Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: Historic debut puts Joshua Baez out of reach, so which prospect is next?
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- Joshua Baez homered in each of his first three MLB at-bats Saturday against the Cubs at Wrigley Field, the first three-homer debut in MLB history, with all three home runs coming off pitcher Matthew Boyd
- Baez's fantasy roster rate in CBS Sports leagues jumped from 45% to 81% after the performance, pushing him out of typical waiver wire range for the column's readers
- Baez has 37 home runs in 105 games this season, a pace that would prorate to 57 over a full 162-game slate, though the source flags concerns about his Triple-A plate discipline
- At Triple-A, Baez struck out at a 30% rate with a 78% zone contact rate, which would rank fourth-to-last among major league qualifiers, and he is described as struggling to catch up to high heat
- CJ Abrams is shifting from shortstop to second base for the Nationals, opening the door at shortstop for surging prospect Seaver King rather than a straight swap with Nasim Nunez
- Seaver King is hitting .469 (15 for 32) with four home runs and two stolen bases over his past eight games at Triple-A, positioning him as the top suggested waiver pickup in Baez's wake as the column flags fewer than 45 days remaining in the fantasy season
Why it matters: Baez's single-weekend debut cost 36 percentage points of CBS fantasy roster share in one day, locking him in for managers ahead of the fantasy stretch run. With Baez out of reach, the column's actionable advice shifts to King's eight-game Triple-A tear (.469 with power and steals) as the most accessible speculative add for fantasy managers scrambling to replace production.
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