Credit: Keith Allison

The All-Star Break has passed and what is referred to as the second half of the season is underway. The waiver wire is going to be super important for those teams still in the hunt. Every season you find your second half heroes, who knows maybe one of the players recommended in this 2018 Fantasy Baseball Week 18 Waiver Wire will be just that.

We’ve seen a flurry of trades already this month and I guarantee there are more coming. The only trades that have any effect on the waiver wire are the moves made regarding relievers. In particular, the closers as we saw teams move their primary closer to teams, so now it is on to the next man up.

Let’s get to those and more.

2018 Fantasy Baseball Week 18 Waiver Wire

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Hitters

Jake Bauers, 1B/OF, Tampa Bay Rays (22% owned in Yahoo)

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A top 50 prospect in all of baseball among many sites got his call-up on June 7th.

His first 28 games were pretty forgettable. He batted .227 with two HR and nine RBI. His 14 games since he has hit four home runs with 12 RBI and 14 runs scored while batting .276.

On a Rays squad that is pretty devoid of talent, Bauers is going to go through ups and down. But he is batting third in the order most nights and should plenty of chances to hit through any slumps.

Healey has been on quite the run since the All-Star Game hitting .462 with three home runs and eight RBI.

His overall season line is not that great, but don’t forget just two seasons ago his second half was. That season he was called up and hit .305 with 13 home runs, 36 runs and 37 RBI.

I think he is very capable of doing it again and worth a pickup.

Pitching

Wily Peralta, RP, Kansas City Royals (17% owned)

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The Royals are not very good, but a closer is a closer. The Royals also play in a division that has very winnable games.

Peralta is likely to have a very long leash the rest of the season since he has converted three straight and 5-of-6 save chances.

The one blown save is what blew up his ERA and WHIP, but that should be forgotten as the rest of his performances have been stellar.

Carlos Rodon, SP, Chicago White Sox (29% owned)

Rodon, the once highly touted prospect, is having a good season after returning from having shoulder surgery in early June.

The thing that I like most is the strikeouts are rising since the sluggish start. 21 in his last 21 innings and he is able to keep walks mostly in check. Walks were always something that haunted him in seasons past so if this can continue he is going to be super valuable down the stretch.

Jace Fry, RP, Chicago White Sox (11% owned)

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Another White Sox pitcher. I bet you never thought you would see two in one season, much less two in the same article.

It is Fry’s turn to take the closer role for the White Sox after Joakim Soria was traded.

The 25-year-old should get the majority, if not all, of the closing chances for the White Sox with Nate Jones on the DL. That immediatley makes him add-worthy in all leagues.

Deep Dives

These are players who are better suited to be owned in 14-plus team leagues or deeper roster leagues.

Robert Gsellman, RP, New York Mets (29% owned)

It might seem weird to put a player in the Deep Dives section who is higher owned than two other relievers mentioned, but I’ll explain.

The other two are in my opinion the clear closers on their teams moving forward. Gsellman I don’t believe is. Even though he is thought of as the favorite by many to get the bulk of the save opportunities, it is not guaranteed for him.

Case in point, Anthony Swarzak got the most recent save opportunity for the Mets while Gsellman pitched in the seventh inning. This is a trend we may see continue far more than you would like. In a standard size leage I would prob not waste a roster spot on him, unless you were truly desperate for saves. However, in deep leagues he is worth the spot for sure.

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