In weekly FAAB leagues, your waiver wire claims have likely already been processed. Our FAAB Insights articles are great sources for finding targets ahead of weekly waiver deadlines.
Here, you will find players you can pick up if you have daily waiver claims or if you are able to pick up players throughout the week.
These are players you should consider adding from the waiver wire for matchup number 12 who are available in 60% or fewer of ESPN leagues.
Catcher
Yainer Diaz (C – HOU) 1% Rostered
Finding consistency from the catcher position has been an issue for the Astros for years. It seems they have found their solution in Yainer Diaz, and fantasy managers can benefit as well.
Diaz has five homers, 14 runs, 11 RBI, and a .257 AVG in 109 PAs – respectable totals. His .259 BABIP appears to be reasonably low, with a 16% LD rate behind it. Fantasy managers should likely expect him to continue hitting in the .250-.260 range, especially with a solid 17.4% K rate.
Where Diaz really shines is in his power potential. He has excellent hard contact metrics including a 15.1% barrel rate and a 47.7% contact rate. Those would rank second and third respectively among qualified catchers if Diaz qualified. His ability to hit the ball hard has led to homers like this one:
Yainer Diaz – Houston Astros (5)
pic.twitter.com/hUr97EJKka— MLB HR Videos (@MLBHRVideos) June 17, 2023
Diaz has a lot of swing and miss in his game. He chases the ball 50% of the time, but because of an aggressive 62% swing rate, he makes contact on so many pitches, it keeps his contact rate up at a respectable 76.8%.
Diaz continues to earn playing time as the primary catcher in Houston, but the fantasy community has not caught up to him quite yet. Add him from the waiver wire if you need help at the position.
Honorable Mention: Tyler Stephenson (45%), Gary Sanchez (15%), Travis d’Arnaud (11%), Francisco Alvarez (26%), Yan Gomes (4%), Patrick Bailey (2%), Bo Naylor (2%)
Corner Infield
Christian Encarnacion-Strand (3B – CIN) 5% Rostered
We may be getting close to a Christian Encarnacion-Strand callup. It feels imminent, especially because he just played outfield in a game for Cincy’s AAA affiliate. Plus he does things like this weekly:
Christian Encarnacion-Strand has been named International League Player of the Week‼️
CES slashed .526/.640/1.105 with three homers, eight RBI and six BB. pic.twitter.com/KSFv2fvQm2
— Reds On The Rise (@RedsOnTheRise) June 12, 2023
This is notable because he is blocked at both corner infield positions at the major league level, with Spencer Steer, Elly De La Cruz, and likely Joey Votto all commanding time at either first or third base. The Reds have lacked consistency in the outfield, with many of their outfielders landing on the IL or simply underperforming.
Encarnacion-Strand has definitely not underperformed. He has 17 home runs, 46 runs, 47 RBI, and a .354 AVG in 223 PAs at AAA this season.
This is par for the course for CES, who finished with 32 home runs across two minor league levels in 2022. He has never left a minor league stop with lower than a .296 AVG. And this season, he has his best walk and strikeout rates of his minor league career.
He does well driving and pulling the ball, skills that will transition well to the major league level.
In dynasty leagues, CES is likely rostered already. But in shallower leagues where you can stash him, now is the time to do that. Check if he is on your waiver wire and add him now.
Honorable Mention: Harold Ramirez (32%), Ryan O’Hearn (4%), Jordan Walker (39%), Jake Burger (9%), Spencer Torkelson (10%), J.D. Davis (9%), Brandon Drury (32%), Ryan McMahon (39%), Nick Pratto (3%), Ryan Noda (4%), Corey Julks (1%)
Middle Infield
Christopher Morel (2B/OF – ChC) 34% Rostered
There is a good chance that Christopher Morel was added and then dropped after a recent cold streak. If there is anything that is clear about Morel, it is that he is a very streaky player.
He broke a six-game hit streak last Saturday, but was back at it on Sunday with his fourth homer in eight days. If you add Morel, do so knowing that you are adding an incredibly streaky player, but one who could be dominant.
Prior to Sunday’s game, he had 12 home runs, 25 runs, 26 RBI, one steal, and a .292 AVG. He is working towards surpassing his HR/R/RBI totals from last season by a long shot, especially with his hard contact totals. He has a 17.8% barrel rate and a 50.7% HardHit rate, which would rank sixth and 19th among all qualified hitters if Morel qualified.
Morel will likely see his AVG regress some. He has a 29.3% K rate, a 32% chase rate, and a 66.7% overall contact rate. His line drive rate is just 12%, which does not line up with a .311 BABIP. Though his strikezone judgment has been improving as shown by our PLV data, he is still risky because of how often he swings and misses:
Rostering Morel is like watching a low-budget movie. If you go into it expecting something spectacular, you are going to be disappointed. But if you have realistic expectations and are aware of the flaws, you can enjoy it. Have realistic expectations for Morel, expect cold streaks, but give him a shot if you need some middle infield or outfield help and add him from the waiver wire this week.
Honorable Mention: Orlando Arcia (29%), Matt McLain (26%), Bryson Stott (44%), Ezequiel Tovar (9%), Mauricio Dubon (17%), Trevor Story (8%),
Outfield
Joc Pederson (OF – SF) 9% Rostered
Joc Pederson is finally healthy after dealing with a hand injury. Since he was reinstated from the IL on June 6, Pederson is 13-for-33 (.393) with two home runs, nine runs, and seven RBI. For the season he has seven homers, 21 runs, 25 RBI, and a .281 AVG.
Pederson has been trending in a positive direction over the last few seasons. He has improved his strikeout and walk rates each year since 2020, and it is no surprise to see his AVG gradually improved each of those seasons as well.
Pederson hits the ball hard consistently, posting incredible 17.4% barrel and 51.2% HardHit rates. His 21.9% HR/FB rate is in line with his career average, but his flyball rate is down. If he can keep his HR/FB rate and tick up the flyball rate a little, he could increase his home run pace.
The Giants outfielder could experience some regression to his batting average, which is propped up by a .316 BABIP (his career BABIP is .270). But it may not drop off too much, as his 23.3% line drive rate is the second highest of his career and his 52.3% pull rate is a career high. Pederson has also lowered his chase rate for the third season in a row.
Another reason fantasy managers should consider adding Pederson is that he has greatly improved against left-handed pitching. Traditionally better against righties, Pederson has a .273 AVG vs LHP compared to a .282 AVG vs RHP this season. That has led to an excellent Hitter Performance in terms of our PLV metric:
If he can continue to perform well against lefties, it should keep him out of a platoon and allow him to play every day.
Pederson makes for an excellent add from the waiver wire where available.
Honorable Mention: Luke Raley (12%), LaMonte Wade Jr. (25%), Ji Hwan Bae (8%), Nolan Jones (22%), Leody Taveras (14%), Jake McCarthy (20%), Eddie Rosario (7%), Tommy Pham (2%), Lane Thomas (26%), Esteury Ruiz (36%), Austin Hays (32%), Jack Suwinski (14%), Marcell Ozuna (15%), Will Brennan (2%), Matt Vierling (1%), Luis Matos (7%)
Starting Pitcher
Bryan Woo (SP – SEA) 2% Rostered
Do not let the 7.30 ERA scare you off from rostering Bryan Woo. He had a rough debut, allowing six earned runs in two innings against the Rangers. Since then, he pitched 10.1 innings, allowing four total earned runs, good for a 3.56 ERA.
Woo has some clear positive regression coming his way. He has a .393 BABIP and a 21.4% HR/FB rate, both extremely high and likely to drop. He has been bit by the home run bug – three of the 14 hits he has allowed have been homers – made clear by a 2.19 HR/9 rate.
There are many things working in Woo’s favor, including a 14 K/9 rate and a 1.46 BB/9 rate. He has 20 strikeouts and just two walks allowed in 12.1 innings. Those skills have transferred from AAA, where he had a 12 K/9 rate and a 2.45 BB/9 rate.
One of the reasons for his high strikeout totals is his fastball. Woo’s fastball has a 32.3% whiff rate, the 22nd highest rate among pitchers who have thrown a fastball in at least 25 PAs. It also has a 30.8% putaway rate, the 12th highest rate with the same parameters. Take a look:
Bryan Woo. ⛽️⛽️ pic.twitter.com/e38vsDoJdF
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 17, 2023
Woo should continue improving with more experience at the major league level. His 2.31 xFIP and SIERA point to some positive regression. He is worth considering as a streamer at the bare minimum, but should be a waiver wire priority this week.
Honorable Mention: James Paxton (33%), Braxton Garrett (24%), Andrew Abbott (30%), Kyle Gibson (34%), Emmet Sheehan (8%), Brayan Bello (15%), Julio Teheran (18%), Ranger Suarez (25%), AJ Smith-Shawver (17%), Kyle Hendricks (5%), Wade Miley (10%), Tarik Skubal (6%), Bailey Ober (36%), J.P. France (11%), Eury Perez (37%), Kyle Bradish (5%)
Relief Pitcher
Craig Kimbrel (RP – PHI) 23% Rostered
The Philadelphia closer situation was murky for a while this season, but Craig Kimbrel appears to have it locked down despite a misleading 4.50 ERA.
Six Phillies have saves this season, with Jose Alvarado second behind Kimbrel with six saves to Kimbrel’s 10.
Kimbrel’s ERA ballooned to over eight after allowing four runs in a May 3 outing against the Dodgers. Since then, he has allowed three earned runs in 16 IP, which equates to a 1.69 ERA.
He has a 14 K/9 rate, but has struggled with walks, allowing 13 in 28 innings. Despite that, Kimbrel is worth adding if available.
His fastball and curveball have both been dominant so far. Both have a batting average against under .200, a 32% and 35% whiff rate respectively, and a 27% and 21% putaway rate respectively. They also both grade as borderline Quality Pitches according to our PLV metric:
A 2.45 PLA, 3.16 xFIP, and 2.70 SIERA point to some positive regression for Kimbrel over the rest of the season, making him a deceptively strong waiver wire add.
Honorable Mention: Clay Holmes (48%), Jason Adam (29%), Pete Fairbanks (20%), A.J. Puk (13%), Will Smith (25%), Adbert Alzolay (ChC), Kendall Graveman (12%)