Fantasy Baseball Week 16 Waiver Wire Pickups: CJ Abrams, Tarik Skubal, and More!
Welcome to the second half of the season. It’s technically less than half (and it’s way less than half if you have fantasy playoffs coming up), but let’s roll with it anyway. As Yogi Berra once said, “it’s getting late early.”
I’m not saying you need to start making grand roster changes, but it’s also no time to be too sentimental, hopeful, or patient with players who may be struggling on your roster (more on that in Week 16 Waiver Droppables). And it’s also no time to get picky about a player on waivers because he had a bad month of April or May. It’s almost August and two months ago doesn’t really matter at this point.
With that, let’s look at the Week 16 Fantasy Baseball Waivers so we can get the jump on everyone else.
As always, check out the fantasy assistant for personalized waiver wire recommendations and team analysis. Make moves based on projections, strengths and weaknesses, waiver alerts, and lots more.
Top Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Adds
(ownership percentages are based on ESPN leagues)
CJ Abrams, SS, Washington Nationals (10.5%)
Did you know that in almost 90 percent of ESPN leagues, you can pick up a 22-year-old player who is hitting .251 with 40 runs, eight home runs, 36 RBI, and 16 steals? While being ranked as the 11th-best shortstop on the player rater? I’ll be honest…I didn’t until I started researching this article. I knew of Abrams, but hadn’t dug into his numbers a ton. Abrams has slid under the radar a bit, but I think he needs to be picked up almost everywhere. If for nothing else, he’s a great short-term pickup as he’s hitting .385 with 10 runs scored, one home run, three RBI, and seven steals in the month of July. And he’s currently on a six-game hitting streak (the last five of which have all been multi-hit games).
Tarik Skubal, P, Detroit Tigers (26.3%)
Skubal has started the season strong after missing the first three months and now has a 0.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, and 11 strikeouts through his first eight innings of the year. The Tigers are being cautious with the 24-year-old and have limited him to just four innings in each of his two starts, but we should see him get stretched out more soon. His career K/9 rate is 9.6 (as opposed to the 12.4 K/9 rate he has in a miniscule sample size) so his strikeouts likely won’t remain this plentiful, but Skubal is worth an add in most leagues as he’s a talented pitcher who would likely be 75% rostered if he started the season healthy.
Dean Kremer, P, Baltimore Orioles (15.5%)
Kremer had an awful start at the end of June where he allowed seven earned runs in three innings, but he’s been really good lately otherwise. The 27-year-old still has a 4.59 ERA and 1.33 WHIP on the year, but he’s allowed two or less runs in four of his last six starts and is 2-0 with just three runs allowed on six hits over his past two starts (13.0 innings) and struck out 18 batters combined in those two starts. While the wheels may fall off at some point, Kremer has double-digit wins (10) on the year and has been a valuable fantasy pitcher as of late.
Joel Payamps, P, Milwaukee Brewers (8.3%)
Despite having just three saves on the year, Payamps is a rare middle reliever who is worth picking up. When guys aren’t picking up saves, the biggest things they can bring to a fantasy roster are a low ERA, low WHIP, and high strikeout rate. Payamps brings all three with a 1.83 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, and 51 strikeouts in 44.1 innings. He also has three wins on the year to go with his three saves. He’s struck out six batters over his last three innings, and while he won’t have massive value unless Devin Williams goes down, Payamps is worth an add in deeper leagues.
Travis Jankowski, OF, Texas Rangers (1.1%)
This is a deeper cut, but Jankowski can be a nice boost if you’re looking for steals. The 32-year-old stole 30 bases back in 2016 and 24 back in 2018 and is currently at 13 steals in 2023. While he doesn’t do a ton else with just 24 runs scored, one home run, and 19 RBI, Jankowski is at least hitting .328 on the year. He’s in a platoon with Robbie Grossman so will see a few off days here and there, Jankowski is worth a look if you need a bump in the steals category.
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