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The deeper we get into the season, the more intriguing things get on the waiver wire. What once looked like a hot start for a player is trending towards the start of a breakout campaign with each passing game. On the other end of the spectrum, players we drafted to be starters have either gotten injured or are underperforming to the point we can't just chalk it up as one bad week.
Yes, it may be time to make a change. If you're looking to upgrade at one of the middle infield spots, you've come to the right place. We've got plenty of options below including some names that have been listed in this space all along, as well as some newcomers that made waves over the last week.
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 5 -- April 22 through April 28.
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Waiver Wire Pickups for Shallow Leagues
Orlando Arcia, SS, Atlanta Braves (29% rostered)
The Atlanta Braves offense is elite. We know that from all of the fantasy superstars in that lineup, we know that because it's averaging a league-leading 6.4 runs per game. Orlando Arcia remains criminally underappreciated in fantasy as evidenced by the fact he's available in over 70% of fantasy leagues. That needs to change because, right now, Arcia is the best way to get a slice of the pie that is the Braves lineup.
Through 18 games, Arcia is slashing a cool .354/.389/.523 with 10 runs scored and eight RBI. He's only got one homer, but does have eight doubles which means we can expect him to pop plenty of homers once the weather in Atlanta gets hot and humid, thus helping carry baseballs farther. Lastly, Arcia is currently rocking a career-best 15.3% strikeout rate and an impressive .419 wOBA, meaning he should continue to be on base often for the aforementioned fantasy superstars who also occupy the Atlanta lineup.
Orlando Arcia is tied for 𝐟𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐡 in fWAR among all MLB position players.
Elite start to the 2024 season ✌️ pic.twitter.com/nKzUK80P58
— Bally Sports: Braves (@BravesOnBally) April 18, 2024
Amed Rosario, 2B/SS/OF, Tampa Bay Rays (42% rostered)
The Rays have been hit hard by injuries this season, but there may be no team better equipped to deal with the injury bug than the analytical geniuses that run the Tampa organization. Case-in-point, Amed Rosario who was inked to a one-year deal this past offseason to provide depth thanks to his versatile glove. Well, now the 28-year-old is playing every day -- and hitting every day, as he's riding a 12-game hit streak.
Rosario has played 18 games this season and is batting .333 with a hefty .515 slugging percentage. Toss in a career-best 13.4% strikeout rate and 96th percentile sprint speed and you've got an on-base stalwart who can be a five-category contributor in fantasy. Eventually, players like Brandon Lowe (thumb) will return from injury, but for right now, Rosario is a great hot-hand play who's defensive versatility will keep him in the lineup as long as he keeps hitting like he has been to start the season.
Waiver Wire Pickups for Deeper Leagues
Masyn Winn, SS, St. Louis Cardinals (10% rostered)
So far in 2024, Cardinals prospect Masyn Winn has been a case study on not giving up on talented prospects too early. There's no sugarcoating Winn's numbers from last season, he was bad across 37 games with his .172 average with a comically-low .238 slugging percentage. That being said, he was also a 21-year-old rookie facing big-league pitchers for the first time.
It's still early, but Winn is off to a spectacular start to his age-22 campaign. He's batting .346 with six RBI, seven runs, and his three stolen bases have already exceeded last season's steals total. Better yet, he's got a batted ball of 108.4 MPH, which is over four MPH harder than anything he hit last season and so far his 90.1 MPH average exit velocity is well above league average. Winn was a solid hitter at every stop in the minor leagues despite being younger than most of his competition. This is a talented prospect who could very well be figuring things out at the MLB level.
Luis Garcia, 2B, Washington Nationals (5% rostered)
Like Winn, Luis Garcia may be another case of people giving up on a prospect too soon. In Garcia's case, skepticism was warranted as he has been around since the 2020 season and never fully blossomed into a fantasy stalwart. However, Garcia was only 20 years old at the time of his promotion to the majors. Now at the ripe-young age of 23, Garcia is quietly having a strong season for the rebuilding Nationals.
The sample size is still small, but Garcia is batting .296 with a homer, eight RBI, four runs, and four stolen bases without being caught. His plate discipline remains elite, his career strikeout rate is merely 17.4%, and he ranks 12th at 2B with a 124 wRC+. Garcia has loads of untapped upside and is widely available in fantasy.
Luis García Jr. was already off to a hot start to his season entering last night's game, and his subsequent 3-run, opposite-field blast might have been his best at-bat yet. https://t.co/HJqVLfZPXu
— Mark Zuckerman (@MarkZuckerman) April 16, 2024
Waiver Wire Watch List
Blaze Alexander, 2B/SS, Arizona Diamondbacks (8% rostered)
Blaze Alexander has appeared in every rendition of this weekly column, but this week we're going to knock him down to the watch list section as he was on the bench twice last week thanks to making three errors in a five-game span. Playing time could hurt Alexander, but he remains a solid deep-league play thanks to his ability to smash baseballs, as evidenced by his 110.6 max exit velocity. He added another massive game on Friday -- at designated hitter - as he went 3-f0r-5 with a homer and two doubles.
Overall, his offensive numbers are impressive as he's batting .340 with a 1.000 OPS. Keep an eye on Alexander's playing time and go ahead and add him in a pinch. Let's just hope the Diamondbacks coaches can get his glove up to speed so we fantasy managers can go back to starting this unheralded, yet intriguing, prospect.
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