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Mike's fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups for 2B and SS and Week 12 of the 2023 MLB season. Consider adding and streaming these shortstops and second basemen.
Howdy folks, welcome to another week of middle infield waiver wire options. We're roughly one-third of the way through the fantasy baseball season and by now it should be apparent where your weaknesses are; if it's 2B or SS, you've come to the right place.
Along those same lines, we also have a good sample size of at-bats for most players. It's time to throw draft costs out the window. If a player is underperforming, it may be time to let go for the hot hand on waivers.
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 12 -- June 12 through June 18.
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Waiver Wire Pickups for Shallow Leagues
Orlando Arcia, 2B/SS/OF, Atlanta Braves (47% rostered)
It feels like Orlando Arcia has been around forever, mostly because he broke in as a 21-year-old in 2016. For most of his major league career, he's been an afterthought in fantasy. Not this season; Arcia is finally getting everyday at-bats in an elite lineup and he's making the most of it in his age-28 season.
The Braves' primary shortstop is batting .324 with a .480 slugging percentage with 22 runs and 19 RBI through 42 games. Better yet, his underlying metrics fully support his breakout. Arcia's 44.5% hard-hit rate is a career-high, his 18% K rate is his best mark since 2020, and his .375 wOBA is in the top-10th percentile in all of baseball. With multi-position eligibility, most fantasy leagues have a manager in need of Arcia's services.
Miguel Vargas, 2B/1B, Los Angeles Dodgers (37% rostered)
Fantasy baseball managers love to chase the next big thing while easily giving up on the previous big thing. Case in point, Miguel Vargas was all the rage during the draft season but is now available in over 60% of fantasy leagues. The Dodgers, being the smart organization that they are, are yet to give up on Vargas, who continues to show signs that better days are ahead.
The first good sign for Vargas is his elite plate discipline, which never wavered despite his struggles. Vargas strikes out under 20% of the time and his 13% walk rate is a great sign that he's not losing patience at the plate, even though hits aren't falling. Furthermore, his 7.9% barrel rate is a full percentage point above the MLB average and he continues to display impressive batted-ball skills. With the caveat that June is still a small sample size, Vargas is mashing this month. Better numbers should be expected as the weather continues to warm up.
Waiver Wire Pickups for Deeper Leagues
Luis Garcia, 2B/SS, Washington Nationals (18% rostered)
What more does Luis Garcia need to do for some respect in fantasy? Perhaps play for a team better than the Nationals? Alas, Garcia is in Washington and if no one else is paying attention, there's a buying opportunity on the 23-year-old second baseman.
Since the start of May -- a 33-game sample size -- Garcia is batting .307 with a .416 slugging percentage. He's got four multi-hit games in his last seven, including two homers, so he's not just an empty batting average. With an elite K rate and assured everyday at-bats as the two-hole hitter for the Nats, Garcia should be rostered in a lot more fantasy leagues.
Ezequiel Tovar, SS, Colorado Rockies (28% rostered)
Speaking of top prospects that have really picked things up, we have Ezequiel Tovar, who has hits in 17 of his last 20 games and includes eight doubles and a home run. Sure, playing in Coors Field helped those numbers and the Rockies are away for all of Week 12, but now is still a good time to add Tovar while his overall stats still look bad.
Anyone playing every day for the Rockies needs a look in fantasy and a player of Tovar's pedigree deserves patience as he finds his footing in the majors.
Other Options to Consider:
- Owen Miller, 1B/2B/3B, Milwaukee Brewers (47% rostered)
- Casey Schmitt, SS/3B, San Francisco Giants (21% rostered)
Prospect Watch
Jordan Lawlar, SS, Arizona Diamondbacks (4% rostered)
This is more of a long-term stock watch as it's unlikely we see Lawlar in the majors this season; however, managers in dynasty leagues may want to take a closer look at the top prospect for the D-Backs.
Lawlar got off to a miserable start to the season, but has been on a heater over the last few weeks:
Given his season-long stats still look pedestrian, there could be a buying opportunity for one of the elite prospects in the game. Who knows, Arizona may even call up Lawlar in September -- like they did last season with Corbin Carroll -- so it's not out of the question he contributes in fantasy this year.
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