Matt Shaw, Brice Matthews and more top fantasy baseball waiver wire options

New York Times

2 days ago

The season is flying by, and after a week off for the All-Star break, there's a fresh list of the most-added hitters on Yahoo.
We have a bunch of once-hyped prospects making some noise. Kyle Manzardo has been tapping into his strength and earning regular playing time in the process. All his value is in his power, so there will be peaks and valleys, but he's at a high point right now.
Matt Shaw looked like a potential star at the start of the year, and he's been exactly that for the past week, with power and speed. I buy the speed more than the power for now, though he had both in the minors, so that could change.
Advertisement
Brice Matthews is swinging for the moon every time he's up. When he connects, he does damage, but the swing-and-miss issue did not magically resolve itself upon his MLB promotion, and I foresee some ugly slumps unless he can make some changes.
Angel Martínez is the other player I'm not too interested in here. He hit home runs on three consecutive days earlier this month, but nothing in his profile suggests he's suddenly a power hitter. He's productive enough for 14-teamers.
It's nice to see Colson Montgomery start his MLB career with a good stretch. He was among the top prospects in the league in 2023, but fell apart last year and wasn't showing much in Triple A this year. The tools are still interesting, especially his excellent bat speed. I don't know what to expect of him for now. In 12-teamers, I'm looking elsewhere, but deeper than that, he's an interesting dart throw.
It wasn't that long ago that Royce Lewis looked ready to become one of the premier third basemen in the league. It might be a lazy comparison, but he has looked like teammate Byron Buxton: monster ability, but can't stay healthy. Lewis' contact quality has been excellent this month, and we're getting another glimpse of who this guy can be.
Mickey Moniak continues to rake against righties. I love players like him in daily leagues.
As for the veterans, the Ramón Laureano comeback tour continues. The 12% barrel rate dates back to last season, and now he's combining that with a 12.2% swinging strike rate, which aligns with his career rate. I believe he can keep this going through the end of the year.
Christian Walker's clunker of a first half was odd, but he's been hitting the ball harder in July, and I think we'll see something closer to Arizona Walker for the rest of the year.
As for Nolan Schanuel, this is your weekly, 'He's fine, I guess.' He's Luis Arráez if you traded a little of the elite contact ability for a little power and put him at first base.
Advertisement
Onto some other lesser-rostered players. Like a pitcher that won't stop tinkering, I'm keeping the clusters but won't split them based on rostered percentages. All players are under 40% rostered, and I'll work in plenty of sub-20%-rostered names.
Ramon Laureano (OF, BAL), Mickey Moniak (OF, COL)
See above. Knock Moniak down a cluster in weekly leagues.
Chandler Simpson (OF, TB)
Simpson has loads of speed, and now he's hitting leadoff. He's also a good guy to trade if you don't have much to gain from his steals, because someone will be desperate for a player like him.
Trent Grisham (OF, NYY)
You may have noticed that I prefer high-quality play with inconsistent playing time to daily 'meh.' Grisham has an excellent eye and solid power, and lately, he's been leading off in New York. I'm tentatively optimistic that he'll keep this up and earn four to five starts a week. You can put him in Cluster 1 and probably at the top if he's a regular.
Austin Hays (OF, CIN)
I am interested in the hot streak, which is backed by a 13.6% barrel rate, and the park helps, too.
Ryan O'Hearn (OF/1B, BAL … for now)
He's cooled off from great to good. Expect solid production against righties and a new uniform soon.
Tyler O'Neill (OF, BAL)
He's a power gamble. If he's fully healthy, he can do a lot of damage, but we need to see him play more.
Jesús Sánchez (OF, MIA)
Power, some speed, decent average — I keep looking at Sánchez and seeing a potential second-tier star. I haven't seen his name in trade rumors, but his value shoots up if he leaves Miami. Even if he stays, he's still a solid option.
Gavin Sheets (OF/1B, SDP)
I was tempted to drop him to Cluster 3 because he had a rough July. His expected stats say he's solid and just had some bad luck with BABIP.
Jac Caglianone (OF/1B, KC)
He's tough to rank because a .150 average in a bad lineup is not something you'd look at in a 20-teamer, but the power is real, and the x-stats say he's a like Brandon Nimmo (the 2025 version). For the balance of this year, the variance is high, but he's a prime target if you're rebuilding in a keeper league.
Advertisement
Angel Martinez (OF/2B, CLE)
See above.
Jonathan India (2B/3B/OF, KC)
Another mainstay on Team Fine. He'll score runs from the leadoff spot, and that's about all you're getting here.
Matt Wallner (OF, MIN)
Wallner is a righty masher who has tapped into his considerable power recently.
There are too many potential names to list in this cluster, but here are a few that might help.
John Rave (OF, KC)
Rave could be a great source of speed and had decent power in the minors.
Victor Scott II (OF, STL)
Scott's another speedster. Lars Nootbaar's injury helps secure the playing time for now, but that could change if the Cardinals trade for an outfielder.
Daulton Varsho (OF, TOR)
A good IL stash if you can manage the low average. The Jays might manage his playing time on his return, but the outfield is a relative soft spot for Toronto.
Colt Keith (1B/2B/3B, DET)
Keith's in a mini-slump, and the playing time has been inconsistent, but I'm still a fan.
Noelvi Marte (3B, CIN)
He has plenty of speed and raw power, plus good contact ability. He's still just 23 years old, and I wasn't expecting to write this, but we may be seeing a re-breakout.
Matt Shaw (3B, CHC)
See above.
Kyle Manzardo (1B, CLE)
See above.
Ryan McMahon (3B, COL)
The career-high barrel rate is great, but all he's giving you is power at this point. He's been atrocious on the road, which could be bad news if he's traded, but he also won't have to deal with the Coors hangover effect (pitches move differently at altitude, and it's hard for Rockies hitters to adjust on the road).
Brett Baty (3B/2B, NYM)
He's breaking out! He's on the bench! He's playing second! He's playing third! He's the Mets' next star! He's getting traded! It's been a chaotic year for Baty, but I think he's finally figuring it out and living up to his potential.
Advertisement
Caleb Durbin (3B, MIL)
Good speed and average with non-zero power. He's borderline in 12-teamers, useful in deeper formats.
Josh Bell (1B, WAS)
Bell has quietly had a great summer. He could get traded, but he's a solid value as long as he has a regular role.
Brady House (3B, WAS)
At the other corner in Washington, House has some speed, and you can dream on more.
Jorge Polanco (2B/3B, SEA)
The good version of Polanco is reemerging, as he's been hitting the ball harder lately.
Josh Smith (SS/3B/1B, TEX)
Smith is the definition of roster spackle. He plays everywhere and makes decent contributions across the board.
Tyler Freeman (SS/OF, COL)
The guys in Colorado with power are the ones who seem like they could go off and hit 50 homers, but maybe it's the speed and contact guys who can make use of the inflated BABIP that we should be paying attention to. Freeman has cooled off a bit but still offers good value against righties, even with minimal power.
Carlos Correa (SS, MIN)
He's settled into being an oatmeal guy — a solid, if boring hitter — but he's caught fire recently, even if you wouldn't know it from his counting stats.
Kody Clemens (2B/1B/OF, MIN)
Wow, I had no idea that Correa (30) is just a year and a half older than Clemens (29). The younger Twin has found some power this year, nearly doubling his barrel rate to 13%. If he can hang onto that and get better BABIP luck, he'll become a pretty nice contributor.
Brice Matthews (2B, HOU)
See above. It's not a sustainable profile, and I doubt Matthews fully course-corrects in the next two months, but there's still value to be had here.
Jeff McNeil (2B/OF, NYM)
McNeil's back to boring production. Great contact and on-base ability play just fine in that lineup.
Troy Melton (SP, DET)
Melton has really good stuff and was using it to run a strikeout rate above 30% in the minor leagues before his first MLB start. He gave up six runs to the Pirates (four on a Spencer Horwitz grand slam), but also struck out seven. It's unclear if he will be a regular in the rotation going forward, but if I'm the Tigers, I'm finding a way to get him MLB innings before the playoffs. He's a good high-upside play, just know that the downside is he's back in Triple A next week.
José Soriano (LAA), Landen Roupp (SFG), Brandon Walter (HOU)
I've mentioned Soriano and Walter multiple times before. Soriano has been great overall, but he's also had some rough starts, and not against the teams you'd think (recently he cruised past the Phillies, Astros and Braves, but got roughed up by the Rangers and Nationals).
Roupp and Walter have great control and enough stuff to get strikeouts and avoid blowups. I'm a fan of both.
Advertisement
Dean Kremer (BAL), Colin Rea (CHC), Jack Leiter (TEX), Cam Schlitter (NYY), Slade Cecconi (CLE)
Don't expect a strikeout per inning here, but you'll mostly get solid outings from this bunch. Rea and Cecconi are the ones I trust the most, while Schlitter and Leiter have better stuff to work with. It's unclear if Schlitter will remain in the rotation once Luis Gil returns. As for Kremer, I tuned him out for a while, but he's useful in deep leagues if you need some reasonably solid innings.
Dustin May (LAD), Janson Junk (MIA), Charlie Morton (BAL), Emmet Sheehan (LAD), José Quintana (MIL)
Deep leagues only here. Sheehan finally had a bad start, but he still looks like a solid value. The rest have middling stuff but enough of a mix to keep hitters off balance most of the time. Quintana is a good bet to snag wins, and Morton gives you some relative strikeout upside. Junk has excellent control and a pitcher's park — he can help keep your WHIP and ERA low.
Bryan Abreu (HOU), Randy Rodríguez (SFG), Cade Smith (CLE), Griffin Jax (MIN), Dennis Santana (PIT)
Abreu and Rodríguez are bullpen aces. Smith and Jax have been more wobbly than usual this year, but they still have excellent stuff and a chance to inherit the closer role if either team trades their ace closer. The same is true for Santana, who will likely take over in Pittsburgh if David Bednar goes elsewhere.
(Photo of Matt Shaw: Griffin Quinn / Getty Images)