Fantasy Sports

Week 15 Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: Colby Thomas, Isaac Collins, Esteury Ruiz Lead Outfielders

Six under-the-radar outfielders are heating up in fantasy baseball and could offer major value in deeper leagues heading into the second half of the 2025 season.

Shawn Childs

Milwaukee Brewers Outfielder Isaac Collins
Milwaukee Brewers Outfielder Isaac Collins / Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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As the fantasy baseball season rolls into summer, savvy managers must stay ahead of emerging trends and unexpected breakout performers. These outfielders—Dominic Canzone, Andrew Benintendi, Michael Conforto, Colby Thomas, Esteury Ruiz, and Isaac Collins—are gaining traction with recent surges and expanded opportunities, making them intriguing adds in competitive leagues.

Outfielders

Andrew Benintendi, Chicago White Sox

Other than batting average (.234), Benintendi has been a productive player (27 runs, 10 home runs, and 33 RBIs) over his 214 at-bats. If given 550 at-bats, his success this year would lead to a 30/100 season. He’s hitting .232 over his last 56 at-bats with seven runs, four home runs, and 10 RBIs. Benintendi continues to be in about 60% of 12-team leagues.

Michael Conforto, Los Angeles Dodgers

Conforto is trying his best to rise from the free-agent pool. Over the Dodgers' last 10 games, he made seven starts while regaining his power swing (8-for-29 with six runs, three home runs, and eight RBIs). He only has one RBI over 55 plate appearances vs. lefties, making Conforto a below-par start when facing multiple left-handed pitchers in a week. Los Angeles faced five righties next week.

Dominic Canzone, Seattle Mariners

With five solo home runs over his last 12 games, Canzone is trying to force the Mariners to give him every day starts. He has 11 hits over his previous 40 at-bats with seven runs, five RBIs, and five strikeouts. Canzone is 3-for-10 against left-handed pitching with no home runs or strikeouts. Canzone isn’t quite ready for a long-term ride in shallow formats, but he has the tools (.308/176/52/198/21 over 882 at-bats in his career at AAA) to be a much better player.

Colby Thomas, Athletics

At the halfway point of the baseball season, Thomas hit .301 over 306 AAA at-bats with 63 runs, 17 home runs, 70 RBIs, and seven stolen bases. Over the past month, his success at the plate has been even higher (.325/25/6/31/5 over 114 at-bats). Thomas now has 585 at-bats of AAA experience (.287 with 110 runs, 34 home runs, 115 RBIs, and 10 stolen bases).

The A’s called him over the past week. Thomas has one hit across nine at-bats with a run and four strikeouts. Any success over the next three days will drive his fantasy points by inviting more eyeballs to his 2025 minor league stats. He should be a free agent in all leagues that run their waiver wire on Sunday.

Isaac Collins, Milwaukee Brewers

Over his last 15 games, Collins batted .333 with 13 runs, three home runs, nine RBIs, and one stolen base over 48 at-bats. He was out of the lineup or had minimal at-bats in three contests over this span. Despite his uptick in play, Collins is a free agent in over 75% of time leagues. In his career at AA, he hit .271 over 417 at-bats with 74 runs, 15 home runs, 77 RBIs, and 23 stolen bases while taking 71 walks.

Esteury Ruiz, Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers lost the hot-hitting Max Muncy on Wednesday due to a left knee injury, which could open up a spot for Ruiz to get called up (Tommy Edman to third and Hyeseong Kim to second base). Over his last nine games at AAA, he went 16-for-38 with 12 runs, four home runs, 12 RBIs, and five steals.

His profile and overall impact value should be much higher than the struggling Michael Conforto (.176/31/6/19/1 over 233 at-bats with 65 strikeouts), even with him playing better over the past week (7-for-25 with five runs, two home runs, and six RBIs).

On the year at AAA, Ruiz is up to a .292 batting average with 56 runs, eight home runs, 37 RBIs, and 38 steals over 253 at-bats. He’s walked 11.9% of the time with a favorable strikeout rate (18.5). Ruiz could be a difference-maker speed out if given starting at-bats after the All-Star break for the Dodgers.

Other Fantasy Baseball News

Week 15 MLB Prospect Watch: Francisco Alvarez, Shay Whitcomb Lead Infielders

Week 15 MLB Prospect Watch: Luis Matos, Esteury Ruiz Lead Minor League Outfielders

Week 15 MLB Prospect Watch: Joe Boyle Surges While Logan Henderson, Bubba Chandler Fade

Week 15 Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: Noelvi Marte, Colt Keith, Brooks Baldwin Lead Infielders

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Shawn Childs
SHAWN CHILDS

With 20+ years of experience in the high-stakes fantasy market, I aim to research and compete at the highest level in baseball and football each season. I've contributed as a writer/analyst for Sports Draft Daily, ScoutPro, Scout Fantasy, Fulltime Fantasy, FFToolbox, and Sports Illustrated Fantasy. I'm honored to be in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship Hall of Fame. My drafting philosophy is risk-averse yet open to betting on potential game-changers. I approach player selection with a neutral perspective, acknowledging that fantasy sports are inherently unpredictable due to injuries, performance dips, and managerial decisions. My work focuses on these main areas: - Season-long fantasy baseball and football - BestBall Baseball and Football Events - Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS): DraftKings, FanDuel, and Underdog - Long Shot Player Prop Parlays for NFL I participate in various leagues and contests, including NFBC, NFFC, RTSports, FFPC, DraftKings, Underdog Fantasy, FanDuel, and FFWC, with the goal of leveraging my extensive experience and research for success in each game format. A fantasy follower can expect in-depth profiles of NFL and MLB players, along with season-long and weekly projections for each fantasy football season. In addition, I have many strategy articles to help develop fantasy players' learning curves.

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