MLB

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Adds: Week 5

The waiver wire. Free agent budgets (FAB). It's back, it's real and it's glorious.

With the 2021 baseball season in full swing, nailing the waiver wire and the players available are critical to beating out your league-mates.

Each week we will take a look at players who are rostered in fewer than 50% of Yahoo leagues and can help out your season-long squads. Remember, if you aren’t scouring the waiver wire, you are falling behind.

Adolis Garcia, OF, Texas Rangers

Roster Percentage: 20%

As the Texas Rangers are searching for any form of offense, Adolis Garcia is one player who has certainly caught the eye of fantasy baseball managers.

If you're unfamiliar with Garcia's pedigree, just consider, like Randy Arozarena, he's a former St. Louis Cardinal who they unceremoniously have allowed to escape from the outfield in recent seasons. Yeah, not good, Bob.

Garcia hit two more home runs on Friday night, and he now has five long balls on the season. Garcia is sporting a .404 wOBA and 41.9% hard-hit rate. He's well worth an add.

Carson Kelly, C, Arizona Diamondbacks

Roster Percentage: 51%

For the difficult catcher position, I will ever so slightly bend my 50% rule to highlight the exploits of Carson Kelly. Despite ranking on Yahoo's player rater as the 28th-best overall player, he's only 51% rostered. Why?

You've got me confused. He has five home runs this season, and even his own club doesn't seem to love him as he bats seventh in the lineup despite that pop and a 1.273 OPS.

At a shallow position like catcher, Kelly should be approaching universal rostership.

Danny Duffy, SP, Kansas City Royals

Roster Percentage: 48%

The Kansas City Royals are going to be a real problem this year, and that's largely in part to a pitching staff led by veteran Danny Duffy.

Duffy has shown increased velocity so far on the young 2021 season, and that's translated to a miniscule 0.50 ERA in 18 innings pitched. Surprisingly, Duffy's WHIP (1.11) is outpacing his ERA. He owns a 26.0% strikeout rate and 13.0% swinging-strike rate.

Duffy starts Sunday against the Detroit Tigers, so keep an eye on his outing and consider giving him an add.

Josh Staumont, RP, Kansas City Royals

Roster Percentage: 13%

It's a Midwest thang, y'all.

Josh Staumont, the flame throwing right-hander for the Royals, needed a brief COVID-19 scare for Greg Holland to temporarily lose his firm grasp on the closer role. Now, as we have seen in many closer situations this season, this is going to be a situation that is fluid in nature.

However, the stuff is there -- Staumont routinely touches triple digits with his fastball -- and he's shown increased command so far this season with only four free passes. Staumont is a peripherals stat stuffer who could work his way into the closer role. He got the save Saturday for KC, and it was his first of the season.

Notable Two-Start Pitchers to Consider This Week

Michael Wacha (TB): vs OAK, vs HOU

Adam Wainwright (STL): vs PHI, at PIT

Austin Gomber (COL): at SF, at AZ

Games in Coors Field This Week

None