Fantasy Baseball Week 18 Waiver Wire Adds: Lawrence Butler, Juan Yepez, Jake Burger, Zach Neto, Nacho Alvarez Jr. and More

With the 18th week of the fantasy baseball season here, it’s time to go over some of the hottest waiver wire additions, as we do at the beginning of every week.

We’ll focus on hitters only, as FantasySP’s Daniel Hepner covers a lot of the most-added pitchers in his streaming stories. Players are pulled from the Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups page.

We have eight players I want to talk about today, so we are going to focus mostly on what the players have done at the plate recently. Let’s get to it!

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Lawrence Butler Fantasy Outlook 

Butler has arguably been the league’s best hitter over the past four games. He’s owned in 54% of fantasy leagues right now.

Butler has 10 hits in the past four games, including three home runs and two doubles. He’s drove in 11 runs, scored six times, walked three times and struck out on just two occasions.

Since the start of July, Butler has a .385 average, .439 on-base percentage, seven homers, 22 RBIs, 13 runs scored, five walks and 13 strikeouts in 15 games (13 starts).

Regardless of what kind of league you are in, Butler is worthy of a roster spot right now. His hot streak won’t last forever, but you might as well take advantage of his red hot bat until it cools off. He’s a long-term option in deeper leagues and dynasties at just 24 years old, so that’s where fantasy owners should covet him most.

Jose Iglesias Fantasy Outlook

Iglesias has an argument for the hottest hitter in the past four games as well. He’s currently owned in 22% of leagues.

Iglesias has nine hits (but just one extra-base hit) in the past four games. He’s got no RBIs, three runs scored, two walks and one strikeout in that span.

Dating back to his last game in June, Iglesias has a .389 average and .421 OBP over his past 16 games (14 starts). He’s got three homers, 10 RBIs, 10 runs scored, three walks and three strikeouts in that timeframe.

Iglesias isn’t providing the well-rounded numbers like Butler, but he’s getting on base and not striking out a bunch. I like targeting Iglesias most in deeper leagues. He’s another player who likely won’t stay hot forever, so you might want to add him now before he cools off.

Juan Yepez Fantasy Outlook

Yepez has had a nice stretch at the plate since getting called up July 5. He’s owned in 29% of leagues.

Yepez has a .367 average and .436 OBP in his 13 games this season. He’s hit a homer and seven doubles among his 18 total knocks. He also has six RBIs, nine runs scored, six walks and 10 strikeouts so far.

He’s playing first base right now, but might have eligibility at some other positions in your league. Yepez had a little MLB success in 2022, but fell off in 2023. He won’t continue to rake this well all season, but for the time being, he’s not a half bad option.

Yepez is a deep league fantasy option to me. I’d look for a more long-term option if you are considering him in a standard league.

Max Schuemann Fantasy Outlook

Schuemann was part of my weekend takeaway story, and it’s no surprise he’s a top waiver wire option too. He’s rostered in 33% of leagues now.

In July, Schuemann has a .378 average and .500 OBP across 15 games (all starts). He has three homers and two doubles among his 17 total hits, along with 10 RBIs, 16 runs scored, 10 walks, 12 strikeouts and four stolen bases.

The best thing about Schuemann is he plays all over the diamond, so he can get into the lineup daily. He’s Oakland’s primary shortstop, but has also played second, third and left, center and right field. He might not have eligibility at any position but short, but getting into the lineup every day is the most important thing.

He’s another deep league waiver wire option, but someone who I’d trust a touch more than a few of the other hitters we mentioned. Schuemann has 77 games played on the season, and after the recent hot stretch, has pretty respectable numbers for the season. He’s a player you might add and roster for the remainder of the season.

Jake Burger Fantasy Outlook

Burger has had a rough season at the plate, but he’s heating up a bit of late. He’s rostered in 42% of fantasy leagues.

Burger has 12 homers for the season, and five of those have come in July. In 14 games started, he’s got 16 total hits, 11 RBIs, nine runs scored, four walks and 20 strikeouts. That’s a lot of strikeouts, but the homers, .296 average and RBI production are more than enough to consider him as a waiver wire option.

He’s been a standard league starter in the past, and is trending in that direction again. I prefer Burger most in deeper leagues, but certainly could understand rolling the dice on him in a standard league.

Burger is hot enough at the plate to justify the move in a standard league, but he definitely should be rostered and probably started in all deep leagues right now too.

Xavier Edwards Fantasy Outlook

Edwards is another Miami player shining at the plate right now. He’s owned in 17% of leagues.

Since being called up July 2, Edwards has made 15 starts. He’s got 20 hits, including three doubles, in that span. Edwards also has four RBIs, seven runs scored, seven walks and nine strikeouts over that timeframe.

He’s mostly played shortstop, but can play second base, and also played in center field last season, so there’s different ways for him to crack the lineup. Edwards is hitting well enough to roster and play in deep leagues and dynasties right now, but there’s not enough power to support playing him in a standard league.

Zach Neto Fantasy Outlook

Neto was another player who appeared in the weekend takeaway story. He’s owned in 45% of leagues.

He’s got solid numbers for the season, but has been especially good of late. Since the start of July, Neto has a .315 average and .362 OBP. He’s tallied four doubles and two homers among his 17 total hits, drove in six runs and scored seven times - he’s also walked three times and struck out on eight occasions.

Neto flies a bit under the radar because he plays on a bad Angels’ offense, but he’s really had a nice overall season. He should be rostered and played in most deeper leagues and dynasties, and should be getting some standard league love too. He’s a pretty solid backup option, and until he cools off, you could start him.

Nacho Alvarez Jr. Fantasy Outlook

Alvarez got the call to replace the injured Ozzie Albies. He’s batting second and playing second in his MLB debut on Monday night.

Nacho is the Braves’ No. 5 prospect and is best known for his hitting ability. He’s a career .288 hitter in the minor leagues, and he got on base at a .404 clip. He has 15 home runs, 116 RBIs, 126 runs scored, 45 stolen bases, 138 walks and 160 strikeouts across 222 total minor league games.

It’s always a mystery as to how a prospect will translate to the big leagues, but players who hit well and get on base in the minor leagues have better chances (in my opinion) to make a difference right away. The Braves’ offense hasn’t been as good as any of us expected this season, but hitting second is a great spot for him to be.

Ignacio should be a waiver wire commodity in deep leagues and dynasties, and if he hits right away, he’ll quickly become an option in standard leagues too.