2023 Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Week 17: Sal Frelick Called Up by the Brewers
As Adam Ronis alluded to in his final Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire article over the weekend, every week feels like Christmas with prospects this season. And this past weekend was no different. The Milwaukee Brewers gave the call to promising young prospect, Sal Frelick, who recorded three hits in his big-league debut to go along with a run scored and a pair of RBI. It should come as no surprise he’ll lead off this edition of the waiver wire column, but don’t sleep on some recommendations from Adam over the weekend. Players like Edouard Julien, Chas McCormick, and Kenta Maeda were hyped up in both the waiver wire piece and in Colby Conway’s MLB Streaks & Trends article. Don’t forget about those players written up over the weekend, but definitely consider the players below as options that can improve your team as we draw closer to the MLB Trade Deadline and the fantasy baseball playoffs.
Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups – Hitters
Sal Frelick, OF, Milwaukee Brewers
As mentioned at the top of the article, Frelick is the rookie flavor of the week on the waiver wire. He may have already been scooped up by plenty of fantasy baseball managers, but there’s a good chance he’s still floating around in your league. He’s going to be more of a speed threat as he stole 24 bases across the different levels in the minors last year and had eight steals in 40 games at the Triple-A level in 2023. He may come with some growing pains and plate discipline issues, but he can get on base and score while contributing in five-outfielder leagues.
Ha-Seong Kim, SS, San Diego Padres
I wrote up Ha Seong-Kim about three weeks ago when covering the Waiver Wire, and he’s surprisingly still available in several formats aside from CBS Sports. In 150 games (582 plate appearances) in 2022, he hit 11 home runs with 12 stolen bases. So far this year in 95 games (368 plate appearances), he’s surpassed those numbers with a dozen home runs and 18 steals. A 20/20 season is very much on the table and he’s still floating around in some shallower leagues if you need assistance at a middle infield position.
Christian Encarnacion-Strand, 1B/DH, Cincinnati Reds
Not necessarily a bold or groundbreaking recommendation here. However, it’s somewhat surprising that he’s available in over 70% of leagues on ESPN. He went hitless in his MLB debut, but in five of his next six games he scored a run while collecting seven hits and six RBI in that span. He’s exhibited impressive plate discipline in the small sample size so far and deserves to be rostered in more leagues.
Brendan Donovan, 2B/OF, St. Louis Cardinals
Nothing too impressive regarding Donovan, but he’s just a solid depth piece. His position eligibility may vary but on ESPN he’s eligible for every field position except catcher and shortstop. He’s slashing .281/.368/.427 on the season with 42 runs scored. Sure, the Cardinals have been a disappointment this year, but he’s also been hitting leadoff a lot more since the beginning of June and recently had a streak of five straight games with a run scored.
Endy Rodriguez, C, Pittsburgh Pirates
Rodriguez was one of the few Pittsburgh prospects that got the call following the All-Star break. Now I will get this clarification out of the way, he is only worth picking up in deeper leagues or two-catcher formats. In the small sample size we’ve seen, he’s struck out nine times in 18 plate appearances entering Monday night. He did manage to collect his first career home run on Saturday and he’ll likely get regular playing time being home plate with Henry Davis largely playing in the outfield.
Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups – Pitchers
Grayson Rodriguez, SP, Baltimore Orioles
Gotta give credit to Ronis because I would’ve liked to have mentioned pitchers like Kenta Maeda, Logan Allen, Seth Lugo, and Jose Quintana but they were all written up just a few days ago. So I’ll grasp at the low-hanging fruit and talk up Grayson Rodriguez. The talented rookie got roughed up by the Los Angeles Dodgers in his return to the big leagues, but bounced back well against the Tampa Bay Rays this past Saturday falling just one out short of a quality start. But in 5.2 innings of work, he allowed just three hits and two walks while striking out six. His next start will come Friday against the Yankees and then next week he takes the mound against the Blue Jays.
Eury Perez, SP, Miami Marlins
There’s been an odd movement on ESPN that has seen Eury Perez dropped in over ten percent of leagues over the last week. I understand the frustration. He was sent down in order to limit his workload and there’s no timetable for his return. Truly, only the Marlins have an idea and they’re playing their cards close to the chest. But he’s still a young, talented player worth holding onto if you’re in a good position in your league. And if he’s been dropped in your league and you have the luxury of stashing him, then I’d pick him up. The Marlins are in the midst of a bit of a rough stretch and it’s surprising they have made the decision to keep him down despite their recent losing streak. But if they plan to make a run at the playoffs, he should get the call back up and could help your own fantasy baseball team make its own playoff run.
Kyle Bradish, SP, Baltimore Orioles
There are some mild concerns that regression is in order for Bradish. He averages less than a strikeout per inning and he does well to limit damage overall. He’s registered five straight quality starts including six in his last seven trips to toe the rubber. He’s not an elite strikeout pitcher, but with a 0.81 HR/9 and a 1.83 BB/9 he limits damage very well. He takes on the Phillies on the road this week, but then gets two starts next week against the Blue Jays and Mets.
Chase Silseth, SP, Los Angeles Angels
Silseth had some hype coming into the season and just didn’t quite pan out in his first stint in the big leagues. Prior to his last start, he had a 5.30 ERA and allowed 6.27 BB/9 in 18.2 innings of work that were mostly out of the bullpen. After being sent down for almost a month he came back against the New York Yankees racking up ten strikeouts across 5.2 innings of work. Sure, the Yankees lineup is in rough shape, but it was an impressive outing nonetheless. He gets a road matchup later this week but gets a stiff test next week against the Braves.
Tanner Scott, RP, Miami Marlins
The Marlins just snapped their eight-game losing streak to close the weekend. However, A.J. Puk continues to struggle and the Marlins seem content giving Scott more exposure in high leverage situations. Scott worked a scoreless eighth inning on Sunday while Puk blew the save in the ninth inning before Miami made a comeback to secure the win in extra innings. The Marlins haven’t officially announced a major change at closer, but Scott is making a strong case. He has a 13.31 K/9 and this is mostly a speculative add. But he’s a reliever that gains more and more traction the longer Puk continues to struggle.
Joel Payamps, RP, Milwaukee Brewers
If you play in a saves + holds (SOLDS) league, Payamps should be on your radar. His 3.10 xERA and 3.07 FIP signal regression next to his 1.75 ERA, but honestly, I’m not too concerned. In 11 straight appearances for Milwaukee, he’s recorded either a win, a save, or a hold. You have to go way back to June 10th to find the last run he allowed, and he boasts a 10.49 K/9 on the season.
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Tommy Edman is dealing with right ankle discomfort.
It explains why Edman sat out Wednesday afternoon’s series finale against the Marlins. The 29-year-old will benefit from the extra time off to rest and recover. It sounds like there’s a chance he’s ready for Friday’s series opener against the Braves at Truist Park. Fantasy managers should consider him day-to-day for now.
Javier Báez hit his ninth career grand slam Wednesday in the Tigers’ 7-4 defeat of the Astros.
Incredibly enough, Báez is currently a 19-12 team’s best option at shortstop, third base and in center field. The 350-foot homer off AJ Blubaugh was his first of the year, but he’s batting .296/.337/.407 while mostly playing center right now.
Making his first start in 12 days, Jackson Jobe yielded three runs in four-plus innings Wednesday in a no-decision against the Astros.
Jobe was given seven runs to work with in the first three innings today and had a 7-1 lead going to the fifth, but he fell short of his third win. The bottom of the fifth opened with a walk, a single and a two-run double, at which point Jobe was pulled. Braden Hanifee took over and stranded the runner, preventing further damage to Jobe’s ERA. Jobe ended up allowing four hits, walking four and striking out four. He has a 3.38 ERA after five turns, but the 18/14 K/BB in 24 innings is thoroughly unimpressive. He’ll likely make his next start Tuesday or Wednesday in Coors Field, and he doesn’t seem like a great mixed-league option then.
Tommy Kahnle got four outs for his fifth save Wednesday against the Astros.
Just as it looked like Will Vest might run away with the closer’s role, Kahnle seems back in position now. He probably would have gotten the call Tuesday, when Vest was used in the sixth inning and gave up three runs in blowing a lead. Since he didn’t end up pitching in that loss, he was available to get four outs today. Kahnle should be effective enough to close, but there are workload concerns for a 35-year-old reliever who last put in a full season six years ago. We’d take Vest over him for the rest of the season, but if Kahnle was dropped in your league, he’s a decent enough option for now.
Riley Greene singled four times in four at-bats and scored twice versus the Astros on Wednesday.
When Greene gets hot, he can stay that way for a while. He went 7-for-12 with two homers in the series against Houston, pushing his average up to .261, and now he could feast on Angels pitching the next four days.
Colt Keith hit his first homer and walked before being lifted for a pinch-hitter Wednesday against the Astros.
Keith got a third straight start today after being on the bench four of the previous five games. His homer was hit 109.6 mph, which is a new regular-season high for him. He topped that at least a couple of times this spring, when it looked like he’d take a step forward as a sophomore, but he’s instead been very passive at the plate, and he came into the day with just two doubles and three RBI in 85 plate appearances. Maybe things will start to change now. At least he no longer looks like a candidate to be sent to Triple-A to make room for Manuel Margot’s return this weekend.