Rotoworld’s brand-new Pickups of the Day column is designed to help fantasy managers uncover a handful of widely-available targets over the course of the season. It could be a breakout candidate, a prospect stash, an injury replacement, a pitcher with a favorable matchup or week, a player who is due some better luck, or any other number of scenarios. If there’s value to be found on the waiver wire, we will find it and bring it your way. Today’s edition features a reboudning hitter in the nation’s capital, a slugging shortstop, and an intriguing outfielder hitting atop of the Angels lineup.
Jeimer Candelario, 3B, Nationals
Available in 94 percent of Yahoo leagues
Candelario is coming off the worst season of his career, where he dealt with a shoulder injury and hit a disappointing .217/.272/.361 across 467 plate appearances with the Tigers last year. He signed a one-year deal with the rebuilding Nationals and might be slowly waking up from a year of underperformance. The 29-year-old third baseman is hitting .375/.444/.667 with two homers, eight runs scored, and five RBI over the past two weeks. He is tied for 11th in baseball in doubles and will head out to Kansas City this weekend, a park that is death for homers but a great place to collect extra-base knocks. For fantasy managers who play in batting average leagues and who recently lost Manny Machado to injury, Candelario could be an excellent replacement for the next few weeks.
Paul DeJong, SS, Cardinals
Available in 93 percent of Yahoo leagues
The Cardinals surprised everyone, including themselves, when they fell to a 10-20 start in their first 30 games and were at the bottom looking up in the National League Central. They have since done some curious moves but seemed to have righted the ship. Part of the reason for the turnaround is Paul DeJong has begun to hit homers again. The 29-year-old shortstop spent most of the last season in the minor leagues, working on his swing. He began the season in Triple-A X, and after slashing .353/.450/.618 with two homers across nine games, the Cardinals called him back to the major. Since then, DeJong has continued to rake and is hitting .282/.364/.590 with seven homers, two stolen bases, 18 runs scored, and 17 RBI across 88 plate appearances. He is still hitting toward the bottom of the Cardinals lineup, but if he continues to mash, there is a chance he could move up a spot or two. The Cardinals began a series in the hitter-friendly Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati, so fantasy managers in daily transaction leagues should jump at the chance to pick up DeJong for some cheap power.
Mickey Moniak, OF, Angels
Available in 92 percent of Yahoo leagues
Mickey Moniak was the first player selected in the 2016 draft by the Phillies. While the baseball draft is different than other sports drafts due to a multitude of factors like signing bonuses, development time, etc., it still means something when a player is selected first overall. For most of Moniak’s career, he hadn’t lived up to the hype, but things might be changing. Moniak was traded to the Angels in exchange for Noah Syndergaard at last year’s trading deadline. He played in 19 games for the Angels but couldn’t hit his way out of a paper bag. Flip the calendar to 2023, and things have changed. The 25-year-old is hitting .417/.440/.833 with two homers, two steals, five RBI, and five runs scored across 25 plate appearances. While it is easy to say that Moniak is clearly on a hot streak and will not keep up this pace, what is important is how the Angels have been using him recently. Moniak has been hitting leadoff for the Angels when he is in the lineup, and he has replaced Taylor Ward in the last two games. In shallower leagues, I prefer to have a player that I can swap out and try to ride the hot hand, and Moniak is one of the players I have added to my rosters to add a bit of category juice.
