Top 7 Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups (Week 12) (2024)

It’s Week 12. As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I want to start these articles by doing a little recap of a movie I’ve seen recently that I love. I skipped out on doing it the last couple of weeks.

The best movie I’ve seen lately was Seeding. It’s about this guy who goes to photograph an upcoming eclipse in the desert. He ends up finding a lost boy and in an attempt to find his parents, he gets lost and loses the boy. After walking around for a bit, he finds a huge crater with a house in the middle and he investigates to find help.

Only after going in does he realize he was lured there by the kid and his siblings and is now stuck with no way out. Everything starts to unravel from there. I would give it a 4.5/5 stars if rating movies were my profession. It’s just a really solid movie with a simple plot. They do a great job of getting every ounce of craziness out of it while completely nailing the end. If you’re looking for a good movie that’ll make you think, freak you out and end how you expect and how you don’t expect at the same time this is the one. It’s been a bit since I’ve seen a movie I enjoyed that much.

With that out of the way, let’s get into some baseball talk.

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Assistant
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Catcher

Tyler Stephenson (C, DH – CIN)

CBS: 49% | Yahoo: 21% | ESPN: 9%

I want to preface this by saying this is yet another week of not loving the options on the waiver wire. For the catcher position, that is. But if I had to pick one, it would be Tyler Stephenson. Throughout his career, he’s always been one of the better hitting catchers in terms of average. He’s also added a bit of pop and cut his strikeout rate drastically. There’s not much to dislike when it comes to Stephenson. He’s worth an add in every league you feel needs an upgrade at the catcher position.

Corner Infield

Tyler Locklear (1B – SEA)

CBS: 4% | Yahoo: 1% | ESPN: 0%

Ty France is headed to the injured list (IL) and the Mariners have called up rookie Tyler Locklear. There hasn’t been a great track record of rookie call-up success this season, but Locklear feels different. Maybe it’s because I’m a Mariners fan and part of me wants him to be good, but what he’s shown in the minors looks good enough to translate to major-league success. In his short stint in Triple-A, he’s shown that the power and hit tool are real. He’s got a 20.7% barrel rate, a 62% hard-hit rate and his 109.8 miles per hour (MPH) 90th percentile EV is five MPH above league average. He’s going to get a chance at everyday at-bats, so he’s worth a flier in 12-team or deeper leagues right now.

Tyler Locklear gets the call!
Locklear hasn't been in AAA long, but he has displayed great power metrics without sacrificing contact ability. He has been very productive throughout his MiLB career, seamlessly transitioning through new levels.
Congratulations! https://t.co/v1GTmEvnGk pic.twitter.com/pAmB1Av32C
— Thomas Nestico (@TJStats) June 9, 2024

Gavin Sheets (1B, OF, DH – CWS)

CBS: 11% | Yahoo: 3% | ESPN: 3%

Middle Infield

David Hamilton (2B, SS, DH – BOS)

CBS: 15% | Yahoo: 7% | ESPN: 2%

David Hamilton is your man if you need steals. With injuries to Tyler O’Neill and everyone else in Boston’s outfield, it has opened up more playing time for Hamilton in the infield. And he’s taken full advantage. He’s never going to hit for much power, but he’s a contact hitter who excels at getting on base and stealing. Especially as of late. In his last 15 games, he’s hitting well above .300. He also stole seven bases and is getting on base almost 40% of the time. With him continuing to get regular at-bats, the stolen base production should continue. So should his fantasy relevance.

Paul DeJong (SS, DH – CWS)

CBS: 9% | Yahoo: 4% | ESPN: 1%

A list with two players from the worst team in baseball feels like I’m doing you a disservice. When those two guys are balling out, though, I have no choice but to tell you to run and add them. Paul DeJong is no different than Gavin Sheets. Outside of the fact he has a better batting average and more season-long pop. He has three multi-hit games in his last eight. He’s also managed four home runs and seven RBI in that same span. He’s not the flashiest name, but if you’re looking to inject some pop into your lineup, you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone better on the wire than DeJong.

Outfield

Blake Perkins (OF, DH – MIL)

CBS: 14% | Yahoo: 4% | ESPN: 2%

Are you looking for someone swinging a hot bat? Well, then I’ve got the man for you. Blake Perkins may not be a name that jumps off the page, but his bat should. He has multiple hits in six of his last nine games. He has proven this year that his bat is legit despite the lack of power. With five home runs and six stolen bases on the year, he’s also proven to have enough power and speed to make things interesting. He won’t blow you away statistically, but he makes a great all-around add. Especially right now while he’s hot.

Blake Perkins has two triples in his career. They both happened tonight.#ThisIsMyCrew #MLB pic.twitter.com/7oUXhHyQDA
— Bally Sports Wisconsin (@BallySportWI) June 8, 2024

Michael Toglia (1B, OF – COL)

CBS: 2% | Yahoo: 1% | ESPN: 1%

Has Michael Toglia been overly great this season? His .155 batting average would say no. Thankfully, he’s back to getting what looks like regular at-bats, and with that will always come some excitement. Especially on a team set to return home to Coors Field at the end of next week. Hunter Goodman has been struggling which has afforded Toglia some more playing time. With said playing time he’s registered hits in back-to-back games, including a triple and four RBI. He’s more of a good-time option rather than a long-term option. Nonetheless, he’s still an option worth picking up as long as he’s getting playing time. That power is real and will pay dividends in the short term.