NL-Only and AL-Only Waiver Wire for Week 6

May 5, 2021

Matt Wallach outlines his favorite week 6 waiver wire pickups and adds for deep leagues, and AL-only or NL-only fantasy baseball leagues for the 2021 MLB season.

It's getting to be a bit tougher out there on the waiver wire as the season progresses now to Week 6. The early season breakouts are now rostered at a rate that is too high for deep league consideration, and the names that are available in deeper leagues likely aren't going to be league-winners at this stage.

More breakouts and intriguing names will come, but for now, those in deep leagues will need to weather the storm for a bit and churn through the waiver wire for a bit. Thankfully, there still are some attractive options available.

Each week, I'll look at five players who are under 15% rostered in Yahoo! leagues and who can be considered as options to add in deep-league formats, such as 15-teamers or AL or NL-only leagues. I'll also include a recommendation for what to do with each player on your roster. Now, without further ado, let's get into it.

Corey Dickerson - OF, Marlins

8% rostered
Recommended move: Add for the long haul 

After a down season in 2020, there was little interest in Dickerson coming into the year. It seemed like the best years of his career were past him, as he limped to a .258/.311/.402 slash line in the shortened season. So far this year though, Dickerson looks to be a different hitter and has been performing well with a .325/.407/.452 triple slash.

He probably won't produce the type of power that he once did earlier in his career as his hard-hit and barrel rates have fallen some, but he is still a productive hitter. He's doing some things differently at the plate this season, most notable of which is that he's hitting a lot more line drives at 28.6% compared to just 13.8% last year. Line drives usually lead to good results, so seeing that Dickerson is hitting more of them is probably a good explanation for why his performance has improved this year. To go along with that, his groundball rate has come down to 41.3% after he posted a career-high 52.2% rate last year. Dickerson doesn't hit the ball all that hard, and adding a high dose of grounders to his profile was always going to be a recipe for disaster - last season being an example of that. So it's good to see things rebounding in that department.

While Dickerson may be viewed as somewhat of a platoon risk, he has actually been hitting lefties well this year, with a .375 batting average against them. That likely won't stick, but he is a career .270 hitter against lefties, so he is more than competent against southpaws. He's been playing pretty much everyday for the team, so managers can feel confident keeping Dickerson in their lineups in weekly leagues, and in daily leagues, he can be started depending on the matchup. Dickerson is not super flashy, but he should be a good option in deep leagues.

Andrelton Simmons - SS, Twins

8% rostered
Recommended move: Add for a few weeks 

Simmons missed the beginning of the season due to a bout with COVID-19, but has since returned and has played well with a .273/.375/.400 slash line in 17 games for the Twins. The book on Simmons is pretty much set, as he's not likely to turn the corner offensively now at age 31, but he can still be a productive fantasy player in deep formats where managers just need some solid counting stats.

If that's what you're looking for, Simmons can be a good, albeit underwhelming option. If Simmons is playing everyday (and there's no reason to suggest he won't be), he can likely be penciled in for double-digit totals in both home runs and stolen bases, while not being a drain in the batting average department. He won't overwhelm you with either home runs or stolen bases, but those extra steals may be needed to win a league, and that makes Simmons an attractive option. Even if he's just a bench option in most leagues, Simmons could be a decent fill-in in case of emergency.

Luis Urias - 2B/3B/SS, Brewers

7% rostered
Recommended move: Add for the long haul

After scuffling through parts of three Major League seasons to start his career, Urias has quietly had a solid first month of the season. It's not going to be super impressive, but a .233/.360/.425 triple slash is good enough for a 112 wRC+. He's maybe even gotten a bit unlucky as well, as his expected stats show a .250 expected batting average, .463 expected slugging, and a .354 expected wOBA.

He has those good expected stats due to above-average hard-hit (43.6%) and barrel (11.1%) rates, and he has already set a new career-high maximum exit velocity mark clocking in at 111.5 miles-per-hour. There's a lot to like so far about his season, and he may finally be turning a corner as a hitter. He's been playing extremely well in the last week in particular, with a 151 wRC+ in his last seven games. Throw in triple eligibility as well, and we can see how Urias can be an interesting fantasy option.

The early season trade of Orlando Arcia to the Braves also means that Urias should have a lock on the shortstop spot for the Brewers for the whole season. Playing time is going to be his, and the everyday upside is definitely attractive with his triple eligibility as he can be comfortably plugged and played in any spot as a one-day fill-in, or a week-long starter. If Urias keeps hitting well, he'll be rostered in a lot more leagues, so it's best to get in on him now.

Mike Tauchman - OF, Giants

4% rostered
Recommended move: Add for a few weeks

Tauchman was traded to the Giants last week and has immediately started to hit, with a .313/.353/.563 slash line as a Giant. While Tauchman probably won't continue to hit at that level or like he did in 2019 when he burst onto the scene as a Yankee, he probably won't slump as much as he did in 2020. He'll likely settle in somewhere around league average, which is definitely going to be useful for fantasy purposes, especially if he can chip in some steals - of which he has already netted two in just fifteen games.

Tauchman does have good upside for someone sitting as freely available on waivers as he is, although his everyday role may not be permanent. Tauchman will get playing time pretty much everyday as it stands currently due to Mike Yastrzemski's (oblique) injury, but things could change when he comes back. There is also some platoon risk for the lefty Tauchman, as the Giants have shown to be a team that likes to do so.

For the time being though, Tauchman is a fine option for those looking for an outfielder in deep leagues. He's a decent power-speed option that is hitting at the top of the lineup, where he should get plenty of opportunities to accumulate some decent counting stats in the short term.

Seth Brown - OF, Athletics

1% rostered
Recommended move: Add and stash

It seemed like Brown was going to be the odd man out of the Athletics' playing time picture at the start of the year, but he has found himself on the strong side of a platoon and in the lineup every time a righty starter is on the mound.

He's done well, but like others mentioned here, his performance won't overwhelm anyone. The highlight of his .234/.294/.468 slash line is the strong slugging percentage, as he has chipped in three home runs and seven RBI in just 20 games. He won't be a perfect player, as he won't contribute much in batting average or on-base percentage if that's more your thing, but the power upside is what really makes him intriguing from a fantasy perspective.

The advanced metrics are definitely a fan of his season so far, with a .530 expected slugging and .371 expected wOBA, due in part to his healthy 11.1% barrel and 41.7% hard-hit rate. Adding to the power upside that he has, Brown hits a lot of balls in the air and hits them to his pull-side, which usually leads to good things happening in terms of power. Indeed, all three of his home runs have gone to the pull-side, and all but two of his hits have gone that way as well. That does open the door for him to be shifted, which is why we shouldn't expect much from his batting average, but the power potential here is real and he may be one of the better power bats available in deeper formats.

It would be a lot better with an everyday role, but for now, Brown is locked into a straight platoon with Stephen Piscotty in right field. The A's have dealt with a lot of lefty pitchers lately, which means that Brown hasn't gotten many starts, and they don't get much of a break from them either this week with three projected games against lefty starters in their series against Toronto and another two in their series against the Rays this weekend. It's not ideal, but that means that most won't be looking to pick him up right now. He's a good stash option for right now and a start against right-handed starters.

Reviewing Last Week's Picks

At the end of each week's post, I'll review what happened with last week's picks and offer a suggestion for them in the future.

Jordan Luplow (OF, CLE)

Last week: 11% rostered. This week: 8% rostered. 

Luplow is still a good power option, but last week he wasn't playing as much, and he failed to get a hit in his three starts. This decision is a bit tough. It likely depends on the situation, but three hitless games shouldn't change his outlook all that much and he should be playing more. The power output is really nice, so I would hold here, but he can be a drop if there are better outfielders available.

Current recommendation: Hold. 

Pavin Smith (1B/OF, ARI) 

Last week: 8% rostered. This week: 13% rostered. 

The main appeal with Smith is that he's dual eligible and hitting at the top of the lineup. He continues to hit well with a .273/.304/.545 slash line in the last week, and fantasy managers are starting to notice as his roster rate has jumped nicely in the last few weeks. As long as he remains in the lineup and hitting well, he's going to be on fantasy teams. Hold him.

Current recommendation: Hold. 

Willie Calhoun (OF, TEX) 

Last week: 3% rostered. This week: 9% rostered. 

The power still isn't where we would expect it to be, but he did homer last week and he continues to hit well with a 153 wRC+ in the last week and an overall 141 mark for the season. Right now he's doing you favors in the average department, but I would expect things to flip more to the power side of things as the season progresses, but still, there's no reason to drop him right now.

Current recommendation: Hold.

Yonathan Daza (OF, COL) 

Last week: 1% rostered. This week: 1% rostered. 

The Rockies didn't have any home games last week, and Daza predictably didn't hit well in that span, going just 5-for-22. The main appeal of Daza is being able to play him in the more favorable Colorado environment, and the Rockies do get a series at home against the Giants this week and then the Padres next week. If you can afford to keep him on your roster or lineup for those games, then go for it, but I suspect this is a drop for most.

Current recommendation: Drop. 

Billy McKinney (OF, MIL) 

Last week: 1% rostered. This week: 1% rostered. 

McKinney did just fine last week with a .250/.438/.333 line, but some of the pop that was there earlier in the season has been missing recently, as he had just one extra-base hit in that span, which kind of makes it difficult to pencil him into fantasy lineups. The Brewers activated and subsequently placed Christian Yelich (back) on the injured list, so more playing time should be in the cards for McKinney, but it's not as certain as it once was with Lorenzo Cain back from his own injury which shifts Jackie Bradley Jr. into a corner spot, leaving just one spot open. The Brewers may prefer to rotate that final spot between McKinney, Avisail Garcia, and Tyrone Taylor. In that case. there just won't be enough playing time for McKinney, making it hard to keep giving him a roster spot. I still like the player, but this is a likely drop.

Current recommendation: Drop. 

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