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It's officially September, meaning it's also officially crunch time in fantasy baseball leagues. The finish line that once looked oh so far away is now rapidly approaching, and it's time to lock up that championship we've been chasing since March.
Some leagues are already into the playoffs, others will start soon. Remember to always take matchups into consideration when setting lineups for a do-or-die week of baseball. However, there are also rotisserie leagues without playoffs, so we'll try and examine things from a week-to-week standpoint while also factoring in the rest-of-season potential for prospective waiver wire pickups. Without further ado, let's get into it.
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 24 -- September 4 through September 10.
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Waiver Wire Pickups for Shallow Leagues
Davis Schneider, 2B, Toronto Blue Jays (37% rostered)
On August 3 prior to a series in Boston, the Blue Jays called up a little-known prospect by the name of Davis Schneider. He immediately burst onto the scene by homering in his first MLB at-bat and racking up nine hits, five RBI, and three runs scored during that three-game set against the Red Sox. Then, Schneider sort of went away, at least in terms of usability in fantasy. Toronto had too many players for not enough starting jobs, and Schneider was the one squeezed out of the lineup more often than not.
Things have changed, however, as the Jays now face a shortage of infielders with Bo Bichette (quadriceps) and Matt Chapman (finger) on the injured list, clearing the way for Schneider to get everyday playing time. He's started six straight games and is 10-for-21 with three homers. Yes, it's an incredibly small sample, but Schneider is batting .412 with six homers, 15 RBI, and 14 runs scored in 15 Big League games.
Obviously, he won't sustain his eye-popping 1.379 OPS forever, but he was having a good year in Triple-A, has proved he can hit MLB pitching, and is playing every day in a good lineup. As long as he's starting, he's a solid fantasy option. But Toronto has pillow-soft matchups this week versus the A's and Royals. Schneider could be in line for a monster week.
J.P. Crawford, SS, Seattle Mariners (26% rostered)
The Mariners have been one of the best teams in baseball in the second half thanks in large part to leadoff man J.P. Crawford. The 28-year-old has been on fire since the All-Star break as he's slashing .303/.438/.484 with 30 runs scored in 34 games, setting the table for a red-hot Mariners lineup.
A look at his Statcast page offers even more encouraging signs Crawford can keep up this torrid pace. He's currently rocking career-highs in hard-hit rate, average exit velocity, and barrels-per-plate-appearance. That's a fancy way of saying Crawford is hitting the ball harder than he ever has. Combine that with elite plate discipline -- he's got 29 walks against 30 strikeouts in the second half -- and you've got a shortstop you can feel comfortable rolling with in fantasy lineups heading into the most important stretch of the season.
Waiver Wire Pickups for Deeper Leagues
Ronny Mauricio, SS, New York Mets (19% rostered)
It finally happened, the Mets called up Ronny Mauricio. The 22-year-old top-prospect has been a fixture in the "Prospect Watch" section of this column since May, but he's been blocked at shortstop by Francisco Lindor. Mauricio has been playing second base and left field in Triple-A but was never promoted despite tearing up Triple-A while the Big League club sputtered all summer.
Across 116 games in Triple-A, Mauricio slashed .292/.346/.506 with 23 homers, 30 doubles, 24 stolen bases, 76 runs, and 71 RBI. Of course, other prospects have struggled with the jump from Triple-A to the majors, but other prospects don't have the raw power possessed by the 22-year-old future star. Case in point, Mauricio went 2-for-3 in his MLB debut, including a 117.3 mph rocket. That hit doubled as his first MLB base hit and also represented the hardest-hit ball by any Met this season. He's got as much upside as any prospect making his debut this September and could absolutely be a league-winner in fantasy.
Noelvi Marte, SS, Cincinnati Reds (10% rostered)
Noelvi Marte has gotten off to a slow start with the bat, but nothing else about this kid is slow as he's already been clocked at 28.4 mph as his max sprint speed. He's already used this to his advantage as he's swiped five bags without being caught. He'll need to hit eventually to be an impact player in fantasy, but he certainly plays in the right ballpark as Cincinnati has the highest park factor in the majors for boosting power.
A look at his minor-league track record suggests Marte could come around with the bat as well. He batted .281 between Double-A and Triple-A this season and launched 11 homers while slugging a respectable .460. It's the speed that should excite fantasy managers, though. If you need to make up points in stolen bases, Marte should be a priority add this week.
Other Options to Consider:
- Ezequiel Tovar, SS, Colorado Rockies (45% rostered)
- Edouard Julien, 2B, Minnesota Twins (17% rostered)
Prospect Watch
Jackson Holliday, SS, Baltimore Orioles (13% rostered)
Tons of teams are calling up top prospects late in the season. Don't be surprised if Baltimore calls up Jackson Holliday, who has aggressively moved up the minor-league ranks since being drafted first overall in the 2022 MLB draft. He's only 19 years old, but he's already thriving in Double-A. He's slashing .331/.416/.504 across 33 games against players multiple years older than him.
We've seen other teams have top prospects skip Triple-A. If the Orioles think Holliday can help them win games in the fight for a playoff berth, we could see him in Camden Yards this season. If that happens, he could be added in deeper leagues to see how he fares.
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