Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: Banking on Brendan

Here are this week’s pickups. My final rankings column of the year will be posted next Wednesday or Thursday, so look out for that.

Matthew Boyd – SP Guardians – Rostered in 16% of Yahoo leagues

I did a little blurb last week suggesting Boyd would be worth picking up if he survived his upcoming road start against the Yankees. He did so in rather predictable fashion; he surrendered solo homers to Juan Soto and Aaron Judge but just one other run over 5 1/3 innings in a no-decision. Now he has home starts against Texas and Pittsburgh coming up, making him look like a fine play.

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Boyd spent the first three months of this season unsigned as he rehabbed from June 2023 Tommy John surgery, so it’s been quite the nice surprise that he’s this strong already. He’s averaged 92.2 mph with his fastball in his first two starts, which would be very slightly better than his previous career high if he could keep it up. He’s often struggled to produce quality ERAs because he’s so homer-prone, but he’s solid in terms of WHIP and strikeouts and he’s getting to pitch for an excellent team for the first time in a career mostly spent with the Tigers. He’s not a sure thing, but there’s a good chance he’ll be helpful.

Brendan Rodgers – 2B Rockies – Rostered in 24% of Yahoo leagues

As of Monday, the Rockies will have 31 games left this season, with 19 of those coming at home. It should be a fun time to roster some Colorado players. Rodgers, in particular, rates as a quality option. He’s batting .357 with three homers this month and .291/.341/.474 with eight homers since the beginning of June. The Rockies almost always have him hitting somewhere in the top five spots of their lineup, and he’s totaled 58 runs+RBI in his 51 home games this year. That he’s a complete zero in steals is unfortunate, but everything else should be solid.

Other Rockies deserve consideration, too. It looks like the Rockies have rightly decided to try Jordan Beck as an everyday player at Jake Cave’s expense, and while he’s probably not ready to excel just yet, there’s enough hope of homers and steals to make him an option when the Rockies are at Coors. Charlie Blackmon is rostered in just six percent of leagues, but the team figures to have him leading off in just about nearly every home game with his Rockies career (hopefully) coming to an end. He’s hit .289/.362/.500 at Coors this year.

Jack Leiter – SP Rangers – Rostered in 5% of Yahoo leagues

If you’re feeling gutsy, Leiter might be worth a roll of the dice. His first three major leagues starts in April and May saw him give up 17 earned runs in 9 1/3 innings, and he was looking like a major long shot to contribute this season when his struggles in Triple-A lingered into July. However, after a quick break to begin August, he’s come back his last two times out and fanned 20 while walking just two in 9 1/3 innings. Now it’s expected that his next turn will come in the majors against the White Sox next week.

Leiter averaged 95.6 mph with his fastball in his major league outings this year. In his most recent start for Round Rock, he averaged 97.8 mph and topped out at 99.6 mph on the gun. His slider and curveball were likewise up by about two mph. His walk rate has been falling, too. I still worry about the command, but the uptick in stuff definitely heightens his ceiling. He’s also looking at a pretty friendly stretch of the schedule for the Rangers in the coming weeks.

Quick hits

– I don’t know exactly how it is that Garrett Mitchell has managed just eight RBI in 40 games thus far, but I do believe fantasy value will be in there in the end for him. The Brewers aren’t only playing him regularly, but they’re mostly batting him in the top half of the order, too. He doesn’t have to be picked up at this very moment, but keep him on your radar.

– It’s disappointing that Coby Mayo didn’t get a real chance in Baltimore, but Ramón Urías is taking this opportunity to remind everyone that he’s a pretty good ballplayer. As the everyday guy at third for the Orioles right now, he offers some short-term value.

– Andrew Heaney isn’t an every-week guy in mixed leagues, but he’s definitely worth picking up for next week, since he’s due to face the White Sox on the road and then the A’s at home.