Dalton Del Don reveals the best available hitters worth adding on fantasy baseball’s waiver wire in Week 8.
Matos wasn’t in San Francisco’s immediate plans until injuries hit the Giants’ outfield, but he’s made the most of his opportunity since being recalled a week ago. He had 11 RBIs between Friday and Saturday, the same number Ronald Acuña Jr. totaled all season. He has twice as many RBIs (16) in 26 at-bats over the past week as George Springer has in 159 ABs this year.
Matos has yet to walk, but he has also struck out just once in 30 plate appearances, so batting average should be a strength. He was struggling in Triple-A (66 wRC+) this year and doesn’t possess much power/speed, but will have a chance to hit in the middle of San Francisco’s lineup. Still, we must temper home run and steal expectations for the 22-year-old, especially hampered by Oracle Park.
Matos is off to an excellent start after being called up to the majors and his roster percentage increased accordingly over the big weekend. He is still available in over 60% of Yahoo leagues.
Schneider batted leadoff over the weekend with George Springer also in the lineup for the first time this season. His 141 wRC+ would rank in the top 25 among qualified hitters, and Schneider entered on Sunday. ranked top five in barrels per swing, right behind Juan Soto, Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani (you may have heard of them). Schneider is a 28th-round pick who seemingly came out of nowhere, but he posted a 142 wRC+ in Triple-A and a 176 wRC+ after his first call-up to the majors last season. In fact, Schneider was one of nine MLB hitters to record an OPS over 1.000 In the second half. He can hit.
Schneider is eligible at 2B and OF, he is in top 15% of the league in xwOBA and is the leadoff hitter in Toronto. He shouldn’t be available in more than 75% of leagues.
Nootbaar’s .218 batting average comes with an expected BA of .275, which is one of the biggest differences among all hitters this season. Nootbaar’s contact metrics are impressive and his maximum exit velocity is in the top 8% of the league. He has also suffered from having the highest percentage of pitches outside the strike zone were called strikes against him this year. Abnormally poor officiating and a modest .236 BABIP are sure to regress, and projection systems are optimistic, with Steamer predicting a wRC+ of 126 for the remainder of the season. Nootbaar bats second against righties, and it’s safe to ignore his deceptive batting average.
Nootbaar is available in 65% of Yahoo leagues and should be a productive fantasy outfielder moving forward.
Fry would easily lead all catchers in OPS (1.005) and wRC+ (185) if he qualified, and his walk rate is at top 2% of the league. He has become a fixture in Cleveland’s lineup during May, as he hit .344/.475/.656 with almost as many walks as strikeouts. Fry has moved to the middle of the Guardians’ order behind hitters with strong OBPs, so he looks like an underrated fantasy asset.
Fry currently ranks as the No. 12 fantasy catcher this season with just 77 at-bats (Yainer Diaz was frequently selected as a top-five C and has provided much less value than 166 AB), yet he is available in almost 85% of leagues despite a new full-time outfield role.
Tyler Freeman, 2B/3B/SS/OF, Cleveland Guardians (18%)
Another beneficiary of Steven Kwan’s injury in Cleveland, Freeman has He has thrived since rising to the top of the lineup.. He’s quietly on pace to go 15/25 despite a .221 batting average that’s sure to rise. Freeman doesn’t strike out much (6:5 K:BB ratio over 52 AB in May) and has solid exit velocity and velocity, so his lowly .241 BABIP seems like a fluke. The Guardians have been one of the most aggressive base stealing teams this season, so there is potential for SB. He cautions about a small sample size, but the typically pitcher-friendly Progressive Field has been extremely hitter-friendly so far in 2024, including home runs increasing by a whopping 41%.
free man is shining in first placeeligible at four positions and widely available in fantasy leagues.
