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Due to the All-Star hiatus, there hasn’t been much action since we looked at the best midfield quit options last week – just two game days. As a result, I would always happily recommend anyone in that space at the time, although Rays’ management of Vidal Brujan gives me a break from his ROS outlook.
Most of the players who will be written in this feature won’t be the next breakout star. Some may only be useful for a short time. A few might provide no value at all. It is the nature of the beast; if these players were slam dunks, they wouldn’t be widely available for free. We are looking for a plausible increase with nothing but the opportunity cost. Considering a wide range of factors including, but not limited to, evidence of a change in approach, favorable future timelines, and good potential, the goal is simply to find as many marginal value as possible.
As a reminder, we’ll be looking at pickups for shallow leagues (30-49% roster) and deeper formats (10-29%), as well as highlighting single-digit players who deserve a spot on your roster. watch list at least. These are your Second base and shortstop waiver wire pickups for week 17 – July 19 to 25.
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Pickups for Shallow Leagues
Myles Straw, SS / OF, Houston Astros (48% enrolled)
Straw was a popular addition in June, when he hit 0.330, scored 17 points and swept six goals in 25 games while adding his first two homers of the year. It calmed down in July, but is still worth signing up in many formats for its speed. His contact ability and high walk rate should continue to give him stolen base opportunities and keep his runs totally respectable. And while he’s not a true .300 hitter, he has an above average hitting tool.
Josh Rojas, 2B / SS / OF, Arizona Diamondbacks (40% enrolled)
Although Rojas has been stuck on 10 home runs since June 28 and hasn’t stolen a base since July 3, he has dropped to 6 for 12 with three doubles since this column was last posted. The 27-year-old offers three-job eligibility and was heading for a 20/10 season ahead of the recent downturn in those categories, with over 80 points and a tolerable batting average.
Pickups for Deeper Leagues
Jed Lowrie, 2B, Oakland Athletics (23% enrolled)
Lowrie has scored in each of his last three starts (he only appeared as a pinch hitter on Saturday) and has an overall line of .268 / .339 / .435 with 11 home runs and 86 R + BI in 87 games. Based on career highs pretty much everywhere in his batted bullet data (egress speed, max egress speed, barrel rate, and hit hard), Statcast believes its results underestimate it. If you’re not convinced by the value of the “expected” stats, here’s a real one: 1,166 OPS so far in July.
Nico Hoerner, 2B / 3B / SS, Chicago Cubs (17% registered)
Hoerner missed more than a month after colliding with teammate Ian Happ on the pitch. He went without a hit on July 4 in his first comeback and has hit it safe in every game since, going 9 for 26. Only one of those hits was for extra goals as the The 24-year-old doesn’t have much pop to speak of, but he can strike for an average (0.327 over the year) and he stole three goals in 21 games before his injury.
Josh Harrison, 2B / 3B / OF, Washington Nationals (11% enrolled)
Harrison went 3 for 3 with a brace on Saturday, bringing his season line to .279 / .355 / .391. He also has five home runs and five interceptions during the year. These aren’t decisive or league winning numbers, but the 34-year-old can be a quality bench piece in a number of formats thanks to his positional versatility.
Watchlist
Ramon Urias, 2B / SS, Baltimore Orioles (1% enrolled)
It’s a pretty deep cut, admittedly, but Urias has been productive so far this year, cutting .282 / .352 .436 with four homers and 30 R + BI in 122 plate appearances. He has admirably replaced injured Freddy Galvis (quadriceps) and has had solid numbers in the minor leagues for the past two years.
Win big with RotoBaller
Be sure to also check out all of our other daily fantasy baseball articles and reviews to help you define those winning rosters, including this new RotoBaller video:
