This time around, the waiver wire landscape looks vastly different than it did just a week ago. Last week it felt like a difficult time to find value to spend your FAAB dollars on, and this week feels like the complete opposite. When it feels like starting pitching prospects are coming up and debuting every day, the options on the waiver wire are all of a sudden looking rather plentiful. The goal this week is to sort through it all and recommend the ones I feel most convicted about succeeding going forward.
It may feel like the perfect time to blow through most of your FAAB budget, but it’s good to remember this isn’t the only time this season that something like this will happen. There will continue to be impact call-ups throughout the season, especially at starting pitcher where every team deals with injuries. So it’s also good to know some potential future targets you may want to be spending on in the future as well. It’s the nature of FAAB to try and balance that, and my philosophy is typically to be more aggressive than most with my spending by buying into the guys I believe in.
It’s good to be smart, but it’s also not helpful to end the season still having money you never spent. The best way to put it is that this is the type of week where you could gain an advantage by spending those potential extra dollars right now.
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 but instead will use a four-tier investment rating system, ranging from a minimal spend to a potential difference-maker (or LEAGUE-WINNER, if you will).
Let’s spend some FAAB dollars!
Investment Rating System
This week, only four teams have a seven-game schedule: the Minnesota Twins, Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals, and the Toronto Blue Jays. Ryan O’Hearn is one of the players mentioned in this article with a full slate of games this week. The rest of the teams have a six-game week.
SEVEN GAMES: MIN, PIT, STL, TOR
Batters
Outfielders
Ryan O’Hearn ($$$): O’Hearn is eligible both in the outfield and at first base, which only adds to his fantasy baseball value. He has often been an afterthought as a player who’s never really played every day, but he’s getting that opportunity this season with the Pittsburgh Pirates. So far, he’s made the most out of his opportunity, with a career-best 0.400 xwOBA in 100 plate appearances while delivering an elite 16:13 K:BB ratio. He’s also doing just fine against lefties this season, with a 0.360 average and 0.913 OPS.
Infielders
Dansby Swanson ($$$): Highly rostered players like Swanson are not often mentioned in these articles, but the different things he’s doing this season deserve some attention. After never having a season where his walk rate has exceeded 10% (and it’s often been lower), he’s walking at an absurd 17.4% clip while sporting a career-best 14% Barrel rate. Swanson also has the hardest-hit ball of his career this season, all while owning only a 21% chase rate as well. There is the negative of the fact that he hits at the bottom of the Chicago Cubs order, but being in such a good lineup should mostly make up for that. He should still see plenty of opportunities to drive in runs. His 0.364 xwOBA so far this season would also be the highest of his career. We are only a month into the season, but so far, Swanson has been an improved version of himself that we haven’t seen before.
Brayan Rocchio ($$): Last week, I discussed Angel Martínez here. This week, I’m discussing another Cleveland Guardians switch-hitter: Brayan Rocchio. While still hitting at the bottom of the order in Cleveland, Rocchio is doing some things at the plate we haven’t seen before. Compared to last season, he has cut his strikeout rate in half while also doubling his walk rate. It’s resulted in an equal 10.5% strikeout and walk rate. He also has three home runs already after only hitting five last season. Cleveland has been a team known for getting the most out of its players, and Rocchio could just be the next example.
Catchers/UT
Dalton Rushing ($$): It may be hard to get excited about what Dalton Rushing is doing when you look at how his playing time will be blocked, but I’ve been more than happy to use him in daily lineup leagues. If you have Will Smith, it’s a good way to combat his own lack of playing time. What Rushing has done in his limited at-bats this season has been remarkable, as he’s hitting 0.419 with seven home runs in only 35 plate appearances. He obviously can’t keep up this pace, but he’s definitely worth a flier if you need catcher help. Will Smith was also scratched on Saturday with back tightness, so keep an eye out for updates on that as well.
Pitchers
Starting Pitchers
Connor Prielipp ($$$$): It’s been surprising to see the way Prielipp has continued to fly under the radar when looking at roster rates over the course of this week. Even on CBS, it’s only risen nine percent from 4% to 13%. He was a player I almost added last Sunday on a rumor he was getting called up, so I’m selfishly glad he hasn’t blown up in the way I anticipated. To me, he is the highest priority starting pitcher to add, even amidst all the other call-ups that have happened this week. The focus for me is to try recommending attainable players a bit more than the no-brainer types being hyped, like Payton Tolle. Prielipp is a polished pitcher with a large arsenal and good command. He has answers for both left and right-handed hitters, and isn’t afraid to utilize his elite slider regardless of who he’s facing. He even has two starts this upcoming week, so it’s a great time to take a chance on some upside here in weekly leagues, especially.
Chase Dollander ($$$): It may have shocked you this week to find the cover boy to be a starting pitcher on the Colorado Rockies, but here we are. What sold me was considering the way Chase Dollander would be viewed right now if he pitched for any team. If you just look at his characteristics, this is a pitcher still throwing as hard as he ever has, with an improved fastball shape this season. His 99 mph average on his fastball is 99th percentile among starting pitchers, and he’s hardly a pitcher without the pedigree either. He was drafted out of Tennessee in the first round and is looking the part of a top pick at the moment. He is a borderline must-start on the road, and in the right matchups at least, before it really warms up in Colorado, you can even get away with using him at home. The positive for him being a starter in Colorado is that his best pitch is his fastball and not a breaking ball, so he just might be the type of pitcher who can survive pitching in Coors.
Peter Lambert ($$$): While Prielipp and Dollander take priority over Lambert, what he’s done so far with his opportunity starting for the Houston Astros has been impressive. What’s great about starting pitchers is the way they can reinvent themselves and basically become a version of themselves we’d never seen before. It’s a good way to describe what has happened with Lambert, who had never been interesting for fantasy baseball purposes until now. It could have something to do with the fact that he started out in Colorado, a place where it’s very difficult for pitchers to succeed. It’s not that simple for Lambert, and the Astros are giving him a shot in the rotation with his improved arsenal. He likely never would have even gotten this opportunity without all the injuries in the Houston Astros rotation, so good for him to take the opportunity and run with it through two starts. He is also a potential two-start pitcher next week as well.
Relief Pitchers
Tanner Scott ($$$): A lot has been made out of what may be going on with Edwin Díaz for the past couple of weeks, and now we have our answer. He is going to be out until sometime in the second half, and the logical fill-in for the Dodgers is Tanner Scott. To be frank, it’s ironic that Scott was essentially their failed answer at closer last season, and now they have to circle back to him. In their game on Friday night against the Chicago Cubs, none of the relievers in contention did well. What they did do was combine to blow a 4-0 lead and lose the game 6-4. Scott ended up taking the loss, but regardless, he was still the one to pitch the ninth. For what it’s worth, it had been said he figured out his mechanics and is feeling better this season, so it remains to be seen if the results will follow. If you need saves, he’s worth the gamble and should continue to get lots of opportunities in this role.
