2024 Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Adds: Week 2

Playing the waiver wire effectively is crucial to fantasy baseball success throughout the season. Each week of the 2024 campaign, this article will help pinpoint which players are readily available to be picked up in most formats. All of them should help bolster fantasy rosters in the short and/or long term.

***Players included on the list below were rostered In less than 70 percent of Yahoo! Leagues at the time of writing.

Hitters

Jose Siri – OF – Tampa Bay Rays (49%)

Siri reportedly set a personal goal to steal 30 bags this season, and he’s well on his way with six already. The fleet-footed center fielder belted a surprising 25 homers in 2023, to which he added 12 stolen bases (15 attempts). That was pretty much a reversal of expectations.

Siri has still displayed some pop over his first 12 games this year, going deep once and adding three doubles. His strikeout rate is still alarming (36.2%), but he’s hitting an improved .263 with a .404 OBP across 47 plate appearances. Siri excels in center field, which keeps him in the lineup even through dry spells on offense.

Though, this may be the year the 28-year-old finds better consistency with the bat.

Jose Caballero – 2B,SS – Tampa Bay Rays (21%)

Sticking with the Rays, Caballero is right behind his teammate above with five steals through his first 10 games. That’s not too surprising considering he swiped 26 as a rookie with the Mariners in 2023. What is surprising is Caballero’s .353 AVG following a .221 mark last year.

Caballero has added three doubles, five RBI, and six runs over 34 at-bats. He’s playing a slick shortstop, which was expected, but the offensive contributions coming from the bottom half of the Rays’ lineup are what make him a waiver pickup right now. Ride out this hot wave while it lasts.

Sal Frelick – OF – Milwaukee Brewers (19%)

Many had high hopes for Frelick when he made his MLB debut late last July, but, after a hot start, the hype surrounding him waned down the stretch. The Brewers attempted to make him their leadoff man out of the gate this year. However, following a 1-for-13 performance over the first three games, he was dropped in the lineup.

The move to the bottom half of the batting order seems to have paid off, as Frelick has come up with four multi-hit efforts over six games since, going 10-for-21 (.476) with three RBI, seven runs, and one steal. He’s lashing line drives at a 41.2-percent clip in this stretch and showing an excellent approach at the plate with a 4-to-3 K/BB.

Shea Langeliers – C – Oakland Athletics (8%)

Moving on to look for some notable power upside, Langeliers blasted three roundtrippers on Tuesday night.

That gives Langeliers four through his first 10 games of the season after he finished last year with 22. That power plays significantly at the catcher position. He came into the season as a career. 209 hitter across 175 MLB games, but, in a small sample, he is hitting .250 at the moment.

Langeliers is more likely to hit below that mark than above it and the Oakland lineup limits his RBI potential. Still, his power alone makes him worth a flyer off the waiver wire.

Pitchers

Jared Jones – SP – Pittsburgh Pirates (62%)

Jones might’ve been somewhat overshadowed by fellow Pirates pitching prospect Paul Skenes coming into the year, but it’s time for all to pay attention.

Over his first two big-league starts, Jones has racked up a whopping 17 punchouts over 11.2 innings while working to a 3.86 ERA and 0.94 WHIP.

Jones’ high-90s heat and knockout slider have been a baffling duo to opposing hitters. Among pitchers with at least 10 innings so far this season, the 22-year-old righty ranks fourth with a 35.4 K% and first with a ridiculous 20.7 SwStr%. That’s obviously a small sample but still incredibly impressive.

James Paxton – SP – Los Angeles Dodgers (38%)

Okay, sure, Paxton will almost certainly miss some time at some point this season. The veteran lefty has been plagued by injuries his entire career, having only reached as much as 150 innings twice since originally debuting all the way back in 2013. And, he hasn’t done that since the 2018 and 2019 seasons.

Forget about that for now, at the moment Paxton is pitching quite well for one of the best teams in baseball. Over his first two starts of the campaign, he has given up only two runs on seven hits and six walks while striking out nine across 11 frames.

Five of those walks came in his first outing before improving the command during a road start in Minnesota this past Monday. Paxton is keeping the ball on the ground at an encouraging 44.8-percent clip and, if his past is any indication, the strikeouts will come along soon.

James McArthur – RP – Kansas City Royals (35%)

McArthur enjoyed a late-season, mini breakout of sorts out of the Royals’ bullpen last September. He completely dominated opposing batters, giving up just five hits and no walks while striking out 19 over 16 1/3 scoreless innings. He earned four saves in that stretch and appeared poised to enter 2024 as the club’s closer. Then, this off-season, the Royals added a veteran with plenty of closing experience in lefty Will Smith.

Smith has converted one save this year, but that was sandwiched between a couple of clunkers. Now, McArthur and Smith have seemingly switched roles, and the former appears to be settling in well. McArthur has grabbed two saves and a win over his last three outings, allowing no runs on two hits and a walk while striking out four. Look for his rostered percentage to soar soon.