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Thunder Dan's category boosters, waiver wire hitters to add for fantasy baseball. He goes category by category and picks out hitters for HR, RBI, SB, AVG and runs.
Is your fantasy baseball team in need of a boost in a specific category? Maybe it's a shot in the arm in runs scored or an influx of RBI? Monitoring how well you are performing in each offensive category and addressing those categories in need throughout the season is a great way to keep your 5x5 roto team near the top of the standings!
There are dozens of waiver wire articles across the industry each week, but how many of them break down the available hitters by which categories they are most capable of contributing?
My goal is to give you the top options this week for each of the five offensive categories. All hitters will be under 50% rostered on Yahoo and listed in order of my preference.
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Runs Scored (R) - Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Boosters
Tyler Freeman, 2B/3B/SS/OF - CLE (30%)
The Guardians' latest leadoff man has stepped up in a big way while Steven Kwan is on the IL. Freeman, a super utility player, has been manning center field and leading off for Cleveland with some solid results.
Tyler Freeman went FLYING to make this grab! pic.twitter.com/5pRq9NI3n1
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) May 17, 2024
His 11 runs scored over the last two weeks are tied for the third-most in all of baseball. He's producing as many runs as guys like Bryce Harper, Juan Soto, William Contreras, and Kyle Tucker but at a fraction of the rostership.
Kevin Pillar, OF - LAA (30%)
Zach Neto, SS - LAA (21%)
Let's talk about both of the Angels at once. Pillar has been on fire lately, scoring nine runs over his last eight games with at least one run in every game! The only issue is that he has been sitting out every fourth game or so, but his production when in the lineup has been so good that it hardly matters.
Neto has been red hot at the plate, too, scoring nine runs over the last two weeks and seeing his lineup spot rise from ninth to as high as 7th on occasion. He just suffered an elbow injury yesterday, but the early word from the training staff is that it's not believed to be serious. He's well worth an add and can provide more than just runs scored, too.
Andrew McCutchen, OF - PIT (4%)
Cutch is making some noise of late and proving that he can still be a productive everyday player even in his final years in the league. With Oneil Cruz struggling against lefties, the Pirates started leading McCutchen off against LHP and he was hitting so consistently that they have kept him in the leadoff spot against RHP, too, allowing Cruz to hit in the middle of the order.
McCutchen is getting on base either via walks or hits and scoring runs. He's scored ten runs over the last two weeks and is widely available across most leagues.
Also consider: Willie Calhoun (LAA), Dylan Moore (SEA), Kevin Newman (ARI)
Home Runs (HR) - Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Boosters
David Fry, C/1B/OF - CLE (38%)
Fry's rostership is rising quickly as he's been coming on strong for Cleveland over the last several weeks. He's hitting .423 over that span with three home runs and has raised his season average to nearly .350 with five HR. Fry is usually a weak-side platoon player as he hits from the right side of the plate and has great splits vs. lefties, but he's hitting so well that Cleveland has to consider getting his bat in the lineup more often.
The catcher eligibility for Fry is tremendous and gives him a lot of appeal as a great utility player to have on your roster. You'll need to act quickly to snag him in standard leagues because he's been one of the most added players over the last few days.
Eddie Rosario, OF - WSN (30%)
Rosario has six dingers on the season and three long balls over the last two weeks. He tends to run a bit hot and cold with the bat, but for now, he's getting regular playing time in the outfield for the Nats and has been hitting in the top third of the lineup. It's always tough hunting homers on the wire, but Rosario's power makes him an appealing target if you need some help with HR in deeper formats.
Joc Pederson, OF - ARI (9%)
Joc is stuck in a platoon in Arizona, but at least he's on the strong side as he faces right-handers and usually hits third for the Snakes. Not many hitters in baseball have the type of raw power that Pederson possesses, it's always just been about how much contact he's making in his career. Lately, he's been great - hitting .382 with three home runs over the last two weeks which puts him up over .300 for the season with a total of six long balls.
Also consider: Jake Bauers (MIL), Luke Raley (SEA), Lars Nootbaar (STL)
Runs Batted In (RBI) - Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Boosters
Kevin Pillar, OF - LAA (30%)
Luke Raley, 1B/OF - SEA (35%)
Luke Raley has been raking of late and forcing the Mariners to sit either Mitch Garver or Mitch Haniger to get his bat in the lineup against RHP. Raley is hitting .409 over the last two weeks with three home runs and eight RBI.
Luke Raley cannot be stopped 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/3cXs32ORVE
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) May 22, 2024
He will still likely sit out against LHP, but he looks like he's going to continue to play every day against righties. He has elite power and Seattle is in desperate need of offense so I expect his bat to be in the lineup most days.
Josh Bell, 1B - MIA (27%)
Did you know Bell has the third-most RBI in baseball over the last two weeks with 13? The big switch-hitting first baseman has turned it on lately - hitting .323 over the last two weeks and raising his average to .232 after a very slow start to the season in April.
Miami's offense has struggled mightily this season, but Bell and Jazz Chisholm have been bright spots lately. Give Bell a look if you need some production from a corner infielder, he's been a steady RBI producer now for nearly a month.
Ty France, 1B - SEA (10%)
This move is for deeper leagues mainly, but Ty France has doubled his RBI total for the season over the last two weeks. He has 17 RBI on the year and eight of those have come just recently. He's cut down on his strikeouts and is putting the ball in play more often, which has resulted in more hits as his average is slowly climbing back up to where we would expect it (now at .239).
Also consider: Jake Meyers (HOU), Otto Lopez (MIA), Nick Gonzales (PIT)
Stolen Bases (SB) - Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Boosters
Kevin Pillar, OF - LAA (30%)
Pillar shows up in three categories today, but I wanted to mention that he's swiped four bases over the last two weeks during this insane run he's on. He's not a huge base-stealer, but it shows that the Angels are going to be aggressive on the basepaths when they can which is another reason to like guys like Pillar (and Neto) going forward.
Johan Rojas, OF - PHI (6%)
The Phillies' speedster has swiped 11 bags this season with four of those coming over the last two weeks. I do worry about his ability to stay in the lineup for the remainder of the season if he doesn't pick it up at the plate. He's hitting just .219 this season and will need to be better if he expects to keep his spot in the outfield. But for now, he's still starting just about every day and running as often as he can.
Jack Suwinski, OF - PIT (18%)
The power-hitting lefty has hit just enough lately to keep himself in the lineup after Pirates fans were calling for him to be benched or even sent down to Triple-A. Rostering Suwinski could hurt your batting average, but he's been a sneaky play for steals as he has four stolen bases over the last two weeks and five now total this season.
Also consider: Tommy Pham (CWS), Zach Neto (LAA), Jon Berti (NYY)
Batting Average (AVG) - Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Boosters
Alec Burleson, 1B/OF - STL (24%)
The Cardinals lefty has an 8-game hitting streak going with multiple hits in five of those games. He's worked his way into the lineup just about every day for St. Louis as they badly need some offensive production. He's hitting .298 on the season and while his power is sporadic and he doesn't steal bases, one thing he will do is rack up hits and help your team batting average.
Jake Meyers, OF - HOU (11%)
Don't look now, but Meyers is hitting .381 over the last two weeks and has raised his season average to .302. He's taken advantage of the time that Chas McCormick missed to show that he should be in the lineup every day and I would expect the Astros to keep his hot bat in their lineup going forward.
Jake Meyers? Nah, Rake Meyers. pic.twitter.com/pa8NLYtR5O
— Houston Astros (@astros) May 18, 2024
Masyn Winn, SS - STL (9%)
Another Cardinal who is smoking hot at the plate lately is their shortstop Winn. He's hitting .366 over the last two weeks and has even shown some pop in his bat with a pair of home runs. Winn is widely available across leagues and should be picked up in deeper formats as he's getting it done this year with a season average of .295 and some modest contributions across the board in other categories, too.
Marco Luciano, SS - SFG (2%)
Luciano's MLB career is off to a nice start as he's hitting .333 over his first five major league starts. He was finally held hitless yesterday for the first time by Jared Jones, but the Giants' top prospect should be able to hit for average at the big-league level, even if it may take some time to see his power develop. The Giants would be wise to make him the everyday starting shortstop for the rest of the season, and he's a nice add in deep leagues.
Also consider: Ezequiel Duran (TEX), Kevin Newman (ARI), Dylan Moore (SEA)
I hope this helps you out! Good luck and happy hunting, RotoBallers!
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