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We're roughly a quarter of the way through the season which means it's getting harder and harder to justify keeping that underperforming player in your fantasy lineup. Yes, league-wide trends are forming, the division races are starting to take shape, and that "slow start" a player was off to is morphing into a full-blown slump.
The good news is plenty of options continue to emerge on the waiver wire so now could be the perfect time to make a switch. We've got some waiver-wire column mainstays, but also plenty of new names to consider adding in any size fantasy league.
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 9 -- May 20 through May 26.
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Waiver Wire Pickups for Shallow Leagues
Luis Garcia, 2B, Washington Nationals (40% rostered)
As long as Luis Garcia remains under 50% rostered in fantasy, he'll continue to be featured here as the 24-year-old seems to be having a breakout season in Washington. Yes, Garcia has been struggling lately as he's just 1-for-17 in his last five games, but we're going to need a bigger sample than just 17 at-bats to stop recommending Garcia in fantasy.
Even with his recent slump, Garcia is slashing .283/.336/.433 on the season to go along with three homers, 20 RBI, and seven steals while batting primarily third for the Nationals. Better yet, his Statcast numbers look great across the board as he's currently sporting career bests in average exit velocity (89.6 mph), xBA (.269), and xwOBA on contact (.401). This is still a young player who once was considered a top prospect. He struggled initially since he made his MLB debut at just 20 years old. Now 24 years old, Garcia seems to be putting it all together and has five-category upside in fantasy.
Davis Schneider, 2B/OF, Toronto Blue Jays (22% rostered)
Davis Schneider is a Statcast darling who has been hitting so well lately that he's made the case to continue hitting leadoff even with George Springer (illness) back in the fold. Schneider currently ranks in the 98th percentile in barrel rate, is sporting a 90.8 mph average exit velocity, and is making hard contact over 42% of the time.
Those elite batted-ball metrics have translated to five homers, 33 runs-plus-RBI, and a .860 OPS as Schneider has been one of the few bright spots in the Blue Jays lineup. Toss in a pristine 12.9% walk-rate plus duel-eligibility and Schneider has fantasy appeal in all types of leagues. His spot in the lineup remains to be determined once everyone is healthy in Toronto, but the way Schneider is hitting, it would behoove manager John Schneider (no relation) to keep playing the mustachioed man he shares a surname with.
Davis Schneider's .939 OPS is the highest in Blue Jays history through a player's first 71 career MLB games#TOTHECORE pic.twitter.com/bLiI83lwkb
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) May 18, 2024
Waiver Wire Pickups for Deeper Leagues
Joey Ortiz, 2B/3B, Milwaukee Brewers (9% rostered)
Brewers infielder Joey Ortiz was considered the lesser of the two prospects Milwaukee acquired from Baltimore in the Corbin Burnes trade, but you'd never know it based on how Ortiz has played this season. No longer blocked by the loaded Orioles farm system, Ortiz has taken his opportunity to play and run with it.
Through 37 games, Ortiz is slashing a cool .296/.397/.561 with five homers, 15 RBI, and 14 runs scored. He's also got 16 walks against only 20 strikeouts as his 14.3% walk rate ranks in the 95th percentile in all of baseball. He's settled in nicely as the everyday third baseman in Milwaukee, but he's played enough 2B to earn that eligibility on every fantasy baseball website and he deserves to be rostered in significantly more leagues than he is.
Since 4/26: 15 G, 45 at bats: .311, 10 XBH (4 HR) 8 BB, 9 RBI, 1.152 OPS (6th in mlb in that time)
Joey Ortiz!
Also, his 413 feet avg homer distance is 29th out of 370 players who have hit a homer this year. Smaller framed dude who hits tanks. @Brewers
— Vinny Rottino (@VinnyRottino) May 17, 2024
Zach Neto, SS, Los Angeles Angels (15% rostered)
While we're on the topic of post-hype prospects, let's show some love to Angels shortstop Zach Neto who has been crushing it since the calendar flipped to May. This month, Neto has a .836 OPS and he's got at least one hit in 14 of his last 17 games. Like Garcia, Neto was thrown into the fire at a young age as he was only 22 years old when the Angels decided he could skip Triple-A and jump right up to the Majors.
That strategy, of course, led to plenty of growing pains and Los Angeles did ultimately send Neto down to Triple-A to work on his game. Now, aged 23, Neto is putting together a solid season as he's batting .255 with five homers, 15 runs, 16 RBI, and six stolen bases through 44 games. He doesn't have a ton of raw power, but he's got above-average sprint speed and can really put a charge into the ball when he pulls it in the air as he launched homers in back-to-back games this week.
Waiver Wire Watch List
Orelvis Martinez, 2B/SS, Toronto Blue Jays (16% rostered)
Now is the time of year to take a look at some players posting big numbers in the minors so they can be on our radar for fantasy when they inevitably get the call to the majors. One prospect turning heads in Triple-A is Blue Jays prospect Orelvis Martinez, who is crushing it in Buffalo.
Through 38 games, Martinez has 10 homers, 31 runs, 32 RBI and a .335 on-base percentage. What could help Martinez get the call to Toronto is his versatility on defense, as he's played three different infield positions this season. While his glove may help get him to the big leagues, fantasy managers care more about his bat and his elite .909 OPS versus Triple-A pitching. The 22-year-old seems like he's on the brink of a promotion and he is worth making a waiver claim for when he does get the call.
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