RADIO
We've entered the second half of the 2019 season, even though the unofficial demarcation point doesn't come until next week.
June and July tend to be the leanest months on the waiver wire, as most teams are still trying to win and fantasy football has yet to lure away any of the also-rans. Rest assured, however, that there are still players available who can help your squad.
As a reminder, our focus is on players who are below 50% owned in Yahoo leagues, and standard 5x5 scoring. Your mileage may vary, in terms of availability or league settings. Using that cutoff point for ownership rate, however, these are your corner infield waiver wire targets and adds for Week 14 of the 2019 fantasy baseball season.
Be sure to check all of our fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups and weekly lineup resources:- Nick Mariano's fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups (Premium)
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- Cut List- Players To Consider Dropping
Pickups for Shallow Leagues
Michael Chavis (1B/2B/3B, BOS) — 48% Owned
Chavis hasn't come anywhere close to maintaining his scorching April pace, and both his walk and strikeout rates have been trending in the wrong direction as the season has progressed. That's why his ownership rate has dipped below the 50% threshold for the first time since the early weeks, despite a two-homer game on Saturday. Boston being thin in the infield thanks to injuries to Mitch Moreland, Dustin Pedroia, and Steve Pearce and Eduardo Nunez being, well, Eduardo Nunez only helps Chavis' cause to remain in the lineup every day despite his occasional struggles. The 23-year-old still boasts an .800 OPS and 14 homers in 63 games.
Justin Smoak (1B, TOR) — 34% Owned
Smoak missed most of June with a quad strain, but certainly looked healthy on Sunday, smashing a pair of home runs in his third game back from the injured list. The .227 average is suboptimal, but the veteran is an asset in the counting stats with 14 HR and 68 R+BI in 65 games. He's also running the lowest strikeout rate of his career and a BABIP nearly 40 points below his career mark, suggesting there may be room for optimism on that front as well.
Yandy Diaz (1B/3B, TB) — 32% Owned
Like Smoak, Diaz recently returned from the injured list. He went hitless in his first two games back but knocked five hits (four of them doubles) and scored four runs in the next two. The Rays have plugged him right back into the heart of the order, so his run production should remain above average. On the year, Diaz is hitting a robust .284/.354/.500, production that merits a significant higher rate of ownership than his current mark.
Pickups for Deeper Leagues
Christian Walker (1B, ARI) — 24% Owned
After an ice-cold May bled over into June, it seemed like Walker was bound for the bench once Jake Lamb returned to action. The rookie has picked up the pace over the last couple of weeks, however, and may not yield to his teammate so easily. It helps that Lamb can also slot in at third base as needed, though Eduardo Escobar figures to remain the primary starter there. At any rate, Walker's recent surge has his overall line up to .256/.328/.474 with 14 homers and 78 R+BI in 82 games.
Brian Anderson (3B/OF, MIA) — 13% Owned
Anderson put an exclamation point on his torrid June with a pair of extra-base hits on Sunday, scoring two runs and driving in another. For the month, the 26-year-old batted .301/.390/.583 with six homers, 20 runs, and 17 RBI in 27 contests. That performance lifted his season OPS from .663 to .767, which...is that good? Seems good.
Todd Frazier (3B, NYM) — 13% Owned
Frazier had a pretty fine month himself, smashing seven home runs en route to an .894 OPS. Perhaps most impressively, after striking out 31 times and drawing just six walks in 116 plate appearances across April and May, the veteran walked 14 times and whiffed only 11 in 109 trips to plate in June. He's hitting .257, which isn't amazing in vacuum but is a major improvement after hitting .225, .213, and .213 in the prior three seasons.
For Your Radar
Dominic Smith (1B/OF, NYM) — 6% Owned
The Mets are as Mets-y as ever this season, from Jason Vargas trying to fight a reporter to the team mistakenly including former players who are still alive in an In Memoriam tribute to the 1969 World Series-winning squad. Frazier's recent renaissance and Pete Alonso's coming out party aren't their only bright spots, though. The play of Smith, a forgotten man in the wake of two uninspiring MLB cameos in 2017 and 2018, has been a plus as well. He's hit four homers in his last six games, giving him eight on the year to go with an impressive .328/.418/.590 line in 121 at-bats. The former first-round pick should continue to draw regular starts in left field as Brandon Nimmo's season is looking like a lost cause.
More Waiver Wire Pickups and Streamers
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