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 21 who are available in 60% or fewer of ESPN leagues.
Catcher
Mitch Garver (C – TEX) 7% Rostered
Mitch Garver has been excellent this season, tallying nine home runs, 24 runs, 31 RBI, and a .287 AVG. Even in a crowded catcher room in Texas, Garver has carved out a role and continues to perform well. In fact, according to our PLV data, his hitter performance not only has been elite but has been getting better throughout the season:
Garver’s BABIP is a very high .367 for someone with a .303 career BABIP. And as a career .253 hitter, his current AVG (which would be a career-high if the season ended today), seems unrealistic and unsustainable. However, Garver has a career-best 24% line drive rate and an impressive 48% pull rate helping keep his BABIP and AVG elevated.
Garver also has a 13.4% barrel rate and a 47% HardHit rate that would rank first and second respectively among qualified catchers if he had enough plate appearances to qualify. Such a high level of hard contact, plus his high line drive and pull rates further support his high BABIP and AVG.
Garver has also been exceptional when it comes to plate discipline. He has had a great eye at the plate this season, chasing just 20% of the time with a 78% overall contact rate. Part of his success is due to a high level of strikezone judgment at the plate according to our PLV data:
Fantasy managers looking for consistency at the plate need to look no further than Garver. He has the power to hit more homers and the discipline and eye at the plate to keep his batting average up. Make him a waiver wire consideration for the week ahead.
Honorable Mention: Yainer Diaz (10%), Ryan Jeffers (1%), Patrick Bailey (3%), Freddy Fermin (2%), Gabriel Moreno (5%)
Corner Infield
Harold Ramírez (1B/OF – TB) 15% Rostered
With the circumstances unfolding in Tampa, Harold Ramírez has found himself in a larger role lately. In the last 15 days, Ramirez has seven runs, 10 RBI, and a .447 AVG. On the season, he has nine homers, 44 runs, 48 RBI, four steals, and a .309 AVG.
Ramirez has had an up-and-down season, struggling through July with a .227 AVG in 16 games. With more consistent at-bats this month, Ramirez looks more like he did earlier in the season and has made himself a prime fantasy target.
Ramirez’s best fantasy asset is his batting average, which could potentially land above .300 for the second year in a row. His ability to get on base (.353 OBP) also makes him a great waiver target, considering that he usually bats in the top half of the order for a team with the fourth most runs scored in baseball:
Harold Ramirez delivers a two-RBI double! #RaysUp pic.twitter.com/eJ19avkpAR
— Bally Sports Sun: Rays (@BallyRays) August 20, 2023
While Ramirez is well below league average in terms of barrel rate, his 40% HardHit rate is above league average and quite respectable. If he can lower his 55% GB rate and turn some of those balls into line drives, he could really make waves.
If Ramirez is on your waiver wire, and you need batting average help, he should be a priority add for the week ahead.
Honorable Mention: Spencer Torkelson (20%), Jake Burger (12%), Ke’Bryan Hayes (20%), Brandon Belt (2%), Christian Encarnacion-Strand (10%), Ezequiel Duran (19%), Nolan Schanuel (4%), Carlos Santana (21%)
Middle Infield
Masyn Winn (SS – STL) 7% Rostered
After Paul DeJong’s departure, it was just a matter of time before we saw Masyn Winn at the major league level. Winn was crushing it at AAA this season, with 18 home runs, 99 runs, 61 RBI, 17 steals, and a .288 AVG across 105 games. That performance earned him a call to the bigs.
Winn has appeared in two games, as of writing, picking up one hit in seven at-bats. Here is his first hit, and a boneheaded move by Pete Alonso:
The first hit of Masyn Winn’s career!
And Pete Alonso LAUNCHES IT INTO THE CROWD?!?!?! pic.twitter.com/RCU3V7ZeJ8
— Barstool Baseball (@StoolBaseball) August 19, 2023
We cannot judge him off his performance in the majors so far, with it being such a small sample. Instead, his minor league data can help to paint a picture of what fantasy managers should expect.
Winn’s ability to get on base throughout the minors allowed him to pick up at least 15 steals at every stint across three seasons. He had an OBP below .349 just once, at high-A in his first season in 2021, but still managed 16 steals at that level. If he can get on base even somewhat frequently for the Cardinals, he is a threat to swipe bags.
Winn should get plenty of at-bats the rest of the way and could be a way for fantasy managers to get cheap steals. He presents interesting middle infield depth off the waiver wire.
Honorable Mention: Nicky Lopez (3%), Royce Lewis (9%), Andruw Monasterio, Elvis Andrus (3%), Ezequiel Tovar (13%), Pablo Reyes (1%), CJ Abrams (27%), Liover Peguero (1%), Zack Gelof (21%)
Outfield
Eddie Rosario (OF – ATL) 10% Rostered
After hitting .164 in July, dropping his batting average to .248, Eddie Rosario has since gone 18-for-53 (.340) and raised his AVG to .260. Rosario also has 19 homers, 52 runs, 61 RBI, and two steals, picking up three home runs, 11 runs, 13 RBI, and a stolen base this month. He is on target to have his best season in four of five roto categories since 2019.
Rosario has made quite a few improvements from last season that have led to this performance. One impressive adjustment is Rosario’s 10% barrel rate, a career-high and nearly double his rate from last year. He also has a career-high 35% HardHit rate. That has helped him hit homers like this one:
Eddie Rosario go ahead two run homer!
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) August 20, 2023
Rosario also has increased his walk rate and decreased his strikeout rate. He added 4% to his line drive rate to take it to a career-best 23%, while pulling the ball 45% of the time, also an improvement over last year. Seeing his contact rate go up from last season, as well as his BABIP and AVG, should not surprise fantasy managers. This is the real deal.
Rosario is just 31, though it feels like he has been around forever. After disappointing in 2022, he has come surging back to fantasy relevance. Add Rosario where available on waiver wires for the upcoming week.
Honorable Mention: Nolan Jones (8%), Kerry Carpenter (23%), Tommy Pham (7%), TJ Friedl (22%), Stone Garrett (5%), Max Kepler (7%), Matt Wallner (2%), Jake Cave (0%), Riley Greene (22%), Nelson Velázquez (2%), Rafael Ortega (0%), Michael Conforto (9%), James Outman (27%), Chas McCormick (27%),
Starting Pitcher
Grayson Rodriguez (SP – BAL) 22% Rostered
Grayson Rodriguez needs to be rostered more widely. Fantasy managers may look at the 5.44 ERA and want to stay away, but savvy fantasy managers will know that he has improved that ERA in every game since his return from the minors in July.
In 35.2 IP across six games since July 17, G-Rod has pitched to a 3.03 ERA, good for 20th best among pitchers with at least 29 IP since then.
Rodriguez has a 9.5 K/9 rate this season, striking out 86 batters in 81 innings, though his 3.5 BB/9 is slightly below league average. He can attribute much of his success across this season, especially in terms of strikeouts, to his changeup and slider:
| Pitch | BAA | Whiff% | Putaway% |
| Changeup | .196 | 27.8% | 18.1% |
| Slider | .156 | 33.9% | 19.3% |
Our PLV data backs up just how good those pitches have been:
They grade as above league average according to our metrics. Here is a look at how his slider plays of his fastball:
Grayson Rodriguez, 100mph Fastball and 84mph Slider, Overlay.
😳 pic.twitter.com/OOUsoQENiS— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 15, 2023
Rodriguez should still continue to experience some positive regression to his ERA as the season continues. His BABIP is up over .300 and his HR/FB rate is 18%, which is much higher than league average.
Snag Rodriguez off the waiver wire now, because he could be a league winner down the stretch.
Honorable Mention: Gavin Williams (22%), José Quintana (7%), Kenta Maeda (23%), Mike Clevinger (10%), Paul Blackburn (3%), J.P. France (37%), Cole Ragans (7%), Bobby Miller (34%), Braxton Garrett (27%), Graham Ashcraft (21%), Chase Silseth (16%), Tarik Skubal (19%), Brayan Bello (24%), Logan Allen (27%), Hyun Jin Ryu (15%)
Relief Pitcher
Evan Phillips (RP – LAD) 28% Rostered
Evan Phillips can still be found on waiver wires despite closing for one of the best teams in baseball. Perhaps fantasy managers are worried about competition coming from Brusdar Graterol, but even still, Phillips should be more widely rostered.
He has a 9.9 K/9 rate this season and a career-best 2.1 BB/9 rate. His BABIP is quite low despite a 21% LD rate and 42% pull rate allowed. That could cause some regression to his ERA, but perhaps only slightly. His HR/FB rate is league average and he has done well in other areas including stranding runners (78% LOB) and inducing grounders (41% GB).
Much of Phillips’ success this season is due to an absolutely filthy sweeper, shown here overlaid with his fastball:
Evan Phillips, 96mph Two Seamer and 86mph Sweeper, Overlay pic.twitter.com/a41Nndhtgq
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 18, 2023
His PLV data grades his as .01 points away from being a Quality Pitch, and grades all of his pitches as above league average:
No pitcher in baseball who has thrown a sweeper in at least 50 PAs can claim to have a better batting average against, whiff rate, and putaway rate than Phillips (.118 BAA, 42.5% whiff, 28.5% put away).
As long as he continues leaning on that and striking batters out, he should maintain the closer role in Los Angeles. Add him from waivers wherever available.
Honorable Mention: Kyle Finnegan (21%), Brusdar Graterol (5%), Matt Brash (7%), Adbert Alzolay (25%), Beau Brieske (0%)
With your recommendation of Garver, is J.Heim rosterable in any re-draft league?
Yes – they both are