As we get deeper and deeper into the 2023 MLB season, “it’s still early!” is becoming a less and less convincing crutch for fantasy managers wondering whether to stick with a draft pick or start scouring the waiver wire. This is especially true at the outfield spots, where injuries (Yordan Alvarez the latest among them) and underachievement (looking at you, Kyle Schwarber and Michael Harris II) have wreaked havoc. That’s why we’re here to help, with four targets likely available in your league showing signs that they’re in for a big year.
Fantasy baseball waiver wire: Week 12 outfield pickups
Nolan Jones, OF, Colorado
Roster percentage: 3.7%
It’s always a good idea to get a piece of someone calling Coors Field home, but Jones has been raking just about everywhere since getting the call to the Majors last month. Once a top prospect, Jones struggled in his first taste of the bigs, eventually being shipped to the Rockies. He tore up Triple-A this spring, though, and his second go-round at the highest level has been far more successful: Jones currently boasts a 1.005 OPS with two homers and three steals in his first 12 games with Colorado. He’s still striking out too much (32.6%), but his .306 expected batting average, 11.1% barrel rate and 94th-percentile exit velocity show how much damage he’s doing when he makes contact, and again, you’ll never go broke betting on Coors Field.
Jo Adell, OF, Los Angeles Angels
Roster percentage: 1.6%
Not so long ago, Angels outfielder Jo Adell was arguably the top prospect in all of baseball. It’s been a long and winding road for the former top-10 pick since then, but after tearing up Triple-A this spring (.278/.365/.593 with a whopping 18 homers and 43 RBI across his first 55 games), he’s been given another to chance to make his mark in the Majors — and he’s still got the jaw-dropping physical tools.
Jo Adell was aiming for the stars with this moonshot! ☄️ pic.twitter.com/c6JMiZrrvn
— MLB (@MLB) June 9, 2023
It’s hard to overstate just how loud the hype around Adell was just a few years ago, and if he can finally limit the swing-and-miss, the sky is the limit.
Eddie Rosario, OF, Atlanta Braves
Roster percentage: 7.8%
Every fantasy manager should want a piece of the Braves offense, and Rosario. has quietly become the team’s every-day left fielder. He’s been swinging well of late, slugging .659 over the last two weeks with three homers and three multi-hit games — and racking up nine RBI in that span. We’re not too far removed from Rosario’s days as a 25/30-homer bat, and it’s worth riding out this hot streak for as long as it goes.
Jonny DeLuca, OF, Los Angeles Dodgers
Roster percentage: 0.3%
The 24-year-old DeLuca got the call for his MLB debut after hitting a blistering .292/.378/.574 with 14 homers and 12 steals across two levels of the Minors. Power, speed and a microscopic 15% strikeout rate in Triple-A are nothing to sneeze at, particularly if he can carve out time in the Dodgers’ powerful lineup. James Outman’s recent struggles combined with Jason Heyward and David Peralta being a bit long in the tooth at this point could create just such an opportunity in the outfield.