The fantasy baseball season has been a crazy one so far. A number of highly drafted players have underproduced thus far. People who drafted Vlad Guerrerro Jr. with likely a top-3 pick cannot be very pleased. The same can be said for fantasy baseball managers who believed Shohei Ohtani would produce like he did last season. That obviously has not come to fruition, either at the plate or on the mound. Not that he hasn't been good, just nowhere near what he was drafted to do.
Meanwhile, there have been some absolutely incredible steals on draft day. C.J. Cron went between rounds 12 and 16 in most mixed leagues and is among the league leaders in home runs. Similarly, Tommy Edman was expected to be a solid contributor across the board. Instead, he has turned into a player that has likely carried a number of fantasy baseball teams as a second round pick.
But one thing that is always constant every year is injuries. This year is no exception. Key players like Ozzie Albies, Seiya Suzuki, Mookie Betts, Walker Buehler and many others have fallen victim recently. That leaves fantasy baseball managers looking to the waiver wire for some reinforcements. That's where this column comes in. Here are the top four free agents likely on your waiver wire that should be added for Week 11.
Top 4 Waiver Wire Adds for Week 11 of the Fantasy Baseball season
1. Andrew Vaughn – Chicago White Sox 1B, OF
The Chicago White Sox have been a revolving door of injuries this season. Yoan Moncada, Eloy Jimenez, Tim Anderson, Luis Robert and Andrew Vaughn have all spent time on the injured list. But it's the last one, Vaughn, that did not stick with a lot of rosters.
He was not as well known or as highly touted entering the 2022 season. However, Vaughn hit the ball really well until he got hurt at the end of April. Many fantasy baseball managers decided not to hold onto him when he went to the IL, but that proven foolhardy.
After returning in mid-May, he hit .298 the rest of the month. That's when he really turned it on. In the month of June, the White Sox outfielder is slashing .370 with a .409 on-base percentage. He's been even hotter that of late.
That Andrew Vaughn is so hot right now. pic.twitter.com/gGVzkNuABu
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) June 19, 2022
For the season, Vaughn is hitting .315 across 178 at-bats. His counting stats are not where you want them to be, 20 runs and 29 RBI, but part of that is due to the injuries elsewhere in the lineup. He consistently hits atop Chicago's lineup and as they get healthier, those should increase.
2. A.J. Pollock – Chicago White Sox OF
On a related note, with so many injuries in Chicago, A.J. Pollock has been getting regular playing time in left field. He is certainly making the most of it, particularly of late. Since June 9th, Pollock has been fire going 18-for-37 with a home run, nine RBI and seven runs scored.
This move may not be permanent, but if a fantasy baseball manager needs some immediate help in the outfield, Pollock is a good stop-gap option. He is available in over two-thirds of fantasy baseball leagues on Yahoo.
3. George Kirby – Seattle Mariners SP
Mariners prospect turned everyday starter George Kirby is still up for grabs in more than half of Yahoo leagues. That's despite his great start to his career. He does not possess amazing swing and miss stuff, but has pitched to a solid 3.56 ERA with a 1.14 WHIP.
Over his eight starts this year, Kirby has pitched either five or six innings in all but one. Maybe the fact that he has but one win is why is rostered percentage is so low. Nevertheless, he's been very good as a rookie. His pedigree in double-A ball shows there is still room to grow too.
Any pitcher that can hit 98 miles per hour on the gun, and then throw a hook that looks like this, I want on my team.
George Kirby, K'ing the Side. 😷 pic.twitter.com/MBIGQvNiEf
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 17, 2022
Kirby's command has been excellent with just 1.05 BB/9 and he pitches in Seattle. All good things.
4. Michael Harris II – Atlanta Braves OF
The Braves young outfielder Michael Harris II has played 19 games since being called up last month. All he has done has hit .325 with three home runs, 11 RBI and two steals thus far. Harris II showed in Double-A ball that he is a capable power-speed threat. Those are always at a premium to fantasy baseball managers.
It's very likely that he will cool off as major league starters learn how to attack the young prospect. But until that happens, fantasy managers need to ride this train. He is still available in almost half of Yahoo leagues right now. Go get him and thank me later.
My honorable mention is a callback to a few weeks ago. I mentioned that fantasy baseball managers needed to keep an eye on Luke Voit. The Padres DH has shown he has considerable power when seeing the ball well. Guess what, he's seeing the ball very well right now. Voit has five two-hit games since last Sunday, including four home runs. If you are in need of some cheap power, he can be scooped up in about half of leagues.
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