RADIO
With a wild MLB trade deadline now in the rearview mirror, we've entered the stretch run of the 2021 season. By now you should have a clear sense of any weaknesses that need to be addressed on your roster. At this point in the year, we care less about the names and more about the numbers, and that's where deft use of the waiver wire comes in - especially since fantasy trade deadlines are either already past or fast approaching.
Most of the players who will be written up in this feature won't be the next breakout star. Some may only be useful for a brief period. A few might not provide any value at all. It's the nature of the beast; if these players were slam dunks, they wouldn't be widely available for free. We're looking for plausible upside with naught but opportunity cost. By considering a wide swath of factors including but not limited to evidence of a change in approach, favorable upcoming schedules, and plain ol' potential, the goal is simply to find as much marginal value as possible.
As a reminder, we'll be looking at pickups for shallow leagues (30-49% rostered) and deeper formats (10-29%), as well as highlighting players in the single-digits who deserve a spot on your watch list at the very least. These are your second base and shortstop waiver wire pickups for Week 19 - August 2 through August 8.
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Pickups for Shallow Leagues
Kyle Farmer, C/1B/2B/3B/SS, Cincinnati Reds (44% rostered)
Farmer capped off a dynamite July with a three-hit night, homered and scoring two runs. He had a .382/.447/.658 line for the month before that exclamation point, which is why he's one of the most popular pickups in fantasy at the moment (in fact, his rostered rate ticked up a point while I was writing this paragraph). You can plug him in at any infield position, including catcher, so it's little wonder he's getting attention.
Cesar Hernandez, 2B, Chicago White Sox (30% rostered)
Hernandez was one of the many players on the move at the deadline, and landed in a pretty terrific spot with the playoff-bound White Sox. He's 3-for-9 with a run scored in his first two games with the South Siders, and has already gone deep a career-high 18 times this year. The 30-year-old has also hit second in both contests, so he should remain on pace for 90+ runs even if his batting average doesn't regress a bit toward his career mark.
Pickups for Deeper Leagues
Josh Harrison, 2B/3B/OF, Oakland Athletics (29% rostered)
Another player with a new home, Harrison has been a top-60 player in the last 30 days despite hitting just two homers and stealing a single base in that time. His value has come from his batting average (.337) and run production (29 R+BI) in that span, just as it has all season. We have yet to see him suit up for Oakland as of this writing, but he figures to see plenty of action due to his positional flexibility.
Luis Arraez, 2B/3B/OF, Minnesota Twins (16% rostered)
Like Harrison, Arraez is a high-average hitter with solid run production, which makes him useful in some formats despite his lack of category juice (1 HR, 1 SB). He just returned from a knee sprain on Saturday, but required only the minimum 10-day stint and went 1-for-2 with a walk, a run scored, and two RBI. Since the start of July, he's hit .379 and scored 12 runs in only 17 games.
Brendan Rodgers, 2B/SS, Colorado Rockies (14% rostered)
Rodgers homered for the second straight night and fourth time in his last six games on Saturday. That would be impressive enough without noting that all four bombs were hit on the road and not at Coors Field. The former top prospect doesn't own eye-popping season-long numbers, but strip out his first 10 games and you're left with a .293/.352/.524 line that any manager would happily take from a middle infielder.
The Watch List
Thairo Estrada, 2B/SS, San Francisco Giants (5% rostered)
With Brandon Crawford back in action and Kris Bryant now on the roster, playing time may be tougher to come by for Estrada moving forward. He has been productive when his name is on the lineup card though, to the tune of a .323/.397/.492 line with three homers, a stolen base, and 24 R+BI in just 73 plate appearances.
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