2023 Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Week 18: Brooks Raley Operating as Mets Closer

Published: Aug 01, 2023

Updated: Aug 01, 2023

With the MLB Trade Deadline looming Tuesday afternoon, we have plenty of time to expect some action. But we can also reflect on the big moves we’ve already had with Fantasy Alarm’s MLB Trade Deadline Tracker. Max Scherzer was the first BIG domino to fall over the weekend as the New York Mets have decided to blow it all up. Scherzer now joins the Texas Rangers for the 2023 MLB postseason run and we should expect more moves leading up to Tuesday’s 6:00pm ET deadline. Don’t forget to take a look at Saturday’s Waiver Wire article if you seek some more names to add from the free agent pool. But we have a few players to discuss as mid-week pickups for the fantasy baseball waiver wire so let’s dig in and look to improve your rosters for the fantasy baseball playoffs.

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups – Hitters

Brandon Lowe, 2B, Tampa Bay Rays

Lowe has been outstanding over the last week. Entering Monday he had nine hits and three home runs dating back to last Tuesday. He kept it rolling last night with a home run against the New York Yankees. The month of July was very good to Lowe once he came off the Injured List. Since Independence Day he’s clearly swinging a hot stick. Lowe is also a streaky hitter evidenced by the awful start he got off to for the 2023 season. We’ve been striking while the iron is hot with hitters of late and Lowe is no different. Once he cools off you can probably cut ties, but after the week he’s had he’s a pretty easy add in shallower leagues.

Carlos Santana, 1B, Milwaukee Brewers

Santana was traded from the Pittsburgh Pirates to the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday and immediately made an impact in just his second game with the Brew Crew as he hit a home run against the Atlanta Braves on Sunday. Santana has turned back the clock a bit in 2023. The batting average isn’t great, but he does draw enough walks and overall, the ballpark upgrade could potentially aid his power resurgence even more.

Jake Burger, 1B/3B/DH, Chicago White Sox

I wouldn’t waste a single dollar of FAAB on Burger, but I do think he’s worth adding for some cheap power. He’s slashing just .214/.279/.527 on the year. It’s pretty clear we’re only targeting the power here. 41 of his 63 hits have gone for extra bases and he has four hits in the last week and they’re all home runs. He’s a bit of a hazard in points leagues with a 31.6% strikeout rate and just a 6.8% walk rate. But he hits the ball hard and when he connects it’s usually for extra bases.

Luis Rengifo, 2B/3B/SS/OF, Los Angeles Angels

Rengifo’s numbers on the year aren’t great but Rengifo had a great month of July where he slashed .304/.385/.638 with a .348 BABIP. Since July 22^nd Rengifo has six multi-hit games and he hit his sixth home run of the month against the Braves on Monday. He has a lot of position flexibility and the multi-hit stretch has coincided with him hitting at the top of the order for the Halos. He’s definitely a player you can drop if he cools off, but I’ve added him in a couple deeper leagues for depth in the event he can keep this up.

Ronny Mauricio, SS, New York Mets

This is purely a speculative add. You probably should only grab Mauricio if you have an available roster spot and are in good standing with your league heading into the playoffs. But as the New York Mets begin selling off players like Max Scherzer, David Robertson, and Mark Canha, it also seems likely they could move Tommy Pham and that would only open up another spot in the Mets’ lineup for some young talent. Mauricio is currently the 56^th-ranked prospect in Major League Baseball and he’s absolutely raking in the minors. He’s slashing .293/.343/.492 with 16 home runs and 16 stolen bases. He also has 25 doubles and a pair of triples. By all accounts, he’s ready for the show. If the Mets want to salvage the season and still attract fans to games, they might as well get a look at one of their better prospects.

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups – Pitchers

Aaron Civale, SP, Tampa Bay Rays

It was announced on Monday that after seven years in Cleveland, Civale was traded to Tampa Bay in exchange for the 37^th-ranked prospect in baseball, Kyle Manzardo. Civale had really done a lot to raise his trade value the last month. Since July 2^nd he’s worked 37.1 innings in six starts to the tune of a 1.45 ERA, 1.69 BB/9, and he allowed just one home run in that span. He’s not a great source of strikeouts, but he can help with your ERA and WHIP. Not to mention he should be in line for more wins and quality starts. He’ll get his first start as a member of the Rays on Saturday against the Detroit Tigers before a turnaround next Friday where he takes on his former team, the Cleveland Guardians.

Kenta Maeda, SP, Minnesota Twins

Maeda has been mentioned a few times in this series of articles, but I think he just bears repeating. Since his return from injury, he’s been very solid for the Twinkies pitching 37.2 innings with 51 strikeouts and just 13 walks allowed. He’s only had one bad outing since returning but he does have three quality starts in his last five trips to the mound. He’s had some trouble keeping the ball in the ballpark but overall, the strikeout upside warrants a spike in fantasy baseball rostership.

Graham Ashcraft, SP, Cincinnati Reds

I’ll be honest, I was one of many fantasy baseball managers that cut ties with Ashcraft in June when he was in the midst of an awful stretch of baseball. In eight starts from May 7^th through June 24^th he went 1-6 with a 12.82 ERA, a 2.21 WHIP, and he was allowing a home run every three innings. Truly, it was ugly. But since then he’s done pretty well. In six starts since June 30^th he has a 1.75 ERA with five quality starts in that span. The strikeouts are scarce, but he’s enticing more grounders and keeping the ball in the park overall. Is he a bit of a regression candidate? Possibly but he does have a tempting matchup at home against the Washington Nationals Friday night.

Ranger Suarez, RP, Philadelphia Phillies

I mostly view Suarez as a two-start streamer for this week’s scoring period. July wasn’t great for Suarez if we’re being honest. He went 0-3 in five starts with a 6.11 ERA, 4.18 BB/9, and 1.61 HR/9. So this isn’t a glowing endorsement as we dig into the trenches of August. But I’m optimistic he can turn it around. The first of his two starts this week will be Tuesday on the road against the Miami Marlins and he’s been a better pitcher away from Philly this year. The second start does come at home where he has a 5.70 ERA this year, but it’s against the Kansas City Royals. There are arguments to deploy him for both starts so use your best judgment.

Giovanny Gallegos, RP, St. Louis Cardinals

The Cardinals have shipped Jordan Hicks to the Toronto Blue Jays and that opens the door for Gallegos to work the ninth inning. There is still the elephant in the room of what the team does with Ryan Helsley when he’s eligible to come off the injured list. There are some rumors floating that Gallegos could still be moved at the deadline as bullpen depth is very valuable for playoff teams. However, the Cards could view Gallegos as a valuable piece of the organization’s future so if he does stick around he could get immediate work in the ninth inning.

Brooks Raley, RP, New York Mets

Over the weekend, I highlighted Adam Ottavino as the next potential closer for the New York Mets following the trade of David Robertson to the Miami Marlins. Well egg on my face because that doesn’t appear to be the case, although we shouldn’t rule out a committee approach with this team. Raley got the save on Thursday, and while I considered it to be a bit fluky, the Mets did not. Raley got the save again on Sunday with Ottavino working the eighth inning. Raley does offer a little more strikeout potential, but with the Mets cutting their losses this year, they may not be in position for many wins. At the end of the day, he is a pitcher that could be working the ninth inning, and that does carry some weight in fantasy baseball.