Joey Wendle is a fantasy baseball waiver wire pickup for Week 21 of the 2021 MLB season. Consider adding the IF if he's a free agent in your leagues.
BALLER MOVE: Add in leagues of 10+ teams
ROSTERED IN: 49% of leagues
ANALYSIS: The Rays are playing seven games at home next week between the Orioles (four) and the White Sox (three). They're slated to face five right-handed starters, which bodes well for Joey Wendle. The 31-year-old utility man is slashing .311/.359/.496 with 21 doubles, seven home runs, and 35 RBI against righties this season. He's got a .278/.330/.435 batting line with seven homers, 38 RBI, 55 runs scored, and six stolen bases across 313 at-bats overall this year. He's put up a solid .290/.308/.371 mark with four extra-base hits and five RBI in 62 at-bats since the All-Star break as well. His statcast profile is pretty ugly but he's outperformed his expected stats all season. He's got a subpar .238 xBA, .281 xwOBA, and .338 xSLG but he's posting a solid 83.4% Z-Contact Rate, 61.4% O-Contact Rate, and 23.7% Whiff Rate.
He's been getting platooned against lefties since the trade deadline but that should only affect him when the Rays face John Means and Dallas Keuchel next week. Wendle should see action against the Orioles poor pitching staff, which will feature Matt Harvey, Spenser Watkins, and Jorge Lopez. He's also fared well against Lucas Giolito (.250 BA in eight at-bats) in the past and is 5-for-12 in his career against Lance Lynn. Wendle is one of the last few pieces of the Tampa Bay lineup that you can scoop up off the waiver wire. Streaming a player from the first-place Rays, who have looked formidable since the trade deadline by averaging 7.5 runs/per game, is usually a good call.
More Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups
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!
RADIO




