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Kevin Hickey's fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups for outfielders for Week 7 of the 2024 MLB season. Consider adding and streaming these free-agent hitters.
Welcome back RotoBallers! This article will discuss our fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups for the outfield in Week 7 -- May 6 through May 12. It is about time to start making those tough roster decisions and potentially cut ties with some of the struggling players who excited you on draft day. Trading in some of these early busts for players with more promising ceilings can be crucial to fantasy baseball success in the long run.
As the sample size becomes more substantial, we can start making informed decisions on the legitimacy of 2024 player performance. This article will highlight the guys who are trending upward and those whose standing with their team has changed significantly for one reason or another. At this stage, plenty remains speculative, but it's better to get out in front of the trends.
The names in this article are in order of percentage rostered and are not indicative of a confidence ranking. In the first few weeks, rostered percentages can change quickly. So be quick to check your leagues for their availability.
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Outfield Waiver Wire Adds - Standard Leagues
Andy Pages, Los Angeles Dodgers (42% Rostered)
Andy Pages continues to trend upward. Through 15 games, the rookie sports a .333/.354/.567 slash line with three home runs and a 160 wRC+. Pages' hot bat has landed him an everyday spot in the Los Angeles Dodgers lineup for the foreseeable future. If he can sustain this impressive performance, then we may be approaching the last call on Pages being available in the majority of leagues.
ANDY PAGES WITH A WALK OFF AND A FOUR HIT GAME
THIS KID IS THE REAL DEAL 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/XPjpW10dVk
— Blake Harris (@BlakeHHarris) May 4, 2024
Looking under the hood, the advanced numbers support Pages' current success. The 23-year-old boasts a strong .364 xwOBA, alongside encouraging batted-ball metrics, like a .509 xSLG, 44.9% hard-hit rate, and a 44.9% sweet-spot rate. Pages' 34.6% chase rate highlights an area that still requires maturity, though his minor-league walk rates suggest he can make the adjustment.
Jo Adell, Los Angeles Angels (40% Rostered)
The Jo Adell breakout campaign is well underway. Across 25 appearances, he is slashing .273/.319/.530 with four home runs, five stolen bases, and a 138 wRC+. Consistent playing time was hard for him to come by during the season's first couple of weeks, but a mixture of strong performance and injuries to the Los Angeles Angels lineup has cemented Adell as an everyday fixture for the first time in his career.
The underlying numbers suggest Adell's hot start is legitimate. As a starting point, the 25-year-old has an impressive .404 xwOBA. The batted-ball numbers paint the picture of a worthwhile power producer, such as a .575 xSLG, 14.3% barrel rate, and a 51% hard-hit rate. Adell's whiff rates leave something to be desired, but his 25% strikeout rate is a remarkable improvement from his career 34.3% strikeout rate.
Joey Loperfido, Houston Astros (34% Rostered)
Joey Loperfido's promotion this past week ranks among the most exciting prospect call-ups early in the 2024 season. Loperfido is the sixth-ranked prospect in the Houston Astros farm system, per MLB Pipeline, and appears poised to make an immediate impact on the team's slumping offense. How frequently he expects to play is still somewhat up in the air, but with his positional flexibility between first base and outfield, and the recent demotion of Jose Abreu, Loperfido should have an opportunity to etch out a regular role.
Joey Loperfido checks off two firsts with one swing!
The @astros' No. 6 prospect drives in two runs on his first Major League hit. pic.twitter.com/QRwrwACskx
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) May 1, 2024
Loperfido was off to a scalding-hot start in Triple-A this season, slashing .287/.393/.713 with a 154 wRC+ and a minor league-best 13 home runs. The strong performance built off his 25-home run, 27-stolen base campaign across 124 games played in the minors in 2023. Loperfido can fill up a well-rounded box score between demonstrated power-hitting and base running upside.
Tyler Nevin, Oakland Athletics (33% Rostered)
Tyler Nevin does not have the same heralded pedigree as some others on this list, but it is getting hard to ignore his continued production. The 26-year-old owns a strong .313/.370/.482 slash line, which includes four home runs and a 150 wRC+. Nevin was expected to operate in a short-side platoon role for the Oakland Athletics, though he has emerged as their most consistent hitter so far this season, and he has been rewarded with an everyday spot.
Nevin's advanced numbers are solid overall, though they do indicate some regression is likely to occur. Still, that does not mean he won't be a worthwhile producer. Nevin is squaring up the ball better than he ever has in his major-league career, generating a .439 xSLG and a 38.5% sweet-spot rate. His batted-ball metrics are not elite in any single area, though Nevin is demonstrating an above-average approach in virtually every category. If nothing else, it is worth streaming Nevin to ride out his hot hand.
Outfield Waiver Wire Adds - Deeper Leagues
Jordan Beck, Colorado Rockies (9% Rostered)
Jordan Beck is yet another high-profile promotion from this past week. The 23-year-old is the fourth-ranked prospect in the Colorado Rockies farm system and the No. 73 prospect in all of baseball, per MLB Pipeline. Beck brings elite 55-grade power at the plate, paired with 55-grade running, making him an all-purpose offensive threat.
Before his promotion, Beck was lighting up Triple-A pitching to the tune of a .307/.405/.594 slash line with five home runs, five stolen bases, and a 142 wRC+. The success builds off Beck's impressive 2023 campaign, featuring a .867 OPS, 25 home runs, and 20 stolen bases across 126 minor-league appearances. It shouldn't be long before his major-league production starts to mirror the developmental body of work.
Tommy Pham, Chicago White Sox (5% Rostered)
Tommy Pham has only been with the Chicago White Sox for seven games, yet he already might be their best hitter. The 36-year-old is slashing .333/.357/.519 with a 150 wRC+. Pham has been a breath of fresh air for the league's worst offense, and the White Sox will lean on the veteran heavily this season.
Tommy Pham has been UNREAL for the White Sox so far pic.twitter.com/maAzkoCYL0
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) May 1, 2024
Given Pham's age, it would be reasonable to assume that his best years are behind him. However, nothing about Pham's 2023 performance suggested he was slowing down. On the surface, he produced a strong .774 OPS with 16 home runs and 22 stolen bases. Underneath, Pham's advanced metrics told us he was deserving of even better numbers. Those figures included a .475 xSLG, .284 xBA, 92.3 MPH average exit velocity, 10.7% barrel rate, and a 49.1% hard-hit rate.
Richie Palacios, Tampa Bay Rays (5% Rostered)
Based on his production, there is no reason Richie Palacios should be so low-owned at this point. The 26-year-old is off to a career-best start, slashing .310/.430/.465 with three home runs, four stolen bases, and a 164 wRC+. Palacios is standing out among a struggling Tampa Bay Rays group and has been thriving out of the lead-off spot in the batting order.
Looking deeper at Palacios' advanced numbers, there are plenty of encouraging takeaways. While he isn't likely to emerge as much of a power threat, Palacios' batted-ball numbers are worthwhile, including a .417 xSLG, 42.9% sweet-spot rate, and a .280 xBA. Further, he has demonstrated mature plate discipline, chasing on only 23.6% of balls outside of the zone and generating an elite 16.1% walk rate.
More Players to Consider
- Esteury Ruiz, Oakland Athletics (48% rostered)
- Brandon Marsh, Philadelphia Phillies (46% rostered)
- Willi Castro, Minnesota Twins (42% rostered)
- Connor Joe, Pittsburgh Pirates (33% rostered)
- Ryan O'Hearn, Baltimore Orioles (30% rostered)
- Mike Tauchman, Chicago Cubs (22% rostered)
- Max Kepler, Minnesota Twins (15% rostered)
More Deep-League Players to Consider
- Blake Perkins, Milwaukee Brewers (10% rostered)
- Wenceel Perez, Detroit Tigers (8% rostered)
- Joc Pederson, Arizona Diamondbacks (5% rostered)
- Gavin Sheets, Chicago White Sox (5% rostered)
- Trevor Larnach, Minnesota Twins (3% rostered)
- Lawrence Butler, Oakland Athletics (1% rostered)
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