RADIO
Joey Votto is a fantasy baseball waiver wire pickup for Week 18 of the 2021 MLB season. Consider adding the 1B if he's free agent in your leagues.
BALLER MOVE: Add in leagues of 12+ teams
ROSTERED IN: 32% of leagues
ANALYSIS: It's surprising to see Votto is still available in 68% of Yahoo! leagues considering how he's performed recently. He fractured his thumb back in early May and missed over a month but has been locked in since coming off the IL back on June 8. He's slashing .286/.395/.496 with seven home runs, 25 RBI, and a stolen base in 133 at-bats since his activation. He's taken his game to another level over the last 20 games, in particular, rocking a stellar .314/.435/.586 batting line to go along with five doubles, four home runs, and 10 RBI over 85 plate appearances.
He's sporting career bests in hard-hit rate (48.3%) and barrel rate (13.2%) while still getting on base at a steady clip with a 12% walk rate. His .382 xwOBA and .523 xSLG rank in the 91st and 90th percentiles, respectively. He's walking less than his historical rate (16.8%) but that's led to a better quality of contact, which should be a benefit next week as the Reds are slated to face six right-handed starters in seven games next week. Cincinnati visits the Cubs for a four-game set before heading to Queens to take on the Mets for another three. Votto is slashing .284/.386/.523 with eight doubles, 10 home runs, and 27 RBI against right-handed pitching this season.
He's performed well in his career against three of the probable starters he's facing. Kyle Hendricks (1.271 OPS, 3 HR in 33 at-bats), Zach Davies (.928 OPS, 1 HR in 31 AB's), and Carlos Carrasco (1.341 OPS, 1 HR in 14 AB's) are all plus matchups for Votto. In addition to that, he's also homered off of Adbert Alzolay earlier this season and has taken Alec Mills deep before as well. The 37-year-old is set up to smash and if you can't get him in your lineup for the entire week as a streamer then you should consider him in DFS, particularly when facing Hendricks, Davies, and Carrasco.
More Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups
Andrew Painter - Fantasy Baseball Prospects Waiver Wire Pickups, Stashes (Week 14)
BALLER MOVE: Add in 12-team leagues CALL-UP ETA: July ANALYSIS: Philadelphia Phillies top pitching prospect Andrew Painter missed the entirety of the 2023 and 2024 seasons while recovering from Tommy John surgery. However, the budding ace made his Triple-A debut earlier this season and is quickly approaching his MLB debut. Painter began the season with Low-A, […]
Logan Henderson - Fantasy Baseball Prospects Waiver Wire Pickups, Stashes (Week 14)
BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ team leagues CALL-UP ETA: July ANALYSIS: Milwaukee Brewers right-handed pitching prospect Logan Henderson made his MLB debut earlier this season and was quite dominant, tossing 21 innings to the tune of a 1.71 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP. During this stint, Henderson struck out 29 batters and posted a strong 7.4% […]
Jordan Lawlar - Fantasy Baseball Prospects Waiver Wire Pickups, Stashes (Week 14)
BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ team leagues CALL-UP ETA: July ANALYSIS: Arizona Diamondbacks top prospect Jordan Lawlar received his second taste of the majors earlier this season but was unable to produce. Across eight games in Arizona, Lawlar did not tally a hit and held a 9:3 K:BB. During the 2023 season, Lawlar made his MLB […]
Chase Burns - Fantasy Baseball Prospects Waiver Wire Pickups (Week 14)
BALLER MOVE: Add in all leagues ROSTERED IN: 50% of Leagues ANALYSIS: Cincinnati Reds right-handed pitching prospect Chase Burns joined the list of several 2024 draft picks who made their MLB debut during the first half of the 20205 campaign. On Tuesday evening, the former second overall pick got the call to face the New York […]
Bubba Chandler - Fantasy Baseball Prospects Waiver Wire Pickups, Stashes (Week 14)
BALLER MOVE: Add in all leagues CALL-UP ETA: June ANALYSIS: After a few rough outings, the No. 2-ranked prospect in the sport bounced back in a big way on June 17. In this outing, the right-hander tossed four innings of two-run ball (one earned run) and allowed five hits and one walk. He struck out three. […]
Download Our Free Waiver Wire App
Like what you see? You can download our free fantasy baseball mobile app for iPhone and Android which includes more waiver wire recommendations at every position, 24x7 player news, notifications, injury alerts & daily articles.
Download Our Free News & Alerts Mobile App
Like what you see? Download our updated fantasy baseball app for iPhone and Android with 24x7 player news, injury alerts, sleepers, prospects & more. All free!
Check out RotoBaller's entire fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups and sleepers list, updated daily!
