Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: Tristan Peters is on a heater, Walker Jenkins is in the big leagues

Welcome to Waiver Wire Watch, our weekly fantasy baseball waiver wire guide. We’ll be doing things a little differently this season, with Eric Samulski publishing the initial waiver-wire article on Friday afternoon. Then James Schiano updates it every Sunday to make sure you get the most up-to-date information.

The premise of the article is pretty straightforward. We’ll give you some recommended adds each week based on recent production or role changes. When we list a player, we’ll list the category where we think he’ll be helpful or the quick reason he’s listed. We hope this helps you determine whether the player fits your team’s needs. Not every “trending” player will be a good addition to your specific roster.

To qualify for this list, a player needs to be UNDER 40% rostered in Yahoo! formats. We understand you may say, “These players aren’t available in my league,” and we can’t help you there. These players are available in over 60% of leagues and some in 98% of leagues, so they’re available in many places, and that can hopefully satisfy readers who play in all league types.

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Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Hitters

Samuel Basallo – C, BAL (35% rostered)

(OFF THE IL, POWER UPSIDE)

Yes, Basallo has not been good since coming off the injured list, going 4-for-35 in 11 games. However, this is just a pick-up because he’s going to play every day, and we know the kind of power he has in his bat. It’s a bet on it clicking sometime soon.

Spencer Jones – OF, NYY (30% rostered)

(POWER UPSIDE, PLATE APPROACH GROWTH?)

Jones is incredibly polarizing. On one hand, he has three home runs and five steals in 23 games in August, and we know the power/speed is real. He also has an 80.5% zone contact rate in August, which is much better than anything he’s ever done in the minor leagues. On the other hand, he’s hitting just .222 in August; he has an 18.1% swinging strike rate and a 33% strikeout rate. So even if this is Jones with the best zone contact rate he’s ever shown, he is still a poor batting average hitter with major strikeout issues and a 92 wRC+. If you want to hunt the power and speed, go for it. Also, when Aaron Judge comes back, it has to be Jones going to the bench, right? Unless the Yankees are going to bench Trent Grisham, but that doesn’t seem likely.

Tristan Peters – OF, CWS (23% rostered)

(STARTING JOB, HOT STREAK)

Remember when Tristan Peter was named an All-Star? Well, the former Savannah Banana (back when it was a college summer baseball team) is on fire in August, hitting .349/.438/.730 with six home runs, 13 runs scored, 14 RBI, and two steals. Will he continue to hit homers at this rate? It’s highly unlikely, but Peters has had a really good season and is seeing the ball really well right now. His defense will continue to keep him in the lineup, so you gotta keep riding this out.

Griffin Conine – OF, MIA (23% rostered)

(PLAYING TIME OPPORTUNITY, POWER UPSIDE)

Conine has admittedly cooled off over the last two weeks, but he still has five home runs, a 15% barrel rate, and a 44.7% hard-hit rate in August. Like any hitter with plus power, he is going to go through some cold stretches. You can choose to drop him if you want, but he was too good for 3-4 weeks for us to fully abandon him. He will sit against lefties, so he’s a better option if you’re in a daily moves league or a mid-week lineup change league. His teammate, Heriberto Hernandez – OF, MIA (9% rostered) is streaking again too with four home runs in August and three of them coming since August 16th. Much like Conine, you can ride a hot stretch with Hernandez’s bat.

Jake Burger – 1B, TEX (21% rostered)

(HOT STREAK, POWER UPSIDE)

Oh, look, another streaking power hitter. Burger is hitting .246/.342/.478 in August with four home runs, 10 RBI, and a 132 wRC+. That’s with a 14.3% barrel rate and 53.1% hard-hit rate. He also has home runs in two of his last three games, and all four of his home runs this month have come since August 14th. You’re just riding the wave here, especially with the Athletics’ pitching staff coming to town.

Tommy Edman – 2B/3B/OF, LAD (21% rostered)

(LINEUP CHANGE, HOT STREAK)

The injury to Andy Pages means that Edman has moved up into the fifth or sixth spot in the Dodgers’ lineup. That has really helped his counting stats, and he’s hitting gone 5-for-21 with five runs scored, four RBI, and a steal in six games without Pages. It’s a small sample size, but taking a contact hitter who hits in the middle of that lineup makes some sense. Mauricio Dubon – 2B/3B/SS/OF, ATL (37% rostered) is now the unquestioned starting shortstop for the Braves, and has multi-position eligibility, which makes him a valuable add in deeper formats as well.

Walker Jenkins – OF, MIN (17% rostered)

(POWER/SPEED UPSIDE, PROSPECTPROMOTION)

The Twins are finally calling up Walker Jenkins. The fifth overall selection from the 2023 draft class has slashed an impressive .308/.407/.532 with 12 homers, 28 RBI, 17 stolen bases, and a 48/42 K/BB ratio over 307 plate appearances in 69 games at Triple-A St. Paul this season. He has been even better in August, hitting .411/.488/.795 in August with eight home runs, 16 runs scored, 13 RBI, and seven steals. We’d much prefer him to other recent prospect promotions like Spencer Jones and Zac Veen.

Tim Tawa – 1B/2B/3B/OF, ARI (17% rostered)

(STARTING JOB, POWER UPSIDE)

Tawa earned a starting job in July and has not looked back. In 25 games in August, he is hitting .283/.337/.435 with four home runs, 11 runs scored, 11 RBI, and five steals. That’s come with a 13% barrel rate, 53% hard-hit rate, and slightly below average 83.7% zone contact rate. Still, Tawa’s 12.5% swinging strike rate is fine for somebody who is going to barrel the ball that much. We’d much rather have his power/speed profile than Spencer Jones.

Rafael Flores Jr. – C/1B, PIT (14% rostered)

(POWER UPSIDE, STARTING JOB)

We can’t say we expected this from Flores Jr. The former Yankees prospect came to the Pirates last season in the David Bednar trade. At the time, he had played just 10 games in Triple-A, and it was unclear what he might amount to in a system that hasn’t produced a lot of great catching prospects in recent years (not including Ben Rice, who is no longer a catcher). Flores then hit just .228 with four home runs and 38 RBI in 65 games at Triple-A this season, and it seemed like another not-really prospect. Yet, since Endy Rodriguez went on the IL, Flores has been playing most games and has hit .241/.305/.556 with five home runs and 12 RBI in 17 games in August. He has good bat speed and a 52% hard-hit rate and is for sure worth an add in all two-catcher formats.

Angel Genao – 2B/3B/SS, CLE (12% rostered)

(EVERY DAY ROLE, BATTING AVERAGE UPSIDE)

We’ve had Genao on here since he got called up, and James highlighted his potential in a video. In 72 games at Triple-A, Genao hit .309/.395/.494 with 13 home runs, 53 RBI, and 11 steals with a 92% zone contact rate and a 7% swinging strike rate. So far, he has acclimated himself well, hitting .288/.347/.379 with nine runs scored and one steal in 18 games. He doesn’t have a ton of power, and the Guardians’ offense is not helping him with counting stats, but he continues to get hits, which is certainly valuable if you need batting average. Another multi-position player who has settled into an everyday role is Javier Sanoja – 2B/3B/SS/OF, MIA (17% rostered). In 23 games in August, he’s hitting .333/366/.526 with three home runs and 16 RBI, so there has been a surprising amount of production lately.

Henry Bolte – OF, ATH (12% rostered)

(BATTING AVERAGE PLAY, RUNS UPSIDE)

When Bolte was called up earlier in the summer, the narrative was that he had finally started to lift the ball a little more and had improved the swing-and-miss issues, which gave him a lower fantasy floor. However, in his first few MLB weeks, he was stealing a lot of bases and hitting a lot of groundballs and not doing much else. Now, in 18 games in August, he’s hitting .326/.385/.484 with three home runs, 17 runs scored, eight RBI, and two steals. He’s still only hitting 17% fly balls this month, but the ones he is hitting are often pulled and can leave the yard. He’s settled in as the leadoff hitter, so he’s a great bet for runs and batting average.

Kaelen Culpepper – SS, MIN (11% rostered)

(PROSPECT PROMOTION, POWER/SPEED COMBO)

James recorded this video ahead of Culpepper’s debut about how his skills could translate to the big leagues. He is the Twins’ second-ranked prospect and the 29th-ranked prospect in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline. He had a .271 average with 14 home runs, 46 RBIs and 17 stolen bases in 74 games for Triple-A St. Paul this season, and has hit the ground running in Minnesota. In his first 16 MLB games, he’s hitting .333/.381/.526 with three home runs, eight runs scored, and six steals. He has no steals, which is a bummer since he had 17 in Triple-A and 25 last season, but maybe those will come soon.

Connor Norby – 1B/2B/3B, COL (10% rostered)

(SWING CHANGE, STARTING JOB)

Eric wrote an article this week on hitters who were making key changes to their process and mentioned that Norby had made a major batting stance change with the Rockies. Since coming to the Rockies, Norby is hitting .310/.408/.571 with a 43% hard-hit rate and a two-degree attack angle towards the opposite field side, which is less opposite field focused than with the Marlins. His stance is now 20 degrees more open, and his feet are 10 inches closer together. The general idea is that a narrower stance like that can help make it easier to keep weight on the back foot to create more power. We’ve previously seen that unlock more power for Brice Turang, so it wouldn’t be a shock if it’s working for Joby. Jeff McNeil – 1B/2B/OF, ATH (17% rostered) is another option for batting average. In 32 games since the All-Star break, McNeil is hitting .361/.381/.509 with three home runs, 15 runs scored, and 20 RBI. There is very little healthy competition behind him in Sacramento right now, so we’ll roll the dice.

Christian Encarnacion-Strand – 1B/3B, BAL (10% rostered)

(POWER UPSIDE, POTENTIAL STARTING JOB)

CES is getting a chance to start at third base against both righties and lefties, and has had a solid month of August, hitting .250/.284/.474 with four home runs and 16 RBI. He has a 17% barrel rate and 45% hard-hit rate but also a 30% strikeout rate. Another factor to consider is that Blaze Alexander looks set to come back off the injured list, and he will likely take that third base job back. Will the Orioles play CES at 1B? Can they play him at DH and let Basallo catch more often? We have to see how the playing time shakes out.

Garrett Mitchell – OF, MIL (9% rostered)

SWING CHANGE, PERFORMANCE SURGE)

We covered Mitchell earlier in the summer when he made a major batting stance change in June and then had a huge month of July. He keeps producing, even if it’s not at the rate he was before. Before changing his batting stance, Mitchell had a 77.1% zone contact rate, but that has jumped up to 83.1% since then. It was 87.1% in July and has since trended down a bit in August, but both months have been well ahead of what we saw in the past. Since changing his stance, his strikeout rate has fallen from 34.2% to 28.2%, his batting average has gone from .251 to .282, and his OPS has increased from .761 to .804. Those are noteworthy and intriguing changes. It may also be coming together for Hector Rodriguez – OF, CIN (2% rostered), who has gone 8-for-21 with three home runs, four runs scored, and three RBI over his last five games. It’s a small sample size, but this was a prospect we were interested in who gets to play his home games in an elite offensive environment.

Joey Ortiz – SS/3B, MIL (6% rostered)

(REGULAR PLAYING TIME, SPEED UPSIDE)

We had Ortiz on her a few weeks ago when he had changed his swing, but then his playing time became inconsistent. Now, in 16 games in August, he’s hitting .309/.365/.491 with two home runs, 10 runs scored, 10 RBI, and one steal. That’s come with a 7% barrel rate and 44% hard-hit rate, which are well up from what we’re used to seeing out of Ortiz. They need to keep playing him while he’s hitting.

Dylan Beavers – OF, BAL (3% rostered)

(REGULAR PLAYING TIME, POWER SURGE)

Beavers has taken the left field job and run with it in Baltimore. In 22 games in August, he’s hitting .262/.338/.508 with four home runs, eight runs scored, 13 RBI, and one steal. That’s with a 16% barrel rate and 46% hard-hit rate. His bat speed is up one mph in the second half, and his swing has more loft with a steeper angle of the sweet spot of the bat at contact. That could be leading to his recent power surge, but it’s worth a gamble.

Pedro Ramirez – 2B/3B, CHC (3% rostered)

(POTENTIAL STARTING JOB, PROSPECT PEDIGREE)

With Dansby Swanson out for the regular season, Nico Hoerner has moved to shortstop, and Ramirez has become the regular second baseman for the Cubs. On the season, Ramirez is slashing .286/.345/.429 with three home runs, 24 runs scored, 21 RBI, and seven steals. That’s given him a 114 wRC+ that’s good for 11th-best among all qualified rookies. However, every rookie ahead of him on that list has at least 251 plate appearances. Among all 50 qualified rookies, Ramirez also ranks 12th in wOBA, 13th in on-base percentage, 14th in contact rate, and 17th in hard-hit rate. It’s a small sample size, but he’s fitting right in with what’s considered to be one of the better rookie hitter groups we’ve seen in a while. The only question is what happens to his playing time now that Matt Shaw has returned.

Luis Lara – OF, MIN (3% rostered)

(BATTING STANCE CHANGE, HOT STREAK)

Lara is another Brewers hitter who has made a swing change that appears to be working. Over his last 15 games, Lara is hitting .308/.345/.423 with one home run, nine runs scored, six RBI, and one steal. Now, some of that could be because the Brewers have seen so many lefties lately, but Lara could push Sal Frelick for the starting job in right field. It’s a situation to monitor.

Drew Gilbert – OF, SF (1% rostered)

(POWER UPSIDE, HOT STREAK)

Drew Gilbert plays against all right-handed pitching and has been hitting the ball well in August with a .265/.333/.515 slash line with four home runs, 15 runs scored, and 15 RBI. He was an intriguing prospect back when the Mets traded for him a few years ago, and while it never came together in New York, the plate discipline has always been good, and there is some pop in his bat. He figures to get a long leash in San Francisco this month. Another rookie outfielder who’s surging is Nathan Church – OF, STL (2% rostered), who’s hitting .313/.368/.463 in 20 games in August with two home runs, nine runs scored, 14 RBI, and three steals. Another rookie on a bad team, Church figures to be in the lineup every day.

Seaver King – SS, WSN (1% rostered)

(STASH, POWER/SPEED COMBO)

A prospect with stash potential, King has 18 home runs, 14 stolen bases, and a 150 wRC+ in 91 games split between Double-A and Triple-A this season. He may get an opportunity for some big-league shortstop reps, given the recent news that CJ Abrams is shifting to second base. You don’t NEED to get ahead of this and stash King, but we’d add him immediately if news came that he was getting a shot

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pitchers

Jacob Lopez – SP, ATH (30% rostered)

This just keeps happening, and we’re having flashbacks of that insane 11-13 start stretch of tremendous production last year that Lopez was on last year. In seven starts since rejoining the rotation, he has a 2.33 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, and 29.9% strikeout rate in 38.2 innings. We know Sacramento is scary, but we also know that finding good pitchers in deeper formats is incredibly challenging. He also pitches on the road next week.

Kodai Senga – SP/RP, NYM (26% rostered)

With Devin Williams landing on the IL, Senga is the closer in New York. He has three saves in his last two weeks and really only one bad outing in a blown save against the White Sox. We know he will be volatile because he’s Kodai Senga, but it’s worth a look if you need saves.

Mason Montgomery – RP, PIT (26% rostered)

We thought Luke Weaver would walk into Pittsburgh and just take the closer’s role. It hasn’t happened. Granted, the Pirates only have five saves in August, but Montgomery has four of them, and Weaver doesn’t have one. Montgomery always had elite swing-and-miss ability, so if he’s now the main guy at the back of the bullpen, he needs to be added.

Joe Musgrove – SP, SD (24% rostered)

Musgrove will be returning from the IL next week after throwing 60 pitches (70% strikes) across five innings in Triple-A on Thursday. He said that he feels better than he has in two years, and his fastball velocity is up over 94 mph in his rehab outings. We’d prefer to add him and keep him on our bench for the first start, but he’s worth a spec add at this point since he gets Cincinnati and Washington in his first two starts.

Ben Joyce – RP, LAA (23% rostered)

Joyce was activated off the injured list two weeks ago and has promptly taken over the closer’s role. James recorded a video last week on his stuff, path to the major leagues, and potential moving forward. He’s hitting 103 mph on the radar gun, and with Sammy Natera Jr. landing on the IL, it’s just Joyce for saves now.

Jackson Jobe – SP, DET (21% rostered)

Listen, we know it’s hard to trust Jackson Jobe. His four-seamer just isn’t that great of a pitch, and he’s not missing bats. That being said, he gets the Twins and Guardians in a two-start week this week, and we think you can roll the dice in 15-teamers.

Andrew Painter – SP, PHI (21% rostered)

Andrew Painter is reinventing himself, and his roster rate needs to be climbing higher than this. We now have a few starts where he has leaned on his new changeup (was previously a splitter) more than any other pitch. We also have recent starts where he changed his grip on his four-seamer and got more velocity and vertical movement than he ever had. 18 inches of iVB at 97 mph is something we can easily get behind. Eric referred to him as Cade Cavalli 2.0 for his in-season adjustments, and we’d be adding him almost everywhere right now.

Gage Jump – SP, ATH (13% rostered)

Gage Jump gets two starts on the road next week in Texas and Seattle. If not now, when? JT Ginn – SP, ATH (32% rostered) gets those same matchups. That’s really the end of the analysis.

Eric Lauer – SP/RP, LAD (12% rostered)

With Roki Sasaki on the injured list, Lauer is back in the Dodgers’ rotation. He gets to face the Nationals next weekend, so if you’re streaming for wins, Lauer should be back on your radar.

Dean Kremer – SP, MIN (10% rostered)

The Twins are a good pitching organization. We shouldn’t forget that. In four starts with the Twins, Kremer has a 3.18 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, and 20/8 K/BB ratio in 22.2 innings. He’s your textbook 15-team streamer, and he gets Detroit next week, so we can use that matchup.

Elvis Alvarado – RP, ATH (5% rostered)

Guess who’s back, back again? It turns out, Elvis had never left the building. Over the last month, Alvarado has a 1.38 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, and three saves in 13 innings. He appears to be the closer again for the Athletics, and if you can stomach the risk, you can get back on this bandwagon.

Nate Pearson – RP, KC (3% rostered)

It appears we have a new closer in KC. Pearson was a top pitching prospect in Toronto, but injuries prevented him from ever breaking through as a starter. He finally got a chance as a reliever with the Cubs, and he’s been bouncing around a bit, but he seems to have the 9th inning role in Kansas City now. Given his pedigree and potential strikeout upside, he’s worth an add since he has a 0.71 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, and two saves in his last 12.2 innings.