As we get deeper and deeper into the 2023 MLB season, it’s time for the rubber to hit the road — for fantasy baseball teams to decide whether they’re in or out this year, and what they might need for the long summer ahead. This is especially true at the middle infield spots, where injuries have felled top picks like Pete Alonso, Vinnie Pasquantino and more. That’s why we’re here to help, with four targets likely available in your league showing signs that they’re in for a strong finish.
Fantasy baseball waiver wire: Week 13 corner infield pickups
Jake Burger, 3B, Chicago White Sox
Roster percentage: 7.9%
Once upon a time, it seemed like Burger may never even make it to the Majors, The 11th overall pick in the 2017 draft ruptured his Achilles at the start of his first Spring Training in February 2018, and between the injury and the COVID-19 pandemic, he wouldn’t play competitive baseball again for the next three years.
The third baseman kept grinding, though, and when a back injury to Yoan Moncada opened the door for playing time, he burst right through it. Burger has been among the game’s premier sluggers so far this season, launching 16 homers in 51 games — with a max exit velocity and barrel rate in the top 1% of the league. He went deep three more times in Chicago’s series in Los Angeles this week, and he doesn’t show signs of slowing down any time soon. Statcast is a believer, giving him an expected slugging percentage of .562, and he could be an elite source of power and counting stats with an average that won’t kill you.
Spencer Torkelson, 1B, Detroit Tigers
Roster percentage: 8.8%
One of my favorite player types to target is the post-hype sleeper — this will also apply to the next guy on this list — and Torkelson fits to a tee. The former No. 1 overall pick went from franchise savior to fantasy afterthought due to a rough rookie season in 2022, but all the reasons to be so high on the Arizona State star were still there, and he’s starting to show it now.
Torkelson’s been on a tear of late, with two homers and four multi-hit games this week alone, and his contact profile suggests that a breakout is imminent: The first baseman ranks in the top 15% of the league in average exit velocity, max exit velocity and hard-hit rate. His ground ball rate is way down, his line drive rate is way up, and if he keeps hitting the ball hard in the air, the results will start to come — even at pitcher-friendly Comerica Park. Torkelson currently sports one of the biggest gaps between his actual wOBA (.314) and his expected wOBA (.349) and you’ll want to buy in as that starts to correct itself.
Nick Pratto, 1B/OF, Kansas City Royals
Roster percentage: 3.3%
You’d be forgiven for not paying attention to Pratto ‘til now: The 14th overall pick in the 2017 MLB Draft, the Huntington Beach High School product busted onto prospect lists everywhere with a monster season in the Minors in 2021, reaching Kansas City the next year. But he was abysmal in his first taste of the Majors, hitting just .184, and with Pasquantino breaking out at first base, it seemed like he’d go down as a bust.
But while Pasquantino got all the buzz this spring, he hasn’t been the only former top prospect putting up solid numbers in a corner spot for the Royals. It’s been a totally different story this year for Pratto, with a healthy .278/.362/.424 slash line and four homers (plus two steals) in 43 games. His strikeout rate is still higher than you’d like, but he draws walks at an elite level, and his increase in hard-hit and and line drive rates show how much more damage he’s doing at the plate this year.
The swing-and-miss (not to mention his home park, the spacious Kauffman Stadium) will keep his power numbers a bit lower than you’d like, much like Pasquantino. But also like Pasquantino, his on-base skills appear to be very real. Pratto has been leading off against righties lately, and especially if you’re in an OBP league, he could be a very helpful player while hitting atop K.C.’s lineup.
Emmanuel Rivera, 3B, Arizona Diamondbacks
Roster percentage: 1.6%
A 19th-round pick way back in 2015, the 26-year-old Rivera has come out of nowhere to essentially steal the third-base job from Josh Rojas and entrench himself in the middle of Arizona’s surprisingly dangerous lineup. His miniscule 20.2% fly-ball rate limits his power potential, but the righty has among the highest line-drive rates of any hitter in baseball, propelling him to a .331 average. He’s a solid contact machine, and if he keeps hitting in the top half of the D-backs’ order, he’ll be a great source of counting stats in addition to batting average.