MLB

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Adds: Week 12

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 in season-long leagues.

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.

Sammy Long, SP/RP, San Francisco Giants

Roster Percentage: 1%

Many people may have zero clue who Sam Long is, but I'm about to drop some knowledge for you.

Fresh off a dominant major league debut in which he struck out seven batters in four innings, Long has made his way to the big leagues after a fantastic rise through the minors. He will get two starts this coming week against teams that whiff a ton (Arizona Diamondbacks and Philadelphia Phillies), so the volume should be there.

Long is worth a dice roll.

Brendan Rodgers, 2B, Colorado Rockies

Roster Percentage: 14%

We always want volume in Coors Field, and as bad as this team is, the Colorado Rockies may finally be turning things over to the kids, a group which includes Brendan Rodgers.

The Rockies play seven home games this week, and Rodgers has been pretty good at the dish. He debuted this season on May 20, and his .818 OPS is the highest mark of any Colorado hitter this year. He's got three long balls this season.

If you need pop, peep Rodgers and enjoy the Coors week.

Amed Rosario, SS/OF, Cleveland indians

Roster Percentage: 28%

Well, well, well -- Amed Rosario may be finally coming of age for the Cleveland Indians.

Traded as part of the mega Francisco Lindor deal, Rosario was a bit of an afterthought in my eyes, to be quite honest. And he struggled initially, which has led to him sporting a .744 OPS this season.

But he has been on fire at the plate lately, rocking a .960 OPS in the last two weeks, including two homers and two steals. For a Cleveland team desperate for offense, he's batted second each of the last six days, so there appears to be staying power here.

Max Stassi, C, Los Angeles Angels

Roster Percentage: 15%

The catcher position is often like the closer position -- there's a bunch of churn, and you can spend a lot of time chasing your tail. But Max Stassi, Yahoo's sixth-ranked player in the last two weeks, has really been ballin'.

The numbers read as if we are playing a video game, like the legendary RBI Baseball -- he's got a 1.409 OPS over the last month thanks to cracking long balls left and right. Amazingly, that clip is not too far off from his 1.020 OPS for the year.

His StatCast page is a thing of a beauty, but if there's one quibble, it's his sub-30% fly-ball rate. However, as long as Stassi continues to hit in the middle of the order and playing his home games in Anaheim -- which sits fourth-best for home run factor in 2021 -- he needs to carry a higher roster percentage than 15%.

Notable Two-Start Pitchers to Consider This Week

Sam Long (SF) -- vs PHI, vs AZ

Spencer Howard (PHI) -- vs BAL, at PIT

Cal Quantrill (CLE) -- vs BAL, at PIT

Games in Coors Field This Week

San Diego Padres (3), Milwaukee Brewers (4)