Adds & Drops: Navigating the unpredictable waters of September’s waiver pool (2024)

Get a candle and open the nearest window.

I’ll wait.

We’re going to need some cool, fall air.

As you have seen this season, most of the players I recommend as pickups come with a reasonable amount of supporting evidence. I build a case, using numbers and, sometimes, pretty charts, and you decide if my case is a good one with your actions.

September is different.

We’re left to deal with incomplete information regarding injuries, and the rapidly changing whims of teams falling out of the playoff picture adjusting their playing-time priorities on the fly.

I am still attempting to use logic and reason for the greater good, but something about this week’s round of suggested pickups stinks.

Take George Springer, for example. Springer made a spectacular leaping catch against the Brewers on Tuesday night, but crashed head-first into the base of the outfield wall in the process. He was diagnosed with a “mild” concussion, but he has not been placed on the injured list, since expanded rosters afford the Astros enough depth to forge ahead without a roster move, and Kyle Tucker is already in position to step in during Springer’s absence.

Unless the Astros are clear and direct with the reporters covering them on a day-to-day basis, we’re left to make our best guess about his eventual return.

As Tucker goes, my place at the steering wheel of the bandwagon is well documented. He should be 100 percent owned in redraft leagues at this point, since there is still a chance he will usurp Josh Reddick in the regular lineup down the stretch even after Springer is cleared to return.

For the most part, it’s a mess on the waiver wire right now, especially on the starting pitching front. Think of it as a walk down the tightrope as you seek out useful innings during the season’s final month.

Hitters

Robinson Canó, 2B, NYM — Canó made it back from a hamstring strain that was previously expected to end his 2019 season. The early-August injury was a particularly tough blow, since it curtailed a turnaround at the plate that started when the calendar flipped to July. Including his three-hit performance in his return to the lineup Wednesday, Canó is hitting .305/.339/.562 with seven homers, 21 runs and 16 RBI over his past 27 games. Erring on the side of caution was the right mindset if you dropped him a few weeks ago (he’s available in more than 50 percent of CBS leagues entering the weekend), given that he’s 36 and it wasn’t he first time this season that he’s dealt with the ailment. (PSA: Ramon Laureano, who also appeared to be facing a lengthy absence when he was first placed on the IL, has returned and is worth picking up in leagues where he was dropped a few weeks back).

• 10-tm: Yes | 12-tm: Yes | 15-tm: Yes | NL-only: Yes

Ben Zobrist, 2B/OF, CHC — Zobrist returned to the Cubs’ lineup Tuesday after missing nearly four months while going through a divorce, and was promptly back in the leadoff spot for manager Joe Maddon. His return likely bumps Jason Heyward to the bottom-third of the order most days, as his steady eye at the plate continues to make him a viable table-setter in front of the Cubs’ power bats. Most of his value figures to come in the form of a good batting average and runs scored, but with his ability to put a lot of balls in play (sub-15.0% K% since 2013), a slight uptick in power from Zobrist would hardly be a surprise.

• 10-tm: No | 12-tm: No | 15-tm: Yes | NL-only: Yes

Ryan McBroom, 1B/OF, KC — McBroom spent most of his age-27 season in the Yankees’ system at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, mashing to the tune of a .315/.402/.574 line with 26 homers in 482 plate appearances. While he was old for his level for the second straight season, the results were good, even in the context of the offensively-charged Triple-A Year of the Rabbit Ball, as he finished with a 146 wRC+. The Royals are giving him a chance to platoon with lefty Ryan O’Hearn at first base down the stretch, and his start Wednesday against a right-handed pitcher came in right field at the expense of Bubba Starling. Considering the Yankees’ recent body of work with similar players, there’s reason to be somewhat optimistic about McBroom as a cheap source of power down the stretch now that he has a path to playing time in Kansas City.

• 10-tm: No | 12-tm: Watch | 15-tm: Yes | AL-only: Yes

Jaylin Davis, OF, SFG — Davis had an even better season than McBroom did at Triple-A, hitting .332/.410/.699 with 25 homers in 68 games between Rochester and Sacramento after showing significant improvement at the Double-A level in a 58-game stretch to begin the season. Between the two Triple-A stops, Davis was 69 percent better than a league average hitter — ranking sixth among all hitters with at least 200 plate appearances this season behind Ty France (196 wRC+), Gavin Lux (188), Kevin Cron (182), Josh VanMeter (175) and Yordan Alvarez (170). If you missed out on Artistides Aquino after the trade deadline and are hoping to catch lightning in a bottle from a power standpoint, Davis is an interesting dart throw at the very least.

• 10-tm: No | 12-tm: Watch | 15-tm: Yes | NL-only: Yes

Pitchers

Mychal Givens, RP, BAL — Looking for saves in the final weeks of the season? Baltimore seems like an unusual place to find them, but the Orioles have a nice schedule to finish out 2019:

• 9/6-9/8: vs. TEX
• 9/10-9/12: vs. LAD (suboptimal)
• 9/13-9/16: @ DET
• 9/17-9/19: vs. TOR
• 9/20-9/22: vs. SEA
• 9/23-9/25: @ TOR
• 9/27-9/29: @ BOS

Givens is available in more than 80% of CBS leagues as games begin Friday, but he’s a better bet to rack up a half-dozen saves in the final weeks of the season than any of the Cubs’ temporary replacements for Craig Kimbrel (Rowan Wick, Pedro Strop, Steve Cishek). For the season, Givens has a 4.02 ERA and 1.10 WHIP, but he’s quietly posted a career-high 34.1% K rate, and since the start of July, he’s carried a 28:5 K:BB with just two homers allowed in 21.2 innings (2.49 ERA). I also prefer Givens to Jose Ureña for the rest of 2019 if that’s the decision you are faced with.

• 10-tm: Yes | 12-tm: Yes | 15-tm: Yes | AL-only: Yes

Logan Webb, SP, SFG — Webb was hammered by the Cardinals on Thursday, giving up eight runs (seven earned) on eight hits in just 2.2 innings. As much as you’re able to do so, erase that start from your memory and look at the two home starts on the schedule for Webb at Oracle Park this week with the Pirates on Tuesday and the Marlins on Sunday. As I wrote a couple of weeks ago when he was promoted, Webb has posted a ground-ball rate above 60% this season, he offers two plus pitches (slider and fastballs) with a developing changeup, and he’s pitching half of his games in the most pitcher-friendly park in baseball. For home starts especially, he’s startable in 12-team mixed leagues, and with a two-start week on tap, he should be owned in more than 22% of CBS leagues.

• 10-tm: Stream | 12-tm: Yes | 15-tm: Yes | NL-only: Yes

Asher Wojciechowski, SP, BAL — A challenging six-start stretch that has included matchups with the Rays (twice), Nationals, Red Sox, Astros and Yankees (6.23 ERA, 1.42 WHIP) has prompted plenty of fantasy owners to return Wojciechowski to the waive wire in recent weeks. Let’s not mince words, Wojciechowski has allowed 35 homers between Baltimore and Triple-A Columbus this season (16 allowed in 65 MLB innings, 19 in 84.2 innings at Triple-A), and he’s a risky option as a result, but he has the softest possible matchup coming up Friday against the Tigers, who have a league-worst 26.6% K rate this season (27.7% since August 1) and the fourth-worst team wRC+ since the trade deadline (84), while ranking 29th in MLB in home runs (33) during that span. He might be slightly more than a streaming option at this point thanks to a home matchup against Toronto on Sept. 18 before a potential two-start week to end the season.

• 10-tm: No | 12-tm: Stream | 15-tm: Yes | AL-only: Yes

Drew VerHagen, RP, DET — In many free-agent list player raters, VerHagen appears near the top of the list when you view pitchers over the past 30 days. The season-long numbers include a 5.52 ERA and 1.59 WHIP, which would ordinarily be enough to keep me looking elsewhere, but he’s working in tandem behind Daniel Norris, who continues to be limited to three innings per start down the stretch. Since returning from Triple-A Toledo on July 25, VerHagen has delivered a 35:10 K:BB rate over 38 innings with three wins during that span — including an 11-strikeout performance in Minnesota on August 23. VerHagen has carried a strikeout rate above 20.0% since last season, since increasing the usage of his slider which generates whiffs nearly 40 percent of the time. Like Wojciechowski, this recommendation is for streaming thanks to an expected home long-relief appearance against the Orioles next week.

• 10-tm: No | 12-tm: Steam | 15-tm: Stream | AL-only: Yes

Jose Urquidy, SP/RP, HOU — In the event that the Astros make a change with their fifth starter spot, Urquidy, who threw four innings of one-run ball against Seattle after Wade Miley failed to record an out as the starter Thursday, makes more sense than Josh James (who could prove to be an effective staff filler for strikeouts in deeper mixed leagues). Framber Valdez, who was covered in this space last week, has the job for now, and streaming him for turns against the Angels and Blue Jays in recent weeks has yielded a mixed bag of results (13 strikeouts and a win, but a 5.40 ERA and 1.63 WHIP over 11.2 innings). Urquidy logged 125.1 innings in 2016 before missing all of 2017 following Tommy John surgery, so it remains to be seen how much the Astros will push his workload after he logged 57.1 innings a year ago. After Thursday’s long-relief appearance, Urquidy is sitting at 130 innings this season. Home starts against Oakland and Texas await if he’s given a chance to replace Valdez.

• 10-tm: No | 12-tm: Watch | 15-tm: Watch | AL-only: Yes

The Drop Zone

Michael Chavis, 1B/2B/3B — Chavis had a setback while attempting to return from a sprained shoulder, which will likely knock him out for the rest of the season. He’s a safe drop in all non-keeper formats. Chavis held his own during his rookie campaign, finishing with a .254/.322/.444 line and 18 homers over 95 games (33.2% K%, 8.1% BB%) resulting in a 96 wRC+. Since June 1, Chavis hit .248/.298/.410 with eight homers in 225 plate appearances (36.0% K%, 6.2% BB%), going through a seemingly typical rookie adjustment phase as the league found ways to get him out. I’m expecting his ADP to hover around the 225-250 overall mark as 2020 draft season gets underway.

Domingo Santana, OF, SEA — The Mariners might get Santana back from his elbow injury before season’s end, but it sounds as though he won’t be an every-day player, instead getting run on the small side of a platoon as the team’s DH. Beyond AL-only leagues, Santana is cuttable if you haven’t made that move already. He’s played in just 25 games since the start of the second half, putting together a .131/.240/.250 line with three homers.

Jordan Yamamoto, SP, MIA — The Marlins placed Yamamoto on the IL with a forearm strain at the end of August, and while he’s eligible to return Wednesday, Yamamoto racked up just 68.2 innings in 2018 and he’s already sitting with 133.2 in 2019, making it reasonable to shut him down regardless of whether his arm is 100 percent healthy at this point.

(Top photo: Bob Levey/Getty Images)

Derek VanRiper is a podcast host, producer and writer at The Athletic. For more than 13 years, he wrote about fantasy baseball and fantasy football, and hosted radio shows and podcasts at RotoWire. Follow Derek on Twitter @DerekVanRiper