Fantasy baseball waiver wire: Dylan Crews is heating up, Brandon Sproat turns a corner

Welcome to Waiver Wire Watch, our weekly fantasy baseball waiver wire guide. We’ll be doing things a little differently this season, with Eric Samulski publishing the initial waiver-wire article on Friday afternoon. Then James Schiano updates it every Sunday to make sure you get the most up-to-date information.

The premise of the article is pretty straightforward. We’ll give you some recommended adds each week based on recent production or role changes. When we list a player, we’ll list the category where we think he’ll be helpful or the quick reason he’s listed. We hope this helps you determine whether the player fits your team’s needs. Not every “trending” player will be a good addition for your specific roster.

To qualify for this list, a player needs to be UNDER 40% rostered in Yahoo! formats. We understand you may say, “These players aren’t available in my league,” and we can’t help you there. These players are available in over 60% of leagues and some in 98% of leagues, so they’re available in many places, and that can hopefully satisfy readers who play in all league types.

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Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Hitters

TJ Rumfield – 1B, COL (38% rostered)

(STARTING JOB, GREAT SCHEDULE)

We’re not entirely sure why Rumfield’s roster rate has dropped so low. He’s hitting .286/.356/.584 in 21 games in June with five home runs, 12 runs scored, and 15 RBI. No, he doesn’t barrel the ball or hit it overly hard, but he makes tons of contact and hits in an incredibly hitter-friendly ballpark. He also gets seven games at Coors Field this upcoming week, so now is not the time to leave him on the wire. Another Rockies option for this week could be Troy Johnston – 1B/OF, COL (11% rostered). Right now, he seems to only be facing right-handed pitchers, but the Rockies will face six of them this upcoming week. In June, Johnston is hitting .328/.406/.500 with 11 RBI in 18 games. Like Rumfield, he also hasn’t been barreling the ball a ton, but he has more walks than strikeouts this month, which shows his tremendous plate discipline. He’s worth a look this week.

Lawrence Butler – OF, ATH (35% rostered)

(EVERYDAY PLAYER, POWER-SPEED UPSIDE)

Butler seems to have settled back into a regular role against right-handed pitching after Brent Rooker’s injury freed up some playing time for the Athletics. In 19 games in June, he’s hitting .277/.320/.468 with two home runs, nine runs scored, and one steal. Even in his “bad” year last year, he still put together a 20/20 season. Yes, there remains some swing-and-miss in his game, but this could have just been a case of him needing to get his knees fully healthy after offseason surgery.

Dylan Crews – OF, WAS (32% rostered)

(STARTING JOB, HOT STREAK COMING)

We know many people dropped Crews a week or two ago when the results weren’t coming, and we almost did too, but his quality of contact had been so good that we decided to hold on, and Crews has started to pick things up, going 7-for-23 with six runs scored and one home run in his last six games. He’s hitting just .208 in 21 games in June, but that comes with a 12% barrel rate, 46% hard-hit rate, and 90.6 mph average exit velocity. That, in part, is why he also has a .275 xBA and .521 xSLG. We’re going to be on the quality of contact winning out. Daulton Varsho – OF, TOR (30% rostered) is also off the injured list and is hitting .320/.379/.640 with two home runs, six RBI, and three steals in 11 games in June. He’s still pulling the ball a ton, but no longer sporting as extreme a launch angle as we saw from him last year. That should help with the batting average, and he’s clearly ready to run.

Nasim Nunez – 2B/SS, WAS (31% rostered)

(STOLEN BASE UPSIDE, HOT STREAK)

Nunez had an 18% roster rate last week when he made the waiver wire article, but he continues to produce, so his rate continues to rise. We expected Nunez to be a burner who gave you little else, but he’s now hitting .379/.429/.483 in 19 games in June with 10 RBI and nine steals. Yes, he’s not going to continue to run a .550 BABIP, but his bat speed is up, he’s hitting the ball harder, and he runs fast, so there’s a good chance he always has a higher than average BABIP. There’s a good chance that he’s at least a .250-.260 hitter the rest of the way, and that’s going to be massive for people who need stolen bases.

Kody Clemens – 1B/2B/OF, MIN (24% rostered)

(STARTING JOB, BATTING AVERAGE UPSIDE)

Clemens had a rough week, and his roster rate fell, but we’d caution you against abandoning a player too quickly. In 20 games in June, he’s still hitting .256/.301/.513 with five home runs, 12 runs scored, 12 RBI, and one steal. That comes with a 9.5% barrel rate and a 48% hard-hit rate. He hits third essentially every day for the Twins and is eligible at plenty of positions, so he’s a great option in deeper formats, but we understand if you wanted to move on in shallower leagues.

Francisco Alvarez – C, NYM (19% rostered)

(HOT STREAK, POWER UPSIDE)

Alvarez has plenty of talent, but can’t seem to stay healthy. The 24-year-old is back from the injured list now and is hitting .319/.360/.574 in 13 games with four home runs and eight RBI. In his 50 games this season, he has a career-high 16.8% barrel rate and his highest bat speed ever. He’s pulling the ball 49.6% of the time, which is up from his 39.2% career average. He has just an 18.4% Pull Air rate, which ranks 121st among hitters with 100 batted-ball events this season; yet that has risen to 27.8% since coming off the IL, which could be part of what’s unlocking his power. He’s one-catcher viable. In Pittsburgh, Endy Rodriguez – C, PIT (2% rostered) has seemingly grabbed the starting job away from Henry Davis. Rodriguez has gone .260/.339/.425 over 18 games in June with three home runs and nine RBI. He also has a 16.7% barrel rate and 56% hard-hit rate over that span. was a former top prospect before two years of injuries and could be worth a gamble.

Samad Taylor – 2B/OF, SD (19% rostered)

(STARTING JOB, STOLEN BASE UPSIDE)

Samad Taylor is 10-for-23 in his last six games with two steals, but his roster rate has also gone up by just 1%. Perhaps people don’t believe this is real, and we don’t blame them. It probably isn’t, but it’s real for right now. Taylor was called up from Triple-A when Nick Castellanos was designated for assignment and has hit the ground running (literally), hitting .379/.438/.448 in 16 games with 11 runs scored, 11 RBI, one home run, and six steals. He also had just a 27% hard-hit rate in Triple-A and a league-average 85% zone contact rate. He’s hitting the ball on the ground 60% of the time with the Padres and has the speed to beat out infield singles, so the batting average and stolen bases could be there, and the Padres are hitting him second in the order, so why not take a gamble while he’s running this hot?

Joshua Baez – OF, STL (18% rostered)

(POTENTIAL CALL-UP, POWER UPSIDE)

We like to get ahead of prospect stashes on the waiver wire, but this is a rough time of year. Most incentive deadlines have passed, and teams are still deciding if they are buyers or sellers at the trade deadline, so we may not get any major prospect promotions until after the All-Star game. That being said, it might be time for Baez to be stashed. He had a four-home run game last week and now leads the entire International League with 26 home runs in 69 games. That also comes with a .273/.343/.626 slash line and 13 stolen bases to create a nice power/speed combo. There are some lingering concerns about his contact since he’s struck out nearly 31 percent of the time at the Triple-A level this season, but when you have that kind of power and speed, you can still produce fantasy goodness. You could look to stash Yohandy Morales – 1B/3B, WAS (2% rostered), who is now up to 16 home runs and 50 RBI on the season to go along with a .311 batting average and a .923 OPS in 69 Triple-A games. He’s ready for a chance at big league pitching, but with Curtis Mead playing well at third base, the Nationals will need to use Morales as a DH or a first baseman.

Jasson Dominguez – OF, NYY (16% rostered)

(REGULAR PLAYING TIME, POST HYPE UPSIDE)

Dominguez may only be hitting .250 in 10 games since coming off the IL with a 12/1 K/BB ratio, but he does have two home runs and four steals over that time, so you’re starting to see some of the power and speed upside that people were excited about. He figures to get regular playing time even when Trent Grisham returns from the IL and has been hitting in the top half of the lineup for one of the best offenses in baseball. His roster rate needs to be higher. Another risky outfield option is Heriberto Hernandez – OF, MIA (2% rostered), who is hitting .274/.318/.613 in 17 games in June with six home runs, 11 RBI, and a 57.1% hard-hit rate, which is 15th in baseball among hitters with 40 plate appearances in June.

Blaze Alexander – 2B/3B/SS/OF, BAL (16% rostered)

(STARTING JOB, STATCAST DARLING)

It seems that Blaze Alexander may have finally won himself a starting role. After putting up strong production in a part-time role, Alexander seems to have supplanted Coby Mayo at third base. He appeared in Eric’s article last week on hitters to target based on their May results, and, since June 1st, he’s been the best hitter on the Orioles, slashing .388/.436/.633 in 18 games with two home runs, nine RBI, seven runs scored, and two steals. He’s making better-than-league-average contact in the zone with a better hard-hit percentage than league average as well. There is an intriguing profile here, and icould be an add in 12-team formats now that the playing time is there. We also had Caleb Durbin – 2B/3B, BOS (19% rostered) on here last week. He broke his pinky earlier in the week, but still hit a home run off Cam Schlittler on Thursday. In 20 games in June, Durbin is hitting .324/.356/.618 with five home runs, 12 runs, 10 RBI, and three steals. This may be coming together.

Jack McCarthy – OF, COL (16% rostered)

(HOT STRETCH, GOOD SCHEDULE)

We mentioned two Rockies to add before their seven-game week at home, so now it’s time to mention two more. McCarthy has been a full-time player for the Rockies for a while now. In June, he’s hitting .324/.368/.507 in 17 games with two home runs, nine runs scored, eight RBI, and two steals. He hits leadoff and has 12 steals on the season, so he should provide average, runs, and steals during a full week in Coors. You could also add Cole Carrigg – OF, COL (15% rostered), who is hitting .271/.379/.542 in his 14 MLB games with three home runs and 11 RBI. The only issue is that, since Mickey Moniak has come back, Carrigg has only played against lefties. Now, it’s also only been three games so far, so it’s not 100% clear what the Rockies’ plan is going forward, but Carrigg could very well be on the short side of a platoon.

Blaze Jordan – 1B/3B, STL (12% rostered)

(STARTING JOB, BATTING AVERAGE POTENTIAL)

There’s this idea that Blaze Jordan is a top-tier power hitter, likely because he was hitting mammoth home runs in high school home run derbies. However, he has never hit 20 home runs in any minor league season. He had 11 in 57 games at Triple-A this season, so he may have been on his way, but he has just one in 12 games since being called up with the Cardinals. That being said, he’s also hitting .286/.298/.476 with 12 RBI and a 46% hard-hit rate. Jordan won’t walk much, which will hurt him in OBP leagues, but he’s playing every day in St. Louis right now and is worth a shot in 15-team leagues.

Henry Bolte – OF, ATH (11% rostered)

(RECENT HOT STRETCH, POWER UPSIDE)

It took a little while for Bolte to get going at the MLB level, but he’s hitting .323/.416/.477 in 21 games in June with two home runs, five steals, and seven runs scored. That comes with a 12.2% barrel rate and 53.7% hard-hit rate. Bolte is sporting a .487 batting average, so it will likely regress closer to his .252 xBA, but the rookie had improved his contact rates in the minors this season, and that seems to be carrying over. There is swing and miss in his game, so this may not be the smoothest ride, but it’s fun right now.

Anthony Volpe – SS, NYY (9% rostered)

(REGULAR PLAYING TIME, POWER/SPEED UPSIDE)

The power hasn’t been there for Volpe this season, with one home run and a 37% hard-hit rate. However, there has been far more contact in the zone. In 18 games in June, he’s hitting .276/.354/.345 with seven runs scored and three steals. He has seven steals in 31 games since being activated this season, so the shoulder injury isn’t stopping him from running. He continues to start every day at shortstop with Jose Caballero moving all over the field, and that should continue for the foreseeable future. Even if we don’t get the previous power back, a .250 hitter with speed is still valuable in an offense like this. Across town, the Mets also recalled Ronny Mauricio – 2B/SS/3B, NYM (1% rostered), with Marcus Semien landing on the injured list. He was just 7-for-32 in his 10-game MLB stint before fracturing his thumb, but he had a productive season in the minors and has plus raw tools. He might be a good gamble in deeper formats for a Mets offense that is starving for production.

Victor Caratini – C, MIN (9% rostered)

(HOT STREAK, BATTING AVERAGE UPSIDE)

This is a short-term add with Ryan Jeffers eventually coming back, but Caratini has been red hot right now. In 16 games in June, he’s hitting .377/.450/.679 with four home runs, 11 RBI, and 11 runs scored. That’s with a 16% barrel rate and 46% hard-hit rate. If you need a stopgap at catcher, he’s a good one. Joe Mack- C, MIA (4% rostered) has also been producing lately, hitting .327/.397/596 in 17 games in June with four home runs, 11 runs scored, and 12 RBI. He’s still more of a defensive catcher, but the bat isn’t nothing, as evidenced by his 12% barrel rate and 44% hard-hit rate in June. He’s going to be Miami’s catcher for the rest of the season, so there is some security there.

Cooper Pratt – SS, MIL (7% rostered)

(PROSPECT CALL-UP, MODEST UPSIDE)

The Brewers called up Cooper Pratt this week to turn the shortstop reins over to their young prospect. The 21-year-old was slashing .241/.349/.386 batting line in Triple-A, which is not exciting, but he had been hitting better before his call-up. He’s also gone 7-for-27 in his first nine games with two RBI and four steals. Eric recorded a video last week with more thoughts on Pratt’s fantasy upside.

Lars Nootbaar – OF, STL (6% rostered)

(OFF THE TIL, STATCAST DARLING

People really don’t want to pick up Nootbaar. We know he’s another boring outfielder who is set to come off the injured list following offseason surgery on both of his heels. We know that you’ve been waiting for that Nootbaar breakout for a long time, but he remains a solid/productive player who should be in an everyday role on a solid Cardinals team. In 17 games since coming off the injured list, he’s hitting .288/.386/.492 with two home runs, 12 runs scored, and seven RBI. He’s a productive player and will continue to settle in. Another veteran, oft-injured outfield option is Trevor Larnach – OF, MIN (7% rostered). Larnach has enjoyed a nice month of June, hitting .333/.406/.509 in 18 games with two home runs, 10 runs scored, and eight RBI. He has just a 32.7% hard-hit rate over that stretch, but his .308 xBA suggests that his success has not just been luck. The Twins will also only face one lefty this upcoming week, which is good news for Larnach.

Kyle Karros – 3B, COL (2% rostered)

(EVERY DAY PLAYER, GOOD SCHEDULE)

Oh hey, look, another Rockies hitter ahead of their seven-game week at home. Karros has been quietly productive over the last month, hitting .345/.406/.517 in 20 games with one home run, 13 runs scored, and six RBI. As the son of an MLB player, he has a good understanding of the strike zone and a disciplined approach at the plate. The power isn’t tremendous, but the batting average could be pretty good in Coors Field, especially with the favorable schedule. Nick Loftin – 2B/3B/OF, KC (5% rostered) could be a short-term option with Maikel Garcia out. In 18 games in June, he’s hitting .306/.389/.565 with three home runs, 11 runs scored, and 11 RBI. He is sporting a career-high barrel rate and hard-hit rate, but little has changed with his approach, so we’re not going to expect this to last. However, if you need production right now, he’s playing and hitting well. We prefer Michael Massey – 2B/OF (4% rostered), who is hitting .315/.333/.507 in 20 games in June with three home runs, 11 runs scored, and 12 RBI. Massey has increased his bat speed and exit velocities and is a better bet to produce for the rest of the season.

Donovan Walton – 2B/3B, LAA (1% rostered)

(HOT STREAK, STARTING JOB)

If you want the ultimate hot streak play, it’s Donovan Walton. We never expected Walton to be a full-time player and still don’t, but he’s been a starter for almost the whole month of June because his bat is red hot. He’s hitting .340/.364/.604 in 18 games with three home runs, eight runs scored, and 10 RBI. This is a 32-year-old who swings at most everything and has a .217 career average in 98 MLB games, so we’d only add in deeper formats if we had an open spot and don’t hold when the cold streak comes. His teammate Christian Moore(2B, LAA – 1% rostered) has been cold since being called up, but we’re still intrigued by his talent and the prospect of playing time. The 23-year-old had made some real adjustments at the plate in Triple-A, making more contact and better contact, and was slashing .333/.468/.585 with nine homers, 45 RBI, and 10 stolen bases in 252 plate appearances. We’re not sure why the Angels would throw a new defensive position at him along with a call-up, but if Walton or Denzer Guzman cool down, as we expect, Moore could move back to the infield. This is a highly talented young hitter who’s getting another shot. We should probably give him one too.

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pitchers

Sean Burke – SP, CWS (36% rostered)

Eric wrote about Sean Burke in this week’s streaming starting pitcher article, so we encourage you to check that out for more details on his pitch mix and fantasy value. He has a good two-start week this week with the Orioles and Guardians on tap.

Joey Cantillo – SP, CLE (30% rostered)

Joey Cantillo appeared in that same article above, thanks to a new cutter he has started to lean on. We’ve always been a fan of Cantillo’s potential upside because of his changeup and curve, but his four-seam fastball is pretty average despite elite extension. The added cutter could make a huge difference, and he has looked good lately. We’d add him for upside here.

Yoendrys Gomez – SP/RP, MIN (24% rostered)

Gomez has been really good since joining the Twins and has emerged as their clear closer. Eric recorded a video with some detailed thoughts last week.We also know that Alex Lange – RP, KC (24% rostered) continued to deliver saves for the Royals, but it just doesn’t seem as believable. An 11.3% K-BB% and 12% swinging strike rate are not really what we’d like to see from a closer. Plus, his 13% barrel rate allowed and 4.12 SIERA. You can roll with this while it’s working, but don’t expect it to last.

Grant Taylor – RP/SP, CWS (22% rostered)

The case for Taylor here is that the White Sox are a legit playoff contender, and Seranthony Dominguez has just been really bad lately. At some point, the White Sox may WANT to use Taylor as their fireman, but he may NEED to be used to close games. If he gets that role, he could be a legit stud. Adrian Morejon – RP, SD (15% rostered) is just an option if you need ratios and some sneaky wins from a good reliever.

Eric Lauer – SP, LAD (13% rostered)

This isn’t some Dodgers’ magic, but Lauer did throw six no-hit innings against the Twins and has been really solid since coming over to the Dodgers. We should note that, even in his six no-hit innings, it was with three walks and two strikeouts. It was not some dominant outing. However, Lauer was good for the Blue Jays last season and could be a solid deep league streamer while he’s on a roll like this. We just don’t love that he goes to Sacramento next week.

Elvis Alvarado – RP, ATH (12% rostered)

Alvarado was Eric’s featured relief pitcher in this week’s MLB Notebook. In that article, Eric said, “Alvarado has battled command issues in the past and then posted an 8.38 ERA in his first 10 appearances this season before being sent to Triple-A. Since being recalled on June 6th, he looks like a different pitcher and, even after a poor last outing, has a 2.70 ERA and 47% strikeout rate in 10 innings. This version of him feels different. Since Alvarado has returned, he has showcased better command of his four-seamer but also has been able to get ahead in the count with his slider and sinker. He’s started to use his slider more as an early-count called strike pitch in addition to a whiff pitch, which has given his pitch mix another dimension that he didn’t have last year. Alvarado may only have two saves since being recalled, but he has the third-lowest SIERA among qualified relievers at 0.67 and has the best K-BB% at 47.1%.

Anthony Kay – SP, CWS (10% rostered)

We had Kay on here last week because we believed that his recent poor stretch was because he faced the Phillies, Dodgers, and Yankees in consecutive starts. Over that stretch, his ERA jumped from 3.77 on June 1st to 4.61 now. He had a good first start this week against the Guardians and will face the Royals on Sunday. Then he gets the Guardians and Red Sox in his next two starts. I think his reward for that tough stretch is a nice run of production coming.

Ian Seymour – SP, TB (8% rostered)

Oh, man. Is it happening? We’ve had Seymour on this list for two weeks, but it’s just been a bet on the future because Eric wrote about him as one of his favorite late-round starting pitcher targets this offseason,which you can read here for full thoughts on his arsenal. Yet, Seymour hadn’t quite delivered on his chances as a starter, and his stuff hasn’t looked as crisp as Eric wrote about in his streaming starting pitcher article two weeks ago. Then it all seemed to click on Thursday. Yes, it was the Royals without Bobby Witt Jr., but Seymour looked good with his four-seamer upstairs and changeups low in the zone. We’re choosing to believe that this is the beginning of the breakout.

Reynaldo Lopez- SP/RP, ATL (8% rostered)

With JR Ritchie down in the minors, Lopez is getting another chance in the starting rotation. He’s been solid overall this year, posting a 3.50 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, and 39/21 K/BB ratio in 43 2/3 innings. We know what he did for Atlanta when he was healthy in 2024, and so, with the starting pitching landscape what it is, he’s not a bad gamble right now. He gets the Cardinals at home in his first start next week.

Brandon Sproat – SP, MIL (7% rostered)

OK, we have to talk about the six innings of shutout ball against the Reds, where Sproat struck out 10, didn’t walk a batter, allowed one hit, and had 18 whiffs. We should also note that Sproat has not issued more than two walks in his last four starts. On Tuesday against the Reds, Sproat’s command of his four-seamer was exceptional, and he did a great job of keeping it at the top of the zone. The sweeper stayed low and away from righties, and he had four whiffs and a 38.5% CSW on that pitch. The curveball was always low and under the zone (sometimes too low), but we’d rather that than leaving it up. He also mixed in sinkers and cutters to allow the four-seamer to play up more as a whiff pitch, and you can see how this can all work. His start before that at Cleveland was really just one bad inning, and the previous start in Sacramento was good, so maybe this is Sproat coming into his own? We’d rather take a shot on guys like Sproat and Seymour than low-upside streamers like Andre Pallante (who we like).

Jake Bennett – SP, BOS (7% rostered)

Bennett is coming off a nice outing against the Rockies in Coors, throwing six shutout innings with nine strikeouts and no walks. He showed the ability to be what Nick Pollack refers to as a SWATCH (Southpaw With a Tight Changeup). He started to do that a bit on Monday and also peppered the top of the strike zone with four-seamers. He doesn’t throw hard, but this is a five-pitch mix that, if commanded well, could be successful from the big left-hander. There will be some ups and downs, but Bennett is intriguing. We would NOT start him this upcoming week against the Yankees, but he gets the Angels, White Sox, and Rays after that, which could be a decent run.