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Welcome to July, and another week of middle infield waiver wire pickups! The flipping of the calendar means many things, from barbecues and fireworks to All-Star debates and trade talks.
Here in our little world of fantasy baseball, it also means time is running out to get into playoff position or to make up points in roto leagues. If your team needs a boost heading into the second half, we've got a fresh batch of names below to help shore up the 2B or SS positions.
As a reminder, we'll be looking at pickups for shallow leagues (30-49% rostered) and deeper formats (10-29%), as well as highlighting prospects in the single digits who may get the call and deserve a spot on your watch list at the very least. These are your second base and shortstop fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups for Week 15 – July 3 through July 9.
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Waiver Wire Pickups for Shallow Leagues
Jordan Westburg, SS, Baltimore Orioles (46% rostered)
In the pantheon of top prospects, Jordan Westburg got lost in the shuffle. Perhaps it's because of the loaded Orioles farm system, which includes a higher-rated shortstop in Jackson Holliday. Whatever the reason Westburg was overlooked, he's in the Majors now and got off to a nice start to his Big League career.
Westburg has a hit in each of the three games played and is 5-for-12 overall with two runs and two RBI. Obviously, the sample size is still incredibly small, but Westburg was mashing in Triple-A with a .295/.372/.567 slash line with 18 homers, 54 RBI, and 57 runs across 64 games. Westburg has a ton of upside and is joining a loaded Baltimore lineup. He's also played both 2B and 3B thus far, so he should add eligibility at positions beyond shortstop, which was his primary spot in the minors.
Ezequiel Tovar, SS, Colorado Rockies (35% rostered)
After weeks of writing up Ezequiel Tovar as a waiver wire option, this week I decided to give it a rest and include him in the "Others To Consider" section while shining the spotlight elsewhere. After all, how many times can you tell people a .213 March/April batting average is dragging down his overall numbers? How often can you say a 21-year-old elite prospect should be allowed to struggle for one month without fantasy managers giving up on him? So, this week we put Royce Lewis in this spot.
Then Lewis (oblique) got injured on Saturday and is headed for the IL. That gives us another chance to remind everyone that Tovar is batting .295 and slugging .505 since the start of May. Want more recent stats? Tovar is riding a 13-game hit streak with three homers, 10 runs, and 12 RBI over that span. In the month of June overall, he batted .323 with a sterling .885 OPS. How this man remains available in so many fantasy leagues is a real head-scratcher.
Waiver Wire Pickups for Deeper Leagues
Isiah Kiner-Falefa, 2B/SS/OF, New York Yankees (3% rostered)
Adding IKF in fantasy isn't as sexy as some of the top prospects available, but the 28-year-old super-utility man has been surprisingly productive over the past two months. Since the calendar turned to May, Kiner-Falefa-Falefa is slashing .267/.306/.457 with all five of his homers on the season.
His numbers overall still look bad, but a gross .445 OPS in April is still dragging those numbers down. He posted a .797 OPS in May and had a .721 mark in June, to go along with decent counting stats. He plays all over the field for the Yankees and that eligibility makes him even more useful in fantasy where he remains widely available.
Luis Garcia, 2B/SS, Washington Nationals (23% rostered)
With each passing week, I get more perplexed at how Luis Garcia's roster rate remains so low. He's batting .280 on the season thanks to a 96th-percentile K-rate. He's got 36 runs, 37 RBI, five homers, and four steals, so he contributes across the board in fantasy while playing virtually every day for the Nationals.
Garcia's roster rate is actually down slightly from last week, despite racking up seven hits in his last four games with three runs, three RBI, and a steal in that span. Maybe people are adding the wrong Luis Garcia, as the Astros and Padres also have pitchers who bear that moniker.
Other Options to Consider:
- Maikel Garcia, SS/3B, Kansas City Royals (28% rostered)
- Edouard Julien, 2B, Minnesota Twins (4% rostered)
Prospect Watch
Oswald Peraza, SS, New York Yankees (4% rostered)
Despite the nickname "Bronx Bombers," the Yankees' offense has been pretty putrid since Aaron Judge (toe) hit the IL over a month ago. Two of the main culprits have been 3B Josh Donaldson and SS Anthony Volpe, who both were hitting under .200 as recently as last week. Lo and behold, those are the positions Oswald Peraza has been playing in Triple-A while putting up numbers worthy of a promotion.
So far this season, Peraza is slashing .275/.345/.529 with 11 homers and 11 steals in 36 games. Peraza isn't a must-add player in fantasy as he's struggled mightily in a couple of Big League stints, but he should be on your radar given the struggles of the New York lineup. At 23 years old, Peraza can still get better and we've seen other notable prospects struggle in their first taste of the Big Leagues, go back to Triple-A, then come back up and mash. Peraza could be the next in line.
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