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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? I aim 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.
You may bristle at some of the picks, but several entries on this list come from the worst team in baseball, my beloved Chicago White Sox. Take heed: even terrible teams have useful fantasy players on them, so dig deep and find those bargains. Let's take a look.
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Runs Scored (R) - Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Boosters
Alec Burleson, St. Louis Cardinals (47% rostered)
Burleson got some waiver-wire love earlier in the season, but a move to the second slot in the lineup made us notice that he could help us in the often-forgotten category of runs scored. Burleson has scored six runs in nine June tilts and has also hit four home runs this month. He's giving solid production, considering his modest start to the season in April.
Tyler Stephenson, Cincinnati Reds (31% rostered)
It might seem rare to see a catcher listed in the runs category, but here we are. Stephenson has scored eight runs in 10 June games while also hitting .278. With health, Stephenson is a great weapon to use in most fantasy leagues. See the Statcast below; he's on the verge of being elite with the bat. I also think it is fine to roster Stephenson in one catcher leagues, too.
Carlos Santana, Minnesota Twins (7% rostered)
Many people thought his playing time would stay on the decline, but Santana' has been playing more again over the last two weeks. But, with Alex Kirilloff struggling and being demoted to AAA on Wednesday, an opportunity has presented itself to Santana, and the veteran has responded by scoring seven runs in his last 10 starts. He can also be a good source of cheap power when he is playing daily.
Also consider: Andrew McCutchen (PIT), Ivan Herrera (STL)
Home Runs (HR) - Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Boosters
Ryan O'Hearn, Baltimore Orioles (43% rostered)
O'Hearn is a great example of a player frequently not rostered due to playing time and platoon concerns. Yet when he plays, he is productive and is in the right part of the platoon, playing against right-handed pitching.
Gavin Sheets, Chicago White Sox (14% rostered)
Listen, being a White Sox fan, I know firsthand how bad this team has been in 2024. But Sheets has taken a step forward and is largely going unnoticed in many leagues. He has cut his K% down to 18% and has seen his BB% skyrocket to 12.9%. He's had some bad luck; look below at the top three bars of his batting statistics, and you will see he is a better than .241 hitter. Sheets has seven home runs, with three of those coming in his last 10 games. He is a cheap power source with assured playing time who should be putting up better stats. Roster him if you need power.
Paul DeJong, Chicago White Sox (10% rostered)
Another unnoticed player on a bad team, DeJong, has 13 home runs in 200 plate appearances. That is good. Five of those have come in his last 10 games. Do not expect batting average help here, as he is hitting .240, and the underlying stats show that he should be hitting less than that. DeJong is building value for a trade to a better team, and when that happens, he's probably no longer a starter. But we don't care about that eventuality; roster a cheap power source while he is still assured of daily at-bats.
Also consider: Tyler Soderstrom (OAK), Andrew Vaughn (CWS)
Runs Batted In (RBI) - Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Boosters
Mark Vientos, New York Mets (40% rostered)
I put Vientos in here last week, but he's still a free agent in a whopping 60% of Yahoo leagues. Vientos has cooled somewhat but is still worth rostering, especially at the kind-of-weak third base position this year. He is hitting .308 in 31 June plate appearances and has knocked in seven runs. The third base job is his, and his rostership should only increase from here.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Toronto Blue Jays (13% rostered)
IKF is a guy who always finds his way to at-bats. This year is no exception. He puts the ball in play, and good things can happen when you do that. Kiner-Falefa had nine RBI in June and granted, five of those were in one game. He's still hitting in the lower third of the order, but that could change soon. The multiple-position eligibility is just the cherry on top. Kiner-Falefa has eligibility at 2B, 3B, CI, MI, and OF. Use this Swiss Army knife if you can.
Austin Hays, Baltimore Orioles (13% rostered)
Hays flies under the radar on a stacked Baltimore team, but he is back and appears healthy. With the team sending down Connor Norby and the perplexing struggles of Cedric Mullins, Hays has a chance to claim daily at-bats here. When he has been healthy, he has shown the ability to hit for some power. Hays hit two home runs last week and has hit 16 home runs in two consecutive seasons. Take a look at him if you are looking for inexpensive power this week.
Also consider: Carlos Santana (MIN), Donovan Solano (SD)
Stolen Bases (SB) - Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Boosters
David Hamilton, Boston Red Sox (20% rostered)
Hamilton has made the most of his playing time with the Red Sox. Playing time might become an issue with the return of Mastaka Yoshida, but that remains an unanswered question. What Hamilton does is run. The underlying metrics don't believe in the .288 batting average, but I believe in the 13 stolen bases, with four in the past five games. Cheap speed might be something you need; many fantasy players look for hitters that have pop and speed, but deep in drafts and on the waiver wire, that is hard to find. Hamilton can help in the short term with some speed.
Jake McCarthy, Arizona Diamondbacks (5% rostered)
Much has been written about what McCarthy is and is not, but what he does do is steal bases. McCarthy's sprint speed is in the 93rd percentile. As long as he is playing and getting on base sometimes, we can expect him to run. He's hitting .320 in 31 plate appearances and has six runs scored and four stolen bases in June. He's free at this point at only 5% rostership. Alek Thomas may be back in a week or two, and that could cut into McCarthy's playing time. Until then, roster and use for the runs scored and stolen bases.
Otto Lopez, Miami Marlins (12% rostered)
This is a pure speed play as Lopez will not help much in the home runs or RBI category, but he's playing almost every day now and can run, with four stolen bases over his 20 games. The batting average is at .288, which helps you as well. He's way under the radar but might be a sneaky add, and he has eligibility at three infiled spots (2B, 3B, and SS) as well as outfield.
Also consider: Jorge Mateo (BAL), Blake Perkins (MIL), Ryan Bliss (SEA)
Batting Average (AVG) - Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Boosters
Jackson Merrill, San Diego Padres (50% rostered)
Merrill seems to be a star in the making. He forced himself onto the roster with a good spring and is making his mark in MLB this spring. He's hitting .276 on the year, but the xBA is actually .301. Merrill struggled at the beginning of June but seems to have found his swing again, getting nine hits in his last seven games. Add in that he has SS, MI, UT, and OF designations, and you have fantasy gold. He can hit and will continue to get daily playing time in San Diego.
Connor Wong, Boston Red Sox (37% rostered)
Wong is an interesting case. He brings a unique skill to the catching position: he can hit and run. Check out his June stats below. He's been over .300 all season and is at .333 for the month thus far. Wong is also chipping in when we consider the counting categories, with five home runs and three stolen bases. He could easily finish with double-digits in both categories. Wong makes for a great C2 in leagues where you have to start two catchers, but if he keeps hitting, he could be your guy in single-catcher leagues as well.
Andrew Vaughn, Chicago White Sox (24% rostered)
Much has been written about Vaughn's struggles to start the year, but smart fantasy players have noticed the turnaround. He has an 11-game hitting streak with multiple hits in five of those games. Vaughn is hitting .394 in June with three home runs and is assured of daily playing time with the moribund White Sox. Savvy players will start picking him up; why don't you help start the trend?
Also consider: Blake Perkins (MIL), Geraldo Perdomo (ARI)
I hope this helps you out! Good luck and happy hunting, RotoBallers! You can always message me @mdrc0508 on X to complain about picks or make other suggestions!
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