With the final month of the regular season rapidly approaching, this week’s Rotoworld Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire column takes a look at how recent adjustments by Davis Martin, Miguel Amaya and DJ Herz — all of whom are available in nearly 90 percent of Yahoo! leagues at the moment — should put them of fantasy managers’ radar screens heading into the home stretch.
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Davis Martin, SP/RP, White Sox
Available in 96 percent of Yahoo! leagues
To call the White Sox a dumpster fire would be insulting to dumpster fires everywhere. However, Chicago’s ongoing chaos has created an unexpected opportunity for Martin to return to the big leagues for the first time since the 2022 season when he underwent Tommy John surgery. The unheralded 27-year-old right-hander has come back with a new-look arsenal that includes a phenomenal “kick” changeup which is simply a high-80’s changeup that is averaging over 12 inches of vertical break. Simply put, the “kick” changeup, which is modeled after Giants rookie Hayden Birdsong’s offering, has graded out as one of the best offerings of its kind since Martin added it to his arsenal just a few weeks ago. The scary thing here is that Martin just started throwing the pitch earlier this month on August 7. Since that point, he’s recorded a sublime 1.71 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 18/7 K/BB ratio across 21 innings (four starts) during that span. We’re not expecting Martin to emerge as a potential fantasy ace or anything dramatic, but the additional of a borderline elite changeup seemingly out of nowhere gives him an additional weapon, especially against left-handed batters, and has seemingly turned him into an above-average starter virtually overnight. He’s worthy of a speculative roster spot in deeper mixed leagues moving forward as he’s in line to face the Mets and Red Sox in his next two outings before a potential rematch against the Athletics in mid-September.
Miguel Amaya, C, Cubs
Available in 85 percent of Yahoo! leagues
Amaya put together one of the strongest games of his career during Monday’s blowout against the division-rival Pirates, going 4-for-5 with four RBI in the lopsided victory. The 25-year-old backstop started the season ice-cold at the dish, but he’s turned things around in the second half, batting .344 (31-for-90) with five homers and 19 RBI in 31 games dating back to July 7 when he made a mechanical adjustment to his swing, switching to a toe tap instead of a leg kick. The results have been off the metaphorical charts lately as he’s stacked up four multi-hit performances over his last five contests since August 22. Given his recent swing adjustment, and sizzling-hot stretch at the dish, Amaya is at least worthy of a speculative fantasy roster spot, especially in deeper mixed leagues and two-catcher formats.
DJ Herz, SP, Nationals
Available in 87 percent of Yahoo! leagues
If we’re being honest, there are plenty of reasons to be skeptical of Herz from a long-term standpoint as he’s a cross-fire left-hander with middling command and pretty average stuff. However, he’s shown some impressive strikeout upside at times this season, piling up at least six strikeouts in three of his last five starts since August 3, recording an impressive 2.22 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 30/12 K/BB ratio across 24 1/3 innings of work during that span. His recent success coincides with ramping up his changeup usage, especially against right-handed batters. The 23-year-old rookie southpaw struggles to work deep into outings, but he’s still managed to post a pair of double-digit strikeout performances since arriving in the big leagues back in early June. Unless the command takes a leap forward, we’re not anticipating a jump to upper-echelon status, but he’s going to make an impact for fantasy managers, especially in deeper mixed leagues going forward, solely because of his strikeout upside. He’s got an extremely favorable upcoming schedule with matchups on tap against the free-falling Cubs, Pirates and Marlins.