In weekly FAAB leagues, your waiver wire claims have likely already been processed. Our FAAB Insights articles are great sources for finding targets ahead of weekly waiver deadlines.
Here, you will find players you can pick up if you have daily waiver claims or if you are able to pick up players throughout the week.
These are players you should consider adding from the waiver wire for matchup number eight who are available in 60% or fewer of ESPN leagues.
Catcher
Danny Jansen (C – TOR) 15% Rostered
This is the time to add Danny Jansen, who has earned more time as the Blue Jays’ main backstop.
The .202 batting average is ugly, but a .218 BABIP could have a lot to do with that. His career BABIP is .234, and he had a .255 BABIP last season. Yet, he has a higher line drive rate this season, along with comparable hard contact and a comparable pull rate. This, and many of his rest of season projections, reflect a player who should see some positive regression to both his BABIP and batting average.
Jansen has five home runs on the season, but his 12.8% HR/FB rate is a bit below his career rate. This could mean an increase in the pace of his home runs over the rest of the season. Even at his current rate of production, he should be able to outdo his 15 homers, 34 runs, and 44 RBI season from last year – especially earning more playing time.
Our Swing Aggression, Strikezone Judgment, and Decision Value PLV metrics all reflect a league-average or slightly above-league-average player in terms of contact and decision-making. His modest 27% chase rate and 77.6% contact rates also reflect that.
He appears to be turning a corner in recent days:
Danny Jansen sends 'em all home with his second #walkoff hit in four days! pic.twitter.com/mlJE6rGYlD
— MLB (@MLB) May 18, 2023
Better things are on the way for Jansen, so if he lands on your waiver wire, he is worth an add.
Honorable Mention: Francisco Álvarez (6.4%), Cal Raleigh (29.2%), Gabriel Moreno (8.7%), Elias Dias (34.8%), Yasmani Grandal (7.8%), Yan Gomes (7.5%), Gary Sánchez (.7%)
Corner Infield
Jeimer Candelario (3B – WAS) 5.2% Rostered
Jeimer Candelario has turned it up lately, with five multi-hit games between May 15 and May 20. Over that span, he has two homers, five runs, and five RBI with a .462 AVG. On the season, he sits at 6/19/19/.253.
While his hitter performance is still slightly below league average, it is trending in the right direction:
Now could be the time to get in on a productive hitter at a thin position.
Candelario’s best attribute is perhaps his contact ability:
Candelario has managed to lower his strikeout rate to 19.1%, a career-best, while improving his walk rate from last season. He has a 21.3% LD rate and a 46.3% pull rate – both attributes that should lead to more hits and a higher BABIP and AVG. Currently, he has a .285 BABIP vs a .297 career BABIP, and a .253 AVG. With his superior contact ability and excellent contact made, we should start to see his AVG climb slightly more or hover around the .250 range at the very least.
Part of his improvement over last season could be his performance hitting fastballs. He has performed significantly better against fastballs and cutters than last season and is hitting changeups better as well, perhaps due to an improved approach at the plate.
That may have led to a slight uptick in his home run rate from last season, leading to homers like this one:
Jeimer Candelario – Washington Nationals (6) pic.twitter.com/raGtnWdON1
— MLB HR Videos (@MLBHRVideos) May 20, 2023
Trust what you see with Candelario, and add him from waivers if you need some help at third base or your corner infield slot.
Honorable Mention: Isaac Paredes (49.4%), Ezequiel Duran (18.3%), Jake Burger (10.1%), Casey Schmitt (18.1%), Josh Naylor (45%), Miguel Vargas (27.4%), Spencer Steer (5.3%), Owen Miller (1.5%), Nick Pratto (4.7%),
Middle Infield
Royce Lewis (SS – MIN) 3.4% Rostered
Royce Lewis will turn 24 this season, but it seems like he has been around forever. He has been considered a top prospect since he was drafted first overall by the Twins in 2017 in his age-18 season.
Throughout his minor league career, he has shown the ability to hit for average and power, plus the ability to swipe double-digit bags. He had double-digit homers and steals across multiple minor league levels in 2018 and 2019, and he has never finished a minor league season with fewer than 12 steals.
Lewis has yet to spend significant time at the major league level due to two ACL tears in his right knee that took away his 2021 season and much of his 2022 season, where he was off to a scorching start.
In 12 games for Minnesota in 2022, Lewis had two homers, a 12.2% K rate, and a .300 AVG. He had a 40% HardHit rate and an 83.3% contact rate during that span – showing the same skills he showed as a minor leaguer.
Lewis is eligible to return on May 29, although there is no word from the team that he will return on that date. Regardless, he has looked excellent in five rehab games this year for Minnesota’s AA and AAA affiliates, homering three times and swiping three bags, with a combined .444 AVG.
Lewis could factor in at third base, or even in the outfield, with the Twins lacking consistent production at those positions. This makes Lewis a great speculative add, especially if you miraculously have room on your IL.
Honorable Mention: Taylor Walls (46.9%), Kyle Farmer (2.9%), Whit Merrifield (32.2%), Paul DeJong (3%), CJ Abrams (11%), Brice Turang (3.1%), Adam Frazier (17.4%), Zach Neto (2.3%), Bryson Stott (23.8%), Luis Garcia (9.2%), Matt McLain (8.8%), Jordan Westburg (.7%), Elly De La Cruz (3.7%)
Outfield
Bryan De La Cruz (OF – MIA) 6.1% Rostered
Apparently, Bryan De La Cruz has flown somewhat under the radar in shallower leagues but is a must-add across most formats where available.
Do not let the .390 BABIP fool you, De La Cruz has a career .345 BABIP, and a very high 27% LD rate this season. That should help maintain a high BABIP and keep his AVG from falling off a cliff in spite of worse strikeout, chase, and contact rates than last season.
According to our PLV data, De La Cruz is trending upwards in Strikezone Judgment, Contact Ability, and Power, which have likely led to a hitter performance well above league average:
De La Cruz does not have power numbers that will blow you away, but he barrels the ball at a rate just below league average, with an above average HardHit rate. Although, he possessed an 11.9% barrel rate last season in 355 PAs, showing he has the ability to mash the ball.
His 17.2% HR/FB rate is nearly identical to last season and is reasonably close to his 15.5% career rate, so he should continue to send balls out of the park. He has a chance to hit 15-20 homers this season, swipe a few more bags, and finish with an AVG in the .270-.280 range, which is very valuable.
If De La Cruz is available in your leagues, he is worth an add in essentially every format and league size.
Honorable Mention: Alex Kirilloff (6.8%), LaMonte Wade Jr. (16.2%), Joey Gallo (9.7%), Nick Senzel (9.2%), Luke Raley (2.1%), Christopher Morel (40.8%), Jake Fraley (11.9%), Esteury Ruiz (31.6%), Dominic Fletcher (6.1%), Jorge Soler (14.8%), Lars Nootbaar (26.2%), Lane Thomas (9%), Mickey Moniak (2.6%), Brenton Doyle (1.6%), Jarren Duran (21%), Riley Greene (17.1%), Robbie Grossman (1.7%), Leody Taveras (1.8%),
Starting Pitcher
Taj Bradley (SP – TB) 23.6% Rostered
Taj Bradley may finally stick in the Rays’ rotation with Drew Rasmussen’s move to the 60-day IL. That should earn Bradley rostership across all league sizes and formats.
Bradley has strangely performed significantly better at the major league level than in the minors this season. In 20.1 IP for Tampa Bay, he has a 3.54 ERA with an 11.95 K/9 rate, a 1.77 BB/9 rate, and a 75.9% LOB rate.
During his time in the majors, he has shown four pitches – a fastball, cutter, curveball, and changeup – that have all been elite. In fact, his fastball qualifies as a Quality Pitch according to our PLA data:
His cutter, curveball, and changeup all possess below a .170 batting average against and all four of his pitches possess expected batting averages against under .200. His fastball is the only one of his pitches with a putaway rate below 30%, and his curveball and changeup have whiff rates over 40%. Here is how his curveball looked earlier last week:
Taj Bradley, Nasty 90mph Changeup. 👌
15 inches of run pic.twitter.com/g267G8wGbl
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 18, 2023
Bradley has an elite arm with exceptional stuff, and a 3.18 xFIP and 2.85 SIERA back that up. He should be an immediate add if available.
Honorable Mention: Michael Wacha (29.5%), Josiah Gray (29.5%), Bailey Ober (34.9%), James Paxton (13.8%), Dane Dunning (16.6%), Tanner Bibee (21.9%), Louie Varland (12.2%), Matthew Liberatore (8.8%), Eury Pérez (32.2%), Kyle Freeland (21.3%), Alex Wood (8.1%), Michael Lorenzen (4.8%), Patrick Corbin (4.7%), Roansy Contreras (9.5%), Kyle Bradish (3.4%), Drew Smyly (45.2%), Cal Quantrill (16.1%),
Relief Pitcher
Miguel Castro (RP – ARI) 2.6% Rostered
The closer role in Arizona is clearly unsettled, but Castro has earned two save chances recently over Andrew Chafin and could be the preferred option going forward.
He has four saves on the season, with a 2.61 ERA in 20.2 IP. He has an 8.27 K/9 rate with a 75.3% LOB rate.
Castro leans heavily on his slider and sinker combination but also tosses a changeup. All three pitches grade as slightly above league average, approaching quality pitch territory:
His slider and changeup are both effective at inducing swings and misses, as they have 35% and 33% whiff rates respectively. And his slider has been nearly unhittable this season. He has thrown it 157 times, and it has been hit three times. It has a .077 batting average against, and a .168 xBAA. If he can continue to get batters to whiff at these rates, he should be able to hold onto the closer role.
At the very least, he is worth an add in leagues that are saves+holds leagues, but even in primarily saves leagues, he should be added.
Honorable Mention: Yennier Cano (51.4%), Alexis Díaz (53.9%), Will Smith (18.6%), Evan Phillips (32%), Alex Lange (25.1%), Wandy Peralta (3%), Dylan Floro (8.2%), Scott Barlow (40.4%),
Awesome article, thanks Taylor!