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We have completed another week of MLB action, making it time to make more waiver wire moves. However, things will be slightly different for our weekly look into the high-stakes NFBC landscape. For those who do not know, in the NFBC, there are no IL spots and trades, making waiver moves a bit different. Also, offensive roster moves are made bi-weekly, so some waiver claims are made for the player in a great matchup early or later in the week. This weekly article will outline the upcoming schedule, two-start pitchers, and a few waiver targets that are rostered in less than 50% of leagues according to the 12-team online championships.
As the season continues and we are churning and burning on the waiver wire, sometimes a hot bat is worth a pick-up. Besides "hot bats," we can also look at upcoming schedules to try and maximize at-bats. With all of the injuries, we are also looking into players that may be receiving more playing time. Some of the lower rostered players, or some not mentioned here, are on the solid side of platoons, so make sure you are not adding them if they have a negative schedule. Lastly, the names in the article are in order of percentage rostered, not so much in my preference of adding to your roster. This article will discuss NFBC fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups for Week 10, June 13 through June 19.
In the first few weeks, rostered percentages can change quickly. So be quick to check your leagues for their availability. Also, when you want to chat about outfielders, prospects, or dynasty leagues, please message me directly on Twitter at @bdentrek. Key points - this list will focus on rostered players in less than 50% of NFBC OC leagues.
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Fantasy Baseball Schedule Outlook
We have a fun schedule this week with three teams playing eight games. A decent amount of teams are even playing seven games. In addition, there are lots of doubleheaders to keep an eye on, which may give an extra game at the end of the week. Lastly, we also have a whole week of Coors action to monitor.
- 8 Games- PHI, SEA, WAS
- 7 Games - BAL, CHC, DET, LAA, PIT, SD, STL, TEX, TOR
- 6 Games - ARI, ATL, BOS, CIN, CLE, COL, CWS, HOU, KC, MIA, MIL, MIN, NYM, NYY, OAK, SF, TB
- 5 Games- LAD
Fantasy Baseball Two-Start Pitchers
- Merrill Kelly (vs. CIN, vs. MIN)
- Ian Anderson (@ MIN, @ CHC)
- Kyle Bradish (@ TOR, vs. TB)
- Jordan Lyles (@ TOR, vs. TB)
- Nathan Eovaldi (vs. OAK, vs. STL)
- Justin Steele (vs. SD, vs. ATL)
- Keegan Thompson (vs. SD, vs. ATL)
- Mike Minor (@ ARI, vs. MIL)
- Shane Bieber (@ COL, @ LAD)
- Antonio Senzatela (vs. CLE, vs. SD)
- Johnny Cueto (@ DET, @ HOU)
- Alex Faedo (vs. CWS, vs. TEX)
- Eduardo Rodriguez (vs. CWS, vs. TEX)
- Cristian Javier (@ TEX, vs. CWS)
- Brady Singer (@ SF, @ OAK)
- Noah Syndergaard (@ LAD, @ SEA)
- Sandy Alcantara (@ Phi, @ NYM)
- Adrian Houser (@ NYM, @ CIN)
- Chris Archer (@ SEA, @ ARI)
- David Peterson (vs. MIL, vs. MIA)
- Nestor Cortes (vs. TB, @ TOR)
- Jared Koenig (@ BOS, vs. KC)
- Aaron Nola (vs. MIA, @ WAS)
- Zach Eflin (vs. MIA, @ WAS)
- Mitch Keller (@ STL, vs. SF)
- Blake Snell (@ CHC, @ COL)
- Chris Flexen (vs. MIN, vs. LAA)
- Logan Gilbert (vs. MIN, vs. LAA)
- Alex Wood (vs. KC, @ PIT)
- Logan Webb (vs. KC, @ PIT)
- Miles Mikolas (vs. PIT, @ BOS)
- Corey Kluber (@ NYY, @ BAL)
- Taylor Hearn (vs. HOU, @ DET)
- Dane Dunning (vs. HOU, @ DET)
- Alek Manoah (vs. BAL, vs. NYY)
- Yusei Kikuchi (vs. BAL, vs. NYY)
- Josiah Gray (vs. ATL, vs. PHI)
- Stephen Strasburg (vs. ATL, vs. PHI)
Infield Waiver Wire Pickups
Maikel Franco (3B), Washington Nationals
25% Rostered
Franco came into Friday night's action riding a nine-game hitting streak. He is hitting .371 over that stretch with a home run and a 146 wRC+. He is barreling the ball less than 4% of the time with a hard-hit rate below 40%, which is slightly concerning. However, even with the poor quality of contact metrics, Franco is producing. He is striking out less than 20% of the time. On Friday night, he went deep again to extend the hit streak to 10 games.
Franco's power has been quiet overall this season. Still, he has been consistently hitting for a decent average and brings some excellent value to a shallow third base position in your deeper leagues. This week the Nats are one of the teams playing eight games, four in the first half of the week and four over the weekend, thanks to a double header. Four of the seven games are versus RHP, and that benefits Franco as he has been showcasing some reverse splits.
Bryson Stott (SS), Philadelphia Phillies
17% Rostered
After a rough start to the season, Stott has returned from the minors and is producing for the Phillies. He entered Friday hitting .345 over his last eight games with five extra-base hits, including three home runs. Stott has even stolen a base over the eight-game stretch. He is walking nearly 10% of the time while striking out 18.8% of the time. Apart from the power and batting average, one of the best parts of Stott's recent surge from a fantasy perspective is that he scored ten runs and drove in nine. He is helping in all five ROTO categories and will take part in an eight-game week for the Phillies this week. It is time to jump back on board with Stott.
Bobby Dalbec (1B), Boston Red Sox
14% Rostered
It has been a horrible season for Dalbec, but there are signs of some significant improvements. He is hitting .289 over his last 13 games with two home runs and a stolen base. He is barreling the ball 11.1% of the time with a 59.3% hard-hit rate and 138 wRC+. We all know the type of power that Dalbec can showcase and the incredible run he had to finish the 2021 season. If Dalbec is starting to heat up like he did last season, it is time to jump on board before it is too late.
Jake Burger (3B), Chicago White Sox
1% Rostered
Burger has found his way into regular playing time and is taking full advantage of it. He is hitting .300 over the last month with five home runs and a 185 wRC+. He carried a five-game hitting streak into Friday night's action in which he had hit three home runs. Burger is locked in, and the contact quality backs up with a 22% barrel rate and a 46.3% hard-hit rate over the past month. With Moncada's struggles, not to mention most of the White Sox struggles, Burger should continue getting regular at-bats and bringing some excellent fantasy goodness. The White Sox play six games this week, the first three versus the Tigers, which bodes well for Burger's fantasy production.
Outfield Waiver Wire Pickups
Oscar Gonzalez (OF), Cleveland Guardians
45% Rostered
Gonzalez has been a hitting machine since getting called up on May 26. He entered Friday night hitting .404 with six doubles and an impressive 11.3% strikeout rate. He does not have a home run, but he does have a 6.5% barrel rate and 50% hard-hit rate, so any improvement on his 2.7-degree launch angle could result in some excellent power. At worse, you will get a solid batting average and some counting stats. Gonzalez starts the week with three games in Coors Field which makes him even more valuable this week.
Lane Thomas (OF), Washington Nationals
22% Rostered
After a slow start to the season, Thomas has begun to heat up. He entered Friday night hitting safely in five of six games with multiple hits. Thomas has three home runs and three doubles with a 255 wRC+. He collected three more hits on Friday to extend his hot streak. Thomas has a near 15% barrel rate and hard-hit rate of over 57% over the last seven games. The Nats play eight games this week, and Thomas is a must-add in all formats with a chance of keeping his value even after the eight-game week.
Aaron Hicks (OF), New York Yankees
21% Rostered
After a horrible start to the season, Hicks appears to be waking up at the plate. He entered Friday hitting safely in six of eight games with a home run and a 205 wRC+. Even more impressive than the wRC+ is that Hicks is walking 12.5% of the time with a 6.3% strikeout rate. Hicks is getting more comfortable at the plate, which is a precious fantasy asset in a loaded Yankees offense. We all know Hicks has issues staying healthy, but he is now healthy, which means you should ride with Hicks until the next IL stint.
Jack Suwinski (OF), Pittsburgh Pirates
2% Rostered
Most talk about Julio Rodriguez and Bobby Witt Jr. when discussing productive rookie fantasy players. Do not sleep on Suwinski, who has been quite effective for the Pirates. He entered Friday night riding an eight-game hitting streak where he is hitting .400 with three home runs and a stolen base. He has a 230 wRC+, 18.2% barrel rate, and 45.5% hard-hit rate over this streak. On the season, he has eight home runs, which is near the league lead for rookie hitters. The Pirates play seven games this week, but four are against LHP, which hopefully does not limit his playing time. If you are worried about the playing time, so be it. At worse, put him on your watch list as there is fantasy value in the rookie's bat.
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