Fantasy Baseball Week 18 Waiver Wire Pickups: Lars Nootbaar, J.P. France, and More!
Welcome to Week 18! As we say goodbye to July and hello to August, it's going to be extra important to nail our waiver wire adds as we head into the home strech.
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 tomorrow’s 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 18 Fantasy Baseball Waivers and see if we can solidify our rosters before it gets too late!
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)
Lars Nootbaar, OF, St. Louis Cardinals (25.7%)
Nootbar is one of the most highly-added fantasy players over the past week and for good reason. Over the past seven days, the 25-year-old is hitting .444 with six runs scored, three home runs, and six RBI. He’ll end July with a .309 average, 24 runs scored, six home runs, 12 RBI, and two steals. And on top of that, he’s seemingly solidified a spot for himself in the Cardinals’ lineup. As St. Louis looks to rebuild (that’s a weird sentence to type after the past 20 years), Nootbar should continue to see everyday at-bats and should be added in all fantasy leagues.
J.P. France, P, Houston Astros (28.1%)
France isn’t a strikeout machine with just 58 strikeouts in 84.2 innings pitched this season, but he’s doing everything else really well. With a 6-3 record, 2.87 ERA, and 1.22 WHIP, France is the 29th-rated pitcher on the ESPN player rater. While that tool isn’t the end-all, be-all, it’s still a great bellwether of how a player is performing. The 28-year-old hasn’t allowed more than three runs in a game since late-May and has only allowed one run in his last 14 innings pitched. Go grab him if he’s available in your league.
Carlos Santana, 1B, Milwaukee Brewers (21.1%)
At 37 years old, Santana has seemingly found the fountain of youth. Through 352 at-bats this season, Santana is hitting .233 with 46 runs, 13 home runs, 54 RBI, and six steals. He’s now on a new team after being traded to the Milwaukee Brewers, and that should help his fantasy prospects hitting in a better lineup. He’s already hit a home run with his new team, so he hasn’t skipped a beat since leaving the Pirates. While you’ll likely have to deal with a low batting average, Santana is still a really good fantasy asset at age 37.
Christopher Sanchez, P, Philadelphia Phillies (15.7%)
Even though Sanchez hasn’t registered a win yet this season, he’s still worth a look in most leagues as he’s carrying a 2.66 ERA and 0.91 WHIP through 47.1 innings pitched this season. The 26-year-old has been really good over the last month and a half and hasn’t allowed more than three runs in a start all season. While I’d love to see more than 41 strikeouts in 47.1 innings, I won’t complain too much as Sanchez has allowed two or less runs in six of his nine appearances this year. The wins will come if he keeps pitching this well, so he’s definitely worth a speculative add in most leagues.
Luis Rengifo, 2B/SS/3B/OF, Los Angeles Angels (6.4%)
Rengifo was sneakily pretty good last season in hitting .264 with 17 home runs and six steals. While he hasn’t quite knocked it out of the park this season (he’s hitting just .228), he still has nine home runs and four steals – while offering uber multi-positional eligibility. I’m not sure he’ll be someone we’ll keep on our rosters for the rest of the season, but the 26-year-old has been hitting atop the Angels’ lineup recently and hit .304 in July with 11 runs scored, five home runs, and 11 RBI. That’s worth an add in deeper leagues!
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