Deeper Hitter Pickups for Fantasy Baseball: Waiver Wire Report for Week 22

August 20, 2023

Deeper fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups for hitters focused on deeper leagues with 12 or 14+ teams. Consider adding these free agent hitters for Week 22.

We are coming up on Week 22 of the fantasy baseball season. With September nearing, the fantasy baseball playoffs push to the forefront of our brains. But you can't let that stress you out. Fantasy baseball necessitates hyper-vigilance, especially in deeper leagues where the waiver wires are quickly stripped of talent. This weekly article will outline the upcoming schedule, two-start pitchers, and a few waiver targets rostered in less than 5% of leagues.

It’s good practice to maximize at-bats and starts. A quick look at upcoming schedules for the 22nd week of the MLB season could give you the edge in this week’s play. There are plenty of two-start pitchers this week who should end up providing great value.

This article will discuss some deeper-league fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups for Week 22, August 21 through August 27. While the season may have settled in, the waiver wires are still hot. Rostered percentages can change quickly. So be quick to check your leagues for their availability. Key point -- this list will focus on rostered players in less than 5% of Yahoo leagues.

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Fantasy Baseball Schedule Outlook

This week has some great schedules to target for fantasy. There is only one team with five games on their schedule. Seven teams will play a full slate of games this week.

In this week's weather report: mostly clear skies for most of the country, but light showers in the Northeast on Friday/Saturday.

• Seven Games - BOS, CHW, HOU, OAK, CHC, CIN, PIT
• Six Games - TEX, SF, TB, BAL, LAA, NYY, MIA, ATL, CLE, DET, COL, LAD, WAS, KC, SEA, ARZ, NYM, SD, STL, MIN, TOR, PHI
• Five Games - MIL

Fantasy Baseball Two-Start Pitchers

There are pitchers of varying quality on this week's two-start streamers list. For more insight, check out my article on this week’s two-start pitcher streamers.

• Tanner Houck (@ HOU, vs. LAD)
• James Paxton (@ HOU, vs. LAD)
• Carlos Rodon (vs. WAS, @ TB)
• Zack Littell (vs. COL, vs. NYY)
• Touki Toussaint (vs. SEA, vs. OAK)
• Mike Clevinger (vs. SEA, vs. OAK)
• Alex Faedo (vs. CHC, vs. HOU)
• Alec Marsh (@ OAK, @ SEA)
• Bailey Ober (@ MIL, vs. TEX)
• Jose Urquidy (vs. BOS, @ DET)
• Kyle Muller (vs. KC, @ CHW)
• Paul Blackburn (vs. KC, @ CHW)
• Jordan Montgomery (@ ARZ, @ MIN)
• Bryce Elder (vs. NYM, @ SF)
• Johnny Cueto (@ SD, vs. WAS)
• David Peterson (@ ATL, vs. LAA)
• Javier Assad (@ DET, @ PIT)
• Drew Smyly (@ DET, @ PIT)
• Graham Ashcraft (@ LAA, @ ARZ)
• Bailey Falter (vs. STL, vs. CHC)
• Johan Oviedo (vs. STL, vs. CHC)
• Matthew Liberatore (@ PIT, @ PHI)
• Zac Gallen (vs. TEX, vs. CIN)
• Ty Blach (@ TB, @ BAL)
• Bobby Miller (@ CLE, @ BOS)
• Blake Snell (vs. MIA, @ MIL)
• Ross Stripling (@ PHI, vs. ATL)

Deeper Infield Waiver Wire Pickups

Michael Massey (2B), Kansas City Royals - 4% Rostered

Michael Massey was featured in this series three weeks ago, with his increased pull rate being something that could lend to fantasy success. His line of .258/.288/.403 this month won't knock your socks off, but his .305 xBA in August shows that his tweaked hitting approach should lead to excellent production in fantasy baseball.

Despite being one of the worst teams in baseball this season, Kansas City is a team that fantasy baseball players should look to target in these coming weeks. The Royals rank 27th in remaining strength of schedule, making Massey a premier pick-up in deeper leagues.

Liover Peguero (2B/SS), Pittsburgh Pirates - 3% Rostered

Rookie middle-infielder Liover Peguero has burst onto the scene in Pittsburgh. Since July 23, Peguero is slashing .286/.338/.556 with five home runs, 10 runs, 14 RBI, and two stolen bases in 21 games. While there are plenty of warning signs (32.5% strikeout rate, subpar 30.6% hard-hit rate, and 30.6% sweet-spot rate), ride with Peguero until his hot streak ends.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa (3B/SS/OF), New York Yankees - 2% Rostered

This Yankees lineup is struggling, ranking 28th in runs scored since the All-Star break. But Isiah Kiner-Falefa is one of the few exceptions to New York's offensive struggles. Since July 16, the 28-year-old has slashed .270/.382/.351 with a home run, nine runs, 12 RBI, and a stolen base through 25 games.

His consistency amid hard times has been rewarded with an everyday role, giving Kiner-Falefa fantasy viability in deeper leagues.

Ildemaro Vargas (3B/SS/OF), Washington Nationals - 2% Rostered

While a .200/.224/.364 slash line in August doesn't seem to indicate future success for Ildemaro Vargas, the veteran third baseman is swinging a better bat than one might think. Since August 1, he sports a .252 xBA with two home runs, seven runs, 10 RBI, an 89.1% contact rate, and a minuscule 6.9% strikeout rate in 15 games.

Jeimer Candelario is in Chicago, leaving only Vargas to take starts at third base. With regular playing time, a high contact rate, and a bit of pop, Vargas is good enough for those in deeper leagues.

Deeper Outfield Waiver Wire Pickups

Nelson Velazquez (OF), Kansas City Royals - 2% Rostered

Outfielder Nelson Velazquez has been a revelation for Kansas City since being acquired at the trade deadline. He's garnered plenty of playing time in the past week, going 8-for-26 with four home runs, six runs, and five RBI through seven games. The hard-hitting 24-year-old's .323 xBA means this extraordinary stretch of hitting may get even better.

With Kansas City's easy playoff schedule, Velazquez has true league-winning potential to close out the season.

Lawrence Butler (OF), Oakland Athletics - 3% Rostered

While he hasn't set the league on fire since debuting, there's a lot to like about Lawrence Butler's first few swings at the major-league level. He's slashing .280/.280/.480 with one home run, two RBI, and a.321 wOBA through his first seven games. While that should be enough to roster the rookie, the mind-boggling underlying data indicates that Butler is swinging one of the hottest bats in baseball.

Butler's .401 xwOBA, 20% barrel rate, 45% hard-hit rate, and .501 xwOBAcon would rank him among the best hitters in the league over this past week. It's a small sample size, but there's enough to reasonably expect offensive production from Butler over these next few weeks.

Everson Pereira (OF), New York Yankees - 2% Rostered

Now seven games out of the last AL Wild Card spot, the only thing the New York Yankees fanbase can root for is the promotion of some of their prized prospects. The most likely call-up is top outfield prospect Everson Pereira.

Pereira has impressed since his promotion to Triple-A, slashing .311/.372/.515 with six home runs, 23 runs, 31 RBI, and two stolen bases in 35 games. With Greg Allen and Billy McKinney disappointing on both ends as of late, the hot-hitting Pereira has a chance to hit the ground running and bring solid fantasy value.

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