AL FAAB Factor: Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups

This is our weekly look at American League free agents. We have two goals for this article:

1. Identify likely free agents and discuss their strengths and weaknesses.
2. Estimate how much of your $100 starting free-agent budget you should bid on them.

We've incorporated grids into the FAAB articles, so users can easily see at a glance how certain players stack up against others and how much they should command in a variety of formats.

The grids, which are sortable by column (click on the header), include a very basic "player grade" column. This serves as a reflection of a player's upside on an A-E scale, prioritizing skills and talent above role and playing time outlook. Wyatt Langford would have been an "A" grade player last year – that mark will be reserved for similarly high-impact prospects that could thrive in an everyday role.

As always, if there is a player that was not discussed in the article that you would like to know about, feel free to ask about the player in the comments.

Starting Pitcher

Slade Cecconi, Guardians: Aside from one shaky start against the Halos in which he served up three homers, Cecconi has been a solid addition to the Cleveland rotation. Toss out that performance (which, I know, but it did come on seven days rest rather than the usual four or five), and the 25-year-old righty has a 3.00 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 25:5 K:BB over 21 innings, and he's had road starts against the Yankees, Tigers and Reds – not exactly a soft schedule. Cecconi had some prospect cache in the Diamondbacks system, and while there are definite warts on his profile (it's hard to hand-wave away an AEV allowed that's in the first percentile. Not 99th... first, way down at the bottom), the Guardians tend to know what they're doing when it comes to pitcher development. While his four-seamer remains very hittable and the two-seamer he's added to his arsenal isn't yet a viable pitch, Cecconi has reduced his changeup usage in favor of a curveball that has a 51.6 percent whiff rate and an xBA of .159, as the coaching staff hones in on an ideal mix. A two-step this week that features road starts against the Giants and A's is risky but potentially lucrative. 12-team Mixed: $1; 15-team Mixed: $3; 12-team AL: Rostered

Aaron Civale, White Sox: Short of shipping him to the Rockies, the Brewers inflicted the worst punishment they could on Civale for having the temerity to ask for a trade just because there was no room for him in the big-league rotation. Why a rebuilding Chicago squad wanted a 30-year-old journeyman is another question, especially when the cost to acquire him was that they had to give up on Andrew Vaughn, but head-scratching roster moves are nothing new for the White Sox. Maybe they're hoping he has a decent run and they can flip him at the deadline for something more than they could have gotten for Vaughn? Civale will make his ChiSox debut Sunday, just in time to face a Rangers' offense that's waking up and has scored 16 runs in a game twice this week, and there's little reason to expect him to improve on the 4.91 ERA he sported over five starts for Milwaukee. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $3

Jacob Lopez, Athletics: The Sacramento Exiles might be facing a rotation crunch. J.T. Ginn's about ready to come off the IL and they have prospects knocking on the door (see below), but both Mitch Spence and Lopez have pitched pretty well over the last week or two. Lopez is the more intriguing option, and maybe the more likely of the two to keep his spot if the A's commit to developing future rotation pieces. The 27-year-old lefty dominated at Triple-A prior to his promotion, and he's got a 40:13 K:BB through his first 30 innings this season while delivering back-to-back outings with a 0.00 ERA. While his arsenal doesn't impress on paper, everything plays up thanks to 93rd percentile extension, and to say he's kept hitters off balance would be a massive understatement – while the sample's still small, Lopez carries a 94th percentile hard-hit rate allowed. His cutter in particular looks like a completely different pitch than what he showed last year with the Rays, but all his offerings have improved movement profiles, and there may be some legitimacy to his breakout. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $1; 12-team AL: $4

Lance McCullers, Astros: McCullers' roster rate remains below 50 percent on Yahoo, but the window for grabbing him if he's still available in your league could be about to close. He's worked over 90 pitches in four straight starts, posting a 3.80 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 33:9 K:BB over 21.1 innings during that stretch as his old swing-and-miss stuff returns. A two-start week that has him facing the A's and Angels on the road will likely boost those numbers further. The big question remains how long his arm will hold up, but Houston needs to squeeze every inning they can get out of him. 12-team Mixed: $5; 15-team Mixed: $11; 12-team AL: Rostered

Charlie Morton, Orioles: Speaking of guys re-discovering their strikeout stuff, Morton is coming off a 10-K performance against the Angels and has a 2.45 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 39:10 K:BB over his last seven appearances (four starts) and 29.1 innings. He's won three of those starts, and while a 41-year-old with a 6.05 ERA on the season will never be mistaken for reliable, his floor is a little higher as the team around him begins to play better. 12-team Mixed: $1; 15-team Mixed: $3; 12-team AL: Rostered

Jack Perkins, Athletics: A fifth-round pick back in 2022, injuries hampered Perkins' development, but he broke out last year at Double-A and has only solidified those gains this season despite pitching for Triple-A Las Vegas. The 25-year-old right-hander has struck out at least seven batters in six straight starts, posting a 2.27 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 52:12 K:BB in 31.2 innings over that stretch – and again, that's in the PCL, with four of those outings coming at home. The A's don't have a clear spot for him at the moment, especially with Ginn coming back, so Perkins is just a stash for now. The organization will need to add him to the 40-man roster this coming offseason anyway though, so he should get his chance when he's deemed ready. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $1; 12-team AL: $2

Kumar Rocker, Rangers: The disparity between Rocker's minor-league numbers this season and his big-league performance is almost laughable. The 25-year-old right-hander has made three appearances between Double-A and Triple-A and allowed just one earned run in 11 innings with a 12:1 K:BB. For Texas, on the other hand... oof. With Tyler Mahle headed to the IL though, Rocker's the next man up in the Rangers' rotation. He's only 35 innings into his MLB career and the upside is obvious, so you never know when things will begin to click. And I (stubbornly) still like him better as a long-term play than Jack Leiter. 12-team Mixed: $1; 15-team Mixed: $2; 12-team AL: $5

Brandon Walter, Astros: Houston still has another week to go before they get a day off and can afford to think about going back to a five-man rotation, so Walter lines up for a couple more starts. He's looked great in two trips to the mound in the majors so far, and if someone does get bumped from their rotation spot, it's hard to make a merit-based argument in favor of Ryan Gusto right now. There's still enough uncertainty over how things play out to temper then bidding on Walter, but the southpaw may end up being more than just a short-term asset. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $2; 12-team AL: $5

Simeon Woods Richardson, Twins: With Zebby Matthews going down to a shoulder strain, SWR gets another crack at the rotation. His erratic performances followed him to Triple-A, though – after two strong starts for St. Paul, he served up three homers in his most recent outing. Woods Richardson should be viewed as a streaming option, at best. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $3

Other two-start options, Mon-Sun (12-team Mixed: $1; 15-team Mixed: $1; 12-team AL: $1)

Via RotoWire's Probable Pitchers grid

David Festa, Twins (at CIN, vs. MIL)
J.T. Ginn, Athletics (vs. HOU, vs. CLE)
Lucas Giolito, Red Sox (at SEA, at SF)
Kyle Hendricks, Angels (at NYY, vs. HOU)
Dean Kremer, Orioles (at TB, at NYY)
Jack Leiter, Rangers (vs. KC, at PIT)
Zack Littell, Rays (vs. BAL, vs. DET)
JP Sears, Athletics (vs. HOU, vs. CLE)
Shane Smith, White Sox (vs. STL, at TOR)
Jose Soriano, Angels (at NYY, vs. HOU)
Will Warren, Yankees (vs. LAA, vs. BAL)

Relief Pitcher

Reid Detmers, Angels: It looks like there's a new understudy for Kenley Jansen. Detmers is thriving in a high-leverage relief role, and he hasn't allowed a run in nearly a month, posting a 0.91 WHIP and 18:4 K:BB in 11 innings over his 11-appearance scoreless stretch. He's racked up a win, six holds and two saves in that time, and with Ben Joyce done for the year, Ryan Zefenjahn unable to maintain his early-season strikeout rate and Jose Fermin back in Triple-A trying to prove he's ready, Detmers doesn't have a lot of competition for the closer role if (when?) Jansen gets shipped out. Of course, the Halos traded away half their bullpen last year at the deadline, not just Carlos Estevez, but Detmers still has three more years of team control as he heads into his arb years, so they may not be motivated sellers on the southpaw. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $1; 12-team AL: $4

Lucas Erceg, Royals: Back from the IL, Erceg slots right back in as Kansas City's top setup man ahead of Estevez, and the top option to replace him should the closer role open up. Erceg's strikeout rate has been down this season, largely due to his sinker drawing more contact, but that's not necessarily a bad thing in the long run. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $2

Grant Taylor, White Sox: For the most part, the White Sox's bullpen has been a dumpster fire once again for fantasy purposes. Mediocre lefty Brandon Eisert leads the team with two saves, and six other guys have one each. Taylor might be the solution to that problem, though. Converted to the bullpen at Double-A Birmingham this year, the 23-year-old righty has a 4:1 K:BB through his first three big-league innings while routinely scraping 100 mph with his fastball. That comes on the heels of a 0.00 ERA and 18:1 K:BB over his 9.1 innings for Birmingham. Taylor did struggle in the seventh inning Saturday against a resurgent Rangers offense, but if he strings together a few dominant performances, it should be enough to leapfrog guys like Steven Wilson and Jordan Leasure in the pecking order for the infrequent ninth-inning chances the team manages to generate. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $1; 12-team AL: $4

Spencer Turnbull, Blue Jays: Toronto's beginning to get creative with the back of its rotation. Turnbull joins Eric Lauer as a veteran bulk relief/primary pitcher option, and the former blanked the Cards over two innings in his season debut Wednesday. The eventual return of Max Scherzer may not alter that plan much, either. Scherzer's had trouble going much past 50 pitches due to his thumb issues, so rather than stretching him out further, the Jays may just view him as another pitcher in the piggyback mix. If Turnbull is routinely entering games after Scherzer or Lauer, he could have surprising upside in wins given the way the team's offense is rolling right now. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1

Greg Weissert, Red Sox: With Justin Slaten on the shelf, Weissert seems to have emerged as Boston's preferred second fiddle to Aroldis Chapman in save situations. Weissert's notched two saves this week, and more opportunities could be coming if the BoSox continue to keep a close eye on Chapman's usage and workload. The right-hander has earned his high-leverage spot with a 2.81 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 31:8 K:BB through 32 innings. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $2

Catcher

Gary Sanchez, Orioles: Sanchez came off the IL on Saturday and promptly homered off Tyler Anderson. The 32-year-old will primarily be a short-side platoon option behind Adley Rutschman at catcher and Ryan O'Hearn at DH, a role he's thrived in at times during his career – he slashed .267/.304/.680 with nine homers in 79 PAs against LHP as recently as 2023. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1

Austin Wynns, Athletics: The 34-year-old was having a career-best season in Cincinnati in a tiny sample of playing time, but he still got cut loose when Tyler Stephenson got healthy. Wynns landed with the A's to provide depth while Shea Langeliers is out, and he went yard Friday in his second start for his new club. An even timeshare with Willie MacIver could give Wynns some short-term value in deep formats. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1

First Base

Nick Kurtz, Athletics: Kurtz has started four of five games since coming off the injured list, going 2-for-17 with six Ks. Strikeouts are going to be part of the package for the 22-year-old at this stage of his career, but the ball goes a lot way when he makes contact – his AEV of 92.7 mph matches Corbin Carroll's, while his hard-hit rate of 48.6 percent is a touch ahead of players like Elly De La Cruz and Cal Raleigh. His 77.8 mph bat speed would be third in the majors if he had enough playing time to qualify, behind only Oneil Cruz and Junior Caminero. Homers will come in bunches once Kurtz gets into a rhythm, and in fact they'd already started to -- he went yard four times in his last five games before straining his hip flexor. 12-team Mixed: $7; 15-team Mixed: $15; 12-team AL: Rostered

Ryan Noda, White Sox: Noda got called up Saturday and immediately got the start at first base, going 0-for-3 with two strikeouts against Jacob deGrom. The 29-year-old could wind up on the strong side of a platoon at first base with Miguel Vargas, with Vargas then shifting to third base against RHP, but his contact issues (Noda has a career 34.3 percent strikeout rate in the majors) could also keep him relegated to the bench for the most part. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1

LaMonte Wade, Angels: Cast aside by the Giants, Wade landed in Anaheim to try and give the Halos some depth at first base/DH/corner outfield. I say "try" because the 31-year-old has gone 0-for-6 with four Ks since making his Angels debut Friday. He seems likely to wind up being another veteran bench player who doesn't pan out for Ron Washington's squad. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1

Second Base

Brooks Baldwin, White Sox: Baldwin returned to the White Sox on Friday after not leaving the organization much choice but to return him to the majors, terrorizing Triple-A pitching to the tune of a .380/.437/.734 slash line with seven homers and six other extra-base hits in 19 games. With Lenyn Sosa on the shelf, there's an opening in the infield, but so far the 24-year-old has only come off the bench while Noda, Vinny Capra and Josh Rojas have all gotten starts. That seems completely nonsensical to me, but the team seems to view him purely as a future super-utility player, and I guess letting him start isn't part of that development plan. He still offers more upside than all three of those guys put together though, if he ever gets a chance to show it. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $2

Romy Gonzalez, Red Sox: Gonzalez has gotten a surprising amount of playing time for a guy who was supposed to be on the short side of a platoon. Over nine games since coming off the IL in early June, he's batting .333 (11-for-33) with four doubles, a homer and nine RBI. That hot streak won't (shouldn't?) last, but with that kind of workload and production, the 28-year-old has short-term value in shallower mixed formats as well as AL-only. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $1; 12-team AL: $4

Luis Guillorme, Astros: Houston needs warm bodies around the diamond and left-handed hitters in the lineup, and Guillorme checks both boxes. The 30-year-old infielder has a career .659 OPS and offers little upside, but his short-term playing time and positional versatility gives him some deep-league value. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1

Christian Moore, Angels: He didn't get to the majors as quickly as the Angels might have hoped after selecting him with the eighth overall pick in the 2024 draft, but Moore "finally" got the call Friday and has started two straight games at second base. He may not provide immediate returns on your investment, but Moore was slashing .350/.424/.575 over 20 games for Triple-A Salt Lake with four homers and three steals prior to his promotion. Even accounting for PCL inflation, that's not bad. The 22-year-old shouldn't have any real competition for playing time at the keystone until at least Yoan Moncada gets healthy and Luis Rengifo has to start bouncing between second base and third base, but Rengifo is also a free agent in the offseason and stands a high likelihood of being dealt. 12-team Mixed: $3; 15-team Mixed: $7; 12-team AL: $15

Third Base

DJ LeMahieu, Yankees: LeMahieu has turned back the clock in June, batting .382 (13-for-34) through 11 games on the month while starting nearly every day at second base. The 36-year-old is making better contact than he has in a long time – you have to go back to 2019 and 2020 to find the kind of AEV and hard-hit rates he's cranked out so far – and it might just be that DJLM is finally healthy enough to put together one last strong campaign. 12-team Mixed: $2; 15-team Mixed: $5; 12-team AL: $11

Shortstop

Max Muncy, Athletics: Muncy's second look at big-league pitching is going much better than his first. Since getting called back up in early June, the 22-year-old is batting .270 (10-for-37) in nine games with four homers and 11 RBI. His 28.9 percent strikeout rate still isn't great, but it's palatable given the quality of contact he's making. If Muncy keeps this up, the A's won't have much reason to give the third base job back to Miguel Andujar or Gio Urshela once the veterans get healthy. 12-team Mixed: $1; 15-team Mixed: $4; 12-team AL: $9

Outfield

Roman Anthony, Red Sox: In terms of talent, Anthony's worth blowing your budget for. Sure, he's started his MLB career by going 1-for-16, but he's made plenty of hard contact (just ask Shane Baz) and the hits will come. The bigger issue is, how long is he going to be around? The Red Sox should do everything they can to keep the 21-year-old in the majors, but once Wilyer Abreu is healthy, they'll have four outfielders for three spots, and Rafael Devers at DH. Trading someone like Abreu for pitching makes the most sense, but that would require finding another team that needs OF help and has pitching to spare, or at least doesn't care if it can stitch together a big-league rotation. (Hmm... did I just describe the Marlins? I feel like I just described the Marlins.) Of course, Anthony could help force the issue if he gets hot at the plate, and his upside is sky high if he does. Just to throw out a comp that'll make old BoSox fans lose their minds, Anthony could be a 21st century Fred Lynn – pre-trade and pre-knee injury, of course. 12-team Mixed: $25; 15-team Mixed: $35; 12-team AL: $55

Dominic Canzone, Mariners: With the M's pulling the plug on the Leody Taveras experiment and Victor Robles months away from returning, Canzone has found himself on the strong side of a platoon in right field with Dylan Moore. Canzone's gotten off to a quick start in that role, going 5-for-16 (.313) in five games since his promotion with a homer, a steal and four RBI. The 27-year-old has nothing left to prove at Triple-A (career .307/.377/.550 slash line in nearly 1000 plate appearances at the level), but his .211/.269/.394 career line in the majors over 391 PAs has him dangerously close to being labeled as a Quad-A player. This could be his last chance to escape that fate, and hang onto a spot when Luke Raley returns from the IL. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $2

Evan Carter, Rangers: Carter showed something this week at the plate, reeling off four straight multi-hit performances with five of his 10 hits during that heater going for extra bases (two doubles, three homers). Then he hurt his wrist Friday laying out to make a diving catch on a sinking liner, and he might be back to square one. The Rangers don't seem to view him as an IL candidate though, using him as a pinch runner Saturday. Carter's had trouble re-capturing the numbers he produced in his big-league debut back in 2023, and injuries have been a huge part of that story. If he can stay healthy, the 22-year-old still has five-category upside, and that makes him an intriguing stash in shallow formats. 12-team Mixed: $2; 15-team Mixed: $5; 12-team AL: Rostered

Denzel Clarke, Athletics: Clarke's glovework has made him a regular on highlight reels over the last couple weeks, and if stolen homers were a fantasy category he'd be an elite dynasty asset. Stolen bases are one of the usual categories though, and while the 25-year-old isn't doing much with his bat in June (.520 OPS and 0:17 BB:K in 12 games), he's gone 4-for-4 on steal attempts. With his defense keeping him in the lineup, Clarke could be a good fit for fantasy GMs in need of someone who can boost them in SBs without needing to contribute elsewhere. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $1; 12-team AL: $4

Lane Thomas, Guardians: The 29-year-old got activated from the IL on Monday and has started three of Cleveland's last five games, two against righties and one against a lefty. That usage suggests Thomas should be a near-everyday player once he's fully back up to speed – provided he contributes something with his bat, of course. In 75 games since being traded to the Guardians last year, Thomas is slashing just .193/.251/.336 with eight homers and six steals, and there are no guarantees he'll even regain his 2023 form. Even producing numbers close to what he was giving the Nats in 2024 at the time of the trade (.253/.331/.407 with eight homers and 28 steals in 77 contests) would be a massive upgrade. 12-team Mixed: $1; 15-team Mixed: $4; 12-team AL: $9

Designated Hitter

Giancarlo Stanton, Yankees: The 35-year-old slugger is expected to wrap up a rehab stint this weekend and join the Yankees for his 2025 debut early next week. Stanton hasn't homered in three games for Double-A Somerset on the rehab assignment, but there's no reason to think his power's disappeared, despite the mysterious elbow issues that have kept him on the shelf this season. Stanton's belted at least 24 homers in each of the last four seasons, but he's managed a slash line of just .212/.291/.454 across the last three, making him a very one-dimensional fantasy asset. If you need pop and can afford to hurt your flexibility with a Ut-only player though, he should still be able to help you out. 12-team Mixed: $2; 15-team Mixed: $5; 12-team AL: $11