2024 Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Adds: Ceddanne Rafaela, Jarred Kelenic, Taj Bradley

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. Stats are up to date through June 18.

Hitters

Ceddanne Rafaela – SS,OF – Boston Red Sox (62%)

Rafaela’s rostered percentage has been surging lately, and that is not just because some understandably mistake him for Mookie Betts. Joking aside, no player in the league is swinging a hotter bat than the rookie from Curacao, as he’s delivered six multi-hit performances during his current seven-game hitting streak.

Going back a couple of weeks, Rafaela has hit a ridiculous .468 with a homer, three doubles, eight RBI, and two steals in his last 12 games. His high strikeout rate (26.5%) has persisted during this stretch and will keep him a volatile producer, but a healthy 41.2 HardHit% and 27.3 LD% should continue to result in plenty of hits. Rafaela should be picked up pretty much everywhere, as he could be on the way to a 20-20 season with a solid RBI total.  

Tyler Soderstrom – C,1B – Oakland Athletics (40%)

Sticking with youth, Soderstrom, who hit for big pop in the minors, has been displaying his power potential for the A’s. Prior to Tuesday’s 0-of-4 blemish, the first-round pick from 2020 had ripped four deep drives during an eight-game hitting streak. He regularly sits against left-handed pitchers, but Soderstrom gets enough at-bats to do serious damage.

Among players with at least 100 plate appearances this season, Soderstrom ranks sixth in hard-hit rate (56.3%) and 11th in average exit velocity (93.5 mph). That’s quite impressive, particularly for a 22-year-old.  

Jarred Kelenic – OF – Atlanta Braves (34%)

With injuries to Ronald Acuna Jr. and Michael Harris, Kelenic has led off for the Braves in each of the last three games. He has settled right in, going 5 for 14 with two homers and a steal. That has continued a month-long run of good work at the plate, as Kelenic has hit .289 with an .844 OPS over his last 24 games.

Kelenic’s 28.1 LD% in that span is elite, and a 45.3 HardHit% is encouraging as well. He figures to remain at the top spot of the Atlanta batting order, at least vs. right-handed pitchers, for a while, which considerably enhances his fantasy appeal.

Pitchers

Taj Bradley – SP – Tampa Bay Rays  (50%)

Yes, Bradley got blown up by the Orioles in Baltimore back on the first of June. He immediately rebounded in a rematch with them in Tampa and followed that up with an 11-strikeout effort against the Cubs last time out. He’ll take the mound in Minnesota on Wednesday having surrendered just one earned run while posting an 18-to-3 K/BB over his last 12 innings.

Simply put, Bradley should be rostered in far more than just half of leagues. His strikeout rate (31.6%) alone makes him a must-add. When factoring in the 3.12 xFIP that currently hides behind his 4.23 ERA, the decision is easy. Bradley is a 23-year-old with a fantastic repertoire and ace upside.

Miles Mikolas – SP – St. Louis Cardinals (30%)

Mikolas does not possess ace upside, but he certainly looked like one in two starts last week, giving up just one run on five hits and a walks while striking out 11 across 13.1 innings against the Pirates and Cubs. The crafty veteran has been in a groove since the middle of May, as he has logged at least six innings in six of his last seven outings and allowed no more than three runs in any of them.

During that span, Mikolas has put together a 2.76 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, and 32-to-8 K/BB across 42.1 innings. Along with his great control, he has induced groundballs at a promising 45.7% and limited solid contact (33.6 HardHit%). His 3.72 xFIP and .205 BABIP suggest some negative regression is on the way, but Mikolas can still be a steady option at the backend of a fantasy rotation.

Other Options to Consider

• Brandon Lowe – 2B – Tampa Bay Rays (25%)
• Carlos Santana – 1B – Minnesota Twins (17%)
• Spencer Schwellenbach – SP – Atlanta Braves (11%)
• Chad Green – RP – Toronto Blue Jays (27%)