Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Adds: Week 10
It's waiver time. One of the keys to any fantasy success is not only nailing your draft, but scouring that waiver wire for players who can give your team a boost. Even though fantasy baseball can be a really long season, it's key to scour those waivers and take it week-by-week to cement your fantasy status.
Last week, many referred to the waiver wire bidding as FAABageddon. Tons of top prospects were brought up and money was spent, fast and furiously. With things cooled down a bit, let's take a look at how things will shape up?
The four players below are all owned in fewer than 50% of Yahoo leagues and could give your team a lift as you start off the season. It's never too early to consider some adds and drops for your team.
Renato Nunez - Baltimore Orioles (3B)
What's funny about fantasy sports is that they don't always work in a perfect, linear fashion. After spending most of seven seasons in the Oakland Athletics' organization, Renato Nunez has found a new home with the Baltimore Orioles, and he's taking off in 2019.
So far, Nunez has clubbed 15 home runs on the season, and he's been red-hot as of late -- ripping eight long balls with a 59.2% hard-hit rate over the last two weeks, good for a cool .362 average and 1.359 OPS in that span.
With home runs being hit a record pace across the bigs, you need power at all positions, and Nunez certainly has plenty of that. With a 43.3% hard-hit rate and 47.3% fly-ball rate for the season and a park that ranks seventh in home run factor over the last three years, Nunez is as a solid option at third base or your corner infield slot.
Carson Kelly - Arizona Diamondbacks (C)
Catcher is typically a wasteland of a position -- especially in two-catcher formats, where locking down playing time is tough. But if you need someone who is now getting every day at-bats, Carson Kelly may be your man.
With J.R. Murphy optioned to Triple-A this week, Kelly has put a stranglehold on the catcher slot and is slamming baseballs in the desert. He owns five home runs this season in a shared-time scenario, and his .505 slugging percentage is about 50 percentage points higher than that of one of his trade counterparts, Paul Goldschmidt.
At times, Alex Avila still lurks against righties, but Kelly fills a nice power need if you are looking for help at catcher.
Travis Shaw -- Milwaukee Brewers (1B/2B/3B)
Yahoo Ownership: 33%
There's no denying that 2019 has been an utter disaster, both for Travis Shaw and his owners in fantasy. He's rocking a .163 batting average with 50 strikeouts in 154 plate appearances this season. Not great, Bob.
But it's hard to ignore that Shaw bopped 32 homers with an .825 OPS a season ago, and he still plays in a premier park for pop. Plus, his batted-ball profile this year -- 37.6% hard-hit rate and 46.4% fly-ball rate -- isn't that far off from what he produced last season (39.8% hard-hit rate and 44.5% fly-ball rate). A .222 BABIP is killing him.
Now, what remains to be seen is how he and Keston Hiura share playing time. But Shaw's pedigree, position flexibility, juicy lineup and home field make him worth a speculative flier. That's especially true after Mike Moustakas left Saturday's game following a hit-by-pitch on the hand, which could open up some playing time.
Zac Gallen -- Miami Marlins (SP)
This is a bid to stash for speculative purposes. Zac Gallen has nothing else to prove at the Triple-A level as he's been absolutely dominant this year. He may just need an injury or a trade to find his way into the Miami Marlins rotation as the Marlins have rolled with the same five starters all year.
Over 74 innings this year at Triple-A, Gallen has logged a 1.70 ERA and 0.68 WHIP with 88 punchouts, good for a 33.0% strikeout rate. His command has been stellar, too, as he's walked only 4.9% of hitters.
When Gallen gets the call, he will instantly be fantasy relevant. If you have a roster spot to play with, get ahead of the game and stash Gallen now.
