One of our most cherished and fundamental freedoms as Americans is the right to rage-drop any underperforming player from our fantasy teams at any time. In fact, it is your duty as a citizen to continually prune and replenish your roster. Let’s get to it, people.
Here are seven widely available players who can assist any squad…
At long last, we finally got the good news we’d all been waiting for on one of MLB’s top hitting prospects…
Sources: James Wood will be called up to debut in DC with the Nats on Monday. The long wait is over. Wood will play his first big league game against the Mets at Nats Park in three days.
One of the best prospects in baseball, Wood is hitting .346 with a 1.036 OPS in Triple-A.
— Grant Paulsen (@granthpaulsen) June 28, 2024
Wood is slashing an absurd .346/.458/.578 at Rochester with 10 homers and 10 steals, so there’s not much remaining for him to prove at any minor league level. He’s a potential five-category contributor who shouldn’t have any playing time concerns — he’s crushing left-handers and right-handers equally well — and isn’t likely to be buried at the bottom of the batting order. Wood was probably already rostered in larger competitive leagues and he now deserves a spot in any format. He’s a potential difference-maker, an auto-add. Go get him.
Mark Vientos, 1B/3B, New York Mets (38%)
This gentleman hit three homers over two games this week against the Cubs and Yankees respectively, and he was still only rostered in roughly one-third of Yahoo leagues. That’s just absolute negligence, folks. If you aren’t a believer at this point … well, we’re running out of talking points. Vientos offers multi-position eligibility, significant power upside and he’s currently batting .298. He’s driven in five runs over his last three games and he’s up to nine bombs on the year. If you have no use for such a player, then you’re probably enjoying a ridiculously successful fantasy season.
Bader is on a tear at the moment for a team that seemingly can’t lose. He’s gone 6-for-12 with two steals, two homers and five runs scored over his last three games, raising his average to .275. He’s up to 11 steals on the year and should have another 10-12 ahead of him. We’d certainly prefer to see him hitting higher than ninth in the batting order, but he’s managed to remain productive. Add if you’re seeking a power/speed combo platter.
Horwitz has become a recurring cast member in our waiver wire feature, because A) he just keeps raking and B) not enough of you seem to care.
He’s reaching base at an absurd clip for the Jays, delivering an on-base percentage well north of .400, which is actually in line with his recent minor league history — he was hitting .335/.456/.514 at Triple-A before his promotion. Horwitz has respectable power and he’s settled into a prime spot in the batting order, just ahead of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. He’s a must-add player for anyone in a league that uses OBP, or for any manager searching for a middle-infield boost.
OK, this one might actually be a terrible idea, so apologies in advance if it doesn’t work out. Garver has already struck out 80 times in 69 games this season and he’s batting just .178. Not great. There are definitely a few issues here.
But Garver has also hit safely in four straight with a pair of homers included, serving as Seattle’s DH. He’s always been the sort of player who delivers his home runs in bunches, so we could be in the early days of a binge. Also, we should also note that he’s been a much better second-half hitter (.896 OPS) throughout his career. Let’s not give up on him just yet.
Olson actually picked up a rare win — just his second of the season — in his most recent start against the White Sox. But his 2-8 record does not accurately reflect the level of his year-to-date performance. Olson has simply been a victim of pitiful run support. He’ll carry a 3.35 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and respectable 20.7 K% into his upcoming weekend start against the Angels, so he certainly deserves fantasy consideration. Olson currently ranks among the MLB leaders in ground-ball rate (51.2%) and HR/9 (0.43), so there’s plenty to like in his profile.
Sean Manaea, SP, New York Mets (22%)
Manaea is coming off a scoreless-yet-messy 5-inning win against the Yankees on Wednesday (2 H, 5 BB, 3 K), lowering his ERA to a respectable 3.89. The Mets are obviously rolling these days and the veteran left-hander is striking out a batter per inning, per his usual. The schedule is about to take a friendly turn for this team; Manaea’s next four starts should come against the Nationals, Pirates, Rockies (in NY) and Marlins.
Source Agencies
