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Welcome, RotoBallers, to our AL-only and NL-only deeper fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups for Week 25 -- September 9 through September 15. The waiver wire can be difficult to navigate. Knowing who to add and when is a game within the game of fantasy baseball. Doing this in a mono league where the player pool is half the size of a full league makes it even more challenging. Every drop and add is significant.
One of the keys to success with roster management is opportunity. A player given the chance to get on the field and produce is one of the first signs of potential. After all, they can't accumulate statistics if they're sitting on their team's bench. These opportunities can arise because of either a promotion from the minor leagues, an injury to another player, or simply because the team has moved on from another player. Whatever the case may be, these players are now given a chance to shine.
It's important to note that these players are on a short leash to see if they can produce. If they don't, they can be dropped for the next man up. All that being said, here are some of the best players with opportunities.
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Matthew Boyd - SP Cleveland Guardians
29% owned
This playoff week will feature a plain and simple approach to players that should be added: attack the schedule. Looking ahead for pitching, fantasy owners would be wise to once again stream against the Chicago White Sox, and adding Mattew Boyd fits the bill here.
While his ownership is higher than what's normally used here, there is still a good chance that he is available in your league. Here's what manager Stephen Vogt had to say about him after going to Los Angeles and dominating the Dodgers.
"He's always been a really good pitcher...I'm not surprised to see him having this success. He's been a good pitcher for a long time and he's going to continue to be."
Stephen Vogt says Matthew Boyd's strong outings is exactly what they expect to get from him every single time. pic.twitter.com/ZwBDlrxj9C
— Bally Sports Cleveland (@BallySportsCLE) September 7, 2024
Since returning to the mound in the middle of August, Boyd has surrendered more than one run just once in his five solid outings. He's doing so with a fastball, thrown 33% of the time, that has yielded just two hits against all season. It's been an unbelievable transformation for him now that he is healthy.
This week, going against the White Sox, he faces a team that has baseball's worst batting average against left-handed pitching. Make Boyd a must-add if he is available, as a strong outing here could help your weekly run in the playoffs.
J.T. Ginn - SP/RP Oakland Athletics
1% owned
This reliever-turned-starter will be given some time to grow over the final month of the season. He is someone that the team wants to see to gauge exactly what they have in him for 2025. After a handful of relief appearances, Ginn got his first major league start last week against the Mariners, and after a rough first inning, he settled in nicely to give the Athletics exactly what they had hoped for: quality innings and outs.
J.T. Ginn = LOCKED IN.
He struck out seven across six excellent innings of work. The future is bright for this young arm. #Athletics pic.twitter.com/8UojTtsHCZ
— Uprooted (@uprootedoakland) September 4, 2024
This week he gets another chance to shine and does so against an optimal opponent: the aforementioned Chicago White Sox. While he does face them in Chicago, he does play a historically awful opponent with not many viable options in their lineup. Again, the theme of this week needs to be attacking the lineup. A good matchup needs to be exploited as it could be enough to help you win your week in the playoffs and advance.
Miguel Amaya - C Chicago Cubs
25% owned
Offensively speaking, there's another tendency that should be attacked this week, and that's the Rockies playing at home. This is one of my favorite things to utilize in all of fantasy because of how much different the ball travels there. One player who could take advantage of this quirk is Miguel Amaya, who had an incredible run to end August and could be amid a second-half breakout.
While he cooled off a bit this past week, it's important to note that he was never going to be close to the player who hit .591 with two home runs in a week like he did to end August. However, looking at the data above, he has made strides to hit the ball harder and lower his strikeout rate.
The Cubs start their week against the Dodgers by facing all of Walker Buehler, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Bobby Miller, all of whom have had their fair share of injuries this season. Following that, they travel to Colorado to take on the Rockies. This could be the week where he regains his mojo and goes back to producing impact numbers like before. If you need a second catcher, take a flyer on Amaya.
Micahel Toglia - 1B/OF Colorado Rockies
24% owned
The final recommendation this week is a player who has some interesting splits, but not in the way one would expect from a member of the Colorado Rockies. Michael Toglia has a better batting average at home, which is to be expected from most Rockies' players. However, his power is significantly better on the road, where he has hit more than double the amount of home runs there this season and continues to do so at an impressive rate.
Michael Toglia is slugging .614 (94 total bases in 153 ABs) on fastballs this season, 7th best in MLB.#Rockies pic.twitter.com/kdHR79ViiF
— Inside Edge (@IE_MLB) September 6, 2024
Currently, Toglia demonstrates a ton of power at the plate but lacks the good decision-making to take his game to the next level. His 4th percentile strikeout rate and his 7th percentile whiff rate show that the raw talent is there, but it's the lack of experience and ability to adjust that's holding him back.
While fixing those problems is more concerning for his long-term value, for now, there's the potential for a successful week in the playoffs here as the Rockies play at Detroit before coming home to play the Cubs.
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