Points League Hitters: Waiver Wire Pickups for Fantasy Baseball - Week 20

2 years ago by Nicklaus Gaut

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2. Week 20 Leaderboards

3. First Base Waiver Wire Pickups

4. Second Base Waiver Wire Pickups

5. Third Base Waiver Wire Pickups

6. Shortstop Waiver Wire Pickups

7. Outfielder Waiver Wire Pickups

8. Catcher Waiver Wire Pickups

9. More Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Advice

Welcome to Week 20 and our fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups for hitters. These fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups are for the week of August 7 - August 13, looking at players below ~50% rostered on ESPN, Yahoo!, or Fantrax.

We'll be doing this points league roundup every week here at RotoBaller because we know points players get neglected and we're here to help. Player values can vary wildly from platform to platform, so we'll make sure to highlight where players are the best and worst fits, with waiver wire targets being evaluated in terms of the different scoring systems on ESPN, Yahoo!, CBS, Fantrax, and NFBC.

Position eligibility is taken from Fantrax and players are grouped by their most valuable fantasy position, using a hierarchy of C > 2B > OF > 3B > 1B > SS. Stats and rankings for charts are calculated using games through Saturday, August 5.

Be sure to check all of our fantasy baseball draft tools and resources:

Know Your Scoring System

Platform	AB	Hits	TB	1B	2B	3B	HR	R	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	HBP
ESPN	0	0	1	1	2	3	4	1	1	1	-1	1	0	0
Yahoo!	0	0	2.6	2.6	5.2	7.8	10.4	1.9	1.9	2.6	0	4.2	0	2.6
CBS	0	0	1	1	2	3	4	1	1	1	-0.5	2	-1	1
Fantrax	0	0	1	1	2	3	4	1	1	1	0	2	0	0
NFBC	-1	4	0	0	0	0	6	2	2	0	0	5	0	0

You'll likely find a suitable mirror to your own system if you look above. While every point counts, as long as they aren't seismic changes, you can get away with some "close enough" calls. IE. You're probably fine if everything is the same except for HBP (or something similar).

Week 20 Leaderboards

Here are our waiver wire leaderboards headed into Week 20, with players ordered by their Yahoo Roster%:

And here are the stats driving the above ranks:

First Base Waiver Wire Pickups

Best Choices

Jake Burger, MIA, 1B/2B/3B (Yahoo: 29%, ESPN: 8%) - Burger has found a new home in Miami where he'll actually get to play most games on a team with an actual interest in winning. The former White Sox hit his first home run on Saturday, giving him 26 HR in just 340 PA - but he'll have to keep going bomb-crazy if you're needing him to outrun a 31% K% that tends to be a points-killer in leagues with a strikeout penalty. In Week 20, though, you should probably get to grilling with him, considering the Marlins are scheduled to face three LHP, against whom Burger has a .600 SLG, .381 wOBA, and .419 xwOBA.

Carlos Santana, 1B, MIL (Yahoo: 15%, ESPN: 22%) - Santana went to a better team with a better park and still managed to drop his Roster% from last week? That doesn't make any sense. He's only slashed .182/.229/.364 in his first eight games with the Brewers but also hit two home runs, playing every day while batting third.

Next Choices

Spencer Torkelson, DET, 1B (Yahoo: 30%, ESPN: 14%) - Torkelson has been scuffling and his Week 20 pitching schedule won't do him any favors, with only one LHP on the board and four matchups against Minnesota's prime guys (Lopez, Gray, Ober, Maeda).

Nolan Jones, COL, 1B/OF (Yahoo: 19%, ESPN: 5%) - Jones has a top-100 APR for both the past two weeks and so far in Week 19 but you're playing with fire by counting on his bat to stay hot with a week full of road games.

Mike Moustakas, LAA, 1B/3B (Yahoo: 6%, ESPN: 2%) - What is Moose may never die; Moustakas has 6 HR, 16 R, and 17 RBI in 121 PA since joining the Angels and continues to play amongst their glut of injuries, even following the acquisition of C.J. Cron driving him from playing first base.

Desperate Choices

LaMonte Wade Jr., SF, 1B/OF (Yahoo: 15%, ESPN: 12%) - Wade started to get off of the schneid last week but continues to really struggle vs LHP, and San Francisco will face two in their six games this week, as well as tough matchups against Shohei Ohtani and a revitalized Lucas Giolito.

Mark Canha, MIL, 1B/OF (Yahoo: 8%, ESPN: 4%) - Like his newest teammate, Carlos Santana, Canha also got himself a park upgrade with the trade to Milwaukee, starting four of the first five games with his club. But his ceiling remains limited, as does his usefulness in most leagues.

Joey Votto, CIN, 1B (Yahoo: 22%, ESPN: 11%) - Votto has posted a respectable 88 APR so far in Week 19 by hitting a pair of bombs but don't be fooled by a .341 wOBA that was only backed by a .238 xwOBA.

On the IL

Alex Kirilloff, MIN, 1B/OF (sprained shoulder - no timetable)
Jose Miranda, MIN, 1B/3B (shoulder impingement - no timetable)
Ryan Noda, OAK, 1B/OF (fractured jaw - no timetable)
Nick Pratto, KC, 1B/OF (strained groin - no timetable)
Yu Chang, BOS, 1B/2B/3B/SS (hamate surgery - rehab assignment)
Darin Ruf, MIL, 1B/OF (knee laceration - no timetable)

Second Base Waiver Wire Pickups

Best Choices

Luis Rengifo, LAA, 2B/3B/SS/OF (Yahoo: 35%, ESPN: 10%) - Climbing the ladder of attrition by being one of the few Angels to stay healthy, Rengifo has now started 16 games straight, taking advantage by slashing .302/.389/.651 over 72 PA, with 5 HR, 11 R, and 9 RBI, with a .433 wOBA. Batting leadoff and playing every day with a 19% K% and 11% BB% is a quick way to continued points-league relevance.

Next Choices

Brice Turang, MIL, 2B/SS (Yahoo: 5%, ESPN: 2%) - Turang has slowly hit his way back into an everyday role since being recalled from Double-A on June 29, now having started 10 games in a row, as well as 15-of-16, and 22-of-24. Since being recalled, Turang is slashing .250/348/.375 in 112 PA, with 2 HR, 11 R, 11 RBI, and 3 SB, with an impressive 14% BB% and 13% K%. That's a far cry from the 177 PA he covered prior to his demotion, slashing just .205/.254/.307, with .248 wOBA and 51 wRC+.

Willi Castro, MIN, 2B/3B/SS/OF (Yahoo: 22%, ESPN: 3%) - Castro continues to force himself into a mostly everyday role both due to performance and injuries, posting a 31 APR over the past two weeks, and could keep in up in Week 20 with seven games and four vs LHP.

Jon Berti, MIA, 2B/3B/SS/OF (Yahoo: 26%, ESPN: 4%) - Berti is a hard nut to crack in weekly leagues due to his often sporadic playing time but he could be a good option for those in daily leagues, as the Marlins will face left-handed starters in three of their six games. Facing LHP, Berti is slashing .354/.391/.446, compared to .269/.311/.341 vs RHP.

Andruw Monasterio, MIL, 2B/3B/SS (Yahoo: 4%, ESPN: 1%) - Monasterio continues to be serviceable, now having started 20-of-21 games for the Brewers since the All-Star break. Over that stretch, he's slashing .284/.354/.365. There is no more power coming but Monasterio is still playing every day, getting on base, and rarely striking out. That'll play in a lot of formats.

Desperate Choices

Chris Taylor, LAD, 2B/3B/SS/OF (Yahoo: 19%, ESPN: 4%) - Taylor may have an 83 APR over the past two weeks but do understand where those ranks are coming from; as in, zero home runs and a .417 BABIP.

Jordan Westburg, BAL, 2B (Yahoo: 20%, ESPN: 5%) - The rookie has started to heat up, and now has eight multi-hit games in 28 games, with two home runs in his past nine games. Unfortunately, while he starts vs LHP, his playing time vs RHP is still sporadic. Until that changes, he'll be hard to count on in most leagues.

On the IL

Ji-Hwan Bae, PIT, 2B/OF (sprained ankle - no timetable)
Nick Gordon, MIN, 2B/SS/OF (fractured shin - no timetable)
Yu Chang, BOS, 1B/2B/3B/SS (hamate surgery - rehab assignment)

Third Base Waiver Wire Pickups

Best Choices

Maikel Garcia, KC, 3B/SS (Yahoo: 32%, ESPN: 7%) - Wait - this can't be right. There's just no way that Garcia hasn't still crossed our eligibility threshold, right? Garcia has a 25 APR over the past two weeks, and a 42 APR so far in Week 20, continuing to pile up PAs by batting leadoff every day for the Royals. The profile is points-friendly and the playing time is locked in - please (please?) correct his Roster% mistake. Thank you.

Next Choices

Desperate Choices

Brett Baty, NYM, 3B (Yahoo: 9%, ESPN: 5%) - Baty has a job (mostly) all to himself but unfortunately it's on the sinking ship that is the Mets. He remains terrible vs LHP (.192/.222/.327, .237 wOBA) but will only face one out of New York's seven games in Week 20.

On the IL

Royce Lewis, MIN, 3B/SS (strained oblique - expected to miss 6 weeks)
Anthony Rendon, LAA, 3B (shin contusion - no timetable)
Jose Miranda, MIN, 1B/3B (shoulder impingement - no timetable)
Josh Donaldson, NYY, 3B (strained calf - questionable for season)
Yu Chang, BOS, 1B/2B/3B/SS (hamate surgery - rehab assignment)
Evan Longoria, ARI, 3B (strained lower back - no timetable)
Kevin Smith, OAK, 3B/SS (strained back - no timetable)

Shortstop Waiver Wire Pickups

Best Choices

J.P. Crawford, SEA, SS (Yahoo: 18%, ESPN: 13%) - Apparently, no one needs a shortstop with a 70 APR for the year and a 48 APR over the past two weeks. Crawford's skill set is made for points and he's making a point of proving, continuing to rack up PAs and runs scored at the top of Seattle's lineup while walking a ton (15% BB%) and rarely striking out. But no, let's do keep him under 20% rostered. Makes total sense.

Next Choices

Paul DeJong, TOR, SS (Yahoo: 4%, ESPN: 2%) - With his high whiff/low average ways, DeJong doesn't have a classicly successful profile for point leagues. But he does have some boom in that bat (13 HR in 321 PA) and has started every game since being traded to Toronto. That playing time will likely dry up as soon as Bo Bichette returns from the IL but until then DeJong is certainly worth a dart.

Desperate Choices

Ezequiel Tovar, COL, SS (Yahoo: 33%, ESPN: 9%) - Even with a recent stretch of Coors cookin', Tovar has mostly struggled. And when a Colorado hitter is already scuffling at home, it's probably not wise to hope for a bounceback as they head out on a road trip.

On the IL

Royce Lewis, MIN, 3B/SS (strained oblique - expected to miss 6 weeks)
Zach Neto, LAA, SS (lower back inflammation - no timetable)
Nick Gordon, MIN, 2B/SS/OF (fractured shin - no timetable)
Yu Chang, BOS, 1B/2B/3B/SS (hamate surgery - rehab assignment)

Outfielder Waiver Wire Pickups

Best Choices

T.J. Friedl, CIN, OF (Yahoo: 38%, ESPN: 13%) - Friedl has started to come out of his funk, hitting two home runs in his past four games, with five multi-hit games in his last 12 starts. He'll still occasionally sit vs LHP, however, with the Reds scheduled to face two of them out of their six games in Week 20. But should he be sitting? Facing LHP in 50 PA this season, Friedl is slashing .318/.375/.455 - though the .246 xwOBA behind a .362 wOBA isn't exactly inspiring.

Mike Tauchman, CHC, OF (Yahoo: 30%, ESPN: 8%) - We told you last week - He's Tauch Man, he's Tauch Man...He's not just Oprah's boyfriend. Tauchman has a 27 APR over the past two weeks and a 21 APR so far in Week 19. Impressive? Obs. Much more impressive because he's only played four of the Cubs last nine games due to a prevalence of left-handed starters. Chicago will face two LHP in Week 20, so only expect four starts out of Tauchman but at this point, he should be picked up, regardless, until he slows down. He's Tau-auuuuu-ch Man!

Randal Grichuk, LAA, OF (Yahoo: 36%, ESPN: 14%) - We've obviously had to severely downgrade Grichuk's Lava Factor, due to his exit from Colorado but the veteran outfielder is still producing, posting a 19 APR over the past two weeks and a 55 APR so far in Week 19. Leaving Coors behind is never a good thing but going to a lineup that is so much better, certainly is. Grichuk has started every game since being traded to Los Angeles and will remain viable in many leagues as long as he continues as such.

Next Choices

Matt Wallner, MIN, OF (Yahoo: 4%, ESPN: 1%) - What in the wide world of Wallner is going on here? Wallner has continued crushing since being recalled in the second half, now with a .402 wOBA and .423 xwOBA over 93 PA, with 6 HR, 15 R, and 14 RBI. A near 30% K% will limit his value in some leagues but Wallner has now started 18 games in a row and has a 54 APR over the past two weeks. That's worth a shot if in need.

Brandon Marsh, PHI, OF (Yahoo: 19%, ESPN: 10%) - Marsh has been a different player since a disastrous May that saw him go just 15-for-72, with a 34% K%. Since the start of June, Marsh is slashing .295/.365/.449 over 178 PA, with a .352 wOBA and 120 wRC+. This might not be the week to jump back on his hype train, as he's still not starting vs LHP and Philadelphia is scheduled to face three of them. But even as a known Marsh-hater going into this season, I gotta think he's worth a speculative add if in need at outfield.

Sal Frelick, MIL, OF (Yahoo: 32%, ESPN: 14%) - The rookie doesn't start vs LHP but that hasn't stopped him from running a 41 APR over the past two weeks and a 45 APR so far in Week 19. With five games vs RHP against bottom-feeders in the Rockies and White Sox, Week 20 should be another solid stream for Frelick, now slashing .263/.415/.474 in his first 14 games, with 2 HR, 11 R, 11 RBI, and 1 SB, with a .380 wOBA and 140 wRC+.

Mickey Moniak, LAA, OF (Yahoo: 44%, ESPN: 16%) - Since the All-Star break, Moniak is slashing .318/.356/.435 over 90 PA, with a .341 wOBA and 116 wRC+. That's really good! But he also keeps running weekly APRs that are closer to 200 than 100, showing you the power of trying to be good at points while also carrying a 33% K% and 3% BB%.

Adam Duvall, BOS, OF (Yahoo: 24%, ESPN: 23%) - Duvall continues to be a shadow of his early season self since returning from a wrist injury on June 9, slashing just .199/.268/.382 with 5 HR in 153 PA, after starting a possible season of renaissance by slashing .455/.514/1.030 with 4 HR in 37 PA. But he'll get seven games against Kansas City and Detroit pitching, so perhaps he's worth your dart.

Andrew Benintendi, CHW, OF (Yahoo: 38%, ESPN: 16%) - Benintendi still has an excellent points profile but that no-power profile requires a lot of other counting stats, ones that will likely continue to be far and between whilst playing on a dumpster fire team. But hey! Maybe when Tim Anderson wakes up he'll have remembered how to get on base and everything will be alright on the South Side.

Harrison Bader, NYY, OF (Yahoo: 29%, ESPN: 13%) - Bader has a 101 APR over the past two weeks but is on a spiraling Yankees lineup and will only see one LHP in Week 20. It's also been 1 1/2 months since his last IL trip, so-ooo, tick-tock.

Desperate Choices

Andrew McCutchen, PIT, OF (Yahoo: 24%, ESPN: 18%) - McCutchen continues to scuffle in the second half, with a .303 wOBA and 88 wRC+, compared to a .355 wOBA and 123 wRC+ in the first half. With three games vs LHP in Week 20, this probably isn't the week to bank on the start of a turnaround.

Max Kepler, MIN, OF (Yahoo: 9%, ESPN: 4%) - Herr Kepler has a 76 APR so far in Week 19 and a 55 APR over the past two weeks but probably isn't wise to pick up in a week where the Twins are scheduled to face four LHP, against whom he's slashing just .208/.255/.333 over 51 PA, and has sat against the past two opportunities.

Jake McCarthy, ARI, OF (Yahoo: 40%, ESPN: 18%) - Do you know what happens when a speedster like McCarthy stops stealing? A 236 APR over the past two weeks and a 291 APR so far in Week 19. Since his last stolen base on July 26, McCarthy has just three hits, slashing .140/.261/.150, with a 22 wRC+.

On the IL

Charlie Blackmon, COL (fractured hand - no timetable)
Mitch Haniger, SF, OF (forearm surgery - expected to miss 10 weeks)
Alex Kirilloff, MIN, 1B/OF (sprained shoulder - no timetable)
Ji-Hwan Bae, PIT, 2B/OF (sprained ankle - no timetable)
Jesse Winker, MIL, OF (back spasms - no timetable)
Austin Meadows, DET, OF (anxiety - no timetable)
Mike Yastrzemski, SF, OF (strained hamstring - no timetable)
Ryan Noda, OAK, 1B/OF (fractured jaw - no timetable)
Nick Pratto, KC, 1B/OF (strained groin - no timetable)
Jo Adell, LAA, OF (strained oblique - no timetable)
Nick Gordon, MIN, 2B/SS/OF (fractured shin - no timetable)
Victor Robles, WSH, OF (back spasms - no timetable)
Aaron Hicks, BAL, OF (strained hamstring - no timetable)

Catcher Waiver Wire Pickups

Best Choices

Mitch Garver, TEX, C (Yahoo: 10%, ESPN: 3%) - Garver has stayed in his time machine since moving back to full-time following the injury to Jonah Heim, slashing .367/.472/.700 with 3 HR. Until he slows down, or Heim returns, Garver must be added if you're in need.

Henry Davis, PIT, C/OF (Yahoo: 44%, ESPN: 16%) - "Catcher" Henry Davis is still one of your better options, if available, given his combination of catcher eligibility and everyday outfielder role, even if he hasn't lit the world on fire since getting called up. But he still has 5 HR in 162 PA, with a 20% K% and 11% BB%.

Next Choices

Gary Sanchez, C, SD (Yahoo: 20%, ESPN: 8%) -The Sanchez-aissance continues, with Gary running a 47 APR over the past two weeks while starting nine of the last 10 games. Even more shocking is a 24% K% and a .216(!) AVG, his highest since 2019. Sure, may not sound like much, but relative to Gary freaking Sanchez, those are amazing numbers.

Desperate Choices

Yanier Diaz, HOU, C (Yahoo: 25%, ESPN: 9%) - Diaz may have a 60 APR over the past two weeks and an 83 APR so far in Week 19 but his sporadic playing time simply makes him too hard to roster unless you're power streaming from day-to-day.

On the IL

Gabriel Moreno, ARI, C (shoulder inflammation - no timetable)

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