I love the Monday pickups during a fantasy baseball season. Maybe you’re tweaking a competitor a bit or making a major change that helps you attack categorical needs. Maybe it’s just a new coat of paint where some was needed. Small fixes, big fixes. New things. It’s good for the soul.
Here are some free agents to consider as we finish June. As always, your mileage will vary, and you know the size and scope of your league better than an outsider ever could.
For years we thought the Blue Jays would be a destination offense. It didn’t work like that. Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s management is a little frustrated and isn’t mentioning Bo Bichette to anyone at the moment – that’s just going to start an argument. George Springer is still working under Mendoza Line.
But here comes Horwitz, making noise. He’s not a legacy or pedigree pick — he was drafted in the 24th round five years ago, the first in his family to do so. But his 13 games in Toronto are almost too good to be true: .366/.480/.561, two home runs, more walks than strikeouts (always a sign of a positive hitter). Look for it in slot #1 or #2 in the order most of the time, and I suspect Horwitz will finally be able to work full time after last week’s performance. Toronto can’t look away from someone so hot.
When did this trend of players with starting pairs not menstruating start? It’s a writer’s and editor’s nightmare. I check again DJ Moore and DJ Chark about 10 times a month.
Oakland’s lineup is a different kind of nightmare — it’s 28th in runs per game. But don’t hold that against Bleday, who has up to 11 home runs and a .253/.336/.467 slash line (34% above league average, per OPS+). The truth is, the top half of this lineup isn’t bad – Brent Rooker could get the All-Star nod if Bleday doesn’t, and Tyler Soderstrom has been good, too. If Zack Gelof wakes up in the second half, maybe Oakland’s lineup can go somewhere. Anywhere has to be better than here.
Bleday’s escape is supported by his pedigree – he was the fourth pick in the 2019 draft, a Vanderbilt product. If you have the freedom to deal with it on a daily basis, observe your divisions are much better at home and against right-handed pitching.
Pham continues to bounce around the league like a paper cup in a windstorm; the White Sox are his eighth team overall and sixth this decade. If you are stuck for a Answer from the Immaculate GridPham is not a bad Hail Mary call.
And for deeper fantasy leagues, he’s still providing some value. Pham holds a .268/.337/.390 slash line, which results in an OPS+ 7% above league average. The White Sox lineup isn’t a source of joy, but at least Pham is at the top of the list. He stole four bases and hit four home runs in a quarter of a season, and his run rate would top 90 in a full campaign. Pham hasn’t stopped being useful in his age-36 season.
Crawford gave us a great season last year, leading the AL in walks and scoring 94 times. A .266/.380/.438 slash line fits perfectly at the top of Seattle’s line, a 132 OPS+. He even received some MVP downvotes.
The follow-up wasn’t much fun. Crawford has been a below-average offensive player this year and has missed time with an oblique injury. But the trend points upwards. While Crawford’s average hasn’t been great over the past month (.202), it’s tied to four production columns: 17 runs, four home runs, 13 RBI, two steals. The Mariners move him to the starting position and leave him alone. Maybe you need to make up for the average elsewhere, but Crawford is doing too many good things to be ignored.
It’s too early to tell what Schwellenbach means for the Braves this year, and I realize a 4.98 ERA through four starts makes managers a little uncomfortable. But WHIP is a tidy 1.20, and the general rule is that when ERA and WHIP don’t tell the same story, trust WHIP. Schwellenbach has been better lately, getting off to a quality start against Baltimore and then holding off the Tigers through six innings (win, one run, seven strikeouts). An upset this week against the mediocre Cardinals (22nd in runs per game) has been approved for streaming purposes and perhaps this will turn from a temporary to permanent situation.
No waiver column is complete without some salvage hunting, and Chapman and Garrett rise to the top of the list with recent news. Chapman’s value increases with David Bednar (fullback) moving to the injured list; the Bucs gave Chapman the ninth inning for Saturday’s win. Garrett’s value is more nebulous and perhaps more temporary; The idea is that closer Edwin Diaz is likely headed toward a 10-game suspension following his sticky stuff ejection on Sunday night. Garrett’s fantasy was more fun earlier in the spring, but the Mets still trust him at high-leverage positions, and like Chapman, the K/9 rate jumps off the page.
