Okay…with over a month of fantasy baseball under our belts, it’s time to start getting ready for the grind. In the upcoming week, schedules become wonky with extra travel days. This will allow players a much-needed break and some squads will need to find replacements or avoid due to a lack of games in the week.
Consider this: teams like Baltimore, Boston, Toronto, Atlanta, and Washington only play five games. That’ll mean we might need to find replacements if we roster someone from there, or we may have to avoid them as waiver wire pickups.
In weekly FAAB leagues, your waiver wire claims have likely already been processed. Our FAAB Insights articles are excellent sources for finding targets ahead of weekly waiver deadlines. This weekly article targets leagues that utilize daily waivers.
Here are some enticing players available in 40% or more Yahoo leagues that managers should consider acquiring this week.
Catcher
Elias Díaz (C – COL) 35% Rostered
Any time the Rockies get a home series for an upcoming week, Diaz should end up on your radar. For Week 6, Colorado winds up with all six games at Coors Field. And as we know, the run environment is quite plentiful inside that stadium.
Furthermore, the Diaz’s splits have been huge the previous few seasons:
Clearly, Diaz is a much better hitter at home. For those who love streaming catchers, this is your easy play.
Honorable Mention: Luis Campusano (54%), MJ Melendez (51%), Mitch Garver (31%)
Middle Infield
Amed Rosario (2B/SS/OF – TBR) 55% Rostered
Rosario was completely forgotten about in the offseason. I mean, he sat on the free agent market until Feb. 20 before the Rays scooped him up for a mere $1.5MM one-year “prove-it” deal. This is a bit of a shocker when you consider he was only two years removed from putting up an 11 HR/16 SB season with a .283 batting average, resulting in a 3.1 fWAR.
One person’s trash is another person’s treasure, I suppose.
In his 30-game sample with the Rays, he’s been stuffing the stat sheets nightly. Heck, his 2 HR/4 SB with a slew of counting stats equates to being 21% better than the league average, in terms of wRC+. Additionally, if he keeps up any sort of pace like this, we can forget the 4 HR/9 SB projections THE BAT X has for him.
He’s become a fixture in the middle of the Rays lineup, getting regular playing time up the middle and producing. Ride him into Week 6 while the bat is hot and he’s swiping bags.
Honorable Mention: Jackson Merrill (55% rostered), Josh H. Smith (39% rostered), Jonathan India(54%)
Corner Infield
Tyler Nevin (1B/3B/OF – OAK) 37% Rostered
Playing for this third big-league team in as many years, Nevin hadn’t shown much growth since debuting in 2021. However, Oakland gave the 27-year-old late bloomer a shot, and it’s paying dividends. In only 98 plate appearances, Nevin has swatted four pitches into the bleachers and solidifying the front-end of the batting order.
But how? What changed to help him not become an afterthought on an MLB roster?
Nevin always had a keen batter’s eye, boasting nearly double-digit walk rates, but the strikeouts plagued his ability. (2021: 27.8% K%, 2022: 25% K%, 2023: 22.5% K%). Step into 2024, and the K% sits at a 20.4% clip, better than the league average.
However, what piques our interest is his newfound ability to square up pitches and put some thump into them. This rolling chart shows what’s been happening as of late:
Pairing Nevin’s plate discipline with power, you see exactly why he’s been so successful at the dish lately.
Honorable Mention: Josh H. Smith (39% rostered), Ty France (12% rostered), Tyler Black (25% rostered)
Outfield
Joey Loperfido (OF/2B – HOU) 34% rostered
In only four games, Loperfido is rostered in 34% of leagues. This should be a good indication that people have been keeping an eye on him.
As well they should have been. He was a monster in the Minor Leagues. In only 25 games, Loperfido smashed 13 HRs and swiped five bags. This short-order destruction gave him a 156 wRC+ and really put him on the map. Fast forward to now, Loperfido has yet to make waves in the majors. But it’s only been 13 games, so give a little patience, on that front.
Since José Abreu’s departure, Houston has been searching for a right-handed bat to help even out the lineup. If they will put some faith in the 24-year-old prospect, so should we. If you need an immediate impact contributor for the upcoming week and can’t give any leash, the honorable mention squad is the suggestion.
Honorable Mention: Andy Pages (47% rostered), Brenton Doyle (42%), Brandon Marsh (46%)
Starting Pitcher
John Means (SP – BAL) 27% rostered
Returning from a long hiatus, Means looked BACK!
Last Saturday, Means chucked a gem (7 IP, 8 K, 0 ER) for the win. Furthermore, the full repertoire was on display and rated out nicely with PLV.
- Changeup (36% usage) – 5.63 PLV
- Four-Seamer (26% usage) – 5.09 PLV
- Slider (21% usage) – 5.80 PLV
- Curveball (16% usage) – 5.23 PLV
Additionally, if there was a big concern about how deep he’d go, that should be somewhat erased as Baltimore let him toss 85 pitches. While we knew Means had solid stuff, getting a ramped-up pitcher on a winning ball club is quite a treat, especially as we watch so many pitching options hit the IL.
Means is in line for a showdown with the Diamondbacks, who’ve been pretty pedestrian over the last 14 days (84 wRC+ and 22.3% K-rate).
Honorable Mention: Clarke Schmidt (31% rostered), Jameson Taillon (28% rostered), Jack Flaherty (41% rostered), Christian Scott(0%)
Relief Pitcher
Jason Adam (RP – TBR) 47% rostered
Adam may be the easier waiver wire pickup call for Week 6.
Pete Fairbanks hit the IL and the Rays have shown confidence in Adam’s ability to shut out the ninth inning. In fact, he’s scooped up a pair of saves in the last week. And why shouldn’t they? He’s been extremely effective(1.69 ERA and 1.05 WHIP) in his 16 innings of work.
Sure, Fairbanks is eligible for return in the upcoming week. But let’s hope we can squeeze one more week of production out of Adam.
Honorable Mention: Trevor Megill (13% rostered), Reed Garrett (51% rostered), Yennier Cano (29% rostered)