Fantasy Baseball Week 21 Waiver Wire: Blaze Alexander, Kyle Harrison Surging

The fantasy baseball season is entering a crucial stretch, and sharp managers know the waiver wire can swing a playoff push. From hot-hitting catchers in Arizona to rising arms on the verge of call-ups, these sneaky pickups could provide the edge your roster needs.

Catcher

Adrian Del Castillo, Arizona Diamondbacks

Heading into Friday’s action, Del Castillo sits atop the at-bat ranking (15) for catchers this week, thanks to being the Diamondbacks’ starting lineup over the past six games (6-for-24 with two runs, one home run, and four RBIs). So far this year (.226/4/1/7 over 62 at-bats), he is well behind his success with Arizona in 2024 (.313 with 12 runs, four home runs, 19 RBIs, and one stolen base).

His bat has been an edge over the past two years at AAA (.310/117/33/102 over 520 at-bats), showing his explosive ceiling if Del Castillo gets hot. He’s a free agent in 70% of 12-team leagues in the high-stakes market.

First Base

Tyler Locklear, Arizona Diamondbacks

Locklear has almost the same outlook as Adrian Del Castillo this waiver period, with top at-bats (17) at first base, but not so much excitement at the plate (4-for-17 with a solo home run). He’s still looking for his major league stride (.214/6/2/2/1 over 42 at-bats with 16 strikeouts), after setting a high bar this year at AAA (.316 over 373 at-bats with 70 runs, 19 home runs, 82 RBIs, and 17 steals). Locklear is rostered in about 30% of 12-team leagues.

Second Base

Blaze Alexander, Arizona Diamondbacks

Three players into this week's waiver wire report, I’ve become a value shopper in Arizona. His bat has performed well over 13 games in August (15-for-45 with eight runs, four home runs, and nine RBIs) while hitting at the bottom of the Diamondbacks’ batting order. His starting window will only last until Jordan Lawlar (2-for-5 in his first rehab game on Thursday) gets called up. Alexander has a home run in three consecutive scoring periods, with fly balls landing in the seats this week.

Third Base

Joey Ortiz, Milwaukee Brewers

The Brewers’ offense has been on fire, and wins have been coming at a frequent clip over the past three months (June – 16-9, July – 17-7, and August – 12-0). The average score of their games this month has been 8.6 runs to 3.3 runs, creating massive fantasy stats for their batters and wins for their pitchers. Ortiz is a free agent in 75% of 12-team leagues while delivering impressive stats over his last 13 games (19-for-48 with 12 runs, 11 RBIs, and two steals), hitting at the backend of Milwaukee’s lineup.

Shortstop

Paul DeJong, Washington Nationals

For a fantasy team lacking power and having a weakness at middle infield, DeJong would have been a big win over the past two weeks. He’s riding a five-game hitting streak (9-for-21 with five runs, three home runs, and seven RBIs). DeJong brings sneaky power with plenty of batting average risk.

Outfielders

Miguel Andujar, Cincinnati Reds

Over the past week, Andujar has a hit in six consecutive games (8-for-19 with five runs, three home runs, and eight RBIs) while also playing well over his last 15 games (.400/10/6/13 over 45 at-bats). The spike in his power (only three home runs over his first 200 at-bats) should be his drawing card, and the Reds have moved him to the middle of their batting order recently. Surprisingly, Andujar is a free agent in 83% of 12-team leagues.

Bryce Teodosio, Los Angeles Angels

For fantasy teams looking for a potential speed out, Teodosio fits that profile. He stole 83 bases between AA and AAA from 2022 to 2024 while hitting .229 over 1,146 at-bats with 164 runs, 26 home runs, and 132 RBIs. His bat has been trending much higher over his last playing time this year at AAA and the majors (27-for-88 with 16 runs, no home runs, six RBIs, and 10 10 steals). Teodosio is riding a mini three-game hitting streak (5-for-11 with two runs and one RBI) while looking for his first major league home run and stolen base. He will be found on the waiver wire in almost all leagues this week.

Dominic Canzone, Seattle Mariners

Fantasy teams have started to release Canzone over the past few weeks due to him failing to find his major league power stroke. Over his last 16 games, he hit .292 over 48 at-bats with four runs, one home run, four RBIs, and one steal. His approach (eight walks and nine strikeouts) over this span suggests a possible string of home runs. For now, a player to follow with potential injury cover value.

Starting Pitching

Kyle Harrison, Boston Red Sox

Since arriving in Boston after the Rafael Devers trade, Harrison has spent his time at AAA, working on revamping his approach to batters. He was a challenging buy-and-hold carry in fantasy leagues after three poor starts (11 runs, 20 hits, five home runs, and five walks over 13.0 innings with 10 strikeouts) in the Red Sox farm system.

His arm has been trending toward Boston over his last six starts (1.59 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, and 34 strikeouts over 28.1 innings with no home runs allowed). Harrison is riding a 10.0-inning scoreless streak with three hits, seven walks, and 15 strikeouts. The next step in his development is throwing more strikes. He looks poised to be back in the majors soon. Boston has added a slider to his repertoire this summer.

Troy Melton, Detroit Tigers

After a poor first start (six runs, nine baserunners, and two home runs over five innings with seven strikeouts), Melton has jockeyed between starting and long relief over his last four outings (one run, 10 baserunners, and 14 strikeouts over 17.1 innings). He turned in a dominating start in his previous outing (no runs and one hit over five innings with six strikeouts).

Between AA and AAA this year, Melton posted a 2.99 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, and 101 strikeouts over 75.1 innings while averaging only 4.2 innings per start.

The Tigers don’t have him lined up to start next week, and his ceiling in innings may only be five per game for the rest of the season. Melton falls into the best available pitcher in many shallow leagues this week, with the arm to help control ERA and WHIP.

Ian Seymour, Tampa Bay Rays

The Rays have yet to give Seymour a major league start, but he has looked sharp over his 10 relief appearances (two runs, 15 baserunners, and 18 strikeouts over 17.0 innings). Over the past two seasons at AAA, he went 13-4 with a 2.51 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, and 167 strikeouts over 140.0 innings. I expect Tampa to give him a chance at starting over the last six weeks, especially with Adrian Houser and Joe Boyle fading.

Robby Snelling, Miami Marlins

Snelling is on the doorstep of the majors after dominating AAA batters over six starts (1.34 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, and 43 strikeouts over 33.2 innings), highlighted by two 11-strikeout games. Before his call-up to AAA, he pitched three other stellar games (two runs, 16 baserunners, and 22 strikeouts over 18.0 innings) at AA. Over his first 11 starts this season, Snelling was a liability on the mound (4.47 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, and 63 strikeouts). The Padres drafted in the first round in 2022 (39th overall).

Tai Bradley, Minnesota Twins

Hope can be dashed so quickly when trying to chase down struggling, talented arms in fantasy baseball. Bradley looked poised to be back in the majors with the Twins after two excellent starts at AAA (one run, five hits, two walks, and seven strikeouts over 13.0 innings). Unfortunately, his next outing came in the minors, leading to a disastrous showing (six runs, 11 hits, and one home run over 4.2 innings with six strikeouts). The downside of this poor outing is that it will take him more time to reach Minnesota.