With the weather warming up, it’s feeling like the MLB season and summer are in full swing, and that makes this an important time to know how to prepare for the FAAB run this weekend. Looking at the past few seasons, the end of May to early July range is when we’ve seen impact call-ups like Spencer Schwellenbach, Jacob Misiorowski, and Cam Schlittler. It’s a time where being ahead of the curve can land you the most impactful waiver wire add for the entire season.
There are a couple of starting pitcher prospect promotions that happened this week for David Sandlin and Gage Jump, respectively, and you can see my write-up on them below. Hopefully, they can provide some relief for the injuries to breakout hopefuls Noah Schultz and Logan Henderson.
So without further introduction, let’s jump in and see how you should be spending your FAAB dollars this weekend.
Throughout the season, this column is designed to help you decide who to target on the waiver wire, as well as how to prioritize who to add. The focus will mainly be on relevant players who are also widely available in all leagues, and will often include players I’ve spent my own FAAB dollars on. Every league is different, so players will not be given an exact dollar amount; instead, I will use a four-tier investment rating system, ranging from a minimal spend to a potential difference-maker.
Investment Rating System
This week, eight teams have a seven-game schedule, and those teams are listed below. The rest of the teams have a six-game schedule in the upcoming week.
SEVEN GAMES: ARI, KCR, LAD, MIL, MIN, SFG
Batters
Outfielders
Carlos Cortes ($$$): Carlos Cortes continues to be slept on mostly due to the playing time concerns. He hasn’t exclusively played against right-handed pitching, but it’s been close to that this season, with only ten plate appearances against lefties this season. It’s worth monitoring because it’s truly the only negative thing in his profile at the moment. His 0.391 xwOBA and 167 wRC+ are quite impressive, and another positive development is the fact that he’s now consistently batting leadoff when they do play righties. He’s quite valuable in weeks where there are no lefties on the schedule, as he’s currently started in eight games in a row. In daily leagues or weeks with no lefties on the schedule, Cortes should be rostered and started.
Infielders
Curtis Mead ($$$$): Mead is a player I’ve been itching to talk about all week, ever since I noticed what he was doing. He’s one I’m confidently placing my stamp of approval on. I’ve been ahead of the curve on other names like Liam Hicks and Miguel Vargas this season, and am putting Mead in that same class of breakout. His 142 wRC+ ranks second among third base position players behind only Max Muncy of the Los Angeles Dodgers. This also hardly comes out of nowhere for Mead. He has bounced around quite a bit before finding a home in Washington, but in 2023, MLB Pipeline ranked him as the 33rd overall prospect. What’s impressed me most with Mead is that he’s tapping into his power potential without sacrificing his incredible plate discipline, with eight home runs in only 150 plate appearances after only hitting three last season in 264 plate appearances. It also appears that the Nationals are now giving him a chance to play every day after the demotion of Brady House. The time to add Mead is now, before it’s too late.
TJ Rumfield ($$$): I wrote about Rumfield a few weeks back in a waiver wire article, but he has continued to fly under the radar. Maybe it’s because he plays for the Colorado Rockies and can therefore easily go unnoticed, but what he’s been doing so far this season has been impressive. He has a well-above-average process number of 125, to go along with a 0.348 xwOBA and 117 wRC+. His xwOBA may not jump off the page, but it’s still better than league average, which tends to be in the 0.315-0.320 range. What’s most impressive is his patient approach at the plate, because he strikes out less than 16% of the time and walks over 9% of plate appearances.
Sam Antonacci ($$$): Since getting the call by the Chicago White Sox around a month ago, Sam Antonacci has quietly been productive and mostly been as advertised. In 39 games, he’s now up to seven stolen bases and 23 runs scored already. He’s showing that he’s a good bet to get on base a lot, steal a lot of bases, and score a lot of runs. He may not hit for much power, but when he’s also been leading off most games, he’s going to be productive from a fantasy perspective regardless. His 0.383 xwOBA and 124 wRC+ back up the production so far. He’s only rostered in 21% of leagues on Yahoo, so that number should be a lot higher, too.
Pitchers
Starting Pitchers
Noah Cameron ($$$): After struggling for the first month and a half of this season after a breakout last season, Cameron appears to have righted the ship in his past three starts. Over those three starts, he’s given up five runs over 17 innings, with a 16:3 K:BB ratio as well. The time to jump back in on Cameron is now. He lines up for two starts next week, and he’s displaying the good command that he consistently had last season. I’m optimistic that he can be that stable volume starter again, and his being back in a groove is a good sign of that.
Coleman Crow ($$$): With Logan Henderson landing on the injured list for the Milwaukee Brewers, it looks like Coleman Crow is getting a chance to start in the short-term. In three starts now for the Brewers, Crow owns a 3.14 ERA and 0.98 WHIP over 14.1 innings. It helps that he pitches for a good team that will play good defense behind him, and that should make him a good source of wins as well. He’s not an overpowering pitcher, but he has a good feel for spin, and the Brewers have a knack for getting the most out of their players.
David Sandlin ($$): Sandlin is another pitcher getting an opportunity due to an injury, with Noah Schultz going down for the Chicago White Sox. Facing fellow rookie Connor Prielipp in his first career start, he outpitched him after only allowing a leadoff home run to Byron Buxton. After that home run, Sandlin proceeded to throw six perfect innings while striking out four. It feels like a prospect coming out of nowhere, but this would hardly be the first time that’s ever happened. He’s getting an opportunity to start for a White Sox squad that is surprisingly better than expected, with a good offense, and I think Sandlin is a good speculative add to see where this goes. He’s still widely available, considering he’s only rostered in 6% of Yahoo leagues.
Gage Jump ($$): Jump was the more anticipated prospect debut than Sandlin, but his start wasn’t nearly as good. I don’t usually hold a debut against a starting pitcher, so I remain excited about Jump in the long-term. If he learns how to execute his arsenal, Jump has a lot of upside. He throws hard from the left side and has three good breaking balls to go along with a changeup that should provide a good way for him to deal with right-handed hitters as well. I think the key to unlocking his full potential will be to utilize that changeup more going forward against righties, and I am hoping he can figure that out sooner rather than later. He’s still worth an add to see how his future starts go that are also not in Sacramento, as he lines up for two road starts next week.
