The Waiver Wire Watch List: Week 20

August 10, 2019

Bill Dubiel's list of fantasy baseball free agents to watch in Week 20 of the 2019 season. These are players to monitor and could be potential pickups off the waiver wire in deeper leagues.

Throughout the season, you want to get the jump on your competition and sniff out the breakout players before they break out. That's what this list is all about--using some in-depth research and advanced analytics to find the players who aren't quite there yet but are on their way. Some of these may suit your needs for an immediate pick-up depending on your team's situation.

This is not necessarily a list of players you should add right away at the start of Week 20 - it is a list of players to keep a very close eye on in most leagues as we further into June, and to consider picking up in deeper formats. In some cases, we will even caution you not to pick up a widely-added player, and steer you away from the fool's gold.

Use it to build your own watch list.

Pitchers to Watch in 12+ Team Leagues

Vince Velasquez (SP/RP, PHI)

Velasquez has had an incredibly volatile season, splitting time between the rotation and the bullpen. Thanks to injury, he's currently got a spot in the rotation and he's running with it. Over his last three starts, Velasquez has posted a 2-1 record with a 2.04 ERA and a healthy 18 strikeouts across 17.2 innings.

Velasquez has always had the stuff of a front-end starter, but he's never put it all together. I doubt very highly this is any sort of meaningful career renaissance, but if Velasquez has gotten his head on straight for the time being he'll return some back-end starter value.

Jacob Waguespack (SP, TOR)

Waguespack is one of the various faces filling in for the beleaguered Blue Jays rotation, and like most of them, he's been underwhelming for most of the season. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Waguespack has started to flash some fantasy potential. He's thrown back-to-back quality starts, the most recent of which consisted of six innings of shutout ball against the Tampa Bay Rays.

It's unlikely Waguespack has transformed into a consistent fantasy starter--for example, I wouldn't start him against the red-hot Yankees this weekend. However, he's definitely worth monitoring to see if he can hold up against lesser opponents on a regular basis--if so, he'll carry streaming appeal.

Batters to Watch in 12+ Team Leagues

J.D. Davis (3B/OF, NYM)

Davis' ownership percentage is still shockingly low given that he's producing so consistently. He's finally getting regular playing time thanks to injuries to Robinson Cano and Dominic Smith, but with a batting average over .300 and a key run-producing role in the suddenly-surging Mets offense, it was likely he was going to play more often anyway.

Davis has three homers in the last two weeks along with nine RBI, and while the power is nice it's not necessarily sustainable. Davis' batting average and on-base percentage is his main asset at the moment, but with the Mets producing runs and wins lately, the counting stats are coming too.

Jose Osuna (1B/3B, PIT)

With Corey Dickerson headed to Philadelphia, Osuna stands to be the primary beneficiary as far as playing time goes. Osuna's done well in limited time so far in 2019, slashing .321/.374/.651 across 106 plate appearances. His eight homers and 22 RBI are pacing well ahead of his career marks, and he's posting the best walk and strikeout rates of his career as well.

I'm not holding my breath on him maintaining the power pace, but with an increase in playing time guaranteed by his own front office, I'm very interested to see what he's capable of with everyday at-bats in the home stretch of the 2019 season. He's a nice stash candidate if you have room, and a perfect watch list candidate if you don't.

Cameron Maybin (OF, NYY)

Injuries to the Yankees have afforded Maybin regular playing time, and he's done nothing but show out since that happened. The 32-year-old veteran is posting career-best marks in power while also maintaining his speed, and he's become a true table-setter and team leader for the explosive Bomber offense.

I don't think the power is sustainable for Maybin, but he's getting on base multiple times per game and still capable of swiping a bag when he needs to. That's good enough for a fantasy bench spot, and at this point in time, he's worth much more than just a bench spot given how hot he is at the plate.

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