X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Join the Best Live Fantasy Chat Community!

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


LINEUP RESOURCES

Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Pickups & Streamers
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

Week 18 Waiver Wire - Second Base (2B) and Shortstop (SS)

A few middle infielders have been moved in recent deals, and a few more may follow suit before this week’s trade deadline. Those players will, however, likely all be widely owned. We’re here to talk about some guys you might be able to acquire without the benefit of having to strike a trade in your fantasy league.

Every Sunday until the end of the season, we'll look at the best middle infielders available in at least 50 percent of Yahoo leagues. These are based on standard 5x5 scoring; adjust accordingly for your specific setup.

Let’s get to it. Below are your second base and shortstop waiver wire targets for Week 18.

Featured Promo: Want a free RotoBaller Premium Pass? Check out these sports betting promo offers from the top sportsbooks! All new sign-ups get a free bonus offer on their first deposit, and a free year of RotoBaller's Premium Pass for all sports ($450 value)! Sign Up Now!

 

Week 18 Middle Infield (MI) Waiver Wire Targets

Lourdes Gurriel, 2B/SS/OF, Toronto Blue Jays (37% owned)

By the time you read this, it may already be too late – Gurriel’s ownership rate has skyrocketed from near-zero to its current mark over the last 24 hours, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see it climb over 50% before the weekend is over. Gurriel has been outside his mind of late; Saturday’s showing (2-for-4, two RBI) was his tenth (!) consecutive multi-hit game. He had two home runs on Friday night, giving him three in his last five contests. You get the idea. Dude is locked in right now. The plate approach isn’t awesome, but so long as the hits keep falling, who cares?

Ketel Marte, 2B/SS, Arizona Diamondbacks (19% owned)

Arizona’s acquisition of Eduardo Escobar could end up cutting into Marte’s playing time when Jake Lamb heals up from his recent injury. If he keeps swinging the bat like he has been, though, getting at-bats won’t be a problem. The 24-year-old is hitting .288/.371/.571 since the beginning of June with eight home runs and 59 R+BI. He’s also collected 15 other extra-base hits and is walking nearly as often as he strikes out. Early-season struggles are still weighing down his overall numbers, but it certainly appears that Marte has turned a corner.

Wilmer Flores, 1B/2B/3B, New York Mets (7% owned)

The Mets have been a train wreck as usual, but for once they seem willing to let Flores play regularly instead of blocking him with retreads. Closing in on his 27th birthday, Flores has slowly but steadily improved each season in the major leagues. Currently, he’s hitting .271/.327/.454 with nine home runs in 269 plate appearances. Nothing flashy, sure, but solid enough to justify a roster spot in deep and NL-only leagues. He’s also running the best walk and strikeout rates of his career; the latter would rank third in MLB if he had enough plate appearances to qualify for the leaderboard.

Joey Wendle, 2B/OF, Tampa Bay Rays (6% owned)

Wendle’s appeared in this space a handful of times in 2018 as a solid play in AL-only and deep league formats. Sure, the counting stats are modest but batting average can be tough to come by these days, and that’s where he can help you. The (still technically a) rookie is hitting .286 on the season, and .363 over the past month of action.

Advertising

Adalberto Mondesi, 2B/SS, Kansas City Royals (4% owned)

Then again, Mondesi has been a boon to your batting average in recent days as well, and he’s got speed to offer on top of it. The 23-year-old has hit safely in eight straight, collecting multiple hits in five of those games. He’s slashed .294/.310/.471 with three homers and seven steals in just 87 plate appearances thus far. If nothing else, this latest stab at the majors has already gone much better than Mondesi’s first two cameos in 2016 and 2017. He still strikes out a lot, but Mondesi is a great play for those in need of steals, and there’s surprising pop in his bat when he does connect.

 

More Waiver Wire Pickups and Streamers




LINEUP RESOURCES

Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Pickups & Streamers
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

WIN MORE IN 2024

Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Pickups & Streamers
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

ROTOBALLER PLAYER NEWS

RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

MORE RECENT ARTICLES

 
Alexis Diaz fantasy baseball closers rankings draft sleepers waiver wire pickups

MLB Closers and Saves: Fantasy Baseball Depth Charts

Saves are an important component for many fantasy baseball leagues. Closers are one of the most volatile positions in fantasy baseball, and one of the highest turnover positions in MLB. Each year, closers drop like flies and many MLB teams make in-season changes due to injuries or poor performance. In addition to closers and saves, relief... Read More


Do These Prospects Matter for Fantasy Baseball?

The 2023 fantasy baseball season has been highlighted by the promotion of nearly two-dozen top prospects to the major leagues to impact fantasy rosters. This week's edition features one player who was called up as the piece was being written. Will these strong performers join the ranks of those who have moved to the majors... Read More


clayton kershaw fantasy baseball rankings draft sleepers MLB injury news

articles report test

this is a test


Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire Pickups for Fantasy Baseball - Week 24

Welcome back! It's Week 24 of our fantasy baseball Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire Pickups series! There are just two precious weeks left, and every start is becoming more and more important as most of the fantasy baseball world is in playoff matchups. If you've made it this far, there's a good chance you don't really... Read More


Aaron Nola - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, MLB Injury News, DFS Lineup Picks

Starts & Sits for MLB Week 23 - All Starting Pitcher Matchups for Fantasy Baseball

Welcome back RotoBallers! Big week in fantasy leagues as we approach the end of the season and playoffs! As always, we are here with our starting pitcher starts and sits series to help you set those winning lineups for the week ahead! For those who are not familiar, RotoBaller puts out a weekly grid of... Read More


Gunnar Henderson - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, MLB Prospects, Draft Sleepers

Points League Hitters: Waiver Wire Pickups for Fantasy Baseball - Week 24

Welcome to Week 24 and our fantasy baseball waiver wire hitters. We'll be doing this roundup of points leagues every week here at RotoBaller, with waiver wire targets and streaming pitchers being evaluated in terms of the different scoring systems of ESPN, Yahoo!, CBS, and Fantrax. Player values can vary wildly from platform to platform,... Read More


Brayan Bello - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Draft Sleepers, Waiver Wire Pickups

Two-Start Pitcher Streamers for Fantasy Baseball - Week 24

Yo, it's Jon Anderson, continuing to run the show here in terms of late-summer fantasy baseball writing. There are just two weeks left of streaming pitchers, so let's make it count! This weekly fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups column aims to identify starting pitchers expected to make two starts in the upcoming fantasy baseball week,... Read More


Fantasy Baseball Week 24 Injury News and Updates: Tyler Glasnow, Ozzie Albies, Starling Marte, Anthony Rizzo, Zack Wheeler

September is now more than half over. The baseball season is slowly coming to a close. At this point, fantasy players are pushing for their league titles or just playing for pride. Major League Baseball teams continue to do the same and injuries continue to happen, now with the dreaded term "done for the season"... Read More


Joe Musgrove - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Draft Sleepers, MLB Injury News

Free MLB Betting Picks - Today's Best Bets, Expert Predictions, Odds (9/17/22)

Happy Saturday, RotoBallers, we're back for another weekend of MLB betting picks! Make sure you're following my Twitter, as I can't guarantee that I'll always be able to get the added plays written here in the article, but I will typically add whatever else I'm playing throughout the day. The entire RotoBaller team has been... Read More


DraftKings, FanDuel Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks (9/17/22): Today's Top MLB DFS Lineups

Today's MLB slates are split up as is the norm for September baseball. Half the guys I think will play will not, so you have to be as flexible as Gumby to play MLB DFS in September, but that also means that there is a lot of money out there should you dare to dive... Read More


Max Fried - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Draft Sleepers, MLB Injury News

Free MLB Betting Picks - Today's Best Bets, Expert Predictions, Odds (9/15/22)

Happy Friday, RotoBallers, we're back for another weekend of MLB betting picks! Make sure you're following my Twitter, as I can't guarantee that I'll always be able to get the added plays written here in the article, but I will typically add whatever else I'm playing throughout the day. The entire RotoBaller team has been... Read More


Robbie Ray - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, MLB Injury News, Draft Sleepers

DraftKings, FanDuel Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks (9/16/22): Today's Top MLB DFS Lineups

Fridays are big MLB DFS days and offer a nice respite from the NFL, who command our attention on Thursdays, Sundays, and Mondays. This slate, like most Friday slates, is a big one as all MLB teams are in action today and 28 of those teams are on tonight's 14-game DFS slate. This was a... Read More


kyle farmer fantasy baseball rankings draft sleepers MLB injury news

Top Hitter Streamers and Starts for Fantasy Baseball - Week 24

There are only two weeks left of fantasy baseball! It's going to be very sad when the season comes to an end, but the impending end of the season means that these are the most important, and therefore most fun weeks of the year – for those of you still competing, at least. I have... Read More


TODAY’S MOST VIEWED PLAYERS

rotating JS ad test

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF