2024 Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Adds: Max Schuemann, Jeff McNeil, Andrew Heaney

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% of Yahoo! Leagues at the time of writing. Stats are up to date through games on July 23.

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Adds: Hitters

Max Schuemann – 2B, SS – Oakland Athletics (47%)

It seems weird, but a player from Oakland heads our list of waiver-wire adds for the second straight week. The last time around, it was Lawrence Butler. This time, it’s Max Schuemann, who just continues to roll at the plate.

Schuemann hit .351 with a .980 OPS in 12 games over the first two weeks of July heading into the All-Star break. He got right back to work when the A’s returned to action, going 3-for-4 with a homer, a double, and four RBI this past Friday against the Angels.  

Since that huge performance, Schuemann has gone 4-for-11 with a double, two RBI, and five runs scored over his last four games.

For the month, the rookie has hit safely in 14 of 17 games overall, slashing a ridiculous .385/.492/.596 with three deep drives, 11 RBI, 18 runs, and four steals. A .486 BABIP screams regression, but fantasy managers should still ride this out with Schuemann.

Juan Yepez – 1B, OF – Washington Nationals (27%)

Yepez has been a hitting machine since the Nationals brought him up from the minors on July 5. He has hit safely in 14 straight games since joining the big league club, posting a .377/.441/.585 slash line across 59 plate appearances.

Yepez has just one home run during this hot streak, but he has also ripped eight doubles while recording an elite 30.2% LD% and striking out less than 17% of the time.  

Jeff McNeil – 2B, OF – New York Mets (19%)

McNeil had a solid second half in 2023. He has come surging out of the break this year. The two-time All-Star homered for the second straight night Tuesday, giving him four long balls in five games since the intermission.

McNeil has gone 6-for-15 overall in his past five games, and his bat was beginning to show some life over his last 10 games prior to the break, as he slugged .462 with a home run and three doubles.

Considering that he was lugging around an ugly .215 AVG and .573 OPS over 294 plate appearances through July 4, it’s clear McNeil has figured something out.

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Adds: Pitchers

Andrew Heaney – SP – Texas Rangers (26%)

The Rangers rotation has been in flux pretty much all season long. There is a chance that Heaney loses his spot at some point due to the returns of some currently injured pitchers over the next month or so. However, given the way he has been performing recently, that would be a mind-boggling decision.

Ignore the 4-10 record. Heaney has been far better than that, particularly since the beginning of June. The 33-year-old southpaw has logged at least five frames in 8 of 9 starts over that span and has not allowed more than three earned runs in any of them.

In the same stretch, he has put together a 2.72 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, and 26.7% K%. Heaney battled the Orioles over five scoreless frames this past Sunday and should be a worthwhile add for fantasy managers in most formats.

A.J. Puk – SP, RP – Miami Marlins (17%)

Puk began the season in the Marlins rotation, attempting to make the transition from reliever to starter. That turned out to be a mistake, as he posted a 9.22 ERA across only 13.2 innings through four starts. Puk then landed on the IL for a month with a shoulder issue.

Puk returned to the Marlins in a bullpen role, and the results improved. He did not immediately display his top form, putting up a 4.11 ERA and 11-to-3 K/BB across 15.1 innings (15 games) from mid-May to mid-June. Yet, over the last month, few, if any, relievers have been better than Puk.

The towering lefty has not been scored upon in his last 13 outings, as he has given up only three hits and three walks while racking up 22 strikeouts across 15.0 innings.

There’s a chance Puk himself gets dealt away from Miami soon, but All-Star closer Tanner Scott has been rumored to be even more of a trade target. If Scott goes and Puk stays, that would seemingly clear the way for the latter to take over at the back of the Marlins’ bullpen.

Puk saved 15 games for the Fish last year, so he is not without experience in the closer’s role. He might end up as a source of saves regardless of the uniform he is wearing on July 31.

Other Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Options to Consider

• Xavier Edwards – 2B, SS – Miami Marlins (15%)
• Jo Adell – OF – Los Angeles Angels (14%)
• Luis L. Ortiz – SP, RP – Pittsburgh Pirates (32%)
• Daniel Hudson – RP – Los Angeles Dodgers (50%)