RADIO
As we enter Week 10 of the fantasy baseball season, we're long past the point where we can say, "It's still early." Memorial Day is in the rearview mirror, All-Star voting is open, and the standings are beginning to come into focus. This is all to say if a player is still struggling - even as offense around the Majors soars - it's time to cut bait.
It also means there are more options on the waiver wire as the weather warmed up and baseballs are traveling further league-wide. If you need to make a climb up the standings, or just shore up weaknesses in the Middle Infield spots, you've come to the right place.
As a reminder, we'll be looking at pickups for shallow leagues (30-49% rostered) and deeper formats (10-29%), as well as highlighting players in the single-digits who deserve a spot on your watch list at the very least. These are your second base and shortstop fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups for Week 10 – June 13th through June 19th.
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Waiver Wire Pickups for Shallow Leagues
Gio Urshela, SS/3B, Minnesota Twins (42% rostered)
Urshela has more appearances in this column than anyone this season, but I'll continue to pound the drum for the former Yankee as his roster rate is actually down four percent from last week. Urshela got off to a brutal start, but that's understandable given the fact he switched teams and the weather in Minnesota is less-than-ideal for baseball throughout April. Since mid-May, Urshela is batting .321 with a .538 slugging percentage and a 158 wRC+ that is well above the league average. Given his dual-eligibility at two positions of need, Urshela should be closer to 75 percent rostered.
Josh Rojas, 2B/SS/3B/OF, Arizona Diamondbacks (39% rostered)
Speaking of multi-eligible players who have been hot since mid-May, Rojas has been on fire since he returned from a hand injury. Rojas' numbers are inflated by a three-homer game on May 20, but even if we exclude that game, Rojas has a .273 average, a .436 slugging percentage, and a 110 wRC+ since he returned from injury. Better yet, he's batted first or second in an improved Diamondbacks lineup in every game during that span. Moving forward, Rojas should be a solid source of runs and batting average while popping the occasional homer.
Waiver Wire Pickups for Deeper Leagues
Nico Hoerner, 2B/SS, Chicago Cubs (19% rostered)
Hoerner has been on the fringes of the fantasy baseball radar for so long that it's easy to forget he only just turned 25. Through 42 games this season, Hoerner has 12 runs, 16 RBI, six stolen bases, and a .283 batting average. Better yet, his Statcast numbers hint there's room for more growth from the former prospect. Hoerner's xBA ranks in the 95th percentile among all hitters at a healthy .314, partly due to the fact he seldom strikes out (11.9% K-rate) and boasts 91st percentile sprint speed.
Bryson Stott, 2B/SS Philadelphia Phillies (9% rostered)
Stott is one of the top prospects in the Phillies organization and is starting to play like it now that he's getting everyday at-bats with Jean Segura (finger) on the IL. Segura is expected to be out 10-12 weeks, so the opportunity is there for Stott to run with the second base job in Philly. So far in June, the 24-year-old is batting .333 with three homers. It's a small sample, yes, but this is a player who batted over .300 at both Double-A and Triple-A last season and is just now getting his first run as an everyday player in the Majors. Toss out his ugly season-long stats, this is a player to take a shot on in deeper leagues.
Waiver Wire Watch List
Luis Garcia, 2B/SS, Washington Nationals (7% rostered)
Garcia isn't the prospect Stott is, but Garcia did bat .314 with a .531 slugging percentage in 42 games in Triple-A last season. The Nationals called him up last week and he promptly launched his first Big League homer on June 7th. He should get plenty of playing time on a rebuilding Nats team and his profile makes him worth monitoring in fantasy.
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