RADIO
We are a little over a month into the season, and it is time to start making some serious yet uncomfortable roster changes. Some players just are not panning out. This week, there are a decent number of players available in the outfield, especially in 12-team leagues. In this week's article, we will discuss some of the more obvious targets and a few deeper league targets for 15-team leagues and AL/NL-only leagues.
Some outfielders would be better suited to stream for a hot bat. Others need to be replaced just because they are no longer on the field (IL). That is a situation that affects many owners, and there is nothing you can do except find a suitable replacement as quickly as possible or risk losing valuable counting stats. In this article, I’ll discuss waiver wire targets for the outfield in Week 6. This week we cover a few guys on a little hot streak while a couple of other players have enticing matchups.
Even in the first few weeks, ownership can change quickly. Be quick to check your leagues for their availability. Key points - this list will focus on players who are owned in less than 50% of Yahoo! leagues. When you want to chat it up regarding outfielders, prospects, or dynasty leagues, message me directly on Twitter @bdentrek.
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Adolis Garcia, Texas Rangers
45% Rostered
Garcia was called up a few weeks back with all the injuries the Rangers have been going through and has been quite the bright spot in an otherwise disappointing Rangers' offense. The 28-year old has shown some prospect pedigree as a power and speed source with a decent average over the years.
In 2019, as a member of the Cardinals' organization, Garcia hit .253 with 32 home runs and 14 RBI at Triple-A. So far in 2021, Garcia has looked like a similar player. He is hitting .242 with five home runs and a stolen base over 17 games. Garcia is striking out over 30% while walking less than 5% of the time, which could use some improvement, but overall his 2021 MLB numbers somewhat resemble his minor league production.
The power production should continue for Garcia as he is barreling the ball 20.9% of the time with a 41.9% hard-hit rate to go with his .273 ISO and 122 wRC+. Garcia usually hits anywhere between third and fifth in the Rangers' lineup, which is a fantasy-producing hotspot. Garcia is rosterable in 12-team leagues and should be locked into 15-team leagues.
Andrew Benintendi, Kansas City Royals
44% Rostered
Is it finally happening? Has Benintendi returned to fantasy relevance? Sure, Benintendi is only hitting .236 with one home run on the season, but things have begun to change towards the positive for Benintendi.
Over the last 14 games, Benintendi has hit safely in 10 of 14 games, good for a .271 average. He has hit his one home run over that stretch and has three of his four stolen bases. Benintendi has a .146 ISO, showing some pop, and a 121 wRC+. What really stood out is Benintendi is walking 11.1% of the time over the 14-game stretch and only striking out 16.7% of the time, aka the plate discipline, is locked in for Benintendi.
The biggest deterrent is that the Royals moved him back to the 6/7 spot in the batting order after he began the year batting second. Benintendi is still a fringe add in 12-team leagues, more of a 15-team league add for me. If in need of speed, then Benintendi becomes much more interesting in 12-team leagues. At worst, add him to your watch list or stash as we know the skills he does have, somewhere in that baseball body, and if he can find him, he becomes a fantasy steal off the wire.
Raimel Tapia, Colorado Rockies
36% Rostered
Tapia is not a world-beater by any means but should be rostered going into next week as he has three juicy matchups in Coors Field to start the week. He will face the Giants' arms of Aaron Sanchez, Alex Wood, and Logan Webb. Tapia should be leading off in two of three games in strong matchups. The LHH lead-off man is hitting .279 this season while striking out only 12.6% of the time. Putting the ball in play that often in Coors Field is a recipe for fantasy goodness.
Over the last two weeks, Tapia has really heated up. He is hitting .308 with a .205 ISO and an 11.1% BB rate. Tapia has been hitting for more average, more power and has shown more plate discipline in recent weeks. In Tapia's last three seasons, he has hit over .300 at Coors Field, and this season he has already hit three home runs at Coors Field after a combined six the previous two seasons. Tapia should be rostered nearly everywhere heading into a Coors Field series, so jump on the train.
Alex Kirilloff, Minnesota Twins
30% Rostered
Insert "It's Happening" GIF!!!!! Kirilloff went off on Friday night, hitting his first two career home runs and just missing another big hit after a nice catch at the center-field wall. There was no way one of the top prospects in the Twins minor league system was going to be held down for long. I wrote Kirilloff up in the premium DFS values article for Friday as the writing was on the wall when looking at Kiriloff's quality of contact. He was not making quiet outs; the hits were coming. Did I think he would hit TWO home runs? No, but the hits were coming and will keep coming.
After Friday's big game, Kirilloff has now hit safely in four straight games and on the season is only striking out 19.4% of the time, which is outstanding for a young player having his first cup of coffee in the bigs. Even with the lack of hits, he also has an ISO of .233, showing his hits have been BIG hits. Kirilloff has an avEV of 95.4 mph with a maxEV of 106.1 mph to go with his 25% barrel rate and 62.5% hard-hit rate. Kirilloff has shown power, some speed, and a solid average throughout the minors, and many, including myself, expect that to continue. Grab Kirilloff everywhere you can before it is too late, aka NOW!!!!!
Andrew Vaughn, Chicago White Sox
18% Rostered
It has been a disappointing start to the 2021 campaign for the White Sox rookie, but it has not all been Vaughn's fault. La Russa and his oh-so-great managerial skills have yo-yo'd Vaughn in and out of the lineup, never good for a young player trying to figure things out. La Russa might have figured out the idea of just playing Vaughn, and since he has done that, things are looking up as he is now hitting .255 on the season. Vaughn has hit safely in six of his last eight games, good for a .360 average.
He is still waiting on that first home run, but the 158 wRC+ over the stretch has been well above league average at the position. Vaughn's quality of contact has also been strong over the last week with an avEV of 95.3 mph, maxEV of 110.7 mph, a barrel rate of 11.8%, and a hard-hit rate of 58.8%. The big fantasy production is coming and could be coming very soon. If La Russa had half a brain, he would play Vaughn every day, and if that were the case, he would be locked into our fantasy rosters. Vaughn is worth a stash in 12-team leagues and a must-add if available in deeper formats as a big summer is coming up for the 23-year-old rookie.
Austin Hays, Baltimore Orioles
11% Rostered
The season started slow for Hays, who was sent to the alt-site for some time. The Orioles had to make some roster moves and brought their young outfielder back up on April 20 and he has not looked back since. Over the 10 games since the recall, he has hit safely in seven of ten games, good for a .243 average.
The average is not game-changing for fantasy, but Hays has brought some power over the past 10 games. Hays has hit three home runs with a .270 ISO and a 131 wRC+. Hays has showcased some power and speed in the minors, and while he is hitting second for the Orioles, he deserves some fantasy consideration in the deeper league formats.
Pavin Smith, Arizona Diamondbacks
10% Rostered
Injuries have ravaged the Diamondbacks over the last few weeks, which has benefited players like Smith quite a bit. Since Smith started playing regularly, he has hit leadoff versus RHPs and has been quite productive. Over the last 10 games, Smith is hitting .289 with a .22 ISO and a 127 wRC+. Smith has six XBH, including a home run.
Smith has been crushing the ball at the plate with a 110.8 maxEV, 11.1% barrel rate, and 50% hard-hit rate. Smith showed some power, speed and good contact hitting in the minors. While he is leading off and playing every day for the DBacks, he should be rostered in all formats, especially deeper leagues.
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