Week 9 Fantasy Baseball Waiver-Wire Targets: Ryan Weathers, Logan Henderson emerging

The waiver wire seems to work in cycles. Early on in the season, those exciting breakouts take center stage, as everyone rushes out to add The Next Big Thing before their competition. And then things tend to get pretty quiet, as some of those early-season "breakouts" fall off and the top options on the wire tend to look more like boring veteran types on a hot streak.

That's where we've been for most of the past month or so, but things have changed a bit in the past week. We had a couple of very interesting catcher promotions from the minors, which is always fun, but the really exciting names on the wire right now are on the pitching side. So, before we get to anything else this week, let's take a look at five pitchers who look like they might be potential difference makers, four of whom are available in more than half of CBS Fantasy leagues entering Week 9:

• Ryan Weathers, Marlins (48%) – On a purely talent level, I think Weathers is perhaps a half-step ahead of the rest of the group here. But the non-talent part of the equation here is trickier – he pitches for a bad team that won't give him many chances to win games, and he's already missed almost two months recovering from a spring elbow injury. But the stuff has taken a big step forward, and most importantly, held after the injury. It might not be sustainable, but Weathers looks like he could be an actual difference maker even on a bad team.
• Zebby Matthews, Twins (48%) – Matthews might not be far behind Weathers if we're just talking about talent, with his own velocity jumping up a couple of ticks so far this season. The problem is, while Weathers turned his newfound elite velocity into five strikeouts over five one-run innings in his first start of the season, Matthews struggled in his, striking out five, but with only six swinging strikes and four runs allowed in three innings. I'm still pretty optimistic about Matthews' combination of strike throwing and stuff, but the execution wasn't great in his first opportunity, against a middling matchup. I'm not going to let that one start scare me off, but I do think it's fine to prioritize Weathers ahead of Matthews in your bids this week.

• Logan Henderson, Brewers (48%) – Henderson doesn't light up the radar gun like Weathers and Matthews can, with his fastball sitting at a pedestrian 92.8 mph. But he locates it well up in the zone, allowing it to tunnel with his changeup, which has been a very effective combo for him. Henderson mixes in a few other pitches, but in his two MLB starts, he's used the four-seamer/change combo 87% of the time, leading to 15 of his 16 strikeouts. He's set for two starts this week, against the Orioles and Pirates, a pretty solid set of matchups that I'm willing to start Henderson against.
• Bubba Chandler, Pirates (78%) – He's gotta be coming up soon, right? Chandler has made eight starts at Triple-A, striking out 37.4% of batters and allowing only seven runs in 33 innings of work. I think you can probably count the number of starts left at Triple-A for Chandler on one hand, and hopefully you won't need more than one finger at this point. He's the top pitching prospect to stash at this point and is well worth keeping stashed everywhere.
• Mick Abel, Phillies (14%) – Abel didn't make his debut with a ton of hype surrounding him, but the former first-rounder looked incredibly impressive in a spot start Sunday. It's probably just a spot start, with Taijan Walker expected to return to the rotation as the longer-term replacement for Aaron Nola, but I do wonder if Abel outdueling Paul Skenes might not change those plans. He had a lot of trouble consistently throwing strikes in the minors, but didn't walk a single batter in this one, while generating a whopping 18 swinging strikes – seven with his four-seamer, eight with the curveball, and three more between the slider and sinker. It's easy velocity, and his control was better in Triple-A before his promotion than it had been in previous seasons, so maybe there's something here. I think the likeliest outcome is Abel goes back to Triple-A, and even if he does hang around, there could be some maddening bouts of inconsistency. But he sure looked like he belonged in his MLB debut. That's the most we can ask for.

Here's who else we're looking to add on waivers ahead of Week 9:

Week 9 Waiver TargetsCatchers

Moises Ballesteros, Cubs (28%) – Ballesteros hasn't done a ton of note so far in the majors, but he has started four of the first five games since being promoted, all at DH. They want that bat in the lineup, and there have even been some sightings of Michael Busch at third base in pre-game work, so hopefully the Cubs are at least considering ways to keep Ballesteros around when Ian Happ is back. He could be an impact bat for a catcher if he's going to play regularly.

Dalton Rushing, Dodgers (43%) – Rushing could also be an impact bat, the problem is he's buried behind one of the best catchers in the league on the depth chart, and the Dodgers are reportedly not considering using him anywhere but behind the plate, at least initially. That makes it tougher to buy into Rushing, who presumably will fill the Austin Barnes role – which hasn't led to more than 225 plate appearances since 2019. It's hard to justify carrying three catchers on most Fantasy rosters, which makes Rushing an awkward fit, but if anything happens to Smith, he could be a top-10 option at the position more or less immediately.

First Base

Tim Elko, White Sox (10%) – The impact bats at first baseman have already broken out, and the position is in a bit of a fallow period right now. So we've got some less exciting options to consider right now. Elko has some upside based on his success at Triple-A this season, though he's a long shot to be an above-average hitter at the MLB level. Still, the White Sox will certainly give him a chance, and maybe Elko can surprise us.

Deep-league target: Spencer Horwitz, Pirates (11%) – Horwitz has a good approach at the plate and a bit of pop, and the Pirates are counting on him to be part of what helps their season turn around. I'm not sure there's a ton of upside here – he can't really hit lefties and has more good power than plus, but he'll have a chance to be a big part of the lineup, and there's a bit of upside here.

Second base

Hye Seong Kim, Dodgers (36%) – I wasn't too excited about Kim as a Fantasy option, but with the Dodgers cutting Chris Taylor to get Tommy Edman off the IL Sunday, Kim's going to get a chance to stick around. He was out of the lineup in the first game with Edman active Sunday, so I'm not 100% sure how he's going to end up being used. But with Kim hitting .452 through his first 14 career games while showing speed and defensive versatility, I have to imagine he'll continue to play somewhat regularly. I think Kim is a long-shot to really matter in points leagues, but he could be a solid option in categories leagues, at least.

Deep-league target: Otto Lopez, Marlins (19%) – Lopez returned from the IL Sunday with a bang, hitting his third homer of the season in the win over the Rays. He has three homers and three steals in 31 games, and while he hasn't been a great hitter overall, the underlying numbers are pretty solid here – a .294 expected batting average (thanks to a 14.3% strikeout rate) and .356 expected wOBA compared to his .278 actual mark. Lopez is a solid middle infield option for deeper leagues.

Third base

Jake Burger, Rangers (57%) – Burger hasn't done much since his return from Triple-A, but he does at least have a hit in each of his first seven games, including one homer. Burger is keeping the strikeouts at bay so far, and we know the power is legit (if streaky). Burger is definitely going to be a must-start masher at some point, why not get ahead of it.

Max Muncy, Dodgers (49%) – Muncy has been wearing glasses since the start of May after learning he has astigmatism that causes his left eye to be slightly more in focus than his right – a bit of a problem for a left-handed hitter. Muncy has cut his strikeout rate to just 18.3% since donning the glasses, with two homers and 13 RBI in 14 games. His underlying metrics have been better than his actual marks all season long, and he should continue to fix that moving forward.

Deep-league target: DJ LeMahieu, Yankees (5%) – It's been a while since LeMahieu was a Fantasy relevant hitter, and he's coming off his worst season yet, where he hit .204/.269/.259 in 67 games last season. He's probably finished as a useful hitter, but let's see if he can prove me wrong. He does have three hits and a walk in his first nine trips to the plate, with a homer and just one strikeout, so maybe there's something left in the tank here.

Shortstop

Jordan Lawlar, Diamondbacks (55%) – We didn't expect Lawlar to be an everyday player, and he hasn't been, starting just two of the first five games since being promoted. The hope is he'll start around four games somewhere along the infield each week, but he has a chance to improve on that, either by forcing the issue with his own play or through an injury to one of Ketel Marte, Geraldo Perdomo, or Eugenio Suarez. It's frustrating that Lawlar is blocked at all three positions by good players, but it also gives him several avenues to potential playing time opening up. He's still more of a stash even after being promoted, but one with a real chance to make an impact.

Deep-league targets: Chase Meidroth, White Sox (13%) – Meidroth's contact-heavy approach is working, as he is hitting .284 through his first 24 games with a very strong 15.2% strikeout rate. There isn't much power here – he hit his first homer this weekend – but Meidroth has a very good approach at the plate and has been an enthusiastic and opportunistic baserunner, swiping five bags in the majors so far. It's not a star profile, but if he is going to keep running like this, Meidroth is going to have some appeal in categories leagues.

Outfield

Joshua Lowe, Rays (69%) – I was never much of a believer in Lowe's breakout a couple of years ago, but there just aren't many widely available players at any position with a 20-homer, 32-steal season on their resume. Even in a disappointing, injury-plagued 2024, Lowe had 10 homers and 25 steals. He's off to a solid start since coming back from an Opening Day oblique injury, and he should be rostered in every category league and some points leagues, too.

Miguel Vargas, White Sox (17%) – Is the post-hype breakout happening? Probably not, but Vargas is doing some legitimately interesting things lately, hitting .350 with six homers in his past 22 games, with more walks than strikeouts to boot. Vargas is a career .308/.396/.493 hitter in his minor-league career, but hadn't done much of note in the majors before this recent run. Maybe it's just a fluke, or maybe he's just a bit of a late-bloomer. In deeper leagues, at least, I'm willing to take a flier and see – and his triple-eligibility doesn't hurt his case.

Parker Meadows, Tigers (22%) – Let's talk about a couple of injury stashes working their way back. Meadows has been out since a nerve issue in his arm ended his spring early, but he's likely to begin a rehab assignment this week and should be back a few weeks after that. And let's not forget that Meadows hit .299/.344/.513 with seven homers and six steals in 49 games after returning from the minors last season. He could be a must-start player in categories leagues if he's right.

Jerar Encarnacion, Giants (4%) – This one is more of a hail mary, because Encarnacion hasn't shown much at the MLB level. At least not in terms of production. In terms of tools, he's shown quite a bit – among players with at least 50 batted balls last season, only Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani, and Oneil Cruz had a higher average exit velocity than Encarnacion, and he ranked 21st with a 15% barrel rate. There is at least above-average power here, so hopefully he'll be back from his fractured wrist in the next couple of weeks.

Relief pitcher

Jordan Romano, Phillies (47%) – With Jose Alvarado suspended for 80 games, the Phillies bullpen looks a bit shakier. Romano, of course, is part of why it looks shaky, as he is sitting on an ugly 7.27 ERA for the season. But he struck out the side to get the save Sunday and hasn't allowed a run in his past eight outings, while striking out 11. Maybe he's figured it out after a rocky start. I don't think Romano is going to get every save – Matt Strahm and Orion Kerkering could figure into the ninth inning at some point – but I'd bet on him being the primary option, at least.

Dennis Santana, Pirates (28%) – It looked like the Pirates were transitioning back to David Bednar as their closer, but that seems to have shifted back in Santana's direction since the firing of Derek Shelton. Santana has worked the ninth in all four of his appearances since then, picking up the only save the Pirates have gotten in that time. I still think Bednar is the better pitcher and will end up in the ninth inning for good at some point, but for now, it looks like it's Santana's job again.