Top fantasy baseball outfield waiver pickups for Week 13

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 outfield spots, where injuries have felled top picks like Jazz Chisholm, Yordan Alvarez 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 top outfield pickups

Kerry Carpenter, OF, Detroit Tigers

Roster percentage: 1.1%

You’d be forgiven for forgetting that the Tigers lineup exists for fantasy purposes, but you may want to get wise to what Carpenter’s been doing of late. The 25-year-old looked like a breakout player over the first month, then missed all of May due to injury. Since he’s come back, though, he’s picked up right where he’s left off, slashing .354/.385/.542 with three homers and three doubles over 15 games since June 9. He went yard again on Sunday, and a 91.3-mph average exit velocity and .496 expected slugging percenage suggests that the power is for real. Detroit has no choice but to play him every day while Riley Greene is out, and while it’s obviously not the best place to be for counting stats, he could be a sneaky contributor in both the average and homer categories.

Mike Tauchman, OF, Chicago Cubs

Roster percentage: 2.9%

At first Tauchman was just an emergency solution while Cody Bellinger was out with a knee injury, then he became a nice little story who was staying afloat til Bellinger returned, and now he’s a mainstay in Chicago’s order even with Bellinger back in the lineup. The former New York Yankee is hitting .284 over 118 plate appearances with the Cubs, and while he won’t hit for a ton of power, he’s swiped four bags and scored 18 runs over that span — largely because he’s been hitting leadoff against most righties of late. Hitting in front of Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki, Dansby Swanson and Bellinger is a good position to be in, and as long as Tauchman keeps running an on-base percentage over .400 (his strikeout and walk rate are career bests) that’s where he’ll stay.

Corey Julks, 3B/OF

Roster percentage: 1.3%

We first highlighted Julks as a streaming play when Alvarez first went down, but with the slugger still having no set timetable for a return, Julks feels like he’ll be a regular in Houston’s lineup for the foreseeable future. None of that would be worth much if he weren’t performing, but the 27-year-old has flashed some intriguing power/speed potential, with six homers and 11 steals on the year — including a homer and three steals in 10 starts since Alvarez’s injury. Even more enticing, here’s his xwOBA over his last 50 plate appearances:

Julks is getting stronger as he gets more regular playing time, and the Astros have no choice but to keep running him out there. He could contribute just about everywhere but batting average for however long Alvarez is out.

Sal Frelick, OF, Milwaukee Brewers

Roster percentage: 0.9%

Frelick has had a bit of a snake-bitten season, missing almost two months due to thumb surgery just when it looked like he was about to get the call to Milwaukee earlier this season. But the top prospect is back and healthy for Triple-A Nashville, and the Brewers are still desperate for a spark on offense. The 15th overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft, Frelick hit 11 homers and stole 24 bases while slashing .331/.403/.480 across three levels of the Minors last year, and as soon as he gets promoted — which should be any day now, with Tyrone Taylor on the IL and Joey Wiemer and Raimel Tapia continuing to struggle — his speed makes him a must-add.