Weekly Waiver Wire Report
Note: My waiver wire report digs a little deeper and is slanted toward high-stakes leagues (15 teams)
Catcher
Ryan Jeffers
With Mitch Garver on the injured list with a groin injury that required surgery, Jeffers received a second chance in 2021 to prove his work in the majors. After struggling in April (5-for-34 with no home runs, one RBI, and 18 strikeouts), he spent May in AAA (.217 with five home runs and 16 RBI over 83 at-bats). Jeffers flashed power (14 home runs and 49 RBI over 368 at-bats) in 2019 between High A and AA. Over his first two starts back with the Twins, he went 5-for-12 with three runs, two home runs, and four RBI. Jeffers needs to minimize the damage in strikeouts to earn the bulk of at-bats behind the plate in Minnesota. For a fantasy team hurting at C2, he is worth a week-to-week ride.
Eric Haase
The hot power catcher this week is Haase. Over his past four games, he went 6-for-11 with six runs, five home runs, and six RBI. Haase scored 10 runs over his last eight contests, but he does have nine strikeouts over 25 at-bats. His power is real (75 home runs and 192 RBI over 1,122 at-bats) from 2017 to 2019 between AA and AAA. Haase’s slow path to the majors comes from a high number of strikeouts (403 – 31.8 percent) over this span. He is a risky dart as next week as his bat could go 1-for-20 with 11 strikeouts. Don’t overpay for last week’s stats, while understanding Haase may have another week or two of playable stats in him.
First Base
Patrick Wisdom
The Cubs turned to Wisdom last week after David Bote, Nico Hoerner, and Matt Duffy landed on the injured list. He has 11 hits over 25 at-bats over a nine-game stretch, heading into Saturday night, with six runs, four home runs, five RBI, and one steal. From 2017 to 2019 at AAA, Wisdom hit .256 with 77 home runs, 224 RBI, and 21 steals over 1,223 at-bats. His slow path to the majors has been a high strikeout rate (27.6) at AAA. Wisdom works as a short-term cover in deep leagues for fantasy owners looking for a boost in power.
Second Base
Jonathan Schoop
In 12-team formats in the high-stakes, Schoop slipped through the waiver wire crack in 54 percent of leagues last week. His bat has been sensational over his previous seven games (13-for-26 with seven runs, five home runs, and 10 RBI). He hit .389 over his past 14 games as well. Schoop has 30+ home run power, and his bat is rounding into form.
Jonathan India
After a 22-game cold stretch (.186 over 59 at-bats with four runs, two home run, and nine RBI), India picked up the pace over his past six contests (9-for-17 with four runs, two home runs, four RBI, and one steals) while moving higher up in the batting order. His best season in the minors came in 2019 (.259 with 11 home runs, 44 RBI, and 11 steals over 428 at-bats). His approach has upside with a future 20/20 skill set. India looks viable in 12-team leagues while already rostered in deep formats.
Shortstop
J.P. Crawford
Since May 19th, Crawford has hit .298 with five runs, two home runs, five RBI, and one steal over 57 at-bats. Most of his production over this span came over the past week (two home runs and four RBI). His short-term intrigue is helped by a move to the top of the batting order in June. Crawford is only a flier in deep leagues as his power remains in question.
Wander Franco
The early June check-in on Franco has him hitting .311 over 106 at-bats at AAA with 22 runs, five home runs, 25 RBI, and four stolen bases. He has 15 hits over his last 39 at-bats with 10 runs, two home runs, 15 RBI, and three RBI. He’s ready when Tampa wants to improve their offensive in the majors.
Third Base
Jake Lamb
With Yermin Mercedes slumping over his last 15 games (5-for-49 with four runs, one home run, and six RBI), Jake Lamb looks poised to pick up more playing time. He has a five-game hitting streak (6-for-12 with five runs, one home run, and three RBI). He qualifies for first base, third base, and outfield. At his best in 2016 and 2017, Lamb hit .248 with 170 runs, 59 home runs, and 186 RBI over 1,059 at-bats. He falls into the buy-and-hold category in deep leagues.
Outfield
Tony Kemp
The A’s have had Kemp in the starting lineup in nine of their previous 11 games heading into Saturday night. He hit .333 over 30 at-bats with two home runs, one home run, and nine RBI. Kemp has 16 walks over 113 plate appearances, helping him to a .382 on-base percentage and more playing time. His minor league resume shows more speed (144 steals over 2,191 at-bats). Kemp may offer sneaky value in stolen bases if he continues to be in the lineup on most nights.
Miguel Andujar
I’m going back to Andujar as he remains in the free-agent pool in most 12-team leagues. Heading into Saturday night, he had a five-game hitting streak (6-for-19), highlighted by three solo home runs. His power is coming, along with more playing time. Andujar should be owned in all formats.
Taylor Trammell
After hitting his way back to the minors, the Mariners called him back on June 1st after playing well at AAA (.384 with six home runs, 19 RBI, and three steals over 73 at-bats). Over his first four games back with Seattle, he has four hits over 13 at-bats with three runs, one home run, and one RBI). His critical stat will be his strikeouts. I expect growth while hoping to hit on speed, which is tough to come by on the waiver wire.
Starting Pitching
Grayson Rodriguez
The next hot pitching climbing through the minors is Rodriguez. Over six starts between High A and AA, he posted 1.59 ERA, seven walks, and 48 strikeouts over 28.1 innings. In his first appearances at AA, Rodriguez allowed one run over five innings with eight strikeouts. Baltimore has no chance of contending in 2021, pointing to him spending more starts in the minors.
Nick Lodolo
The Reds should push Lodolo through the minors after starting the year at age 23. Over his first five starts at AA, he has a 1.01 ERA, six walks, and 38 strikeouts over 26.2 innings. In his limited experience in the minors, Lodolo allowed only eight runs over 45 innings with six walks and 68 strikeouts. He looks ready for AAA, and the majors aren’t far off.
Tucker Davidson
The Braves turned to Davidson as their fifth starter last week. He threw the ball well over his first three starts at AAA (two runs over 20 innings with four walks and 23 strikeouts). Over five seasons in the minors, Davidson has a 2.76 ERA and 389 strikeouts over 401.1 innings. Other than five walks in his last outing in Atlanta, he handled himself well in two starts for the Braves (2.32 ERA over 11.2 innings with 10 strikeouts). Davidson works off a league-average fastball with an upside slider and serviceable curveball. He should be picked up in all deep leagues due to weakness in the free-agent pitching pool.
Tony Gonsolin
The Dodgers expect Gonsolin back this week after spending two months on the injured list with a right shoulder issue. Over his three appearances in the minors, he allowed four runs and nine baserunners over 10.1 innings with three walks and nine strikeouts. Gonsolin has to prove he is healthy while needing at least one start to reach five innings of work. Gonsolin should be owned in all formats.
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