Fantasy Baseball: 10 Players You Need to Add to Your Watchlist

Need some ESPN fantasy baseball help? Here are some players that might be available on the waiver wire that at least should be added to your watchlist.

Now that we are a few weeks into the shortened 60 game season, every week of fantasy baseball is more important than ever. It may seem like it is too early into the season to give up on some of your middle round draft picks that are not performing for you, but you should start considering some waiver wire replacements if you haven’t already.

Not to brag, but as a two time fantasy baseball winner in my friend group, waiver wires can change your season. It only takes one or two really good pickups to win your league, so I encourage you to pay attention to the free agents in your fantasy league.

There are plenty of waiver wire players to choose from, but this list will provide some names that are underrated and available in most fantasy leagues. Not every player on this list is a must-add right now kind of player, but a player to stream and pay attention to in their next couple of games. Let’s go!

Kris Bubic

Who’s that? A 22 year old prospect for the Kansas City Royals.

I am honestly surprised he is not on more fantasy baseball rosters, as he is only owned in 5.3% of ESPN fantasy leagues.

Kris Bubic is the Royals’ 7th ranked prospect, who got called up during the season along with Brady Singer, the #3 ranked Royals’ prospect. Bubic is a little more underrated than Singer, and that is shown through his 21.1% ownership in fantasy baseball.

He reminds me a little bit of a Tyler Anderson and Matt Boyd combination. His motion is a little funky, deceptive, and hr has pretty good stuff.

The #40th overall pick in 2018 from Stanford relies on his low-mid 90s fastball to set up his great changeup and curveball. He will not overpower hitters but if he can control the strike zone, he will accumulate a lot of strikeouts.

In 2019, he struck out 185 hitters, the most by a Royals’ minor league pitcher since 2000, and had a 2.23 ERA. In his MLB debut, he threw four innings against the White Sox and gave up two earned runs, three hits, a walk, and three strikeouts.

His second start was great: six innings allowing two earned runs while striking out six and allowing four hits against the Chicago Cubs. But he did not receive enough run support to earn him his 1st MLB win.

And most recently, Bubic struggled in his 3rd start against the good hitting Reds, where he threw five innings, but gave up ive earned runs. He gave up seven hits and a walk, but was able to strike out six batters.

Although he is 0-2, Bubic is a young prospect and the Royals have a lot of trust in him apparently. He should be added to your watchlist, and if you are in need of a starting pitcher, he might be a nice pitcher to stash, who should continue to pitch well.

Another side note, his catcher is Salvador Perez. The reason why I mention this is because it could help Bubic’s growth. When you have a reliable veteran star catcher like Perez calling your game, it can make a huge difference in performance.

As a former college catcher, I know the importance of being a reliable backstop for pitchers. This is only going to help Bubic grow this season as a 22 year old. Perez might be the reason why the Royals felt comfortable calling up both Bubic and Singer to pitch this year.

Dominic Smith

The 25-year-old former prospect who is getting more playing time.

Dominic Smith is also a player worth streaming because of his increased role in New York, and is rostered on 6% of fantasy baseball teams. The former first round draft pick from 2012 is a career .236 hitter, and has a .751 OPS.

He hasn’t proven himself as a quality first round pick and a Mets prospect, but he is still only 25 years old. It seems like Smith has been in the league forever. The 2020 season will be only his fourth MLB season.

It is too early to give up on Smith and that is why he is still in New York, and this year could be his year. He was not projected to play very often in 2020 but with Yoenis Cespedes opting out abruptly, it opens up more playing time for Smith.

Smith played 89 games last year which was his career high, and hit .282, with a .881 OPS. With Cespedes not playing anymore, it opens up another outfield spot, and designated hitter slot for the Mets.

Smith also does have 1B eligibility in fantasy baseball which provides extra flexibility for fantasy owners. So far, his stat line is  .233 average, .324 OBP, .848 OPS, with 2 HR and 8 RBIs.

He is averaging barely below two fantasy points per game, but I think that average will continue to rise with more consistent playing time. Smith may not be as valuable for points oriented fantasy leagues until he starts to hit more consistently, but he does already provide value for category fantasy leagues.

Smith is also hitting in the middle to late half of the order, 5-7 so he has plenty of opportunities to hit for pop and drive in runs for a team that is in need of some more production. You can expect some home runs, RBIs, and above average OPS moving forward.

Austin Nola

I thought he was a pitcher? No, that’s his brother.

As a Mariners fan, this pick is a no-brainer for me and someone I am excited to promote. Austin Nola, the Mariners’ current starting catcher has been performing really well. And yes he is related to Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola.

With the injury Tom Murphy sustained in summer camp, Nola is now the starting catcher. Murphy has no timetable to return so Nola will be catching often for the Mariners until further notice.

This year, he is hitting .308, .372 OBP, .911 OPS, with one homer and seven RBIs. This stat line should easily attract the fantasy baseball owners who are in need of catchers. I think he gets overlooked because he is a Mariner and many people are not familiar with him because he was a backup catcher and started games at 1B last season.

The former fifth round pick impressed last year in his first season in the majors after a long stint in the minor leagues with a .269 BA, and .769 OPS in 79 games.

This season, Nola has been hitting in the 5 hole often, providing him with excellent RBI opportunities if 1-4 can find themselves on base. It is rare for catchers to be hitting fifth, and Nola could capitalize to provide a lot of RBIs as a catcher.

He also has extra value because he is eligible for 1B position in rosters.

He is surprisingly only owned by 11.4% of fantasy teams and is averaging around 2.3 points per game. Whether you are playing in a points or category league, Nola should be on your watchlist with no doubt.

Don’t wait too long because he has been popular among waiver wire players. He has seen a big jump in roster %. Over the last few days, there has been a 9.8% increase in adding Nola to fantasy rosters. Good hitting catchers are hard to come by, so if you do not have a backup, pick him up before it is too late.

Matt Kemp

He is still in the league?

Guess what team Matt Kemp plays for.

After Ian Desmond opted out of the season, the Rockies made a move for Matt Kemp to fill in for Desmond in the outfield or DH spot. The league wide designated hitter really benefits Kemp who is now 35 years old.

If it weren’t for the league wide DH, Kemp could be out of a job.

The 3 time all star and two time gold glover has not had a good year since 2018. But his 2020 has been pretty good thus far.

Kemp will also benefit from playing in Coors Field and could rack up a few more homers than he usually would elsewhere.

I am not saying he will hit .285 like his career batting average, but I think he has something left in the tank.

The Rockies are an interesting team, they have some really good hitting and two underrated veterans who are trying to make an impact, Daniel Murphy and Kemp.

Kemp is only on 11.8% of teams so he still is readily available in most fantasy baseball leagues and is worth high consideration.

He is averaging right around 2.1 points per game which is not super high, but I think it could go up. Kemp might be more valuable in category leagues but should be on your watchlist regardless.

The veteran has also been hitting in good parts of the order for production. He has been hitting in the 5th and 6th spot, and every once in a while the cleanup spot. This will hopefully lead to lots of RBI’s, which are a hot commodity on the waiver wire.

But be wary, he is 35 years old, so make sure to read up on Kemp related news. He is not currently dealing with any injuries but it is never out of the picture.

Otherwise, he could be an RBI machine this season.

Wilmer Flores

Wilmer “Crying” Flores is actually a good baseball player.

Wilmer Flores is a San Francisco Giant this year and he is worth looking at. He is only on 12.7% of fantasy baseball teams.

He is currently only eligible at 2B, but he can play anywhere in the infield. This season, he has played four games at first and three games at third. By the time you know it, he will have extra infield eligibility which is key in filling out your roster daily.

Flores has sort of been overshadowed by the totally random emergence of Donovan Solano. Solano’s crazy hitting has taken away from Flores’ sneaky hitting season.

In 2020, he is hitting .276, OBP of .306, and .772 OPS. Very good numbers for fantasy owners especially in category leagues. He does offer some pop as well with three homers and eight RBI thus far.

Flores has always been a fringe fantasy player in the past. He is a career .269 hitter and posted a .743 OPS in almost 8 seasons. Flores has had close to 20 home runs three years in a row between 2015 and 2017, as almost an everyday play..

But this year he is on a team that will need his presence in the first half of the order which could lead to more Runs or RBIs. The Giants don’t have a whole lot of depth even with the return of Evan Longoria, so Flores will continue to see playing time whether it be at second, first, third, or DH.

In addition, he has been hitting mostly #5 after Longoria’s return. Flores has also hit in the #2 spot, so he will always be in a valuable spot in the lineup regardless of his position. This will lead to RBI opportunities for him to capitalize on.

Add him to your watch list at least. But I would recommend adding him to your team if there are not many better infield options.

Jose Iglesias

I thought he was only good at defense? Look again.

One hot hitter right now is Jose Iglesias, who is only rostered in 4.7% of fantasy baseball teams which is amazing to me. The veteran defensive maestro is currently hitting .405 and slugging .595.

This season, he has accumulated 27 points and averages 2.5 points per game in ESPN standard points format. His total is a bit low because he has been dealing with some quad soreness and missed some games. The Orioles also had some games postponed which also adds to the low points total.

He has always been a decent hitter, but not always quite enough to be a solid fantasy shortstop for owners. He he is a career .275 average, .316 OBP, and .691 OPS. I was honestly surprised when I did the research, I had not expected that high of a career average.

This year is especially different for Iglesias because of the lack of Orioles’ depth, similar to Wilmer Flores. When you look at the depth chart, the Orioles are lacking big names to hit in the middle of the order like the Red Sox teams Iglesias had played for.

Because of this, Iglesias has been hitting third frequently, which provides him with a lot of RBI opportunities and he really has capitalized.

There are not many great shortstop options on the waiver wire because the position is so focused around good defense, but Iglesias seems to be doing it from both sides.

Iglesias has been a big part of the Orioles’ surprising 8-7 start, and should be worth a waiver wire add if you do not have many middle infielders on your roster. Just make sure Iglesias is healthy and he should be a solid fantasy option this season.

Zach Eflin

Who the Eflin is he?

Zach Eflin is a former 1st round pick in the 2012 draft and he turned 26 in April. He also has a fun last name you could use in fantasy team names like “Are you Eflin Kidding me?”

Anyways, he is entering his fifth season in the bigs with the Phillies and had a pretty solid year in 2019. In his first two years he struggled, and had ERAs above 5.00. But in 2018, he dropped it down to a 4.36 ERA.

And last year, he lowered it to a 4.13 ERA, a 10-13 record, two complete games, and a 7.1 K/9 rate. I thought he was an under the radar Phillies starting pitcher last season, and he still is this year.

Eflin would have had more starts but he was dealing with back spasms. He would eventually make his first 2020 start against the Yankees.

He went four innings against a good hitting team and gave up just four hits with five strikeouts. Although this is a small sample size, I believe the young 26 year old will continue his trend of lowering his ERA.

Eflin has potential to lower his ERA under 4.00 this year and his first start against the Yankees gave me extra hope. He is worth adding to your watchlist to keep an eye on. He is only rostered on 6.6% of fantasy baseball teams, and I am part of that 6.6%.

In addition, he is on a solid Phillies team with a lot of star power which could provide him extra fantasy value in the Win category. The Phillies are a key team to look for in the playoffs led by Realmuto and Harper. Eflin could be a nice back of the rotation pitcher for the Phillies this season.

Make sure to check the box score for his next start against the Orioles.

Tommy Milone

The Orioles’ Opening Day starter.

Another pitcher for you to keep an eye out is Tommy Milone. The 33-year-old veteran pitcher was the Orioles’ Opening Day starter this year. Although the pairing for Opening Day between Milone and Nathan Eovaldi of the Red Sox received some criticism, confusion, and disgust, Milone earned my respect to be on this list.

I will be honest, Milone had a bad Opening Day start, throwing only three innings and giving up four earned runs. But, his last two starts have been great, maybe a glimpse of his 2012 year.

In 2012 with the Athletics, Milone had a 3.74 ERA and went 13-10. Nothing too flashy, but respectable and had good fantasy value back then.

The past two starts have shown flashes of that year when he threw five innings against the Rays and gave up only one earned run and eight strikeouts. In his other start against the Nationals, he threw six innings of scoreless baseball.

Both the Rays and Nationals are good teams also, it is no fluke that Milone had a good stat line.

I think Milone could be a sneaky waiver wire add, and is available in almost all leagues. He is rostered on 2.5% of fantasy baseball teams. I would not be surprised if he has another outstanding outing and fantasy owners go crazy for him.

Despite his not so impressive track record in the league, he could offer some value for owners looking for starting pitching. Don’t wait too long if he continues to pitch well, because he could be gone instantly.

Trevor Williams

Back to his 2018 Form?

Trevor Williams’ best season was in 2018 and that is what fantasy baseball owners want from him. He is currently owned by 2.4% of fantasy baseball teams and is averaging 5.3 points as a starter. Not good at all.

But, that number is slightly skewed by his two consecutive bad starts to start the season. His combined ERA is 3.52 and 14 Ks in 15.1 inning which is not bad at all.

You may be asking why he is on the list if he had two bad starts? Williams had a good outing his last time on the mound, and his 2018 season was great for fantasy owners. I truly believe he can get back to 2018.

In 2018, Williams threw a 3.11 ERA, went 14-10, 1.178 WHIP, and 6.6 K/9. 2019 was rough for him where he threw 5.38 ERA and a 1.414 WHIP. But I think it was just an off year and not a true representation of his pitching skills.

Owners might shy away from Williams because he has only had one really good start but that is enough for me to consider him. I am all about hot takes!

He threw seven innings allowing just one earned run against a good hitting Minnesota Twins. He only gave up three hits and struck out five. Sort of like the Tommy Milone example, Williams pitched against a solid AL team in the Twins. It was not against the struggling Red Sox.

Even with his two bad starts, he has a 3.52 ERA which is completely respectable. If you are in need of pitching, you should add Williams to your watchlist and pay attention to his next game.

If he throws six innings and gives up two earned runs while striking out six batters, you should probably add him before he catches more owners’ eyes.

Thanks for reading, and look for more fantasy baseball advice in the next few weeks!