Logo

At this point of the year, most fantasy players are more concerned with when, and if, Le’Veon Bell will hit the field for the Steelers than Jacob deGrom’s ERA or which players will help boost their fantasy baseball team for the final few weeks of the season.

Those owners likely have been playing fantasy golf for the past several weeks, but this is the time where you need to push and give your team the advantage in any and every way possible. In an effort to help you get that extra boost for your fantasy playoff push, Roto Rage is breaking down the best waiver options to help you in the five major offensive categories.

Home runs
As of Friday, five of the top six most added players in ESPN leagues were hitters who can add power (and, in some cases, average and RBIs) to your lineup.

Oakland’s Stephen Piscotty already has matched his career-high mark in homers with 22, and entered Saturday with a nine-game hitting streak during which he was hitting .375 with four homers, 14 RBIs and a 1.260 OPS. He has 10 homers, 26 RBIs and a .838 OPS since the break, and remains available in 45 percent or more of ESPN and Yahoo leagues.

Since Aug. 5, San Diego’s hulking 6-foot-5 outfielder Franmil Reyes (68-75 percent available) has struck out 22 times in 86 at-bats, but he has also has raised his average from .234 to .258 by going 26-for-86 (.302) with nine homers, 15 RBIs and a 1.018 OPS in that span.

The Yankees’ Luke Voit (seven homers over his past 14 games) and Houston’s Tyler White (11 homers since July 11) are two other big boppers who are available in 50 percent or more of all leagues.

RBIs
Hunter Renfroe is another scorching hot, power-hitting San Diego outfielder who has hit .303 with 13 homers, 30 RBIs, 18 runs and a .990 OPS since Aug. 5. His 33 RBIs in the second half is tied for the seventh most in the league. He is available in 50-60 percent of all leagues.

Runs
Amed Rosario (65 percent available) has 12 second-half steals, second to just Whit Merrifield, Adalberto Mondesi (another possible cheap addition who can do it all, is available in more than 90 percent of leagues and was hitting .289 with 15 steals and 22 runs over his past 41 games), Mallex Smith, Trevor Story and Trea Turner, who all had 13. It also doesn’t hurt that Rosario is also hitting .275 with 20 RBIs and 30 runs scored since the break.

The Angels’ Kole Calhoun has scored 33 runs (sixth-most in the second half) and Oakland’s Marcus Semien has scored 30 while hitting .281 with five homers, 22 RBIs and four stolen bases. Both are available in about 50 percent of all leagues.

Stolen bases
Not only has Jonathan Villar hit .273 in his first 33 games with the Orioles, but the 27-year-old has also gone deep six times (equal to the number he hit in 87 games with Milwaukee this season), driven in 16 runs and scored 20. The real reason to pick him up now: his 10 stolen bases (just four less than his total with the Brewers), including six in his past 10 games. He remains available in 44 percent or more of ESPN and Yahoo leagues.

Mallex Smith (45-55 percent available) returned from DL on Monday and stole two bases in his first four games (he also had four RBIs in that span).

If you’re looking really deep, San Diego’s Travis Jankowski is hitting .257 since the Midsummer Classic while scoring 13 runs and stealing eight bases, and the Phillies’ Roman Quinn has hit .333 and stolen seven bases in 30 games since Aug. 2. Both are available in more than 90 percent of all leagues.

Average
If your team is filled with .220-.230 hitters — like Brian Dozier, Edwin Encarnacion or Matt Olson — and you need help balancing the average, four players who are hitting over .300 in the second half are Atlanta’s Johan Camarago (.322), Toronto’s Billy McKinney (.351), Tampa Bay’s Joey Wendle (.320), who also has five steals, and Boston’s Ian Kinsler (.349, but .307 since joining the Sox). All are available in 50 percent or more of all leagues.

Big Hits

Jake Junis SP, Royals
Has won three of his past seven starts while striking out 44, walking eight and maintaining a 2.47 ERA. He is 2-0 with a 1.13 ERA, .154 opponent average and a 13:0 strikeout-to-walk rate in his past two starts.

Niko Goodrum 2B, Tigers
He might be hitting .237 this season, but he is 11-for-27 (.407) with three homers, four RBIs, seven runs, two stolen bases and a 1.225 OPS over his past seven games.

Mike Clevinger SP, Indians
Hasn’t lost since July 28, going 4-0 with a 2.11 ERA, 49 strikeouts, 12 walks (six came in one game) and a .209 opponent average in his past seven starts.

Gregory Polanco OF, Pirates
Had at least one hit in 15 of his past 17 games, going 23-for-66 (.348) with four homers, 14 RBIs, four stolen bases and a 1.057 OPS in that span. That was all before he was lost for the season with a bone bruise late Saturday.

Big Whiffs

Sean NewcombAPSean NewcombAP

Sean Newcomb SP, Braves
He is 1-3 with a 6.67 ERA, 17 walks and a .315 opponent average over his past six starts. He is 0-2 with a 9.72 ERA, .324 opponent average and seven walks in his past two starts.

Brian Dozier 2B, Dodgers
The 31-year-old had just three hits over his past 34 at-bats (.088) while striking out seven times, hitting just one homer and maintaining a .339 OPS.

Marco Estrada SP, Blue Jays
Allowed 11 earned runs over his past two starts (6 ¹/₃ innings) en route to a 15.63 ERA, .484 opponent average and a 3:7 strikeout-to-walk rate.

Nathan Eovaldi SP, Red Sox
After winning his first two decisions in Boston, he is 0-3 with a 6.85 ERA and a .377 opponent average over his past six starts.

Check Swings

  • J.D. Martinez’s 39 homers are the fourth-most for a player in his first season with the Red Sox. He trails Dick Stuart (42 in 1963), Jimmie Foxx (41 in 1936) and Manny Ramirez (41 in 2001). Though he is second in the majors in homers, he also leads the majors in RBIs (117) and slugging percentage (.639), and is tied with Atlanta’s Nick Markakis for the lead in hits (171). He also ranks in the top five in runs (103), average (.335), OBP (.407) and OPS (1.046).
  • Dynasty League Disaster: White Sox phenom Michael Kopech, who made four starts this season, will have Tommy John surgery and miss all of next year.
  • Trevor Story hit three homers off Andrew Suarez on Wednesday, one of which traveled a Statcast record 505 feet. His other two homers traveled 459 and 416 feet, bringing his grand total for the night to 1,380 feet (slightly more than a quarter mile). For those obsessed with getting their steps in every day, that would count for roughly 552 steps on a Fitbit. It’s not even close to getting you to 10,000 steps!

Team Name of the Week

Stop … Hamels Time!

Comments
anonymous profile image
Powered by RoundtableBuilt on infrastructure designed for real-time media. Learn more at RTB.io.© Roundtable 2026. By using this site you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy