Welcome back to another edition of Walking the Waiver Wire (or, as I like to call it, “Who’s left?”). Hate to sound like a broken record, but the injury hits keep on coming and keeping your fantasy baseball squads afloat this time of the year is goal number one.
As always, we’ll not be using players’ names that have already appeared in this column, but you can find past recommendations here. Additionally, below you’ll find a mix of players that apply to both shallow and deeper formats, but the goal is to keep recommendations below the 35 percent ownership mark.
Enough dilly-dallying, let’s get right to upside players who can strengthen your bench and provide solid lineup assistance as you wait for some others to get back into daily roles.
***All ownership percentages are from Yahoo! Fantasy Baseball***
Upside Adds
Tucker Davidson (SP – ATL) 18% owned
The real test for Davidson is going to come this week when he’s tasked with facing a tough Red Sox lineup, but thus far he is off to a great start. Unfortunately, none of his initial three appearances have resulted in a decision. It seems like only a matter of time, though, as the 25-year-old southpaw has hurled 17.2 innings with 14 strikeouts over three starts. Against division rivals Mets, Nationals, and Phillies he’s gone six innings in two of three (5.2 against Washington) and currently holds a 1.53 ERA and 0.96 WHIP.
The Boston start may be worth leaving him on the bench for in H2H leagues, but in the NL East it’s safe to say he’ll get plenty more opportunities to duplicate the numbers he’s started with. Davidson is not going to blow the ball past anyone but has displayed the ability to escape a jam and has a nasty slider that keeps batters guessing.
Vladimir Gutierrez (SP – CIN) 12% owned
The tatted-up Cuban looked like a temporary filler in Cincinnati initially, but has responded by flashing quality talent and some serious swagger on the bump. Originally called up to replace Jeff Hoffman in the rotation, the Reds have now also been forced to skip two of Sonny Gray’s starts, giving the righty some more time to stick around. Gutierrez has tossed 17 innings with 13 strikeouts against the Cubs, Cardinals, and Brewers. He is 2-0 and rocking a 2.65 ERA and 1.12 WHIP against those quality NL Central opponents and has yet to look overmatched on the mound.
Hoffman had a non-surgery issue in his throwing shoulder, which can always make for a lengthy IL stint, although the team says they expect him to get to rehabbing “soon”. That was two weeks ago. The more starts Gutierrez gets, the better his chances of sticking with the club, even in a bullpen role farther down the line. This may be a serious stretch, but there’s something to like about the possibility of him getting save chances for the big-league club. For now, he sticks in the rotation and is a worthy matchup-based add.
Amed Rosario (SS/OF – CLE) 35% owned
Let’s keep it as simple as possible here. The Indians’ bats have been much-maligned this season, but there is too much talent for that to be a sticking point all season long. In Rosario, you have a dual-position guy batting .279 with four dingers and 18 RBI. Not staggering numbers, but he has also scored 31 runs, has 15 walks and has swiped six bags. Most importantly, he’s batting second in the Cleveland lineup, just in front of Jose Ramirez.
Bobby Bradley (1B – CLE) 7% owned
Okay, I know, too much Cleveland. How about we just call this a “bonus”? Bradley recently joined the team and responded immediately, going 7/14 (.500 for you math majors) with two moonshots with the boomstick, six runs scored, seven RBI, and a pair of walks. For now, he’ll be in a platoon and often sit against hard-throwing lefties, but if he continues to hit, we may see him much more often.
Max Stassi (C – LAA) 17% owned
Stassi missed a bunch of time with a concussion but appears to be back. He brought his bat with him, too, batting .448 in his last 14 days. If you think that’s impressive, check out his numbers for the season in full. In just 58 ABs, Stassi holds a triple-slash of .345/.397(!)/.691 (1.018 OPS). Four dingers, nine RBI, 15 runs scored and recently made an appearance batting cleanup on June 8. Everybody needs a catcher, and he’s probably available in one of your leagues.
Joc Pederson (1B/OF – CHC) 31% owned
As the Cubs offense goes, so goes Pederson. Although his numbers have not been mind-blowing this season (.250 with zero steals in 2021 is disappointing), he’s quietly put together a tinge of consistency. Pederson has five bombs in the last two weeks, bringing his total to nine on the season to go with 23 runs and 26 RBI. He’s also drawn 15 bases on balls thus far. You’d love to see more speed out of him, but if the Cubs keep hitting, he’ll continue to be in the middle of it all.
Roster if Available
Joey Votto (1B – CIN) 17% owned – Has come off the IL extremely aggressive
Miguel Andujar (3B/OF) 34% owned – Five homers since May 31
Cavan Biggio (2B/3B/OF) 76% owned – Shallow leagues might have missed his return
Deep League Stashes
Joey Bart (C – SFO) 5% owned
Jake Fraley (OF – SEA) 7% owned
Isaac Paredes (3B – DET) 0% owned
Best of luck with all of your bids and waiver wire claims this week. Find those upside adds and remember, the player doesn’t have to be worthy of the daily starting lineup to help the team.
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