The fantasy baseball season is winding into the home stretch. With potential playoff spots on the line, it’s time to gear strategy toward matchup play. Considering schedule now even more as a factor, here are five waiver wire targets for your consideration.
Fantasy Baseball Week 16 Waiver Wire Targets
Must-Add
Keibert Ruiz
The Washington Nationals organization plucked a few post-hype prospects from west coast clubs recently, and 25-year-old Keibert Ruiz was among them. At the core of the rebuilding Nationals’ contact-oriented approach, the switch-hitting catcher might finally be rounding into prime territory as a waiver wire target.
Gifted with an elite hit tool and the ability to neutralize platoon advantages for pitchers with his switch-hitting, power has been noticeably absent from Ruiz’s profile.
In the week since the All-Star game, however, Ruiz has turned it on. He’s popped two home runs while slashing .429. Also, his .558 wOBA indicates his plate appearances are high-quality ones.
His current line of 11 home runs and a slash of .244/.295./.395 isn’t much to write home about. But Statcast’s expected performance metrics suggest promising returns for Ruiz’s exceptional process.
Ruiz lands in the 88th percentile with an xBA of .280. His presently underwhelming slugging and wOBA are also predicted to improve to the tune of .456 and .342 respectively.
Ruiz sports one of the highest Zone Contact rates in the league at 94.9%. He also sports one of the lowest strikeout percentages, coming in at 9.4%. Basically, the dude hardly ever strikes out as the Nationals’ everyday number-five hitter.
Ruiz just needs to add a bit more lift and carry in his swing. By bringing his already improving 7.7 Barrel% closer to the double digits, he could fulfill his potential as a top-five catcher as soon as next season.
Breakout #1
Griffin Canning
Owning starting pitchers in six-man rotations can be annoying. It’s almost impossible to get a two-start week. Rostering them then becomes about playing favorable matchups.
For Los Angeles Angels starter Griffin Canning, the matchup for week 16 looks pretty favorable against the Detroit Tigers. He then may even line up for a rare two-start matchup in week 17, though the first matchup would be against the Atlanta Braves‘ formidable offense, followed by the Seattle Mariners’ less intimidating one.
So what’s Canning got going to recommend him for a free agent waiver wire acquisition?
He’s coming off a season-high 12-strikeout performance against the New York Yankees. This gives Canning a respectable 9.3 K/9 for the season. And strikeouts should be a category Canning can continue to help.
Canning boasts excellent peripheral indicators of a 32.8% Outside Swing rate to back up a 12.6% Swinging Strike rate.
Equipped with a four-pitch mix, Canning actually experienced a significant uptick in his fastball velocity this season. But Canning is one of those clever starters who pitch backward, utilizing an elite slider as his primary offering.
His slider gets sick spin rates at 2711 RPM, garnering a 35% Whiff%. Stuff+ also thinks highly of the slider, generating a 123 Stf+ SL rating, which is in the top 20 for starting pitchers.
Canning could provide a short-term boost for managers in need of pitching help. And if Canning fails to take advantage of the juicy Tigers match-up, he’s an easy drop going forward.
Breakout #2
LaMonte Wade Jr.
Entering this stretch of the baseball season, eyeballing the schedule and playing matchups can make or break championships. Fantasy waiver wire targets abound on a team like the San Francisco Giants, who exploit matchups perhaps like no other.
It’s not that left-handed hitting LaMonte Wade Jr. embarrasses himself against lefties, with a .240 batting average and a home run over 61 plate appearances. It’s just that the Giants’ standard operating procedure involves heavy platooning.
Thus, fantasy owners can take advantage of the considerable damage Wade has primarily done against righties. Batting .283, he’s socked eight long balls over 273 plate appearances.
All told, this nets him a slash line of .275/.405/.431 and a 135 wRC+. That 135 Weighted Runs Created Plus corresponds to another quality of production indicator in wOBA, in which Wade sits in the top 10% of the league.
Wade possesses an incredible batting eye, supported by a Chase Rate in the 98th percentile. This is why when he starts, Wade leads off for the Giants.
A glance at the Giants’ schedule for the rest of the season suggests nothing prohibitive, as well as a September Colorado trip for those still in the playoffs. Managers with lineup flexibility or daily fantasy players should find a place in the rotation for the highly skilled Wade.
Sleeper #1
Nick Pivetta
Despite rising ownership rates in some formats, Boston Red Sox pitcher Nick Pivetta should still be classified in the sleeper camp. One reason to be hesitant about jumping in full boar is the Red Sox recent usage of Pivetta’s quantifiably quality skill set.
Recently deployed as both bulk reliever and traditional one-inning middle reliever, the team has intimated they will soon return Pivetta to a conventional starter’s role.
If he returns to the rotation, Pivetta becomes very interesting. Regardless of role, Pivetta has flashed some dominance backed up by metrics suggesting he may be better than his current 4.38 ERA.
For starters, he’s the 8th best starter by Stuff+. Pivetta actually wields three well-above-average pitches by Stuff+ in his fastball, curve, and slider.
These three-plus pitches are why he’s been able to post a gaudy 11.28 K/9. So, he’s been a stud in ratios no matter what.
Since the Red Sox have some tasty matchups in the weeks ahead against middling offenses like the Kansas City Royals, the Tigers, and the Mariners, Pivetta should become a streamer’s delight.
Sleeper #2
Luis Campusano
Another former top-catching prospect whose star may be on the rise is San Diego Padres Luis Campusano. Graded out as a near-elite 55 Future Value player by the FanGraphs scouting brain trust, his projected 60-grade Raw Power is what might make him a future fantasy mainstay.
Campusano actually began the year in the Padres’ starting catcher mix, only to lose a significant chunk of the season to a thumb injury. On his return, the team optioned Austin Nola. Now, only veteran Gary Sanchez’s sub-.200 batting average stands in the way of regular playing time for slugging Campuzano to take on a full-time role.
The athletic backstop has seen action in every game since his return from the injured list. He displayed what he’s capable of in his fourth game back with a four-for-five showing. Campusano crushed a home run, drove in four, and scored three times in the Padres’ rout of the Tigers.
In a year where catching production falls off precipitously after the first six or seven players, those in need of a boost at the position – or anyone in two-catcher leagues – could find a late-season upgrade in Campusano.
Main photo credits:
Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
Players mentioned:
Keibert Ruiz, Griffin Canning, LaMonte Wade Jr., Nick Pivetta, Luis Campusano, Austin Nola, Gary Sanchez
