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Welcome to another week of waiver wire options, and Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there. Things are getting bleak at the middle infield positions as appealing options that are widely available are few and far between.
Still, we sift through the garbage hoping to find that diamond in the rough who can help our fantasy squads while we wait for some of the injured stars to return. Orlando Arcia is not a star by any means, but he recently returned from injury. At 54% rostered he's a hair too rostered for this piece, but check your league for Arcia if hunting for a 2B.
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 8 – May 15 through May 21.
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Waiver Wire Pickups for Shallow Leagues
Miguel Vargas, 2B/1B, Los Angeles Dodgers (46% rostered)
The Dodger rookie got off to a miserable start to the season, but he's really picked things up over the past couple of weeks, capped by back-to-back games with a two-run homer last Tuesday and Wednesday. If the power starts to materialize for Vargas, look out as it'll pair nicely with his elite plate discipline. Even though he slumped mightily through April, Vargas still sports a sub-20 percent K-rate and a whopping 14.2 percent BB-rate, which has kept his on-base percentage at a sturdy .329 even as his batting average sits at .212.
Ezequiel Tovar, SS, Colorado Rockies (26% rostered)
Like Vargas, Tovar is a top prospect who got off to a slow start. His .224 batting average leaves a lot to be desired, but Tovar is still putting up plenty of counting stats as he's got 35 runs-plus-RBI through 36 games. Unlike Vargas, Tovar gets to play half his games in the most hitter-friendly park in the Majors, a venue in which the Rockies will play 11 of its next 14 games. Get those Rockies hitters in your lineup, including Tovar whose all-fields approach is tailor-made to hit for average in Coors Field.
Waiver Wire Pickups for Deeper Leagues
Casey Schmitt, SS/3B, San Francisco Giants (29% rostered)
Keeping up with the theme of top prospects, the Giants called up their fourth-ranked prospect, 24-year-old Casey Schmitt. Schmitt is an interesting fantasy option as most of his prospect pedigree is derived from a 60-grade glove at third base. His glove at the hot corner is so good, in fact, the Giants called him up to play shortstop while Brandon Crawford (calf) is on the injured list. He's not bad with the bat either, through three games he's 9-for-16 with two homers and five RBI. Schmitt is worth an add as a hot-hand play.
Luis Garcia, 2B/SS, Washington Nationals (15% rostered)
Garcia, like so many other hitters, got off to a slow start but has really come around in recent weeks. Since April 14, which gives us a sample of over 100 plate appearances, Garcia is slashing .290/.350/.452 with three homers, 13 runs scored, and 13 RBI. This hot stretch comes with a near 1:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio and a 117 wRC+ which implies he's been well above league average at creating runs. He's been so good, in fact, the Nationals have batted Garcia second in the past 12 games, raising his floor as a fantasy contributor.
Other Options to Consider:
- Chris Taylor, 2B/SS/OF, Los Angeles Dodgers (36% rostered)
- CJ Abrams, 2B/SS, Washington Nationals (22% rostered)
Prospect Watch
Jackson Holliday, SS, Baltimore Orioles (4% rostered)
This week's prospect watch is more geared to dynasty managers as it's unlikely Holliday will play in the Majors this year, but it's never too early to highlight the next crop of stars. Two weeks ago, Holliday was promoted to High-A and all he's done in that time is slash .313/.441/.521, that's an elite .961 OPS for those scoring at home. This raised his career OPS to 1.014 in 46 career minor league games.
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