Welcome to Waiver Wire Watch, where we review the top waiver wire adds and drops for each week of the MLB season.
The premise is pretty straightforward. I’ll try to give you some recommended adds each week based on recent production or role changes. When I list a player, I’ll try to list the category where I think he’ll be helpful or the quick reason he’s listed. My hope is that it will help you to determine if the player is a fit for what your team needs or not.
For a player to qualify to be on this list, he needs to be UNDER 50% rostered in Yahoo! formats. I understand you may say, “These players aren’t available in my league,” and I can’t help you there. These players are available in over 50% of leagues and some in 98% of leagues, so they’re available in many places and that can hopefully satisfy readers in all league types.
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Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Adds
We’ll start by just looking at the teams with the best overall schedule in the next week. It’s just a part of the equation but it’s good to know which hitters will face an easier road.
Hitters
Daulton Varsho - OF, TOR: 49% rostered
(POWER/SPEED, SLOW START)
I understand that people saw Varsho’s slow start and decided it was time to move on. He’s less valuable now that he’s not a catcher and his potential batting average drain could be a concern. However, we were only two weeks into the season when people began dropping Varsho. We know that he worked on changing his swing over the offseason but those changes aren’t immediate and the results aren’t consistent. Varsho has looked more comfortable over the last few games, hitting five home runs over the last week. He’s locked into a spot in the lineup because of his defense and while he may never be more than a .250 hitter, he will give you speed and power and should be rostered in most league types.
Amed Rosario - 2B/SS/OF, TB: 46% rostered
(SPEED, STARTING JOB)
The injuries in Tampa Bay have opened up the door for Amed Rosario to get a full-time role in Tampa, starting the last seven games. He’s also hitting 17-for-43 (.395) over the last two weeks with two home runs, seven RBI, six runs, and two steals. The thought was that Rosario would play only versus lefties, but he’s now slotted anywhere from third to sixth in the lineup no matter who is pitching. He may not keep up this pace and this playing time for long, so I wouldn’t bid a crazy amount, but he’s certainly worth a bid while he has this gig.
Lars Nootbaar - OF, STL: 41% rostered
(RETURN FROM INJURY)
I’m going to keep Nootbaar here because his roster rate hasn’t changed since last Sunday even though he’s been back for over a week. This is what I said last week: “Nootbaar was sidelined at the start of the season due to a rib injury, but he has already begun his rehab assignment. It’s unclear exactly when the Cardinals will activate him, but I would imagine it’ll be within the next week or so and he should come up right back into the starting lineup for the Cardinals. He flashed good skills last year with 14 home runs, 11 steals, and a .261 average, but there should be more in the tank there. He makes for a priority season-long add if you need OF help.”
Luis Rengifo - 2B/3B/SS/OF, LAA: 37% rostered
(HEALTH, SPEED)
For a while, it seemed like Rengifo was playing strictly a bench role for the Angels. Then he was fighting his way into playing time and hurt his hamstring. Now, he’s starting regularly and, perhaps more important for fantasy leagues, is running frequently. Ron Washington had said he wanted his team to steal more this year, and so far he’s made good on that. Rengifo has five steals over his last two weeks, and, given his multi-position eligibility, is a great bench bat in most league types to move all around your lineup even if the batting average hasn’t followed yet.
Brandon Marsh - OF, PHI: 35% rostered
(POWER/SPEED, STARTING JOB)
Marsh went up from 6% to 35%, over the last two weeks, but I believe he still warrants a pick-up in many league types. Here’s what I said last week: “He’s been in the lineup for the Phillies almost every game, including against lefties. If Marsh is going to play that often in a really good lineup, then we should be interested. He has just enough power and speed to help you a little bit everywhere and he’s showcasing a new approach this season, swinging far more and selling out for power. While that has led to a high strikeout rate, he also isn’t swinging and missing as often, so there’s a chance that strikeout rate corrects.”
Junior Caminero - 3B, TB: 35% rostered
(PRIORITY STASH)
Junior Caminero is another repeat from last week and remains my favorite prospect stash if you have the bench space to do it. He suffered a quad injury that sidelined him at Triple-A, but he’s back now and continues to look like a player who could actually produce more immediate fantasy value than Jackson Holliday. The Rays aren’t getting much from their DH spot, and Brandon Lowe is now on the IL with an oblique injury. There’s a chance the Rays will give Caminero a few games to get his timing back and show that he’s fully healthy before giving him another shot at the big leagues. You could also stash Joey Loperfido - HOU, OF/2B (8% rostered) in deeper formats. He has tremendous power, but the contact could be an issue in the big leagues. He’s probably a .230-.240 hitter right now, but he gets a boost in OPS and OBP formats. Another stash is Orelvis Martinez - 2B/3B/SS - TOR (8% rostered) who’s hitting .305 with three home runs and 11 RBI in 15 games at Triple-A for the Blue Jays. I can’t see Toronto continuing to run out Cavan Biggio and Isiah Kiner-Falefa every day, so it seems only a matter of time before Orelvis gets a shot.
Mitch Haniger - OF, SEA: 35% rostered
(POWER AND LINEUP SPOT)
Haniger has been in this column every single week, but I’ll just keep him here until he gets hurt or rises above the 50% cut-off. Haniger is hitting .275 with three home runs and 13 RBI. The question for Haniger is usually never talent but health. He’s had double-digit barrel rates every year since 2018 and has a history of elite power production while playing in Seattle. He’s hitting clean-up right now, after Julio Rodriguez and Jorge Polanco and before Cal Raleigh. While he may not play a full season, you aren’t playing in a best-ball league, so add him and take his production for as long as he stays healthy.
Ryan Jeffers - C, MIN (33% rostered)
(PLAYING TIME BOOST, POWER)
The Twins lineup has been ravaged by injuries. That has opened up another opportunity for Jose Miranda - 3B, MIN (1% rostered), who I also like taking a flyer on in deeper leagues since he’s getting regular playing time at third base. However, Jeffers may be the biggest short-term winner because he’s been DHing when he’s not catching, which is giving him more than enough at-bats each week to contribute value in both one and two-catcher formats. I wouldn’t drop an established catcher getting everyday playing time because I think Jeffers will lose at-bats when Minnesota gets healthy, but he should be really useful in the short-term given his strong bat.
Bryan De La Cruz - OF, MIA: 31% rostered
(STARTING JOB, POWER UPSIDE)
It’s hard to argue against what De La Cruz has done over the past few weeks, even if we’re not sure it will last. He’s never quite made good on his intriguing skills, but he has five home runs and a 13.6% barrel rate so far. He’s still super aggressive and won’t take a walk, but he’s hitting second or third and starting every day while going 16-for-52 (.308) over the last two weeks with four home runs, 13 RBI, and a steal. He’s worth a shot in deeper leagues to see how long this production can last.
Orlando Arcia - SS, ATL: 30% rostered
(COUNTING STATS IN GOOD LINEUP, STARTING JOB)
Arcia sometimes gets lost in the shuffle because the Braves lineup features so many great hitters. However, he’s the only exposure to that lineup we can get on waiver wires. He’s their everyday shortstop and, as such, has tremendous value because of his ability to rack up runs and RBIs when their offense goes off. He won’t give you tons of power or speed, but he is a good enough hitter to chip in most places and is a really solid fill-in if you lost a MIF to injury.
Jesse Winker - OF, WAS: 29% rostered
(POWER, STARTING JOB)
Yes, I’m listing Jesse Winker here and I can’t believe it. However, I think we’ve forgotten how good a hitter Winker was before battling injuries. Yes, the power he showed in Cincinnati was likely inflated by his home ballpark, but he is also in a good ballpark now. He’s always had strong plate discipline and seems to have a regular spot in Washington’s lineup. I think the Nationals are going to keep running him out there until somebody makes a trade offer that’s so enticing they trade him away. The lineup around him isn’t great, but it’s good enough in deeper formats. If you need power specifically, you could also look to Nelson Velazquez - OF, KC: 20% rostered who still strikes out a lot but is playing almost every day and has two homers and an .815 OPS.
Vaughn Grissom - SS, BOS: 25% rostered
(HEALTH AND STARTING JOB)
Grissom has already begun a rehab assignment and could be back up in Boston this week. When he’s up, he’s going to play every day at second base. He won’t hit for a ton of power, but he’ll likely sport a good batting average and give you some chip-in steals while hitting in a solid lineup. That’s a really good MIF option in most formats.
Sal Frelick - OF, MIL: 25% rostered
(SPEED, STARTING JOB)
Frelick hasn’t quite broken out like people wanted or picked up the multi-position eligibility we hoped for, but he’s hitting in the middle of the Brewers’ order against all righties and has three steals so far this season while hitting over .300. He’s not going to be elite in any one category, but he should be solid in a bunch of them, which is why I’ve now had him on here for three weeks in a row. People can also still add Jurickson Profar - OF, SD (27% rostered), who has two home runs and 10 RBI over the last week while going 13-for-41 at the dish. At this point, we know who Profar is, but we also know that he’s a solid hitter in a good lineup, and that has value when he’s playing every day.
Jonatan Clase - OF, SEA (20% rostered)
(PLAYING TIME OPPORTUNITY, POWER/SPEED UPSIDE)
I’m not a prospect expert, but I read a lot of great prospect writers and do my best to keep up with all fantasy-relevant prospects. The general consensus is that he’s a switch-hitter with an all-fields approach and good barrel awareness. He doesn’t expand the zone and can work counts and while there is some swing-and-miss in his game, he puts the ball in play and has real pull-side power. With Dominic Canzone out, there is some real upside in Clase but, as with all young hitters, he’s a gamble. You could also take a shot on another prospect Andy Pages - OF, LAD (16% rostered), who prospect analyst Chris Clegg listed as his Dodgers sleeper prospect of the year. Chris does excellent work at Dynasty Dugout, so you should check that out, but he wrote pre-season that “Pages has big-time power and lift the ball with ease. The exciting thing is the exit velocities are not eye-popping, but the ball still travels with authority. The power is firmly plus and probably has room for more in the tank.” So far this season, Pages improved his contact rates and has been playing every day for the Dodgers. If he sticks in that lineup, there is tremendous value.
Ty France - 1B, SEA: 12% rostered
(POWER POTENTIAL)
I wrote up France last week, and I know the power still isn’t yet there, but I’m going to keep him on here because he’s hitting the ball harder than he has in recent years. Statcast has a new metric called EV50, which takes the average exit velocity of the top 50% of a hitter’s batted balls. The benefit of this stat is that it doesn’t just show us how hard a hitter can hit the ball once but what his consistent top-end exit velocities are. Carlos Marcano also found that, for players with at least 80 batted ball events, EV50 in 2022 had a better correlation with HR in 2023 than MaxEV2022. So while we’re not at 80 BBE yet, France is putting up an EV50 of 102.2 mph that suggests power is coming.
Gabriel Arias - 1B/3B/SS/OF, CLE (7% rostered)
(POTENTIAL STARTING JOB, POWER UPSIDE)
I had a few shares of Arias in draft-and-hold formats because I was intrigued by his 10% barrel rate last season. He started the year on the bench, but he has now worked himself into a regular spot in the Guardians lineup due to the struggles of the players around him, starting seven of the last eight games for the Guardians. He’s responded by hitting .302/.321/.489 with one home run, seven RBI, and a steal in 11 games. He won’t take a walk and he will strike out, but he’s one of the few players on the team that can hit the ball with consistent authority and the lineup can use that. His positional versatility can also make him more valuable but keep in mind that the playing time could dry up in the blink of an eye.
Harrison Bader - OF, NYM (6% rostered)
(STARTING JOB, SPEED UPSIDE)
We’ve been dreaming about what a healthy Harrison Bader can do for a while now. The veteran outfielder has clear speed but has flashed good power in years past as well. However, he’s never been able to put it all together at the same time and has also frequently been hurt. So far in 2024, he’s hitting .306 and he’s heated up even more over the last two weeks, going 14-for-40 (.350) with eight runs scored, six RBI, and three steals. He does hit at the bottom of the Mets order, but the Mets are proving to have some fight and Bader has the chance to contribute across all five categories when healthy. That makes him a solid deep-league option. Another deep-league outfielder for the short-term is Blake Perkins - OF, MIL (8%), who is playing every day with Christian Yelich sidelined. He’s not hitting the ball hard, so I am not a believer in this production holding up long-term, but he’s 15-for-41 (.366) over the last two weeks with two home runs, 12 runs scored, six RBI, and two steals. He could be worth a grab while he’s swinging it well as could Wilyer Abreu - OF, BOS (3% rostered), who is starting against all right-handers and hitting 9-for-31 (.290) over the last two weeks with one home run, seven runs scored, and four steals.
Luis Garcia - 2B/SS, WAS: 4% rostered
(PLAYING TIME, POTENTIAL NEW LEVEL)
Third week in a row for Garcia but nobody else seems to want him and I’m scooping all the shares, so here is what I said: Much like his teammate CJ Abrams, I think we sometimes forget how young Garcia is because he debuted so early. Garcia is just 23 years old and showing his best exit velocities yet. He’s sixth in baseball in barrels per plate appearance so far and has a 50% exit velocity of 105.4 mph, which means the average of the hardest 50% of balls he hits is 101.3 mph. That’s 70th in baseball. It’s early and we don’t want to overreact to that, but we also want to acknowledge a young player who is showing quality contact.” I also mentioned Blaze Alexander - 2B/SS, ARI (12% rostered) for a few weeks now and he remains a solid player with an everyday job.
Pitchers
James McArthur - RP, KC: 52% rostered (He was 47% rostered on Friday when I started drafting this)
I covered McArthur the last two weeks and he’s still under 50%. He has officially taken over the Royals’ closer gig and while they might not be a great team, they’re a pretty solid one that is going to win some games this year. I don’t think he’s some gas can that is going to kill your ratios, so I’d be scooping him up if I needed saves and he’s on the wire.
Michael Kopech - RP, CWS: 44% rostered
I’ll repeat what I said about Kopech last week after he rose from 29% rostered to 44%: “If you’re looking for help with saves, I think it’s time to turn to Michael Kopech, who has a 2.45 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, and 12/5 K/BB through his first 7.1 innings this season. I know the White Sox are bad, which will limit his saves upside, but we’ve seen closers on bad teams put up 20+ saves in a season, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Kopech can steal 15 saves if he keeps the job for the season. The other benefit to Kopech is that he will throw multiple innings, as we saw on Tuesday night when he threw two shutout innings to lock down a save. This can be an extra boost for your ratios and give you more saves. He’s pumping over 100 mph out of the bullpen and has a good slider to go with it. While he’s still learning how to be consistent in his new role, the ceiling is high if he begins to put it all together, like we saw on Tuesday. Getting relievers like this who may only get a handful of saves but will help your ratios is better than trying to chase saves with mediocre pitchers. That’s why I was so in on Mason Miller in the preseason, and I think Kopech can fill a similar role.”
Kirby Yates - RP, TEX: 60% rostered (He was 37% rostered on Friday when I started drafting this)
Even though Bruce Bochy kept saying that Jose Leclerc was the closer, we knew that Leclerc couldn’t be trusted. He’s never taken the spot as “the guy.” David Robertson might be the best pitcher in the Rangers’ bullpen, but he’s being used in high-leverage situations all over the place, which means Kirby Yates has earned the last two saves. Yates has battled injuries over the last few years, so it’s unclear how long he’ll keep giving us this production, but we should take it while we can. If you’re in deeper formats, it’s also time to roster Jeff Hoffman - PHI: 10% rostered, who I think will get save chances working in tandem with Jose Alvarado, and Ryne Stanek - SEA: 6% rostered who has actually received three save chances because Andres Munoz is being used in early innings in a high leverage spot. Stanek was a blown call at first base away from having three saves already this season, and I don’t think he’s going to give back this role for a bit.
Javier Assad - SP, CHC: 47% rostered
I know Javier Assad was not in the Cubs’ rotation to start the season, but I think he has earned his spot with Kyle Hendricks pitching poorly and Jordan Wicks unable to find the command to go five innings. Assad isn’t some diamond in the rough, and he’s not going to be a Garrett Crochet-type waiver wire find for you, but he’s a solid pitcher on a good team and that’s valuable. You may not start him against every team, but he should stay on your roster in deeper formats. If you want to know the other starting pitchers who I think are above regular streamers, I like Seth Lugo - KC: 34% rostered, Luis Gil - NYY: 30% rostered, Casey Mize - DET: 17% rostered, Reese Olson - DET: 16% rostered, and Trevor Rogers - MIA: 5% rostered
Check out my list of weekly streamers below.
Joel Payamps - RP, MIL: 32% rostered
After the first week of the season, it looked like Abner Uribe would be the Brewers’ closer, but he has been pitching as early as the fourth inning recently, suggesting that he’s more of a fireman. In his stead, Joel Payamps has been getting a few save opportunities, but I also wouldn’t forget about Trevor Megill - RP, MIL (4% rostered), who was being used in the most high-leverage situations before suffering a concussion. He’s already back and was immediately thrust into a high-leverage situation on Friday. Pat Murphy also tried to let Megill finish off a two-inning save, but he just ran out of gas. I think he could be the guy here.
Yariel Rodriguez - P, TOR: 21% rostered
I understand everybody wants to add Rodriguez right now because he looked good in his MLB debut, and also missed a ton of bats in his second start. As I mentioned last week, I have no problem adding him but I would caution against bidding a lot of money. Even though the Blue Jays signed him to a good-sized contract, he was never really an international player of much merit until he moved to the bullpen. There is a chance that the Blue Jays will be able to stretch him out into a starter, but he needed 68 pitches to get through 3.2 innings in his debut and couldn’t pitch more than four innings in his second outing. I’m just not convinced he will pitch deep enough in games to get wins.
Taj Bradley - SP, TB: 20% rostered
If you have a league with a large number of IL spots, now may be the time to stash Bradley. He threw a three-inning simulated game on Tuesday and will follow with a four-inning simulated game on Sunday. If he responds well to that, the Rays will likely send him out on a rehab assignment, which means he could return to the Tampa Bay rotation by mid-May. We’re not entirely sure what to expect from him, but we know the talent is there for him to be a difference-maker.
Jameson Taillon - SP, CHC: 16% rostered
I had been advocating for stashing Taillon for a couple of weeks, but he returned from the IL and made his debut on Friday against the Marlins and looked pretty good. I covered him as one of my deep league sleepers in the pre-season, so you can read that article to get a full sense of my thoughts on Taillon. I also have some interest in Ryan Weathers - SP, MIA (18% rostered), who has his spot in the rotation secure after Max Meyer was sent to Triple-A. Weathers has looked better than AJ Puk, so I think he can stick when Braxton Garrett is back too. Don’t look at his 10 strikeouts against the Giants and think he’s a budding ace, but he’s throwing harder this year and has good enough secondary pitches to be a solid starter who can thrive in the right matchup.
Landon Knack - SP, LAD: 6% rostered
His MLB debut wasn’t great, allowing two runs over five innings to the Nationals, but he actually pitched pretty well after giving up a first-inning home run to CJ Abrams. He has a pretty good slider and then a collection of three average to slightly above-average pitches that help him to induce weak contact and churn through a batting order. I’m not sure how long he’ll be up with the Dodgers so I wouldn’t bid a crazy amount, but he gets the Nationals again if he stays up.
STREAMING STARTER OPTIONS FOR THE UPCOMING WEEK (ranked in loose order)
Reynaldo Lopez (ATL) - vs MIA, vs CLE
Zack Littell (TB) - vs DET, @ CWS
Chris Paddack (MIN) - vs CWS, @LAA
Clarke Schmidt (NYY) - vs OAK
Jon Gray (TEX) - vs SEA, vs CIN
Brady Singer (KC) - vs TOR, @ DET
Michael Wacha (KC) - vs TOR, @ DET
Keaton Winn (SF) - vs NYM, vs PIT
Reese Olson (DET) - vs KC
Casey Mize (DET) - vs KC
Jose Butto (NYM) - vs STL
Albert Suarez (BAL) - vs LAA
Dean Kremer (BAL) - vs LAA
Eric Fedde (CHW) - @ MIN
Landon Knack (LAD) - @ WAS
Jose Soriano (LAA) - vs MIN
Ryan Weathers (MIA) - @ ATL, vs WAS
Sean Manaea (NYM) - @ SF
Lance Lynn (STL) - vs ARI, @ NYM
Wade Miley (MIL) - @ PIT, vs NYY
Players to Drop
It’s only been a little over a week, so we don’t want to overreact and drop people because they had a bad start. In most cases, I would recommend holding almost every hitter unless there’s a major role change. However, I’ll list some players I think are rostered in too many leagues as of now, and I’ll also list the schedule as well to highlight which teams have fewer games or face a tougher road of pitchers.
Francisco Alvarez - C, NYM: 78% rostered
This doesn’t really apply if you have an IL spot you can use because Alvarez should at least be stashed there for the time being. However, the young catcher suffered a torn ligament in his catching
thumb this weekend and will be out for a couple of months. Not only is that crucial for hitting, but the thumb is essential for framing and getting under pitches to bring them back up into the strike zone. If he’s trying to receiver 98 mph fastballs, he’s not going to be able to do that unless his thumb is 100%. I’d be expecting him to come back on the longer side of his timeline and so I think people in NFBC formats or leagues with no IL can probably move on.
Triston McKenzie - SP, CLE: 62% rostered
I covered McKenzie in my recent Panic or Don’t Panic, so I’d encourage you to check that out, but I think this is going to end poorly this season. I know his statline was fine against the A’s, but it’s time to move on.
Eduardo Rodriguez - SP, ARI: 55% rostered
Rodriguez suffered a setback with his lat and was moved to the 60-day IL. I don’t believe he is somebody who warrants a stash. This is what I wrote about him in my last pre-season starting pitcher rankings: “Eduardo Rodriguez way overperformed his peripherals in 2023 with a 3.30 ERA but a 4.06 xFIP and 4.26 SIERA. He seemed to find his change-up which led to a bump in SwStr% and the harder version of his slider missed more bats, but he only threw that pitch 7% of the time, so it’s not a real difference-maker. The cutter got lit up to an 18.8% barrel rate, and that’s a problem since he loves to throw it against righties. I just don’t see a consistent swing-and-miss pitch other than a change-up, and I get wary about relying on guys to improve their strikeout rates when that’s their best pitch.”
Alex Lange - RP, DET: 50% rostered
Alex Lange is not the closer in Detroit. I understand he’s pitching better from an ERA standpoint, but his command is still an issue and he has a 1.67 WHIP in six innings this year. If you’re not going to get saves and you’re also potentially going to blow up my ratios then I don’t feel like I need to hold you on my roster.
Abner Uribe - RP, MIL: 45% rostered
Uribe was seemingly the closer in Milwaukee after one week, but they said they were going to mix and match and Uribe has been pitching as early as the 4th inning this week. I think he’s a solid pitcher, but I don’t believe he is first or even second in line for saves anymore.
Some other players you can cut who aren’t as widely rostered: Jose Abreu - 1B, HOU, Trey Lipscomb - 3B, WAS, Gavin Lux - 2B, LAD, Chris Taylor - 2B/SS/3B/OF, LAD,
Players to Hold
It’s only been a little over three weeks of baseball so I also want to take some space to highlight players who are among the most dropped players on Yahoo and who I think you should hold onto. Given the starting pitching landscape right now, I think you need to hold onto any arm that has some upside because that waiver wire could be barren in another couple of weeks.
Joe Musgrove - SP, SD: 91% rostered
Musgrove’s fastball velocity is down to 92.2 mph on the season and was at 91.9 mph in his last start. As a result, he’s throwing the four-seam under 20% of the time now and relying more on his slider, which is up to almost 24% usage. He’s also tweaked the slider to add more horizontal movement, but it’s missing fewer bats and grades out worse on Pitcher List’s PLV stat. His curveball is also leaking out over the plate more, with a 13% increase in glove-side location. It’s getting pummeled with a 57% ICR. Yet, there are no glaring red flags. His overall SwStr% isn’t down much. He’s not allowing more zone contact. He’s in the zone as much as he was before. He just doesn’t seem crisp, so he’s not getting swings and misses out of the zone and he’s leaving too many pitches in spots where hitters can tee off. I think he’ll get it sorted but he may not be the top-20 arm we wanted.
Jordan Walker - OF, STL: 71% rostered
I understand people are concerned about Jordan Walker, but there’s a narrative out there that he has struggled now in two years in the big leagues. I know Walker was demoted early last season, but he also hit .276/.342/.445 with 16 home runs and seven steals in 117 games as a 21-year-old. That’s not struggling. This season, Walker’s stats don’t look good, but there is nothing overly concerning under the hood. His swinging strike rate and strikeout rates are up a bit, but he’s not chasing out of the zone more. He is being more aggressive in the zone but also missing more in the zone. He’s hitting the ball hard but BOTH his fly ball rate and ground ball rate are up, which signals a player still looking to find his approach at the plate. Given his raw skills and that he’s still making lots of hard contact, I wouldn’t be cutting bait yet.
Maikel Garcia - 3B, KC: 68% Rostered
I know a lot of people are souring on Garcia since he’s hitting just .167 on the year with his three home runs 12 RBI, and four steals. However, I recommend holding tough. His strikeout rate is barely up from last year and his SwStr% is just 8.5%. He’s making more contact in the zone but chasing a bit more out of the zone, which has caused his contact rate to fall a touch. He’s lifting the ball more and pulling the ball more this year while barreling it 13%. However, he’s also being pitched away nearly 10% more than last year. So while he’s trying to pull, pitchers are countering by throwing him outside more. I think this may just be a simple adjustment where he goes back to using the whole field more and we don’t see the 15 home run season we wanted, but we get the batting average back up. He’s too talented a player to drop.
Nick Castellanos - OF, PHI: 61% Rostered
Before the season began, I covered Castellanos in my article on poor plate discipline hitters and mentioned that, in 2023, Castellanos posted his highest strikeout rate ever (if you ignore the COVID 2020 season) and posted his second-lowest walk rate ever. He also posted a career-high SwStr% and career lows in both contact rate and zone contact rate. His swing decisions also got significantly worse as the season went on. So far in 2024, he’s posting a career-high walk rate, chasing out of the zone less, and making a bit more contact in the zone but has seen no real improvement in his SwStr%. Considering I was not really into Castellanos heading into this season, I’m certainly worried about his early performance. However, he has a long track record of success in terms of power production, he hits in a good park, and is in one of the better lineups in baseball. If you wanted to bench him, I get it, but I wouldn’t recommend cutting him