RADIO
Happy Sunday and Happy Mother's Day to all the cool, fantasy baseball-playing moms out there. If you're anything like my own lovely wife, you're probably scouring the waiver wire for Sunday starting pitching streamers. However, that doesn't mean we can't find a new middle infielder while making roster moves.
This week, let's reexamine some waiver-wire column favorites, while also bringing in some fresh new players to keep things interesting. Without further ado, let's get to this week's waiver wire recommendations so we can all get back to brunch with Mom!
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 8 -- May 13 through May 19.
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Waiver Wire Pickups for Shallow Leagues
Josh Smith, SS/3B, Texas Rangers (48% rostered)
Amid the star-studded lineup in Texas, there lies an unheralded, yet productive, fantasy baseball option named Josh Smith. He wasn't supposed to be a huge part of the Rangers' title defense, but Smith has stepped up in a big way playing both positions on the left side of the infield. More importantly, he's batting .295 with a .866 OPS, so it's surprising that his roster rate isn't much higher already.
Through 38 games, Smith has 38 runs-plus-RBI with enviable rate stats like a .402 on-base percentage and a sparkling .386 wOBA. We shouldn't be surprised Smith gets on base a ton thanks to a 10.6% walk rate, but he's also cut his strikeout rate by four percent from last season. The one knock on Smith is he's only got two home runs, but he blasted 29 bombs last season (albeit with a .185 batting average) so we should expect more balls to fly over the fence once the weather warms up around the league.
Luis Garcia, 2B, Washington Nationals (47% rostered)
Is it happening? Are the Nationals finally playing the best hitter on the team every day? If so, welcome to the Luis Garcia fan club, where have you been? Yes, Garcia has now started six-straight games in the three-spot of the batting order as it seems manager Davey Martinez is finally done benching Garcia against LHP, and just letting the 24-year-old develop into the stud-player he's capable of becoming.
Granted, there is some credence to playing the platoon game with Garcia; after all, he's got a .959 OPS vs righties and a .546 mark vs lefties. The counterargument, however, is this; what are the Nationals trying to achieve? This isn't a playoff team. Garcia, meanwhile, is a 24-year-old former prospect who may actually be a part of the next winning team in Washington. There's also this; he's batting .318 overall with three homers, 20 RBI, nine runs, and seven stolen bases -- in only 31 games!
The long and short of it is that Garcia needs to be in the lineup every day. He's too good of a hitter to be on the bench and it seems like the Nationals may finally be on board with Garcia as their three-hole hitter regardless of the opposing pitcher. If that's the case, he needs to be in fantasy lineups too.
Two of Luis García Jr's four hardest-hit balls in his career have come this season at 110.6 and 110.4 mph. Just 23 years old with a 6'2"/216 frame, I am not surprised to see him tapping into a little more power. Now to just turn some of them into home runs. pic.twitter.com/BW4hDi24K2
— Chris Clegg (@RotoClegg) April 4, 2024
Waiver Wire Pickups for Deeper Leagues
Abraham Toro, 2B/3B, Oakland Athletics (23% rostered)
If you're into riding the hot hand, let me present Athletics leadoff hitter Abraham Toro. The scrappy A's are playing surprisingly good baseball and Toro has been a big reason why. He's got seven multi-hit games in his past 10 starts and has nine runs scored in that span.
Toro isn't exclusively a hot-hand play, however, as his season-long stats are quite good. He's slashing .289/.345/.438 with 12 extra-base hits and a sub-20% strikeout rate. Toss in a career-best 88.2 MPH average exit velocity and a 109.9 MPH max exit velocity and it appears that Toro is making better contact, while barely striking out. That's a recipe for success in the long run, even once this scorching-hot streak inevitably ends.
Last 10 games including that single, Abraham Toro is batting .500.
— Jessica Kleinschmidt (@KleinschmidtJD) May 7, 2024
Orlando Arcia, SS, Atlanta Braves (21% rostered)
Orlando Arcia has cooled off a bit since his torrid start to the season. However, he's still making good contact, playing in arguably baseball's best lineup, and hit a homer last Thursday. Maybe things can turn back around for the 29-year-old. Even with his recent cold stretch, Arcia is batting .270 and slugging .429 on the season to go along with a career-best 14.9% strikeout rate.
Arcia's elite defense at a premium position ensures he'll keep playing every day, meaning we don't need to freak out over every little slump. He's a veteran player who's posted a hard-hit rate of 40% or better each of the past three years and will continue to be on base plenty for the mashers atop Atlanta's lineup.
Waiver Wire Watch List
Brayan Rocchio, SS, Cleveland Guardians (2% rostered)
This one's for all the deep leaguers out there, but Guardians shortstop Brayan Rocchio has batted leadoff in two straight games and has been getting more consistent playing time in recent weeks. Rocchio doesn't possess elite speed, but he does have six stolen bases on the season and could very well run more if he sticks at the top of the lineup.
At just two percent rostered, Rocchio is essentially free in all fantasy leagues and could provide deep-league value. He's only 23 years old and contributing for a very good Guardians team, there are worse options to take a flier on.
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