We’re nearly to the halfway point of the 2023 MLB season, and things are only getting wilder with each passing day. The Cincinnati Reds are now America’s team. The Los Angeles Angels just dropped 25 runs at Coors Field. For fantasy baseball players, it’s time for the rubber to hit the road — time to decide whether they’re in or out this year, and what they might need for the stretch run ahead. This is especially true at the corner infield spots, where injuries have felled top picks like Vinnie Pasquantino. 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 top corner infield pickups
Joey Votto, 1B, Cincinnati Reds
Roster percentage: 14.4%
Elly De La Cruz has drawn all the attention during Cincy’s recent 12-game winning streak, but that hot stretch has also featured Votto’s long-awaited return from shoulder surgery. The veteran suffered multiple setbacks this spring — even getting sent home from an initial rehab assignment in April — but when he finally made his 2023 debut this week, he looked … pretty much exactly like Joey Votto. He’s hit the ball hard, he’s drawn bundles of walks, he’s served as a spiritual leader for a team that now finds itself atop the NL Central — and he could be a key contributor for fantasy squads over the next 2-3 months.
Votto may not be winning MVPs anymore, but we’re only two years removed from him putting up a .938 OPS in 2021. Even pushing 40, the bat skills are still there, and he’s slugged a whopping .824 over his first week of action. The Reds may not want to run him out every single day as they try to keep his body fresh, but especially against righties he could do a lot of damage in a hitter-friendly park.
Triston Casas, 1B, Boston Red Sox
Roster percentage: 28%
A consensus top-50 prospect entering the season, everyone seemed to write Casas off after he got off to a slow start as Boston’s first baseman. But the former first-round pick has been living up to his pedigree lately — he’s slashing .286/.348/.500 over the last two weeks, and most encouragingly, he’s dramatically reduced his strikeout rate after having major swing-and-miss problems earlier in his career. Casas is a classic three-true-outcomes player, with the upside of someone like Max Muncy if it all clicks, and his 14.5% walk rate and 91.3-mph average exit velocity suggest that it’s starting to.
Maikel Garcia, 3B/SS, Kansas City Royals
Roster percentage: 6.3%
Garcia got the call to the Majors to fill in for an injured Nicky Lopez back in May, and after an understandably slow start as he adjusted to MLB pitching, the athletic infielder has taken off recently. Garcia is slashing .328/.369/.426 with five steals and 11 runs scored in his last 16 games, working his way towards the top of Kansas City’s depleted batting order. At just 145 pounds (no, seriously) he’s never going to hit for much power, but he can flat out fly — he stole 39 bases in just 118 games in the Minors last year — and if he keeps finding ways to get on base, the steals will pile up in a hurry. If you’re in need of help with speed and average, he’s your man.
Andy Ibanez, 3B/2B/OF, Detroit Tigers
Roster percentage: 0.7%
Ibanez has been red-hot of late, slashing an outrageous .400/.442/.700 with two homers, four doubles and a triple over the last two weeks. Lest you think that’s just some small sample size theater from a mediocre player, Statcast actually thinks he’s gotten unlucky so far this season, with nearly a 60-point gap between his wOBA (.295) and his xwOBA (.353). Ibanez is stinging the ball all over the place, with a 52.2% hard-hit rate and very good expected batting average (.288) and slugging percentage (.501). Maybe he’ll cool off at some point soon, but it’s worth a flier to see if this is the beginning of a major breakout.
