RADIO
As the baseball season barrels along, it's getting harder and harder to find quality waiver wire options. That doesn't mean there aren't diamonds in the rough, however, as there are still quality players under 50% rostered that can make an impact down the stretch as we move towards the fantasy playoffs.
Even here in mid-August, quality options remain widely available in fantasy, despite being featured in this article almost weekly (hello Brandon Lowe!). Other players have heated up with the weather as summer rolls along and lastly, young players keep being called up, eager to prove to their teams - and fantasy managers - that they belong in lineups.
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 22 -- August 19 through August 25.
Be sure to check all of our fantasy baseball draft tools and resources:- Fantasy baseball draft kit
- Fantasy baseball rankings
- Team Sync platform and Draft Assistant
- Fantasy baseball mock draft simulator
- Fantasy baseball draft cheat sheets
- Fantasy baseball closer depth charts
- Fantasy baseball prospects
Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups for Shallow Leagues
Geraldo Perdomo, 2B/SS/3B, Arizona Diamondbacks (30% rostered)
The Diamondbacks have had a revolving door at shortstop this season, but may have finally settled on a quality option in Geraldo Perdomo. The 24-year-old has settled into the starting nine for Arizona and has certainly earned his uptick in playing time, as Perdomo has been one of the hottest hitters in the league in the second half.
Looking at his last 16 contests, Perdomo has a .370 batting average with a .944 OPS to go along with three stolen bases. Of course, a 16-game sample is too small to draw any definitive conclusions, but in Perdomo's case, we can see a noticeable improvement in his season-long batted ball metrics, compared to his career averages.
| Geraldo Perdomo | Average Exit Velocity | Max Exit Velocity | wOBA | xwOBA on contact | Hard Hit% |
| Career | 85.9 MPH | 104.9 MPH | .292 | .275 | 23.9% |
| 2024 | 88.1 MPH | 109.8 MPH | .314 | .292 | 29.5% |
As we can see, Perdomo is hitting the ball harder on average and set a new max exit velocity this season by almost five MPH better than any batted ball he had in his three previous seasons. As a result, we can conclude that this recent run of success may not just be a hot streak, but a reward for tangible improvements to his game.
He won't stay quite this good rest of season, but he's certainly worth adding in fantasy to see how long he can keep producing at this level.
Brandon Lowe, 2B, Tampa Bay Rays (45% rostered)
Lowe has been in this column weekly, yet remains under 50% rostered on multiple fantasy baseball platforms. This is, of course, nuts as Lowe ranks as a top-three second baseman in virtually all relevant hitting categories. Among 2B with at least 250 plate appearances, Lowe ranks second in wOBA (.353), second in wRC+ (135), and third in slugging percentage (.494).
As you'd expect, Lowe's batted-ball metrics are off-the-charts for a middle infielder. He leads the position in barrels-per-PA and is second in both hard-hit rate and average exit velocity. When we zoom out to all hitters rather than just 2B, Lowe ranks in the 93rd percentile or better in expected slugging percentage, expected wOBA, and xwOBA on contact.
Lowe's roster rate should be, at minimum, doubled and the case can be made he should be universally rostered.
Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups for Deeper Leagues
Isiah Kiner-Falefa, 2B/SS/3B, Pittsburgh Pirates (22% rostered)
Chalk Isiah Kiner-Falefa up under the category of players flying under the radar, despite having quite a productive season. Thus far, IKF is slashing .284/.330/.412 with eight homers, 36 runs, 37 RBI, and six stolen bases, which is certainly playable in a deeper fantasy league, especially considering he spent a portion of the season on the injured list.
However, Kiner-Falefa recently got a boost in fantasy value after he was dealt from Toronto to Pittsburgh at the trade deadline. In 12 games with his new club, Kiner-Falefa Falefa has five extra-base hits, four runs, four RBI, and three stolen bases, while primarily batting leadoff or sixth for the Pirates.
It's still a small sample, but the 29-year-old seems to have been sparked by a change of scenery and getting the opportunity to play every day. Given his eligibility all over the diamond, Kiner-Falefa is worth taking a flier on in deeper fantasy formats.
Will Wagner, 2B, Toronto Blue Jays (5% rostered)
The Blue Jays seem hellbent on acquiring the sons of former MLB players, with the latest acquisition being Will Wagner, son of Hall of Fame reliever Billy Wagner. Maybe they're trying to win a father/son softball tournament, maybe they just see ability in the former Wagner, as he was dealt to the Jays at the trade deadline.
Wagner was promptly called up to Toronto and immediately paid dividends, as he's 7-for-12 batting through his first three MLB games. This is after he batted .314 across 77 games in Triple-A this season while sporting an elite 56:35 BB:K ratio. Wagner is an on-base machine with decent pop and enough speed that he can chip in a few steals.
Wagner is far from a must-add prospect, but he'll have the chance to play every day for a rebuilding Blue Jays team. He's worth a speculative add in deeper formats to see where this goes. Check out his eye-0popping numbers from Triple-A over the past two years:
Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Watch List
Jace Jung, 2B, Detroit Tigers (5% rostered)
Speaking of prospects getting the call to the majors after tearing up Triple-A, the Tigers called up Jace Jung who made his MLB debut Friday night. Jung is a former first-round pick in 2022 who mashed at every level of the minor leagues including swatting 14 homers to go with 110 runs-plus-RBI in 91 games at Triple-A this season.
Jung is a lower-priority prospect as he is a power hitter playing half his games in cavernous Comerica Park, a venue that has sapped the power out of bigger sluggers than Jung. Still, he's worth keeping an eye on and should be added if he hits the ground running in the Majors.
Download Our Free News & Alerts Mobile App
Like what you see? Download our updated fantasy baseball app for iPhone and Android with 24x7 player news, injury alerts, sleepers, prospects & more. All free!
More Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Advice
