NL-Only and AL-Only Waiver Wire for Week 16

July 15, 2021

Matt Wallach outlines his favorite week 16 waiver wire pickups and adds for deep leagues, and AL-only or NL-only fantasy baseball leagues for the 2021 MLB season.

Welcome back to the NL-only and AL-only pickups column. Each week, I'll look at five players who are under 15% rostered in Yahoo! leagues and who can be considered as options to add in deep-league formats, such as 15-teamers or AL or NL-only leagues.

I'll also include a recommendation for what to do with each player on your roster. And lastly, I'll take a look at some of my picks from the previous week to see how they're performing.

Without further ado, let's get into it.

Kole Calhoun - OF, Diamondbacks

10% rostered
Recommended move: Add for a few weeks

Calhoun recently returned from the injured list after an extended layoff due to a hamstring injury. It kept him out of action for all of May and June, but now healthy, he figures to be in the starting lineup for lowly Diamondbacks every day going forward.

Calhoun did get off to a good start for the team this season, hitting for average and showing some pop with a .292/.333/.479 slash line (119 wRC+), and with a whopping 48.6% hard-hit rate, showing that he, at least in the early going, had something still left in the tank. Historically though, Calhoun has been more of a power over average type of hitter, as from 2018 through 2020, he hit just .221, but had a .216 isolated power mark. That's likely the type of hitter that Calhoun will be going forward, as he should be a solid source of some cheap power, while likely not providing much else. That doesn't make for the most glamorous fantasy profile, but it is still a useful one, as he figures to get the majority of the playing time and at the top of the order, where he should be able to just go out there and do his thing, and put up solid if unspectacular results. Do keep in mind that he could very well be traded come the July 30th trade deadline, which could change his outlook. For now though, pick him up for at least the next couple of weeks and re-evaluate when/if he gets traded.

Brian Goodwin - OF, White Sox

2% rostered
Recommended move: Add for a few weeks

Goodwin continues to hit well for the injury-ridden White Sox, with a .267/.353/.511 slash line. Despite that, he's still being rostered at a low rate. It is true that Goodwin's Statcast metrics don't exactly back up his strong stats to this point, but even then, they're not bad, and do view more as a league-average type of hitter, but that's not exactly a bad thing. He's been a league-average type of hitter for pretty much his entire career, and he has been fantasy relevant in the past, so there's no reason why he shouldn't still be fantasy relevant right now.

At the least, even if his performance drops off going forward, he probably should be rostered if only because he hits in the middle of one of the game's best lineups--he's hit fourth for the last six games--which means he should accumulate a good number of counting stats, driving in and scoring plenty of runs. And while managers would likely prefer to sit him against lefties, it appears that the White Sox will only face two lefties in their next seven games, so Goodwin figures to be in the heart of the lineup for the team for most of those more-favorable matchups.

It's not the most glamorous profile again, but it is one that could be pretty useful in the right situation. However, the playing time situation figures to get a little messy with Eloy Jimenez on a rehab assignment and due to come back soon. Jimenez likely will take the DH spot over an outfield spot, but it still remains to be seen what impact it will have on Goodwin, plus it's not a secret that the White Sox are looking for outfielders to acquire. Consider Goodwin more of a short-term option right now. See what the situation is after the deadline before making a final decision on Goodwin. For now, though, he looks like a fine option.

Orlando Arcia - SS/OF Braves

2% rostered
Recommended move: Add for the long haul 

Arcia was acquired by the Braves earlier in the season and was immediately demoted to AAA upon the trade, which essentially killed his fantasy value. He got called up earlier this month though, and so far, he's played well, with a .333/.360/.500 slash line in just 25 plate appearances for the Braves. It's hard to take anything away from that, but it is encouraging that he's hitting the ball hard right now, at 48.1%, and that his barrel rate is a career-high 7.4%, but those are likely to fluctuate as he gets more playing time.

However, due to the unfortunate, recent injury to Ronald Acuna Jr., Arcia looks like he'll be sticking around in the Braves' lineup for quite some time. With an everyday role now settled, he does get some fantasy value back, and it could be worth it to find out if these new hard-hit highs for him are legitimate or not. It is perhaps notable that he was tearing up AAA, hitting .303/.380/.552, but it is probably not worth putting all that much stock in it, considering he is 26-years-old, but it does seem like that his hot hitting in AAA has so far carried over back to the Majors. He's worthy of a shot for those looking for a deep-league outfield option, and it does come with unique position eligibility, as there aren't many players that are eligible at both shortstop and the outfield, so there is some extra flexibility there too, it seems.

John Nogowski - 1B, Pirates

1% rostered
Recommended move: Add for a few weeks 

Nogowski was acquired by the Pirates from the Cardinals earlier in the year, and while he was never much of a prospect, he does have a decent minor league track record, as he did hit .295/.413/.476 in AAA in 2019, and notably with more walks than strikeouts.

Since debuting for the Pirates on July 5th, Nogowski has hit a ridiculous .500/.548/.571, which makes him one of the hottest hitters in the league over the last week or so. He's definitely going to come back down to Earth, but he does project to be an about league-average hitter for the rest of the season, and while it may not come with much power, it should be a profile that ends up helping more than it hurts. He should contribute a little bit in each category (except for steals), while not being an overall drag anywhere. Once again, it's not a glamorous profile, but it could work for those in need of a first base option. Nogowski also figures to be a part of the Pirates' lineup for the foreseeable future. The injuries to Philip Evans (concussion) and Colin Moran (wrist) are what got Nogowski on the roster in the first place, and if he continues to play well, there's no reason why he wouldn't be in the lineup on a consistent basis going forward.

Ramon Urias - 2B/SS, Orioles

1% rostered
Recommended move: Add for a few weeks 

Another recent call-up, Urias is hitting .333/.388/.533 since being recalled by the Orioles on June 27th. During that stretch, he's posted solid barrel and hard-hit rates at 10.8% and 43.2%, respectively, which has helped drive his hot power output. Urias got a shot briefly in 2020, and he did well then too, hitting for a 166 wRC+, and this year in the minors, he hit for a 118 wRC+, with a .225 isolated power metric, so he definitely looks to have been hitting well whenever he's had the opportunity in the recent past.

Things likely will come down a bit in the next few weeks, but Urias has shown good skills so far, and it is possible that he's something of a late-bloomer, since he is 27-years-old. Even if he is more of a league-average for the rest of the season, that will have fantasy value, especially since it comes with dual-eligibility at both middle infield spots. The Orioles, still rebuilding, likely will give Urias the majority of playing time for the remainder of the year while they try and evaluate what they have in Urias. Freddy Galvis (quad) will return at some point, but if Urias is hitting well, he'll be playing, whether it's at shortstop or second base yet, we don't know, but for now, Urias looks like a good deep league option at the middle infield spots. He's an interesting player, and I think he could be more than a league-average hitter.

Reviewing Last Week's Picks

At the end of each week's post, I'll review what happened with last week's picks and offer a suggestion for them in the future.

Starlin Castro (2B/3B, WAS)

Last week: 9% rostered. This week: 18% rostered. 

Castro continues to play well, as he hit .481/.500/.593, which sent his roster rate soaring. Overall, it's a 177 wRC+ since June 19th, and he's still trying to erase his slow start completely, as his whole-season wRC+ is still below 100, but if he keeps hitting like this, it won't be long before that changes. There still hasn't been much power from Castro, with just one home run in this hot stretch, but he's hitting too well to ignore. Hold him.

Current recommendation: Hold. 

Jesus Sanchez (OF, MIA)

Last week: 8% rostered. This week: 6% rostered. 

It was a good week for Sanchez, as he hit for a 149 wRC+, and contributing three extra-base hits, including one homer. There wasn't much when it comes to counting stats, but it is still a good sign to see the youngster playing well after a rough start to the season. Personal favorite Garrett Cooper has been playing too well lately and earned more playing time, but that appears to have come at the expense of Adam Duvall, rather than Sanchez, which was a concern, but it seems like the Marlins will favor Sanchez more over Duvall going forward, which is nice from a fantasy perspective. Keep rostering Sanchez.

Current recommendation: Hold. 

Luis Torrens (C, SEA)

Last week: 3% rostered. This week: 6% rostered. 

Torrens continues to impress, with a 170 wRC+ last week, and a scorching 191 mark since being called up on June 15th. Things get interesting though with top prospect Cal Raleigh called up and figuring to get most of the catching duties. The Mariners are technically carrying three catchers now with Raleigh, Torrens, and Tom Murphy, so perhaps they could get creative with playing time, and DH Torrens with Murphy as the backup. He did DH in Raleigh's first game, for whatever it's worth. For fantasy purposes though, he's simply hitting too well to ignore or drop, even with some potential playing time issues. Monitor the playing time, but you're definitely not dropping.

Current recommendation: Hold. 

Ryan O'Hearn (1B/OF, KCR) 

Last week: 1% rostered. This week: 1% rostered. 

It wasn't a great week for O'Hearn, as he had just three hits, and only contributed a single run in terms of counting stats. He did gain outfield eligibility though, but there are better options at both positions available right now. This seems like a drop.

Current recommendation: Drop.  

Phil Gosselin (1B/3B/OF, LAA)

Last week: 1% rostered. This week: 1% rostered. 

With the Angels set to face a heavy dose of left-handed pitching last week, Gosselin was recommended as a potential streaming option, considering his strong results against lefties. He didn't live up to that reputation last week though, as he had just a 42 wRC+. The opportunity is there to try this again, as the Angels are set to face the Mariners this weekend, and likely will see two lefty starters, but that's a gamble, and probably not one worth taking. This is a likely drop.

Current recommendation: Drop. 

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