Week 12 Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: Dominic Smith and Nolan Gorman are on the rise

The waiver pool in the infield in 12- and 15-team formats lacks players with difference-maker upside, leaviing the fantasy market with churn players to cover injuries or holes in their lineups.

Catchers

Danny Jansen, TB

For the fantasy teams chasing power at the C2 position in 12- and 15-team leagues, Jansen has a home run in five consecutive weeks, covering 19 games. He has 16 hits over his last 62 at-bats with 11 runs, five home runs, and 10 RBIs despite showing some regression in his approach (four walks and 18 strikeouts).

With 480 at-bats, Jansen is on pace for about 48 runs, 18 home runs, and 48 RBIs while having repeated weakness in batting average (.199). For now, he makes more sense in deep formats, with a week-to-week trial period until a more suitable option becomes available.

Kyle Higashioka, TEX

Playing time remains a challenge for Higashioka, but his bat flashed in his last two games (3-for-10 with two runs and six RBIs. He only has one home run this season over 108 at-bats, compared to 17 over 246 at-bats in 2024. The Rangers’ offense picked up over the last week, hinting at more scoring going forward.

Johan Heim went 5-for-36 over his last 11 starts with two runs, one home run, and three RBIs. Higashioka had one home run last season over his first 47 at-bats before finding his power stroke over the final four months (.241/27/16/42 over 199 at-bats).

First Basemen

Dominic Smith, SF

From 2022 to 2024, Smith hit .239 with 101 runs, 18 home runs, 97 RBIs, and two stolen bases over 936 at-bats while playing for four major league franchises. He has surprised the Giants' starting lineup over their last eight games (.423/3/1/7/1 over 26 at-bats), highlighted by a three-game hitting streak (7-for-11 with three runs, one home run, and three RBIs) heading into Saturday night.

Dom Smith’s first Giants home run was a no doubter 🔥 pic.twitter.com/NeuueLTdW9
— SleeperSFGiants (@SleeperSFGiants) June 12, 2025

His career path paints Smith as a low-ceiling player, with his best success in the minors coming from 2015 to 2017 (.312 over 1,397 at-bats with 199 runs, 36 home runs, 246 RBIs, and five stolen bases). Maybe, he has a little more JUICE in his bat this year.

Nolan Schanuel, LAA

I was a big fan of Schanuel last season due to his expected approach and added speed from first base. Unfortunately, he failed to reach my lofty outlook. This year, Schanuel looks much better at the plate, leading to 34 walks and 36 strikeouts over 233 at-bats. On the downside, his power (three home runs) and speed (three stolen bases) don’t move the needle in fantasy leagues.

His exit velocity (88.4 mph) is trending higher, but Schanuel’s HR/FB rate (4.6) is well below last season (10.1). Over his last 28 games, he went 33-for-105 (.314) with 15 runs, one home run, 11 RBIs, and two stolen bases with 17 walks and 14 strikeouts.

For a fantasy team looking for batting average help, Schanuel fits the mold. I expect him to run more, helped by more trips to first base. The trick/hope is at least 10 home runs over the last 15 weeks of the year.

Second Basemen

Nolan Gorman, STL

Over the first three and a half months of the baseball season, some fantasy managers tried to chase Gorman down at second to find a boost in home runs. He whiffed his way to the bench while dumping one ball in the seats over his first 90 at-bats.

433 FEET!

Nolan Gorman CRUSHED this baseball! pic.twitter.com/zf9spc5V4m
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) June 14, 2025

In June, the Cardinals gave him more starts, leading to nine hits over 28 at-bats with five runs, three home runs, and eight RBIs. Gorman was at his best in 2023 with St. Louis (.236/59/27/76/7 over 406 at-bats) despite striking out 31.9% of the time.

Worth a power add, but his leash should be short if home runs dry up and Gorman takes too many trips back to the dugout with the bat on his shoulder.

Max Muncy, ATH

The A’s recalled Muncy in early June after playing well at AAA (.325/24/3/22/1 over 123 at-bats). He appeared to be a bridge player at second base until Zack Gelof returns, but Muncy has reached a much higher ceiling in power (four home runs and 11 RBIs over 37 at-bats with a .270 batting average). His strikeout rate (29.4) has been a problem, something that was less of an issue at AAA (23.8%).

Home Run Max Muncy! pic.twitter.com/KyLacRNZO8
— Barstool Baseball (@StoolBaseball) June 14, 2025

The challenge with Muncy is trusting his power surge, as his minor league resume paints a much lower profile in this area. He falls into the hot hand category in deep formats.

Third Basemen

Otto Kemp, PHI

Otto Kemp RBI HBP.

Kemp was hit by a pitch four times in one game earlier this year (with the IronPigs). pic.twitter.com/WKDDMCXwAe
— John Foley (@2008Philz) June 14, 2025

In his first week in the majors, Kemp went 6-for-24 with two runs and two RBIs while striking out eight times. His starting window will hinge on the return of Bryce Harper. At AAA, Kemp was on career pace over 224 at-bats (.313/49/14/55/11). Many times this year, major league call-ups have struggled out of the gate, so he may only be a one-week fill-in if Kemp doesn’t show power or speed.

Ke’Bryan Hayes, PIT

Hayes is riding a six-game hitting streak (8-for-23) with four runs, one home run, one RBI, and three stolen bases. His speed (9) at third base can be an advantage to some team structures, but Hayes must find his 2023 power stroke (15 home runs over 494 at-bats) to earn starting week-to-week fantasy value.

Shortstops

J.P. Crawford, SEA

Over the last two weeks, Crawford went 23-for-54 while taking nine walks. His counting stats (four runs, one home run, five RBIs, and two stolen bases) don’t jump off the page, but he has hit his way to the top of the Mariners’ starting lineup. Crawford flashed in Week 5 (five runs, two home runs, and eight RBIs), something he’ll have to repeat a couple of times to save his power stats. Playing well, making a potential upgrade to some fantasy teams.

Brooks Lee, MIN

Since his game on May 28th, Lee has a hit or more in 14 of his last 15 matchups (no at-bats on 6/10), leading to 18 hits over 56 at-bats with seven runs, two home runs, nine RBIs, and one stolen base. Fifty-four games into the season, he would be on pace for 51 runs, 18 home runs, 72 RBIs, and six steals if Lee played in 162 games.

Brooks Lee extends his hitting streak to 14 games with a 2-run home run! #MNTwins pic.twitter.com/gKeHx3wgno
— Dustin Morse (@morsecode) June 14, 2025

In 2023 and 2024 in the minors over 160 games, he posted competitive stats across the board (.288/112/24/114/9 over 643 at-bats). He’s a better player than his production shows, and another injury to Royce Lewis helps his playing time.

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