The second half of the 2024 MLB season is here and Fantasy Alarm has the top fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups you need to win.

After a few days off, you should not only be reassessing your team, but you should also be looking up and down your standings to see which teams are likely to drop off and stop paying attention. It happens every year. We get people who are gung-ho about their fantasy baseball teams, but come the All-Star break, if they’re not in the top half of the standings, they tend to give up and start turning their attention towards fantasy football. You need to exploit that.

 

 

If you’re playing in a standard roto league, check the categories and where you are in relation to teams giving up. If you can move ahead of them in any way, do it. Focus on that category and steal those points. Be category-specific with your waiver claims. Obviously, your first priority is to fill your position hole, but do it with someone who will help you leapfrog the expected dead-teams. If it’s a head-to-head league then study your weekly opponent’s weaknesses and be sure your roster is loaded with guys to beat them there.

Checking in with last week’s waiver wire column is a must, but also check out the Two-Start Pitchers/Streaming Starters article to find some arms to bolster your rotation. You should also check in with the MLB Prospect Report as we’re going to see a lot of new names popping up on the waiver wire.

**Please keep in mind, these FAAB bids are a guideline, not the gospel. You should be keeping track of how everyone in your league is bidding, so you understand that if you really need the player, you should raise your bid accordingly.

 

 

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: Catchers

Austin Wells, New York Yankees

If you’re playing in a one-catcher league, there probably isn’t much call for deeper adds, but if you play in a two-catcher format, then Wells might be worth your interest. He’s seeing the majority of work behind the plate and Jose Trevino isn’t expected to return from the IL until at least the second week of August. Tough to get category-specific for Wells – maybe a little pop. But he’s seeing at-bats and that affords opportunity. You won’t get a great batting average out of him, but once this Yankees lineup heats back up, he should offer some help. FAAB: 2-4%

Kyle Higashioka, San Diego Padres

He’s been seeing roughly a 50/50 split with Luis Campusano and, like Wells, can offer you a little something based off opportunity. He’s got a solid barrel-rate and has a little bit of pop, so again, if looking to add someone who is seeing playing time, here you go. FAAB: 2-4%

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: First Basemen

Juan Yepez, Washington Nationals

He’s only played first base this season, but likely also has outfield eligibility in most leagues. The Nationals brought him up over Fourth of July weekend and he hasn’t stopped hitting. In fact, he’s currently riding an 11-game hit streak with multi-hit performances in each of his last four. He’s not going to hit .390 the rest of the way, but the six doubles and one home run during this streak tells you the power is there. FAAB: 8-10%

Michael Toglia, Colorado Rockies

I’ve brought Toglia to your attention before and considering the state of waivers for first baseman and the fact that he’s owned in less than 10-percent of leagues on Yahoo and ESPN, you should take another look. A three-homer game will do that. He’s playing every day still and has hit safely in four of his last five, batting .353 (6-for-17) over that span with a double, five home runs and six RBI. He also qualifies in the outfield, so that helps with roster flexibility too. FAAB: 6-8%

 

 

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: Second Basemen

Xavier Edwards, Miami Marlins

Since being called back up to the majors in early July, all Edwards has done is hit. In fact, he’s hit safely in each of his last six games and in 12 of his last 13. We’re not expecting much in the way of power, but the batting average and OBP are definitely helpful and he’s got three stolen bases over his last five games. The Marlins fire sale is about to begin, so Edwards is, more than likely, looking at every-day at-bats moving forward. FAAB: 6-8%

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: Third Basemen

Coby Mayo, Baltimore Orioles

One of two things is about to happen. The first would be a promotion for Mayo as he is now slashing .304/.381/.608 with 18 doubles, 19 home runs and 55 RBI over 65 games at Triple-A this season. Sliding him into this Orioles lineup would be fantastic. The other is that he is traded. Along with the GM Jim Bowden on the Fantasy Alarm Show on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio, there was a discussion on which teams might be vying for either Garrett Crochet or Mason Miller and the Orioles popped immediately. They have the prospect depth to make it happen and that would then lead to Mayo getting full-time at-bats in the majors. Stash if you can. FAAB: 15-20%

Gio Urshela, Detroit Tigers

We’re still seeing full-time at-bats, but yes, Urshela is probably a good trade candidate so strike now while you can and see where he ends up. He’s batting .294 over his last five games with one double, one home run and six RBI. If you have a void at the corner infield, he could be worth a quick add. FAAB: 3-5%

 

 

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: Shortstops

Jacob Wilson, Oakland Athletics

Wilson is one of Oakland’s top prospects and the club announce that he would be promoted after the All-Star break. He was and got a hit in his first at-bat only to leave immediately afterwards with a strained hamstring. He is scheduled for an MRI and, hopefully, we get the results on Sunday. He was slashing .398/.444/.639 with four homers and 12 RBI over 19 games at Triple-A Las Vegas and could be worth holding onto even through the injury. Check back with us for Sunday updates. If he’s fine, then we need to put a decent bid on him, but if he lands on the IL, we can probably get him for a bargain price. FAAB: pending MRI

Jose Iglesias, New York Mets

Regular playing time, a solid batting average and OBP and a little bit of pop in the bat. Iglesias is far from a world-beater but he routinely goes unnoticed in most leagues and could prove to be a solid asset. He’s batting .667 (10-for-15) with two doubles, two home runs and four RBI over his last four games, so try to ride the wave before it breaks. FAAB: 5-7%

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: Outfielders

Lawrence Butler, Oakland Athletics

Butler was heating up heading into the All-Star break and in his first game back on Friday, he picked it right back up with another multi-hit performance. He is now batting .367 (11-for-30) with one double, one triple, five home runs and 15 RBI over his last eight games, showing no signs of slowing down right now. FAAB: 10-12% 

TJ Friedl, Cincinnati Reds

He’s coming off the IL this week and will go right back into the Reds lineup. Friedl has a little bit of pop and a little bit of speed, but what we like most is that he slides into that leadoff spot against righthanded pitching and with the dog days of summer here, the ball is going to start flying out of the park in Cincinnati. Expect him back closer to the tail-end of the week, so you can probably be sensible with your bids right now. But you’re going to want to add him now before the price goes up. FAAB: 8-10%

Jacob Young, Washington Nationals 

The second half of the season opened up Friday and Young gave you a very stern reminder that he’s ready to contribute to your fantasy team if you’ll have him. He went 2-for-3 on Friday against the Red, hitting one double and stealing two bases. He now has 22 steals on the season and we expect the Nationals to remain aggressive whether thy fall out of the wild card hunt or not. If you need steals, he’s owned in fewer than 10-percent of leagues on ESPN and Yahoo right now. FAAB: 6-8%

 

 

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: Starting Pitchers

Max Meyer, Miami Marlins

The Marlins are waiting until at least Sunday to call up Meyer as they are playing the service time game with him. Not bringing him up until Sunday or later will earn the team an extra year of control and considering the talent level of this 25-year-old righty, we understand the roster maneuvering. He was up earlier and made three starts, posting a 2.12 ERA with 14 strikeouts over 17 innings. Once he is called up, the Marlins will throw him every five days and while the wins are unlikely to come, the strikeouts will. Grab him while you can. FAAB: 10-12%

Jeffrey Springs, Tampa Bay Rays

Springs is set to make his final rehab appearance this weekend before being activate by the Rays for later in the week. The 31-tear -old is coming back from Tommy John surgery, so we’re less worried abut him giving up four runs in an earlier rehab outing and more focused on his pitch count. In that outing he tossed 77 pitches, so the Rays will likely keep hm at that mark or maybe slightly higher for this last one and then see how it looks for his first big-league start. He’s a very talented pitcher who always had a strong strikeout rate. It might be a little rocky to start, but the velocity is already there and the command will follow. FAAB: 8-10%

Luis L. Ortiz, Pittsburgh Pirates

It looks like the talent of Paul Skenes is rubbing off on the rest of the Pirates pitchers as Ortiz, after a series of string outings, makes an appearance in this week’s waiver column. He’s made three starts and one relief appearance since June 26 and has a 1.37 ERA with a 21:1 K:BB over 19.2 innings. He’ll remain in the Pittsburgh rotation and should be able to help you with quality starts and strikeouts moving forward. FAAB: 6-8%

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: Closers/Relief Pitchers

My latest article in the New York Post is about being aggressive in your pursuit for saves. The MLB trade deadline is about two weeks away and we expect to see significant relief pitcher movement. It’s the way it always works. Teams out of contention trade their closers and the closer we get to the deadline and more teams fall out of it, the more relievers we see on the move. In the article, I highlight the possibility of the Marlins trading Tanner Scott and the Angels trading Carlos Estevez. Should that happen, A.J. Puk and Ben Joyce are likely to step in. You’re going to want to stash them should you need saves or have either Scott or Estevez on your roster.

As always, check in with the Fantasy Alarm Closer Grid and the Bullpen Report for more insights.