Fantasy Baseball Week 15 Waiver Wire Pickups: Jarren Duran, Francisco Alvarez, and More!
We’ve made it! The All-Star Break is finally upon us. We’re more than halfway through the season.
However, just because you get a break from setting lineups for a few days, that doesn’t mean you get to take a break from the waiver wire! There are moves to be made, and I promise your league mates are setting themselves up for second-half fantasy success. And no one gets the jump on us, right?!
With that, let’s look at the Week 15 Fantasy Baseball Waivers so we can get the jump on everyone else.
As always, check out the fantasy assistant for personalized waiver wire recommendations and team analysis. Make moves based on projections, strengths and weaknesses, waiver alerts, and lots more.
Top Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Adds
(ownership percentages are based on ESPN leagues)
Jarren Duran, OF, Boston Red Sox (17.1%)
Duran has had a really strange beginning to his MLB career and most people probably remember him for this. However, it’s time to start remembering him for the way he took that adversity (which included a demotion to Triple-A) and has put his career back on track. The 26-year-old is now leading off for the Red Sox and is hitting .320 with 32 runs, five home runs, 33 RBI, and 17 steals through 231 at-bats this season. He’s also 14-for-24 through the first week-plus of July and has set himself up as one of Boston’s best young players as of right now. Duran is worth an add in all leagues at this point, and I’m honestly not sure why he’s available in so many.
Francisco Alvarez, C, New York Mets (27.9%)
I really don’t care much about catchers in fantasy baseball, and Alvarez is a good reason why. The 21-year-old was drafted in very few leagues this season, which means you could currently have a top-five catcher for free if you played the waiver wire right (and you still can!). While the .233 average isn’t great, Alvarez has 17 home runs on the season and has been showing signs of figuring things out as he’s hitting .379 through the first nine days of July. He’s available in almost three-quarters of fantasy leagues and should be added all over the place.
Jack Suwinski, OF, Pittsburgh Pirates (16.4%)
Suwinski is one of the streakiest players I can remember, but his season-long numbers have been great if you’ve been able to stomach the ups and downs. The 24-year-old is hitting .235 with 40 runs, 19 home runs, 48 RBI, and seven steals. Average aside, that’s REALLY good. Coming off a May and June where he hit a combined .197, Suwinski has started July hot with nine hits (including three home runs) in 28 at-bats. While the average may not end up above .250, Suwinski has a very realistic chance at hitting 30-35 home runs with 15-20 steals while pushing for 100 RBI. Go grab him if he’s available in your league!
Kyle Bradish, P, Baltimore Orioles (20.3%)
Other than not being a strikeout machine, I’m not sure why Bradish is available in so many leagues. He’s currently 5-4 with a 3.32 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, and 79 strikeouts through 84.0 innings. That’s not league-winning, but it makes the 26-year-old a top-50 fantasy pitcher through the All-Star Break. After an April in which he allowed 10 runs (which left him with a 6.14 ERA in the month), Bradish has only allowed 21 runs in May, June, and the beginning of July. Moreso, he hasn’t allowed more than three runs in a start since May 23rd. While he’ll never win the strikeout category for you, Bradish is a more-than-serviceable fantasy option and should be added in most leagues.
JP Sears, P, Oakland A’s (12.6%)
Sears is much less of a must-add, but he’s still a decent streaming option if you’re looking for a fill-in starter. While he’s 1-6 through 18 starts mostly due to the bad team he’s on, the 27-year-old has a 3.88 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, and 93 strikeouts in 99.2 innings. That’s still good for being a (barely) top-50 fantasy pitcher. Over the past two months, Sears has two bad games where he allowed five earned runs and four earned runs. Otherwise, he’s allowed two or less runs in nine of his last 11 games. We’ll see if he’s able to keep up this level of success, but it’s worth grabbing him in deeper leagues to see if he can!
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