Thursday's Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Targets: Emmet Sheehan, Addison Barger and More

It's time for our fourth fantasy baseball waiver wire story of the week. Today, we'll cover pitchers and hitters together in one story.

We won't cover any pitchers who appeared in waiver stories on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, or who was part of Thursday's streaming article, and we won't cover hitters from waiver stories on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

Check out the top fantasy baseball waiver wire options everyday on FantasySP. 

Should You Add Emmet Sheehan?

Sheehan is up to 27.25% rostered after making his season debut on Wednesday.

He made a start against the Padres, and worked four solid innings. Sheehan allowed a run on three hits and no walks, while also striking out six batters. He left after just 65 pitches.

It was his first MLB action since 2023 - he is coming off Tommy John surgery. He made 11 starts over 13 games in 2023, going 4-1 with a 4.92 earned run average over 60 1/3 innings.

Sheehan is just 25 years old and has a bright future ahead of him. He has good strikeout upside, and showed that off on Wednesday. Sheehan did a nice job of limiting baserunners in a tough matchup, so his fantasy outlook looks pretty promising.

It might be a bit before he's a huge fantasy asset, because his pitch count and innings might be limited a bit. Still, if he's able to work five or six frames, limit runs and rack up some strikeouts, he can be a good fantasy asset.

He's worth an add in some deeper redraft leagues for now. In time, he might become a standard league asset.

Sheehan's next start is tentatively lined up against the Rockies. The game is in Colorado, but the Rockies are one of the most favorable offenses for an opposing pitcher to face regardless of where the game is being played.

He has another pretty favorable test against the Royals maybe looming after that. So Sheehan could be about to go on a nice little run here.

Sheehan will at least be a deep-league streaming option in those two starts, and the favorable tests might also get him some standard league looks too.

Should You Add Addison Barger?

Barger is up to 45% owned today after recently dropping to 43%.

After a bit of a cold stretch at the plate, Barger has collected five knocks over his past two contests. He homered and doubled three times among the hits, while also having two RBIs, three runs scored and a walk and strikeout over that span.

He's played third base and right field this season, and maybe is also eligible in left field (if your league goes by individual positions in the outfield). That's a beneficial thing for Bargers' fantasy outlook.

Over the past three games, Barger has hit either second or third in the lineup, which is another boost for his fantasy value. There's enough talent atop the Toronto order to make Barger a pretty well-rounded asset.

Over 51 games and 182 plate appearances this season, Barger has a .275 average and .335 on-base percentage, along with 24 RBIs and runs scored, a stolen base, 14 walks and 42 strikeouts. Among his 46 total hits, Barger has 16 doubles and eight home runs.

There's enough value in his numbers, position versatility and recent spot in the order to roster and utilize Barger in deeper redraft leagues. I wouldn't be opposed to utilizing him in standard leagues too, but know that it's more likely he is a short-term add, not a long-term fix.

Should You Add Charlie Morton?

Morton has been added in 2.92% of leagues so far today, which brings his overall mark to 21.45%.

He will make a start on Thursday night against the Rays, who are a pretty favorable matchup. Morton has not faced them this season across his 16 appearances.

Morton has made 10 starts among those outings, with the Orioles going 4-12 in those 16 games. Morton is 3-7 with a 6.05 ERA over 61 innings. He's allowed 43 runs (41 earned) on 69 hits and 32 walks, while also striking out 67 batters.

Those numbers don't look great, but the veteran has been much better of late. He's started for his last four appearances, covering 20 innings in that stretch. Morton is 3-0 with a 2.70 ERA and 27 punchouts along the way.

He's faced some weak-hitting teams over that stretch, so fantasy owners are hoping Morton can keep things rolling on Thursday. 

I'm fine utilizing Morton in deeper redraft leagues today, and maybe even a few standard leagues based on how he's looked of late. It's a lighter day of MLB action, so that takes Morton up a notch.

He's not a must-start pitcher in any league type because he's limited a bit with his workload, but his strikeout work and veteran status gives me enough hope to try in more leagues than you'd think.

Should You Add Colton Gordon?

Gordon is up 4.6% today and sits at 11.98% overall.

He will make a start on Thursday against the Athletics, so he's another streaming option. Gordon has not faced them across his first six MLB appearances.

He's started all those games for Houston, with the team going 5-1 in his outings. Gordon is 2-1 with a 4.70 ERA over 30 2/3 innings. He's allowed 16 runs on 37 hits and four walks, while also striking out 30 batters.

Gordon has been good in two June starts so far, allowing three runs across 11 innings, with 10 strikeouts along the way.

The matchup on Thursday for him isn't super favorable, but it's good enough to try the lefty in, especially after what he's done so far this month.

I'm good with utilizing Gordon in deeper redraft leagues today, and on a light day of MLB action, could also justify starting him in a few standard leagues if you are desperate enough. I think he has a pretty safe floor and a decent ceiling tonight.

Should You Add Wenceel Perez?

Perez got a 3% bump today, and now sits at 9.54%.

Perez is heating up at the plate of late, with eight hits over his past six games and 25 plate appearances. He has two homers and doubles and a triple among the hits, along with six RBIs, three runs scored, a stolen base and walk and two strikeouts.

He's played in just 18 games overall this season, getting 62 plate appearances along the way. Perez has a .316 average and .355 OBP in his brief amount of playing time. He has five doubles and homers and the triple among his 18 total hits, along with 10 RBIs and runs scored, two walks, a stolen base and 10 strikeouts.

Perez has played all three outfield spots this season for Detroit, and that should help him stick in the lineup more if he's hitting well, which he is now. He's started four straight games for Detroit, batting between fifth-seventh in the lineup - the Tigers' lineup is good enough to give Perez some fantasy value from those spots in the order, but he's obviously most valuable if he's batting fifth.

He's in just his second big league season, so we don't have a ton to go on with Perez. He had a .242 average and .300 OBP over 112 games and 425 plate appearances last season, so some regression should be expected over time.

I still like the idea of adding Perez in some deeper redraft leagues right now, even if it's just a short-term add. He's hot at the plate, and maybe could become a daily option in those leagues for the rest of the season. At the very least, he's a good depth option for now.

I'm not sure if he could ever work his way into standard leagues, but he's at least worth tracking.