Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: Top 10 Pickups for Week 15

Without any lineups to set until Friday, fantasy baseball players can devote all their attention to the waiver wire.

The All-Star edition revolves around enhanced playing time. While some players are returning from the disabled list, others are capitalizing on their predecessor getting hurt.

As usual, a couple of post-hype youngsters and one hot-shot prospect frequent the list. Although little went right for a certain last-place team, it receives a slight consolation prize with three inclusions.

Heading into the All-Star break, the following players are available in over half of Yahoo Sports leagues. Whether they're rolling into the second half or poised for a strong finish, they're worth adding during the pause period.

Honorable Mentions

Steven Senne/Associated Press

Nick Castellanos, 3B, Detroit Tigers (18 Percent Owned)

Corey Seager, SS, Los Angeles Dodgers (13 Percent Owned)

Preston Tucker, OF, Houston Astros (3 Percent Owned)

Jesus Montero, UT, Seattle Mariners (2 Percent Owned)

Aaron Hicks, OF, Minnesota Twins (1 Percent Owned)

Rob Refsnyder, 2B, New York Yankees (0 Percent Owned; just placed in Yahoo database)

Joe Smith, RP, Los Angeles Angels (23 Percent Owned)

Robbie Ray, SP, Arizona Diamondbacks (9 Percent Owned)

Carter Capps, RP, Miami Marlins (7 Percent Owned)

Brandon Beachy, SP, Los Angeles Dodgers (8 Percent Owned)

10. John Jaso, C, Tampa Bay Rays (6 Percent Owned)

Brian Blanco/Getty Images

John Jaso entered the season as an ideal No. 2 catcher in leagues that like to torture their participants. He stood to log regular plate appearances atop the Tampa Bay Rays' batting order as their designated hitter. Plus he won't hurt his owners anywhere, which often serves just fine in two-catcher formats.

A wrist injury had other plans, sidelining him for three months after one plate appearance on Opening Day. Now that he's back, all that good stuff from the first paragraph becomes relevant again.

In seven games back, the 31-year-old lefty is 9-for-22 with two doubles and a homer. Such a short sample size tells gamers little, other than him returning healthy.

Those playing in standard mixed leagues won't understand the plight of deeper managers scouring for any semblance of utility from the catcher spot. They'll scoff at the notion of excitedly welcoming back a career .262 hitter with limited power.

Troopers in two-catcher or AL-only leagues, however, will rarely find a catcher-eligible option with a .361 career on-base percentage.

9. Taylor Jungmann, SP, Milwaukee Brewers (12 Percent Owned)

Danny Moloshok/Associated Press

Needing to replace the injured Matt Garza, the Milwaukee Brewers promoted Taylor Jungmann despite his 6.37 Triple-A ERA. Little reason existed to add him in all but the deepest leagues. 

So yeah, he has a 2.17 ERA through seven starts. For his last trick, he tossed a complete game with one run and seven strikeouts over the Los Angeles Dodgers, one of baseball's premier offenses.

His inspiring debut still seems too good to be true. The 25-year-old hadn't notched more than five strikeouts in a start before Saturday's gem, and he has only coughed up two homers despite a 28.9 fly-ball percentage. Once opponents develop a book on him, he won't keep dominating.

But for now, his 55.5 ground-ball percentage and 3.27 fielding independent pitching (FIP) warrant a look from Jungmann, who has pitched his way into a permanent rotation spot. 

8. C.J. Cron, 1B, Los Angeles Angels (8 Percent Owned)

Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images

C.J. Cron, better known as a younger Mark Trumbo clone, is working furiously to avoid his third demotion this season. The 25-year-old has tallied 15 hits and three homers over his last six games, highlighted by a two-homer outburst on Friday night.

Los Angeles Angels manager Mike Scioscia gave his take on Cron to Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register:

"

There is no doubt he is in the batter’s box with a little more confidence. I think he feels he’s better-equipped right now. The time spent down in Triple A was well served. There’s no doubt he needed to work out some things and find his timing and he did. He’s really been attacking the ball well while he’s been up here.

"

There's plenty to dislike about Cron. He has drawn three walks in 153 plate appearances, giving him a dreadful .294 on-base percentage. His long, all-or-nothing swing makes maintaining his .269 average an optimistic projection. 

But hey, power. The designated hitter, who garners first-base eligibility, belted 11 homers in 79 MLB games last season, netting a .450 slugging percentage in the process. He can rake and offer deep flies in bunches, but his bad will infuriate both fantasy owners and the Angels.

For deep league players needing a power injection, go for it. 

7. Aaron Nola, SP, Philadelphia Phillies (5 Percent Owned)

Kathy Willens/Associated Press

Among eight Philadelphia Phillies pitchers who have logged at least five starts this year, six sport an ERA above 6.00. The two others, Cole Hamels and Aaron Harang, may get dealt before the July 31 trade deadline.

So they can use Aaron Nola pronto. While their big league placeholders get dismantled, the 22-year-old prospect has authored a 1.95 ERA through 17 minor league starts. He hasn't missed a beat following a Triple-A promotion, posting a 2.12 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 29.2 innings.

Last week, general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. hinted at Nola's imminent arrival, per MLB.com's Todd Zolecki. 

"He's getting closer," Amaro said on Tuesday. "At some point after the All-Star break, yeah."

Last year's first-round pick has wasted little time ascending through the farm. He can't save the Phillies or any fantasy squads this summer, but the young righty is worth a flier in leagues with spacious benches.

6. Scooter Gennett, 2B, Milwaukee Brewers (4 Percent Owned)

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

Back in the olden days of March, Scooter Gennett was in high demand. A .754 OPS in 2014 made the second baseman a desirable sleeper, but he took the label too seriously by slumbering through the first two months.

After hitting .154/.203/.200 in 21 games, he found himself on a bus to the minors. Since returning to Milwaukee, he's batting .298/.327/.511 with three homers.

The wake-up call worked to perfection. Gennett's 3.6 walk percentage remains alarming, and he doesn't possess game-changing power or speed from a fantasy perspective. Yet he boasts a career .288 average and enough pop to matter as a deeper middle infielder.

5. Kyle Hendricks, SP, Chicago Cubs (21 Percent Owned)

Jeff Haynes/Associated Press

Entering the break with three consecutive scoreless starts, Kyle Hendricks quietly owns a 3.55 ERA and 1.12 WHIP for the Chicago Cubs.

His 3.32 FIP matches last year's mark through 13 starts, but he doesn't boast an unsustainable 2.46 ERA this time around. The 25-year-old righty, however, has improved his strikeout percentage from 14.6 to 19.8 while issuing 17 walks through as many starts.

He has only amassed four wins, but everyone reading hopefully knows better than to care. The bigger concern is him already relinquishing four or more runs in six starts this season. Like most contact-inducing pitchers, Hendricks will get lit up on occasion.

But everything is great when he's meshing and hitting his spots. Until he verifies the strikeout uptick, think of him as a short-term play and mixed league streamer who can help with WHIP.

4. Khris Davis, OF, Milwaukee Brewers (24 Percent Owned)

Morry Gash/Associated Press

To little fanfare, Khris Davis returned on Tuesday from a five-week absence. Not a star who mandated stashing, the Milwaukee smasher remains available in three-fourths of Yahoo leagues. But is his starting spot still there?

Davis' return creates drama in Milwaukee's outfield. With Carlos Gomez and Ryan Braun locking up spots, he'll have to beat out the red-hot Gerardo Parra, who frequented last week's list. The 27-year-old has started three of five games back, homering on Wednesday and batting leadoff on Sunday.

Manager Craig Counsell addressed the outfield situation, per the Journal Sentinel's Todd Rosiak:

"

I think at this point, Gerardo’s going to probably get the bulk of the playing time. Quite honestly, it didn’t make me feel good to take Gerardo out of the lineup. It didn’t. But I like the fact Khris has been playing – he’s been playing (six) days in a row, and he’s coming off his rehab and we can put him right in the lineup and get him some at-bats here against a left-handed pitcher.

"

A lefty-righty platoon, however, wouldn't make sense with the right-handed Davis faring poorly against southpaws. The most sensible solution is for the last-place Brewers to sell high on Parra, a career .277/.327/.404 hitter. Such uncertainty should keep Davis widely unowned for another week or two, but he's worth stashing in deeper formats with Parra likely getting jettisoned by July 31.

3. Jim Johnson, RP, Atlanta Braves (43 Percent Owned)

Carlos Osorio/Associated Press

Jason Grilli will miss the remainder of the season after rupturing his left Achilles tendon on Saturday. It's a brutal break for the 38-year-old reliever, who bounced back from a shaky 2014 to register a 2.94 ERA and 24 saves for the Atlanta Braves.

In light of the unfortunate news, Jim Johnson will assume Atlanta's closing duties, per MLB.com's Mark Bowman. Bowman also noted the possibility of the non-contending Braves dealing the 32-year-old righty before the deadline, which could make Arodys Vizcaino the next man up. 

While Vizcaino warrants a speculative add in deep leagues, most gamers should simply grab Johnson, especially if they need to replace Grilli. He's not the prettiest option, accumulating a mediocre 31 strikeouts through 43 frames. Yet his 2.09 ERA and 60.0 ground-ball percentage get the job done.

Saves are saves. Even if he only handles the gig for two weeks, Johnson will add a couple to the tally.

2. Jarrod Dyson, OF, Kansas City Royals (19 Percent Owned)

Elaine Thompson/Associated Press

Anyone needing steals should have already added Jarrod Dyson by now.

Alex Gordon will miss eight weeks with a severe groin strain, clearing up a spot in the Kansas City Royals outfield. Despite largely serving as a platoon player, fourth outfielder and injury replacement, Dyson now has a chance to manufacture his third straight 30-steal campaign.

Allotted 121 plate appearances this year, the 30-year-old has already swiped 11 bags. Even though he's a career .257/.322/.344 hitter, Dyson's defense makes him Kansas City's best option to replace Gordon's stellar glove in left field.

He only helps fantasy owners in steals, but he's a massive asset in that department. 

1. Kyle Gibson, SP, Minnesota Twins (25 Percent Owned)

Ann Heisenfelt/Associated Press

At first glance, Kyle Gibson looks like an obvious regression candidate. Behind his 2.85 ERA lies a 4.01 FIP and .268 batting average on balls in play (BABIP). Let someone else deal with the inevitable fallout.

Not so fast. The 27-year-old righty has made significant improvements during his second full season. Since June 1, he has amassed 48 strikeouts and 15 walks through 51.2 innings. While his ERA has fluctuated wildly, his expected FIP (xFIP) has depreciated monthly, dropping to 2.89 in June.

He has relinquished 10 earned runs over his last six starts despite facing the St. Louis Cardinals, Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers. After proving himself against top-tier offenses, Gibson deserves everyone's attention.

The recent whiffs are new, but it's far from a miracle for a former first-round choice to mature on the mound. 

Note: All advanced stats courtesy of FanGraphs.  

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