 RBI, and 25 runs in 63 games.
As you would expect with Rockies hitters, Rodgers has significantly better numbers at home, as he's batting .319 with a .819 OPS in the hitter's paradise known as Coors Field. The Rockies play a full seven-game slate of games at home this week so Rodgers is in play as a sleeper hitter for the upcoming week.
Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Watch List
Colson Montgomery, SS, Chicago White Sox (4% rostered)
The White Sox are going nowhere this season, so it's officially time to track their top prospects. Colson Montgomery leads the pack for the South Siders, as he's already in Triple-A and the number-one ranked prospect, according to Fangraphs prospect rankings. Now, Montgomery isn't hitting the ball well in Triple-A, but we've seen plenty of prospects get the call to the majors when the organization deems them ready, not necessarily when they put up huge statistical numbers.
If that's the case, we could see Montgomery in Chicago later this season as he's the shortstop of the future, and the fans need anything to look forward to. Montgomery does have a history of raking in the minors as he slugged over .500 in High-A before mashing in Double-A last season. He's a must-roster player in dynasty leagues and a name to be aware of in redraft when he gets the call to the majors.
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