2024 Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Adds: Lawrence Butler, Michael Toglia, Sean Manaea
Fresh off a three-HR game going into the break, watch out for Michael Toglia's to continue a power surge for Colorado in the second half.
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 July 17.
Hitters
Lawrence Butler – OF – Oakland Athletics (18%)
Butler went into the All-Star break on a serious high. The rookie slugger belted three homers, driving in six runs in an 18-3 rout of the Phillies this past Sunday.
Fantasy managers might be tempted to write this off as simply “one huge game,” but Butler had already been showing signs of finally settling in against big-league pitching going back to the beginning of July.
In a dozen games this month, he has hit a cool .317 alongside a ridiculous .854 SLG with seven homers and 17 RBI. Butler’s 26.7 Barrel% and 60.0 HardHit% so far this month both rank inside the top 10 in the league.
Michael Toglia – 1B,OF – Colorado Rockies (14%)
Surprisingly, Butler was not the only MLB player to close out the first half with a three-homer game, as Toglia managed the feat as well. In fact, the switch-hitting slugger ripped four deep drives in three against the Mets last weekend. They did not come at hitter-friendly Coors Field either. Toglia’s power plays everywhere.
Also like Butler, Toglia has seven home runs in July despite hitting just .217 (10 for 46) over 14 games. Toglia is not going to win a Batting Title anytime soon, but his 12 long balls over the last 30 days of the first half tied Shohei Ohtani for the most in that span. His 56.9 HardHit% and 22.2 Barrel% in the same time frame are nothing short of elite.
Jesus Sanchez – OF – Miami Marlins (4%)
Another power hitter who has been on a tear, Sanchez is an option for those in the deepest formats. He can’t hit lefties (.122 AVG), but over the last month, his work against righties has been exceptional. Since June 17, Sanchez has posted a .963 OPS with seven homers, six doubles, and a triple over 86 plate appearances vs. right-handed hurlers. He has mashed four roundtrippers over 11 games so far this month, going 13 for 39 (.333 AVG) overall.
Pitchers
Sean Manaea – SP – New York Mets (51%)
Manaea allowed three runs to the Rockies last time out, but he lasted seven frames, picking up a win and striking out nine. That was his second-highest K total of the season, and the lefty has now registered 36 punchouts across his last 35.2 innings, working to a sensational 2.02 ERA in the process.
A .205 BABIP that has resulted in a .164 opponent’s AVG in this stretch is definitely unsustainable. However, Manaea does deserve plenty of credit, as he has induced groundballs at a 43.0% rate while limiting the opposition to a 17.4 LD% and 77.6 Contact%. He is still walking a few too many batters (10.8%), but Manaea issued only one free pass in that last outing against the Rockies.
Drew Thorpe – SP – Chicago White Sox (25%)
Thorpe has been quite good in five of his first six MLB starts since the White Sox called him up for his debut on June 11. He’s logged 32.2 innings overall, turning in a 3.58 ERA and 1.04 WHIP. His 19-to-15 K/BB is nothing to write home about, but he has countered it by significantly limiting hard contact (32.3 HardHit%, 85.1 mph EV). His 41.2 GB% along with a 13.4 LD% makes for a promising combination as well. Thorpe is worth a shot in deeper redraft formats and should be rostered in all dynasty leagues.
Other Options to Consider
- Shea Langeliers – C – Oakland Athletics (35%)
- Eugenio Suarez – 3B – Arizona Diamondbacks (29%)
- Reese Olson – SP – Detroit Tigers (50%)
- Hunter Harvey – RP – Kansas City Royals (45%)
Written by
Nate Miller is a feature writer at FantasyPros and Just Baseball. He has been an analyst in the fantasy sports industry for the past decade, covering…