Fantasy Baseball: Best Waiver Wire & Streamers to Watch
Top players on the waiver wire that fantasy owners should be targeting this week.
It seems that each week that goes by, finding players on the waiver wire gets a little more difficult. Breakouts and hot starts have been scooped up leaving you with fewer impact options.
However, riding the hot hand week to week can still help you win your league. This week we have two hitters and two streamers.
Isaac Parades- 2B/3B- Rays (7.7% ESPN)
2022 Stats: .232/.288/.579, 10 HR, 147 wRC+
The Rays acquired Parades in spring training from the Tigers for Austin Meadows. The Rays typically know what they are doing, and this trade has already paid off. Parades has seen his paying time increase and has made the most of it. Over the past week he is slashing .471/.500/1.353 with five home runs.
Whether or not Parades keeps up this pace, opportunity should be there. Vidal Brujan and Taylor Walls have struggled while other Rays remained injured. Parades strikes out at a low 14.4% clip and has shown he can add some power to your lineup.
Jarren Duran- OF – Red Sox (4.5% ESPN)
2022 Stats: .319/.373/.489, 4 SB, 142 wRC+
Jarren Duran’s percent owned will soon skyrocket. Batting leadoff in this Boston lineup will make Duran especially valuable in category leagues. Through 12 games, he has four steals. He has not shown the power in the MLB, but hit 16 home runs in 2021 in Triple-A.
Even with Enrique Hernandez coming back soon, Duran should get at-bats over the struggling Jackie Bradley Jr. in right. His barrel percent has doubled from last season, proving his offseason adjustments are paying off. As long as he’s getting regular playing time, Duran will add stolen bases, runs, average, with potential for some pop to your lineup.
Streamers
Josh Winckowski (3.2% ESPN) – July 1, @ Cubs
2022 Stats: 3-1, 3.60 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 20 IP, 13 SO
The Red Sox rookie has been lucky enough to face Baltimore, Oakland, Detroit, and Cleveland to start his season. This week, he gets the 28-45 Chicago Cubs. Winckowski has been solid, but this has more to do with the match up.
The Cubs offense has a 98 wRC+ with few true threats in their lineup. I expect the Red Sox to get the win with Winckowski doing enough to be created with the W. Around five innings with a run or two making him a fine streaming option in deep leagues.
Dean Kremer (2.4%) – July 28th, @ Mariners
2022 Stats: 2-1, 1.71 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 21 IP, 14 SO
I’ll be honest, I never expected to suggest Dean Kremer as an option on your fantasy team but here we are. Through four starts, Kremer has slashed his home run rate from 19% in 2021 to 3.3% in 2022. He’s pitching to weaker contact, with only a 6.1% barrel rate.
Seattle will be without Ty France leaving an already mediocre offense without their best hitter. Adam Frazier, J.P. Crawford, Abraham Toro, and Dylan Moore all had miserable weeks batting .125 of lower. The Mariners simply have too many cold bats and replacement level players at the moment. Also, T-Mobile ballpark has been a pitcher-friendly park.
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