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As you've no doubt concluded halfway through this ersatz season, diligent work on the waiver wire is even more critical than it is in a full campaign. Injuries and ineffectiveness are, have been, and will be that much more challenging to overcome, so every decision takes on greater import.
By contrast, our focus is a model of consistency, trained once again as it will be on those players who are rostered in under 50% of Yahoo leagues. Your mileage may vary as to their availability and utility in your specific league. We'll run down options for various league depths in an effort to provide as many fantasy baseball managers as possible with viable pickup options. Despite best efforts and intentions, however, it really do be like that sometimes.
With that, here are your waiver wire targets for the middle infield in week 6.
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Shallow Leagues (50-30% Rostered)
Wilmer Flores (1B/2B, SFG) — 47% rostered
Last call for boarding the Flores train. He's been so productive that a) he's been a regular presence in this space and b) the community writ large is taking notice. Even after consecutive 0-for-4 games this weekend, he sits at .306/.337/.541 overall, with seven home runs and 34 R+BI in 26 games. The warning from a week ago still holds, though - he's an obvious trade candidate and at his landing spot he may find himself back in the same purgatory between bench player and starter, where he's unfairly spent most of his career.
Asdrubal Cabrera (1B/2B/3B, WAS) — 36% rostered
The defending champs have a lot of moving parts on the roster, and Howie Kendrick's return this weekend just added another. But Cabrera has been entrusted with the cleanup spot in the lineup a good bit recently, and he's been a solid contributor all season (.267/.326/.523, five HR, 28 R+BI in 23 games). Drub ended 2019 swinging a hot bat and the longer offseason doesn't appear to have knocked him off his game.
Deeper Leagues (30-10% Rostered)
Jake Cronenworth (1B/2B/SS, SDP) — 28% rostered
The Rays don't often lose trades, and we won't know for a while how their trade with San Slam Diego will shake out. But right now, it feels like if nothing else they may have erred in not hanging on to Cronenworth. A relatively quiet Sunday (which nonetheless still yielded an RBI) brought the 26-year-old's season line to .347/.410/.627 with three homers, a stolen base, and 25 R+BI in 27 games. He's playing pretty much every day on a team that is currently second in the league in runs scored. The rostered figure above rose sharply over the weekend and will probably do so again before you even read these words. Grab him if your league winds up not being part of that cresting wave.
Super Deep Leagues (< 10% Rostered)
Luis Urias (2B/SS, MIL) — 9% rostered
Urias cooled off a bit last week after his blistering start to the season after returning from the COVID list. He did hit a double and score a run on Sunday, putting him at a .297/.366/.378 line. No homers or steals yet, but he's a reasonable threat for either after notching 19 HR/7 SB last year in the minor leagues. The top prospect didn't do so hot in his time at the MLB level in 2019, but he's looking more comfortable this year and is still just 23.
The Watch List
Brendan Rodgers (SS, COL) — 9% rostered
The Rockies are...a challenge, for fantasy owners. In recent years, they've had any number of potentially intriguing fantasy assets at their disposal, only to make (as often as not inexplicable) personnel decisions that kept those players from participating often enough to be of use in our game. Rodgers is (or has been) one of those players, but David Dahl's latest injury and the universal DH have conspired to present him with a plausible path to consistent playing time. The Rockies promoted their top prospect last Wednesday and he's seen action in four or five games since (though only twice did he start). All caveats about the Rockies still apply, especially given that parenthetical, but the siren call of talented hitters with half their games at Coors remains strong for a reason.
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