After a dizzying few days, we’re finally starting to recover from the chaos of the 2023 trade deadline. The landscape of the league has shifted dramatically over the last few days: Justin Verlander is an Astro; Max Scherzer (and Jordan Montgomery) is a Ranger; the Dodgers, Rays and Orioles all found themselves a starting pitcher, while the Reds didn’t. The Angels (and Cubs) are all the way in, the Mets are all the way out, and the Twins and Yankees … apparently did not have cell reception on Tuesday afternoon.
Of course, the real-life game isn’t the only thing that’s been flipped upside down. As it does every year, the trade deadline will have fantasy baseball ramifications that will be felt for the rest of the season, leaving managers with plenty to keep track of as they get their rosters ready for the stretch run. Luckily, our weekly waiver wire recommendations are here to help, with position-by-position looks are players you should consider snagging off the waiver wire as the deadline dust settles. Next up: outfielders.
Fantasy baseball waiver wire: Week 20 outfield targets
Jake Bauers, 1B/OF, New York Yankees
Roster percentage: 0.6%
Anthony Rizzo will seemingly be out a while after being diagnosed with a concussion this past week, which means even more playing time for Bauers split between the outfield, DH and first base. The Yankees simply don’t have enough passable bodies to sit him, even against lefties, and the former top prospect has homered in three of his past six games to run his OPS+ on the year to 117 (with a .494 SLG). He’s slugging .587 since the start of July, with an uppercut swing perfectly tailored to the short porch at Yankee Stadium — if you can take a bit of a hit in batting average, the power upside here is real.
Alec Burleson, 1B/OF, St. Louis Cardinals
Roster percentage: 0.6%
Burleson was a trendy add at the start of the season thanks to a hot first couple of weeks, but then the former second-round pick cooled off — and began to lose playing time along with it. With the Cardinals pulling the cord on the rest of the 2023 season, though, St. Louis has every incentive to give the rookie regular at-bats from here on out to see what they have and whether Burleson should be a part of their plans in 2024 and beyond. He’s started each of the team’s four games since the trade deadline on Tuesday, and he’s homered in two of them, raising his slash line over his last 13 starts to .340/.352/.604. The lefty seemingly has the tools to be a quality big league hitter — he never, ever strikes out and hits the ball pretty hard — and while he may sit some against lefties, he’s got real hit/power upside.
Drew Waters, OF, Kansas City Royals
Roster percentage: 0.4%
Speaking of teams playing out the string: The Royals have no reason to not play Waters just about every day from now until the end of the season to see if the former top-50 prospect can finally put it together. The 24-year-old missed Friday’s game due to a family matter, but he’d started seven of K.C.’s last eight games prior to that, and he’s got an impressive .242 ISO over his last 20 games. Waters is a legit athlete (94th-percentile arm strength, 87th-percentile sprint speed); the only question is whether the hit tool comes along enough to get that athleticism into games, which is why his decreasing strikeout rate and uptick in line drive and fly-ball rates are so encouraging. If it all clicks, his power/speed combo could be a league-winner.
Willi Castro, 2B/3B/SS/OF, Minnesota Twins
Roster percentage: 3%
The Twins are the walking wounded right now, with Byron Buxton, Alex Kirilloff, Jose Miranda and Royce Lewis all on the IL at the moment. That makes a utility man like Castro, capable of playing just about everywhere on the field save for catcher, even more valuable — and he’s doing enough with that playing time for fantasy owners to take notice. Even with this year’s rule changes, stolen bases are worth their weight in gold, and Castro has piled up 28 of them already. He’ll never hit for a ton of power, but he’s got impressive physical tools, and he’s getting on base enough to make his speed a real factor (.854 OPS over the last two weeks). If you need steals down the stretch, you could do a lot worse.
