We’re ever so close to the All-Star break and things are really starting to take shape. Hitters that were getting lucky early are coming back to earth. Pitcher’s that have great underlying numbers but bad surface level data are starting to have positive regression. The world of fantasy baseball is right again. That being said, we have a lot of great looking options on the fantasy baseball waiver wire for Week 14 of the season. This week’s column is headlined by Kyle Stowers, Jo Adell, and Michael Soroka amongst others.

There are a lot of great fantasy baseball waiver wire additions and we’re attacking them all in this week’s column. If you have any questions about your waiver wire, hit us up in the Fantasy Alarm Discord or hit me up on Twitter!

 

 

 

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pitchers

Chad Patrick, SP, Milwaukee Brewers

  • ESPN: 14% / Yahoo: 33%
  • FAAB: 7-9%

If we get past the fact that he has two first names, we can look at the pitcher and how good he’s been and his upcoming matchups as well. Patrick faces the Rockies at home on Sunday and then the Marlins on the road next weekend. Now, let’s get into this latest stretch of pitching.

Since May 21st, a span of seven starts, Patrick has pitched to a 4.21 ERA but 3.30 xFIP and a massive 29.6 percent K-rate. He’s had awful batted ball luck during that span allowing a .355 BABIP. In ALL seven of the starts we’re talking about, Patrick has struck out at least five batters and had at least six in six of them.

Patrick’s pitch mix has become quite condensed and basically everything is hard. 65 percent of pitches thrown are cutters and sinkers and only throws off-speed pitches (changeups & sliders) 11 percent of the time.

The amount of strikeouts he’s racking up plus the matchups upcoming provide a LOT of fantasy juice.

 

Jacob Lopez, SP, Athletics

  • ESPN: 10% / Yahoo: 22%
  • FAAB: 4-6%

If you’re wondering if this recent stretch from Jacob Lopez is legit I’m here to deliver some news: it seems that way.

Look at all the red for Jacob Lopez this season. It’s truly impressive because this wasn’t a pitcher who started the year in the majors, let alone the rotation. Lopez is missing a LOT of bats notching a 28.9 percent K rate and a 11.5 percent K/9 rate, plus he's generating swings-and-misses 12.5 percent of the time.

The one worry, and possibly the only one at this very moment in time, is the ballpark he pitches in. His home ballpark continues to be a streamline for offense and that’s not going to get better as the summer months continue, but he’s actually pitched quite well at home as he’s posted a 2.74 ERA and .200 AVG. Lopez’s next two projected starts come in Tampa Bay and home against San Francisco, so let’s see how he can navigate two minor league ballparks. If you want to wait until he’s through this stretch, I wouldn’t blame you.

 

Michael Soroka, SP, RP, Washington Nationals

ESPN: 5% / Yahoo: 15%

FAAB: 4-6%

The year was 2019. The pandemic hadn’t happened. Mike Trout was MVP. Yordan Alvarez was Rookie of the Year. Pete Alonso won ROY in the National League. Do you know who was second? Mike Soroka. That year was also the last time Soroka was able to stay healthy. Prior to 2025, Soroka made 18 starts since then. Well, 2025 has been an interesting season for Soroka who is really settling in as a starter.

Through 10 starts, he’s yet to really have a “bad” outing and is coming off a fantastic outing against the Los Angeles Dodgers, striking out a season-high 10 batters. In 10 starts, Soroka has had at least eight strikeouts four times already, giving us a real look at his upside.

Let's look deeper, shall we?

Some numbers this year: 5.06 ERA, 3.18 xERA, 3.72 xFIP, 3.32 SIERA

Some pitch data this year: 

  • 94.3 MPH on his FB (career-high)
  • wCU (curveball runs above average, per statcast) - 5.7, a pitch he’s throwing 35.6 percent of the time despite NEVER throwing it at the major league level. Amongst ALL starters that have thrown 50 innings, Mike Soroka has the THIRD best curveball in baseball.

Soroka makes his next two starts against the Los Angeles Angels and Boston Red Sox, two teams striking out a BUNCH against right-handed pitchers. He’s a nice option for those two starts and from how things have gone, he could be a long term solution as well.

 

Edward Cabrera, SP, Miami Marlins

  • ESPN: 6% / Yahoo: 25%
  • FAAB: 3-5%

This one is interesting to me because the now 27-year-old Edward Cabrera is in his top form since the 14 starts he made in 2022. Since that point, he hasn’t pitched well… until this year. SO far, through 13 starts, Cabera has pitched to a 3.78 ERA and his 4.10 xERA, 3.88 xFIP, and 3.98 SIERA this season. 

Cabrera has always been a consistent strikeout arm as he checks in at a 25 percent K-rate and a 9.65 K/9. He also gets a bunch of ground balls and doesn’t give up many home runs. His detriment is the control, but maybe that’s getting better considering his 4.06 BB/9 is the lowest of his career.

What has changed for Cabrera this year? The pitch mix is changing. He has three plus pitches per Fangraphs this year as his slider, sinker, and curveball and the fastball, which is his worst by FAR, is his least thrown pitch at 14.7 percent. His sinker is his new primary fastball that he’s throwing 23.4 percent of the time after throwing it just 9 percent of the time in each of the last two seasons. His slider also rates out as his best pitch and he’s now throwing it 15.6 percent of the time after just eight percent in the last two.

 

 

 

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Infielders

Otto Lopez, 2B, SS, Miami Marlins

  • ESPN: 9% / Yahoo: 10%
  • FAAB: 4-6%

Amongst all players in baseball, Otto Lopez has been one of the more unlucky players in the game.

  • AVG: .254 / xBA: .298
  • SLG%: .364 / xSLG%: .470
  • wOBA: .308 / xwOBA: .363

In all three of those categories he’s amongst the top-22 in each in terms of difference between actual numbers and expected numbers. Lopez has multi-position eligibility and plus speed as we saw from him last year after stealing 20 bags. Lopez has had his best month in June batting .292 and for the second straight month, he’s posted a wRC+ of at least a 109.

He’s been batting third for Miami these days and has driven in seven runs over his last four games (as of Friday afternoon.) Lopez is a really solid add, especially if some of the batted ball luck turns in his direction.

 

Tyler Freeman, SS, OF, Colorado Rockies

  • ESPN: 4% / Yahoo: 13%
  • FAAB: 4-6%

Sometimes it takes a change of scenery for players to figure some things out and it’s possible that is what’s happened for Tyler Freeman. After being swapped for Nolan Jones, all Tyler Freeman has done is rake, and with him playing his home games at Coors Field, it’s possible he maintains this level of production.

His AVG of .324 is met with a .319 xBA and he has a .377 xwOBA and .841 OPS. Again, this guy plays in Coors Field, quite possibly the best hitting environment in the league. He has elite eligibility as you can slot him in at both SS and in the OF as well, so there truly is a LOT to like here.

He’s not going to hit for much power, that’s not part of his game, but he CAN run, as he has 75th percentile sprint speed according to baseball savant and is already up to nine stolen bases this season.

 

Luke Keaschall, 1B, 2B, OF, Minnesota Twins *Stash Add* 

  • ESPN: 2% / Yahoo: 9%
  • FAAB: 2-4%

I prefaced this one by saying he’s someone you want to stash. He’s still a ways away, like until post All-Star break, but Luke Keaschall has begun hitting off a tee, which is the first thing we’ve publicly known about since he fractured his forearm that’s baseball related.

The Twins third-overall prospect was a ball of fire upon being called up hitting .368 with a 1.064 OPS and in 26 plate appearances, was on base 54 percent of the time and stole FIVE bases. Oh, by the way, the Twins were hitting him third, which could be a place he slots right back into when he returns. Again, he’s still not ready, and will need more time, but this was a good step in the right direction.

 

 

 

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Outfielders

Kyle Stowers, OF, Miami Marlins

  • ESPN: 14% / Yahoo: 25%
  • FAAB: 10-12%

I mean, yeah, whatever hand injury he WAS dealing with he’s not dealing with any longer, I can tell you that with confidence. Kyle Stowers is back. Over the last 14 days, Stowers has hit .289 with a .992 OPS and that’s what he was doing pre hand injury.

This is a look at his full body of work. It’s red and it’s beautiful. Stowers has big power and has shown it from the outset of the season. He was given up in the Trevor Rogers deal and he’s making sure he lets Baltimore know who won that deal. He had multiple 20 home run minor league seasons, so the power being on display isn’t fully surprising.

 

Jo Adell, OF, Los Angeles Angels

  • ESPN: 14% / Yahoo: 38%
  • FAAB: 9-11%

Jo Adell is a repeat addition to this article but he’s a worthy add as his power has been on full display this month. He has 11 home runs (and counting) so far in June and only Juan Soto has kept pace. Yeah, sometimes highly coveted prospects take a bit to develop.

Everything on the surface is trending in the right direction for Adell while he’s actually been incredibly unlucky under the hood. Adell has a .230 AVG and .267 xBA, .487 SLG percentage but a .556 xSLG percentage and a .344 wOBA but how’s a .380 xwOBA? Pretty damn good. Let's not ignore the fact that he was a 15 stolen base guy last year, too. Adell’s breakout campaign has a chance to result in 30-plus home runs and if his second half is anything like his first, it’s possible he flirts with 40 bombs. YES PLEASE!

 

Chase DeLauter, OF, Cleveland Guardians

  • ESPN: 1% / Yahoo: 4%
  • FAAB: 1-2%

So the Cleveland Guardians were shut out once again by Sonny Gray and the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday and they have multiple top prospects ready to be called up just raking at the minor league level, one of which are Chase DeLauter. DeLauter is an extremely talented offensive player that is good at just about everything. He’s always on base, rarely strikes out, and has decent pop too.

At the MiLB level, he’s reached base in 25 straight games and is currently riding a 12-game hitting streak. It’s really not if he’s called up it’s when. This tweet, courtesy of TJStats on Twitter, gives you all you need to know how good he is. He just needs to stay healthy when he gets to the show, because injuries have derailed him almost every season in the minors.

 

 

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