Top fantasy baseball middle infield waiver pickups for Week 18

The second half is in full swing, 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 middle infield spots, where top picks have been felled by injury (Jazz Chisholm) or underperformance (Trea Turner). 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 middle infield waiver wire: Week 18

CJ Abrams, SS, Washington Nationals

Roster percentage: 22.5%

Abrams has quietly been on a ridiculous tear in the month of July, with a .375/.420/.625 slash line, three homers, three doubles, two triples and a whopping 10 multi-hit games so far. The shortstop is an elite athlete, so if he’s getting on base regularly, he’s going to run wild — and sure enough that .420 on-base percentage has led to 10 steals this month. Abrams was a consensus top prospect not long ago, well-regarded enough to serve as one of the centerpieces in the return for Juan Soto last year, and this could be the beginning of his long-awaited breakout.

Edouard Julien, 2B, Minnesota Twins

Roster percentage: 10.1%

Speaking of heaters: Jorge Polanco’s latest injury has finally opened up a stretch of consistent playing time for Julien, and the top-100 prospect has responded with a ridiculous .365/.441/.615 line with five homers and two steals since June 10. In case you were wondering, this is a very good trend:

Even more encouragingly, Julien has cut down his strikeouts, allowing his natural power to shine — just look at how easily he goes the other way:

Zach Gelof, 2B, Oakland Athletics

Roster percentage: 3.1%

The other prospect called up alongside top-35 catcher Tyler Soderstrom last week, Gelof is no slouch either. The former University of Virginia star has done basically nothing but hit since being drafted in the second round back in 2021, crushing Triple-A this year to the tune of a .304/.401/.529 slash line. Oakland has every incentive to find out what they have in a go-nowhere season, and sure enough, Gelof has started nine straight games — hitting .276/.364/.552 with two steals and his first career homer. Don’t expect a ton of power, but the speed is very real (he swiped 20 bags at Triple-A this year) and he could also contribute in batting average.

Liover Peguero, SS, Pittsburgh Pirates

Roster percentage: 0.1%

Endy Rodriguez got most of the headlines, but Peguero also headed to Pittsburgh to start his MLB career on Monday. The infielder technically made his big-league debut last June, but this is his first crack at regular playing time, with the Pirates out of contention and Rodolfo Castro out of the picture at shortstop. At 6’2, 200 pounds, the 22-year-old is the definition of tooled up, and while his plate approach certainly lags behind his athleticism — he hit .260/.333/.462 in 76 games across Double-A and Triple-A this year and is 0-for-10 so far in Pittsburgh — it’s a tantalizing package, and he should be an instant boost to fantasy owners looking for steals. Peguero swiped 21 bags in the Minors already this season, and he should continue to have the green light with the Pirates. If he can ever figure out which pitches to swing at, look out.