Greetings deep league friends! As we inch closer to summer, it feels like we’re at an extra dull part of the season when it comes to help on the waiver wire. The early season happy surprises have all been rostered, but it’s too soon for what hopefully will be a wave of promising minor league call ups. Times are probably tough when it comes to bolstering your deep league rosters, but let’s do our usual thing and see if we can find any scraps to feed on amid the muck!
AL
Kody Clemens. After being jettisoned by the Phillies, Clemens joined the Twins and has rather quietly been playing pretty regularly against right handed pitching. He has 3 homers and 8 RBI on the season, which isn’t too bad given that he only has 43 official at bats. He’s played first, second, and outfield this year (and had 11 games at third last year), so we’ll see if he can continue to take advantage of playing time in a utility role in Minnesota. (Clemens did that thing where he had a big game including a walk off, right after I wrote this on Wednesday, even though he didn’t start. He may have had more production in the last few days than he will in the next few months, but still probably worth monitoring.)
Max Schuemann. I stuck Schuemann at the end of a couple draft and hold 50-man rosters this year, but so far he’s provided almost zero production even though he’s been on the Athletics’ big league roster. He’s gotten a bump in playing time of late with Jacob Wilson ailing, and has made the most of it, as he’s 5 for his last 11 with a homer and a steal. He qualifies at third and short from last year in most leagues, and has played second and outfield in addition to both of those positions this year. Even if Wilson is back by the time you read this, Schuemann feels like he’ll stick as the A’s utility guy and may find pockets of regular playing time if the team gets hits with injuries or feels the need to rest their regulars more often as the summer grinds on.
DJ LeMahieu. The deep league waiver wire tends to be filled with (for lack of a more polite term) washed up veterans and quad A “let’s hope lightning strikes this week” lottery tickets, with LeMahieu of course being one of those veterans. In case you missed it, he’s (theoretically) healthy and back with the Yankees, and hit his first homer last weekend. He qualifies at the rather satisfying combination of first, second, and third base in most leagues, and could be worth an extremely deep look-see as long as the Yankees remain banged up.
Nathan Lukes. Anthony Santander continues to have problems with a bad hip, and Nathan Lukes continues to get at bats against right handers for the Blue Jays because of it. He’s up to 4 homers and 15 RBI in 79 at bats on the season, including a huge game Wednesday against the Padres. The 30-year-old Lukes is one of those types of guys who we talk about often in the deep league world; he may not have much in terms of upside, but that doesn’t mean he can’t help a struggling deep league fantasy team while he’s getting the chance to play.
NL
Kyle Farmer. Yes, the 34-year-old Farmer is probably getting more playing time than he should at the expense of the future generation in Colorado. At this point, though, the team is such an epic dumpster fire that you can’t blame them for thinking it might not be a horrible idea to have a veteran presence/professional at bat type guy in the lineup semi-regularly. He’s already played every infield position this season, and of particular immediate interest is the fact that he’s in the lineup at first for the second day in a row on Thursday, with Michael Toglia on the bench both days. Farmer isn’t anyone’s long term solution at first base in real baseball, but he could be yours for the short term in a very deep fantasy league.
Jake Bauers. When it comes to ownership percentage increases, it doesn’t get more deep league than Bauers, who went from 1% to 2% owned in CBS leagues over the last week. He’s played in about 2/3 of the Brewers’ games so far this season, and if that trend continues, it’s enough to add him to the conversation in certain deep league formats. His numbers overall are unspectacularly solid across the board: .275 average, .367 OBP, 3 homers and 13 RBI, plus 4 stolen bases. That average might come down to a less-helpful number, but I was a bit surprised to see he had 12 steals last year… who knew?
Randy Rodriguez. A reliever for the Giants, Rodriguez has been getting added to rosters lately even though he is neither a closer nor a starter. Even in deeper leagues, it’s not easy to be a fantasy asset without filling one of those defined pitching roles, but Rodriguez is doing it so far this year. On the season, he has a microscopic 0.87 ERA/0.73 WHIP, with 30 Ks in 20.1 innings, and has earned 3 wins out of the bullpen. We’ll see how long he can keep up anything close to that pace, but those numbers play in more than just the deepest formats.
Daniel Palencia/Drew Pomeranz. The back end of the Cubs bullpen is messy right now, to say the least, but I wished I’d grabbed at least one, if not both of these guys in a few of my deeper leagues where they’ve both already been scooped up. Palencia may be the favorite for saves right now after picking up his first of the year on Wednesday, and he’s been averaging a strikeout an inning with a WHIP of 0.90 on the season so far. Pomeranz, meanwhile, picked up a save himself a week or two ago, and still hasn’t allowed a run on the year in his 11 appearances.
I’m Kitt Yerg, Attorney at Law, and today I represent flamethrowers and misunderstood legends.
Let’s talk about my client: Daniel Palencia.
Yeah, he’s got one blown save.
But let me remind you—101 MPH doesn’t lie. That’s not a pitch, it’s a legal statement filed directly into the batter’s soul.
We always look at the summit—ERA, WHIP, shiny save totals—
But greatness? It’s forged at the base.
Where the air is thick, the grip is sweaty, and every climb is poetry in resin and rage.
I’m here to ensure my clients get the respect they deserve.
And that includes reminding Kody Clemens:
Don’t do the crime unless you can find a hottie to poke the needle.
And if the prints don’t fit?
You can’t acquit.
That’s legal science.
And as for Jake Bauer…
His ship came in, dropped its cargo of chaos, was dry-docked, and now runs discount margarita tours off Baja—where pesos make queso and his legacy is served on a soggy deck chair.
So yeah—Palencia blew one save.
But I blew one knee in 2014 and still ran the Marine Corps Marathon in wingtips.
Respect the climb. Respect the closer. Respect the heat.
This message brought to you by Kitt Yerg, Esq.—if your fantasy players are being disrespected, I’m bringing the gavel.
OMG, love it!! But please let’s stop talking about Palencia now before all the folks in my leagues read this and outbid me for him this weekend ; )
Your Honor, I move to strike all mentions of Daniel Palencia from the record.
Too late? Maybe.
But as his legal representative and flame-velocity hype man, I must warn you:
The gavel’s been dropped. The 101 MPH evidence is in.
And fantasy managers everywhere… are now on notice.
But don’t worry—I’ll redact his name from future filings and replace it with “Confidential Heat
Source #1.”
No more leaks.
No more clues.
Just justice… and waivers.
Kitt Yerg, Attorney at Law.
Protecting your team’s secrets—even from yourself
12 team dynasty 5×5 was offered Kristian Campbell for Will Vest…I am way behind in saves but this is a great deal! Thoughts? Thank you…
Hey Hutch, yeah I’d definitely pull the trigger there, especially since the DET bullpen tends to be a little more fluid than some!
Rank 3B/CI options if you will.
Bohm, Barger, Vargas, Norby, McKinstry, Will Castro?
Every one of those guys with maybe the exception of McKinstry has been hitting really well recently, so that whole group is actually ranked pretty closely for me. It seems like Vargas is the most likely to cool off but who knows, so that really is a coin flip for me. If you have a gut feeling preferring any of them or see any upcoming schedules that look tempting I’d just grab one and hope for the best!