Five Injured Players to Stash in Fantasy Baseball - Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 6

Wade highlights the top-five hitters and pitchers that can be stashed in your IL spots in fantasy baseball redraft leagues as of May 3, 2024 (Week 6).

There's no way around it; April was a rough month for fantasy baseball. If you got through it without any of your players getting hurt, stop reading this, drive to the nearest gas station, and buy a lottery ticket. Now, it's time for the rest of us to figure out which injured players are worth stashing. Because of how many stars are set to miss significant time, I tried finding players who are supposed to come back sooner rather than later.

Before moving any further, we must take a moment and bid farewell to our darling, Kyle Bradish. Our sweet prince is finally rostered in over 60% of Yahoo leagues. In fact, he may have already rejoined the Orioles' rotation by the time you're reading this. If you've been keeping up with this series and picked him up, here's to hoping he stays healthy and dominates for the rest of the season.

If you're new to this series, thanks for coming by! Be sure to go back and review prior entries for more injured players that can boost your team. Now, let's get into this week's list.

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Shane Baz, SP, Tampa Bay Rays

Rostered: 24% Yahoo
Estimated Return: June

Rev up those fryers, 'cause boy, am I hungry for Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Shane Baz to save my pitching staff! Of all the players that I've covered in this series, this is the most exciting. While I'm obviously thrilled for Kyle Bradish to return, no one as widely available as Baz comes close to his level of upside. He had Tommy John surgery in September of 2022 and didn't pitch in 2023, but that's all in the past now. His rehab assignment starts this weekend.

Two years ago, Baz was one of the most exciting young pitchers in baseball. Up until his last outing in 2022, he was sensational. If you take out his last start (the one where he got hurt), he had a 2.92 ERA (3.11 FIP) with 28 Ks in 24.2 IP. His four-seamer averaged 96 mph. His breaking balls were electric. 24 of his 30 Ks came from his slider (which had a 43.5% whiff rate) and his curveball (which had a 42.3% whiff rate). Some of the players that Statcast compared to Baz's combination velocity and movement in 2022 were Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole, and Logan Gilbert. If that doesn't light your fire, your wood's wet.

Despite having ace-like potential, Baz is available in 76% of Yahoo leagues and 92% of ESPN leagues. Even if every pitcher in baseball were healthy, this guy should be rostered. At just 24 years old, he's absolutely capable of being a top-30 SP.

This Baz guy is pretty good. 5k’s through 3 so far pic.twitter.com/ttZCmGRJ2y

— Eric_Birdland (@Eric_Birdland) April 29, 2024

 

Gavin Williams, SP, Cleveland Guardians

Rostered: 51% Yahoo
Estimated Return: May/June

Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Gavin Williams had an outstanding rookie campaign in 2023, finishing with a 3.29 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, and 81 Ks across 82 IP. Unfortunately, he's been sidelined to start the 2024 season with elbow inflammation. While he was progressing well in an extended spring training, a recent setback forced him to be shut down temporarily. At that point, the Guardians were hopeful that Williams would start back up in a week. As of the time of writing, there have been no further updates. Hopefully, there will be by the time it releases.

Gavin Williams' rehab halted due to elbow soreness. Get the latest update on his recovery in our new blog post.

Read more here: https://t.co/DaFf9IXHuy

— GHT⚾️24*7*365 (@GHTMLB) April 24, 2024

Williams and Baz are very similar. They were both super prospects who bolted through the minors with superb fastballs, sliders, and curveballs. Here's how good Williams' repertoire is. Last year, MLB hitters had just a .157 BA (.195 xBA) and .241 SLG (.256 xSLG) against his slider. They weren't much better against his curveball, combining for a .174 BA (.187 xBA) and .391 SLG (.321 xSLG) against it. His four-seam fastball wasn't as great (it had .250 BA (.277 xBA) and .404 SLG (.442 xSLG) against it), but the fact that it averaged 95.7 mph and had the 26th-highest run value among all MLB pitchers with over 150 PAs shows that there's plenty of room for improvement.

Since last week's setback, many fantasy managers have dropped Williams. Before that, I couldn't include him in this series. However, he's now only rostered in 51% of Yahoo leagues and just 15% of ESPN leagues. For someone with his résumé, it's surprising how people aren't willing to wait for his return. Perhaps it's because so many pitchers are hurt, and we've been forced to make tough decisions in the name of roster space. Regardless, keeping an eye on his recovery could provide an opportunity to significantly bolster your pitching staff for the remainder of the season.

Braxton Garrett, SP, Miami Marlins

Rostered: 49% Yahoo
Estimated Return: May

Miami Marlins' Braxton Garrett has been sidelined for over a month due to preseason shoulder issues, but the 26-year-old lefty is expected to make his 2024 debut soon. At the time of writing this article (Wednesday, May 1), he was set to make another rehab start in Triple-A Jacksonville this afternoon. It could potentially be his final rehab start, meaning he'd finally toe the slab for the Fish next week.

Braxton Garrett will start tomorrow with @JaxShrimp. He’s scheduled for 5IP/75P.

Jake Burger will also start a rehab assignment tomorrow in AAA.

— Daniel Álvarez-Montes (@DanielAlvarezEE) April 30, 2024

Garrett has been excellent at the big-league level over the last two years. Since the start of the 2022 season, he's thrown 247.2 innings with a 3.63 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 246 Ks, and a 4.64 K:BB ratio. In 2023, he ranked in the top 20% for groundball rate and the top 3% for walk rate. In three rehab starts this year, he's thrown 13.1 IP and struck out 13 batters without allowing a single walk.

Overall, Garrett's ability to throw strikes and limit fly balls makes him a reliable option in virtually every format. His key to success is a wipeout slider that limited opposing hitters to a .215 AVG and .301 SLG. Both his sinker and changeup are solid as well, though the cutter he introduced in 2023 was underwhelming (opposing hitters posted a .243 AVG (.315 xBA) and a .477 SLG (.573 xSLG) against it). Looking ahead to 2024, Garrett could further improve if he refines his cutter or drops it altogether. Right now, he's only rostered in 49% of Yahoo leagues and 47% of ESPN leagues.

Vaughn Grissom, SS/2B, Boston Red Sox

Rostered: 24% Yahoo
Estimated Return: May

Update: Vaughn Grissom was officially activated from the IL on Friday May 3, 2024.

After dealing with hamstring issues, Boston Red Sox middle infielder Vaughn Grissom was supposed to make his 2024 rebut on Tuesday. However, he reportedly has the flu, so he'll need a few days to recover. Once he's healthy again, he's set to be Boston's everyday second baseman.

This isn't the first time Grissom's been included in this series, but there have been a lot of positive updates since he was last mentioned back in Week 3's article. At that point, I wrote that he was about to start a rehab assignment in Triple-A Worcester. Since then, he's played nine games and done extremely well. In 36 PAs, he slashed .333/.444/.400 with five walks, two 2Bs, and two SBs. It may be a small sample size, but Grissom has an impressive track record. Now that he'll have consistent playing time in the majors, he finally has a chance to fully establish himself as a fantasy asset.

Vaughn Grissom should officially join the Red Sox starting tonight.

He started slow on his rehab assignment, but quickly found his rhythm at the plate.

Over 9 games (36 AB), he slashed .333/.444/.400/.844 with 2 doubles. Good for a 134 wRC+.pic.twitter.com/lxRlc5LPkI

— Tyler Milliken ⚾️ (@tylermilliken_) April 30, 2024

Grissom will likely hit at the top of Boston's lineup. Considering his speed and on-base skills combined with Rafael Devers and Tyler O'Neill hitting behind him, and he's capable of scoring a ton of runs. Even though he's on the verge of coming back, Grissom is still only rostered in 28% of Yahoo leagues and 15% of ESPN leagues.

Devin Williams, RP, Milwaukee Brewers

Rostered: 60% Yahoo
Estimated Return: Mid-July

When I conduct research for these articles, I normally don't even bother checking if the players on "page one" are eligible. In no world will guys like Gerrit Cole, Christian Yelich, or Mike Trout ever be available in 40% of Yahoo leagues (if they're supposed to return by the end of the season). It simply doesn't happen. This week, I found myself needing just one more guy. Scrolling through page after page of injured players, I couldn't find someone who felt right - who could really help my readers' teams. When I returned to page one, I saw Milwaukee Brewers closing pitching Devin Williams and thought, "Man, if only I could write about him." Assuming he was still rostered in almost every league, I clicked on his page out of sheer curiosity. To my utter astonishment, there it was... the exact number I needed: 59%. I was both stupefied and "agasp."

I understand why Williams is available in some really shallow leagues, but the fact that he's up for grabs in almost half of Yahoo leagues is both perplexing and befuddling. At 29 years old, he's been on one of the best stretches for a reliever in MLB history. Since winning NL Rookie of the Year in 2020, he has 200.1 IP, a 1.75 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, and a staggering 14.5 K/9. He's also notched 45 saves since taking over as the Brew Crew's permanent closer. Simply put, he's incredible. Seriously, if we could bring prime Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, and Honus Wagner into the present and have them face only one pitcher, Williams would get my vote. The thought of those guys trying to comprehend and adjust to a fastball in the mid-90s is entertaining enough, but I legitimately think they'd accuse him of witchcraft if they saw his changeup. Really, do you know how good a pitch has to be to get the nickname "The Airbender"?

Devin Williams, 82mph Airbender and 94mph Fastball, Overlay. pic.twitter.com/PqVNM89YwR

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) September 10, 2023

Heading into the 2024 season, fantasy managers were excited to see how he'd perform in his last year before free agency. However, he wouldn't be on this list if it were going well. He's been dealing with stress fractures in his back, but he hopes to return after the All-Star Break. Sure, he'll clog up an IL spot until mid-July, but no one outside of Edwin Diaz and Josh Hader is capable of doing what Devin Williams can do. Despite that, he's sitting on the waiver wire in 41% of Yahoo leagues and 62% of ESPN leagues. If he's available in your league, change that; he's 100% worth it. If it's a league with playoffs, he's 1,000% worth it, and you will want him down the stretch; trust me.

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