Fantasy waiver wire: OF options with Acuña out for season

Dalton Del Don reveals the top widely available hitters worth adding on the fantasy baseball waiver wire in Week 9, including four potential outfielders with the brutal news that Ronald Acuña Jr. is out for the season with a torn left ACL.

Jake Meyers, OF, Houston Astros (25% rostered)

Meyers has started 10 straight games even with Chas McCormick back, so he’s earned a regular role in Houston’s lineup. Fantasy managers should usually remain skeptical of 27-year-olds with poor MLB track records, but Meyers has shown strong contact metrics (8.4 BB%, 18.3 K%), and his 155 wRC+ would rank top-15 among qualified hitters. Moreover, he’s shown excellent decision making at the plate, and his batted-ball profile is off the charts, with his xwOBA in the top 8% of the league. The right-handed Meyers is also batting just .184 with a .732 OPS against lefties this season, so he’s due for major regression against southpaws. Meyers has stolen double-digit bags before in the Minors and possesses Sprint Speed in the 89th percentile, so there’s SB potential as well.

Meyers is a plus defender in centerfield and has a top-five wRC+ in May, yet he’s available in 75% of Yahoo leagues.

Dylan Moore, 2B/SS/OF, Seattle Mariners (47%)

Moore has a 1.033 OPS with five homers and three steals in May, when he’s cut down his K% (18.8) and earned regular at-bats toward the top of Seattle’s lineup. He’s sporting a career high in average exit velocity and has good speed. Moore totaled 18 homers and 42 stolen bases over 537 at-bats from 2021-2022 and has a 23/30 pace over 600 PAs this season. Moore has started 16 straight games, so the playing time is there.

Moore is eligible at three positions and worth adding thanks to his power/speed ability.

Tommy Pham, OF, Chicago White Sox (20%)

Pham is a repeat offender on this list, as he apparently continues to get disrespected in the fantasy community. He missed Spring Training and played just five games in April, but Pham is batting .322/.379/.494 with three homers and three steals over 23 games in May. That’s close to a 25/25 season’s pace with a .315 batting average and a 135 wRC+. Pham combined for 38 homers/steals in fewer than 130 games last season while playing the majority of his games in one of the league’s best pitcher’s parks.

Pham offers power/speed while now hitting leadoff in a hitter’s park, yet he remains available in 80% of Yahoo leagues.

Alec Burleson, 1B/OF, St. Louis Cardinals (42%)

Burleson was mentioned in Friday's pickups, and while his roster percentage has gone up since then, he's still available in the majority of Yahoo leagues. He's on a 10-game hitting streak, with multiple hits in seven of those 10. Here's Andy Behrens' scouting report:

"In Burleson’s last full Minor League season back in 2022, he cleared the 20-homer plateau while hitting .331/.372/.532 at Triple-A Memphis. He definitely offers multi-category appeal in fantasy. As a team, the 2024 Cardinals have clearly been a disappointment, but Burleson has been a notable success story. His age-25 breakout feels pretty legit. Burleson’s Statcast page is full of red."

Patrick Bailey, C, San Francisco Giants (11% rostered)

Bailey’s numbers are suppressed some thanks to missing a couple of weeks while dealing with a concussion this month (and opening the year batting at the bottom of SF’s order), but he’s quietly been one of baseball’s best-hitting catchers this season. The sophomore has upped his BB% (8.7), lowered his K% (21.7) and increased his average exit velocity (92.3 mph) into the top 10% of the league. He entered Sunday with the highest expected batting average (.310) and the fourth-best wRC+ (140) among all qualified catchers, and he’ll see all the playing time he can handle moving forward.

Bailey has moved to the middle of San Francisco’s lineup, and the former top-15 pick appears to have figured it out during his second year in the league. He’s arguably the best defensive player in baseball, so Bailey would become incredibly valuable if he’s able to maintain something close to this level at the plate.

Bailey should be rostered in more fantasy leagues with catcher so thin and league batting averages at historical lows.

DJ LeMahieu, 1B/2B/3B, New York Yankees (14%)

LeMahieu is expected to act as New York’s regular third baseman when he returns from the IL on Tuesday. He won’t hit leadoff like originally planned in Spring Training thanks to Anthony Volpe’s breakout, but LeMahieu can be added in deeper fantasy leagues. He’s eligible at three different positions and capable of helping in counting stats from any spot in a Yankees lineup that easily leads MLB in wRC+. LeMahieu sacrificed batting average for power the last time we saw him in 2023, so it will be interesting to see his approach this season.

LeMahieu lacks power/speed upside but is a career .292 hitter who’s joining a loaded New York lineup and available in more than 85% of Yahoo leagues.

Luis García, 2B, Washington Nationals (28%)

García is another player reappearing on waiver wire lists, but he remains too widely available. He’s on pace to go 15/25 with a top-40 batting average. Yahoo has generous eligibility, yet García entered Sunday as a top-20 fantasy second baseman this season (ahead of Ozzie Albies, Nico Hoerner, Gleyber Torres and Xander Bogaerts) despite opening the year at the bottom of Washington’s lineup. García has moved to the cleanup spot recently, and he’s a good hitter. He has the biggest launch angle and highest Hard Hit% of his career, and he just turned 24. García’s 128 wRC+ this month comes with a .289 BABIP, so there’s room for more.

García continues to fly under the fantasy radar.

A version of this story first appeared on Yahoo.com.