Top fantasy baseball outfield waiver pickups for Week 17

The second half of the season is officially underway, which means it’s long past time to hold on to any illusions that you’re going to win your league with all of your brilliant draft picks intact. It’s time to throw out what you thought you knew around draft time and make adjustments. Time to decide whether you’re in it to win it this year, and what you might need to make that happen. Time to check narrative and sentiment at the door.

This is especially true at the outfield spots, where injuries have felled top picks like Aaron Judge, 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 outfield waiver wire: Week 17

James Outman, OF, Los Angeles Dodgers

Roster percentage: 21.9%

Outman was one of the hottest waiver-wire pickups of the early season, but a miserable May and June — he hit .175/.250/.219 from May 12 to July 1 — caused many fantasy owners to give up on the rookie. A lack of other viable options in center, however, has forced the Dodgers to stick with him, and there are signs that Outman’s been pulling out of his funk of late. He’s slashing .310/.394/.552 with two homers and a steal in the month of July, with improving batted-ball data to back it up:

We know what kind of power/speed threat Outman can be when he’s right, and he’s locked into playing time in a very strong lineup. Rookies often have to adjust to the league’s adjustments, and Outman’s got too much potential to leave him on the wire.

Colton Cowser, OF, Baltimore Orioles

Roster percentage: 8.4%

Speaking of rookies who got off to slow starts. One of the top outfield prospects in all of baseball, Cowser finally got the call to Baltimore earlier this month, but he’s gone just 3-for-21 over his first 28 plate appearances. If you’re thinking about giving up on him already, though, don’t: The approach is elite (he’s got five walks to just three strikeouts) and he’s squaring the ball up well enough to have far better results than he’s gotten so far. In fact, there’s nearly a 150-point gap between Cowser’s wOBA (.253) and xwOBA (.400), and he’s boasted a sky-high hard-hit rate (56.3%) and line-drive rate (31.3%). Be patient, because good things are coming — and if Cowser’s been dropped already, you better pounce.

Jesus Sanchez, OF, Miami Marlins

Roster percentage: 1.3%

Yet another injury to Jazz Chisholm has reopened regular playing time for Sanchez, and the athletic 25-year-old is taking full advantage — Sanchez is hitting .324/.324/.649 with three homers and three doubles since the start of the month. He’s starting every day for Miami, and while he hits the ball on the ground a bit too much — in part due to the fact that he swings at everything — he also does serious damage whenever he makes contact. He’s in the top 15 percent of all hitters in expected BA, expected SLG, hard-hit rate and average exit velocity, and this could be the start of a serious hot streak.

Kerry Carpenter, OF, Detroit Tigers

Roster percentage: 1.2%

Carpenter is also on a heater so far this month, hitting .276/.344/.759 with four homers and a triple in just nine games. The outfielder appeared to be in the midst of a breakout year when he went down with an injury in late April, and now he’s back and finding his stride. He starts every day for Detroit, and while Comerica Park isn’t the friendliest place to hit, he’s got legit power, with a swing geared for the right kind of contact (13.1% barrel rate, more than double the league average).