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Welcome back to our fantasy baseball waiver wire hitter category boosters for Week 18 of the 2024 MLB season -- free-agent hitters to consider adding to help boost your team in HR, SB, RBI, AVG, and Runs. Today, we'll look at names like Jeff McNeil, Gavin Lux, Jo Adell, and more.
Effectively, we are at the halfway point of the season. Tale stock of where you are in the standings; which categories can you make up standing points in, and soon? Which ones might be lost causes? What categories help at this time? That is what this article tries to bring you each week.
There are dozens of waiver-wire articles across the industry each week, but how many of them break down the available hitters by which categories they are most capable of contributing? I aim to give you the top options this week for each of the five offensive categories. All hitters will be under 50% rostered on Yahoo and listed in order of my preference. Take heed: even terrible teams have useful fantasy players on them, so dig deep and find those bargains. Let's take a look.
Runs Scored (R) - Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Boosters
Max Schuemann, Oakland Athletics (rostered in 47% of leagues)
The rookie has really hit his stride in the last two weeks, hitting .383 with two home runs, 10 RBI, three stolen bases, and 17 runs scored. Schuemann has eligibility at three positions: second base, shortstop and outfield. When you add in that multiple-position eligibility, you have a veritable Swiss Army knife to use all over your squad. Unfortunately, I had him rostered on my Tout League team but decided to move on from him when he cooled off in June. Learn a lesson from my failing. Check out the graph below that shows his rolling batting average; he's starting to get the hang of MLB pitching.
Matt Vierling, Detroit Tigers (rostered in 25% of leagues)
He's scored 12 runs this month. Look at Vierling's Statcast ranks below. He's not getting nearly the respect he should for as well as he has been playing. This is a skill set that can help your squad, especially in deep leagues, and is free in 75% of Yahoo leagues right now.
Xavier Edwards, Miami Marlins (rostered in 15% of leagues)
Edwards is flying under the radar but has scored runs in his last three starts. Even though he has no power, Edwards can help with batting average (he's hitting .333 right now) and stolen bases too, where he has four on the season.
Also consider: Zach Neto (LAA), Jacob Young (WAS)
Home Runs (HR) - Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Boosters
Zack Gelof, Oakland Athletics (rostered in 45% of leagues)
It's weird to me how fantasy players fall in love with guys and then drop them when they don't wildly meet all of their expectations. I know his batting average is low at .185, but he's also got 13 home runs and 12 stolen bases.
Michael Toglia, Colorado Rockies (rostered in 26% of leagues)
This is a pure power play, as Toglia has three home runs over the last seven days. That said, his batting average over that same time has been .269. If you need corner infield reinforcement, Toglia will hit home runs; he has 11 in his last 30 games. There are going to be bumps in the road for a young player like Gelof. But he's also productive in the counting categories. Add him if you need middle infield help and some pop and speed.
Tyler Fitzgerald, San Francisco Giants (rostered in 11% of leagues)
Fitzgerald has been bonkers lately, hitting home runs in five consecutive games this past week. Fitzgerald also gives you eligibility at both shortstop and outfield, which is a useful attribute in this war of attrition fantasy players are in as injuries to star players mount here in the second half. He can't keep this pace up but riding him while he is on it seems a good move. Five games in a row with home runs. See the box below.
Also consider: Harrison Bader (NYM), Jesus Sanchez (MIA)
Runs Batted In (RBI) - Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Boosters
Eugenio Suarez, Arizona Diamondbacks (rostered in 33% of leagues)
Suarez is the type of player that no one wants to admit they roster but is useful all the time. In July, he's hitting .278 with four home runs and 10 RBI. Those are really good numbers for a guy who is on the waiver wire in 67% of Yahoo leagues. Suarez might not stay hot for long, but is worth adding at this time while he is hitting in the desert in Arizona.
Jeff McNeil, New York Mets (rostered in 17% of leagues)
The veteran McNeil has been stuffing the stat sheet lately for the Mets. Dropped in many leagues given his early-season struggles, McNeil is worth adding again in many formats. He's hitting .293 over his last 15 games but has raised that to a blistering .364 over his last seven games. Over that seven-day span, McNeil has added four home runs, 11 RBI, and five runs scored. The chart below shows the improvement in McNeil's hard-hit rate since cratering in June.
Miguel Andujar, Oakland Athletics (rostered in 14% of leagues)
Andujar has 11 RBI this month, including four in his last five games. And he's got playing time in Oakland right now. Think about adding him, especially if you need outfield help.
Also consider: Keibert Ruiz (WAS), Sam Hilliard (COL)
Stolen Bases (SB) - Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Boosters
Jo Adell, Los Angeles Angels (rostered in 14% of leagues)
The perpetual prospect is finally getting some consistent playing time. Over the past week, he's hitting .364 with a home run, seven RBI, three stolen bases and four runs scored. On the season, Adell is only hitting .197 but has 15 home runs and 13 stolen bases. If you can absorb the low batting average, Adell can help you in counting stats. You can see that things should be a bit better than they are below; his batting average should be in the .230s, and the bat speed and barrel percentage are excellent.
Victor Robles, Seattle Mariners (rostered in 9% of leagues)
Robles is getting a renewed lease on his baseball life with the Mariners, and he's making the most of it. Robles has five stolen bases in his last seven games. He's not going to hit for much power, but he's not a zero in home runs, with one over the same time span. While he is playing, he has a chance to steal bases if he can get on.
Nacho Alvarez Jr., Atlanta Braves (rostered in 7% of leagues)
This is more of a speculative play here. Alvarez is playing in place of veteran Ozzie Albies, who could miss up to eight weeks with a wrist fracture. The rookie should get some runway in Atlanta, although the team did sign Whit Merrifield out of free agency to add depth to their squad. Alvarez was hitting a robust .336 with seven home runs, 39 RBI, 21 stolen bases, and 39 runs scored in 334 plate appearances. It appears he might be able to help you in all five hitting categories. He is worth an addition right now.
Also consider: Tyler Fitzgerald (SFG), David Hamilton (BOS)
Batting Average (AVG) - Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Boosters
Juan Yepez, Washington Nationals (rostered in 27% of leagues)
I thought about Yepez last week as a post-hype, kind-of sleeper, as he is getting daily at-bats in Washington. Forgotten about and passed over in St. Louis, Yepez has taken over for an ineffective Joey Meneses in D.C. He's hitting .377 in 53 July at-bats, with one home run, one stolen base and six RBI. Add him now while the batting average at least can help you. Yepez literally has a hot in every game he has played in July. See below.
Jose Iglesias, New York Mets (rostered in 15% of leagues)
Every time I think his MLB career may be over, Iglesias gets another job and proves me wrong. Over his last 15 games, Iglesias is hitting a ridiculous .409 with two home runs, seven RBI, one stolen base and eight runs scored. Another key thing to consider is his positional eligibility at both second base and third base.
Gavin Lux, Los Angeles Dodgers (rostered in 14% of leagues)
I think every year that Lux has been in the major leagues, I have thought to myself, "This is the year." That logic has never worked out well for me. Yet here we are contemplating adding Lux in this article this week. He's hitting .375 over the last week with two home runs, a stolen base, and seven RBI.
Also consider: Gabriel Moreno (ARZ), Wenceel Perez (DET)
I hope this helps you out! Good luck and happy hunting, RotoBallers! You can always message me @mdrc0508 on X to complain about picks or make other suggestions!
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