RADIO
The start of June is a great time to take stock of the baseball season. We're two months in, which gives us a decent sample size to split in half to see who cooled off after a hot start, and who really turned things around after a miserable April.
A bad start may still be dragging down the overall numbers of some players. But if we look under the hood, we can find some diamonds on waivers who should produce quite well for fantasy baseball into the summer when the hot weather always gives a boost to hitters. Plus, if we act now, there's still roughly two-thirds of the season for these players to help us climb in the standings.
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 11 -- June 5 through June 11.
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Waiver Wire Pickups for Shallow Leagues
Owen Miller, 1B/2B/3B, Milwaukee Brewers (45% rostered)
In the intro, we mentioned how some players with overall numbers are being dragged down by a poor April. Exhibit A: Owen Miller. The Brewers second baseman led all qualified second basemen and shortstops with a .600 slugging percentage in May while collecting 12 RBI and 13 runs scored. His May batting average of .363 was 90 points higher than the .263 mark he posted in April and he crushed it in pretty much every advanced stat you could look at last month:
Miller plays in a great home ballpark and has eligibility all over the diamond. His roster rate would be doubled if he posted his elite May numbers back in the first month of the season.
Casey Schmitt, SS/3B, San Francisco Giants (33% rostered)
Two weeks ago, Casey Schmitt's roster rate was near 50% and it seemed he was well on his way to getting the respect he deserved among fantasy baseball enthusiasts. In those two weeks, Schmitt has nine RBI, five runs scored, two steals, and is batting a healthy .255, yet more fantasy managers are dropping him as opposed to adding him. So what gives?
Sure, not having a home run in that span isn't ideal for fantasy. But he's still slugging .470 on the season, so the power is there. He's also only walked once in 85 plate appearances. Again, not ideal, but it doesn't mean his plate discipline is poor, as he also strikes out under 20% of the time. Throw above-average batted-ball metrics and it seems Schmitt will be a start-worthy fantasy contributor as we barrel into the summer months.
Waiver Wire Pickups for Deeper Leagues
Michael Massey, 2B, Kansas City Royals (3% rostered)
Like Miller above, Michael Massey got off to an atrocious start to the season but really turned things around in May. Through the season's first month, Massey was batting .167 and was a complete afterthought in fantasy. Now, it's time to give the 25-year-old another look as he's hitting like the player who was once the top prospect in the Royals' farm system.
In May, Massey batted .319 with four homers and 12 RBI. His .528 slugging percentage ranked third among all qualified second basemen as he raised his OPS from .342 in April to an absurd .940 in May. We could go on, but the point is clear that an early-season slump is in the rearview mirror and fantasy managers looking for upside on waivers should take a shot on Massey.
Luis Garcia, 2B/SS, Washington Nationals (15% rostered)
We don't need to split months to see how productive Luis Garcia has been this season as he's slashing .273/.313/.399 on the season as the two-hole hitter for the Nationals. Yes, the slugging percentage is low, but Garcia does have some pop, as evidenced by his five home runs. Furthermore, it's rare to find a player on waivers who can be an asset in batting average, which Garcia surely is thanks to a pristine 12.9% K rate.
Other Options to Consider:
- Miguel Vargas, 2B/1B, Los Angeles Dodgers (39% rostered)
- Ezequiel Tovar, SS, Colorado Rockies (25% rostered)
Prospect Watch
**Note: Check waivers for the Reds' top prospect Elly De La Cruz. Multiple outlets are predicting his call-up any day now. Since we've covered him at length in this space, let's check out...
Edouard Julien, 2B, Minnesota Twins (3% rostered)
When fellow top prospect Royce Lewis returned from an ACL tear, it was Edouard Julien that was the odd man out in Minnesota. Now with Carlos Correa (heel) banged up again, we could see Julien back in Minneapolis sooner rather than later. The 24-year-old is slugging .481 in Triple-A with a near-20% walk rate. This is after he hit .300 in Double-A last season and established himself as part of the future of the Twins. Take a peek if Julien is available, especially if Correa needs an IL stint.
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