Orlando Arcia has upped his trade value with his recent play. (Zach McHoul)

Welcome back to another week of Fantasy baseball. We’re nearly halfway through August, so time is ticking to make your play. Beat your league mates with the waiver wire.

This week, it took the White Sox matching an AL record for futility before they finally axed their manager; Anthony Volpe (foot) had to come out early on Thursday; and Miles Mikolas, who has pitched better than his ERA suggests, will see if he can slow down RBI machine Bobby Witt Jr.

So while you wonder whether there will be any first inning scoring on Friday when Detroit visits San Francisco (currently -132 on the under for 0.5 runs as per FanDuel), let’s get to this week’s…

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Picks

Orlando Arcia, SS, Atlanta Braves (ESPN: 9.1 per cent; CBS: 22 per cent): Arcia got hurt early in 2023 but he returned to enjoy a solid campaign, even if his extra-base sock regressed. That regression continued into 2024 and he’s generally pretty bad — until recently, that is. Bridging the end of July/beginning of August, Arcia put together a 13-game hit streak (see video below) before hitting a snag for a few days. Now, he’s rolling again, with back-to-back multi-hit efforts and he’s been doing a superb job of getting on base this month. Arcia doesn’t bring one must-have skill to the table (except for his arm, which Fantasy owners probably don’t care about), but he’s playing enough to blow past his projected PT, and that in itself brings value — especially if the Braves plan to deal him this winter as rumoured.

Quick Hits

• Seattle OF Julio Rodriguez (ankle) is getting closer to returning. He took some swings earlier this week and over the last couple of days has progressed to running the bases and in the outfield. However, there is still no timetable for J-Rod’s return, adding to what’s been a frustrating season. He was hitting so well last month before getting hurt, but his 2024 counting cats are way down thanks to the time he’s missed and how poorly he performed over the first few months.
• Still in the outfield, it’s time to take another look at Michael Conforto who is enjoying a nice bounce back effort in his second season in San Francisco. He had two hits on Thursday, including a two-run single, a pair of runs and two walks, giving him a six-game hit streak. Conforto was awful in June, a bit better in July and is now on fire. His rising K rate concerns us long term, but right now, he’s a nice option.
• Detroit RP Tyler Holton got touched up for two hits and a run on Thursday, but has otherwise been quite effective lately, earning a save and hold in his last two outings. Before Thursday, he hadn’t given up a run since June 26, and has generally gotten better as the season has progressed while filling a variety of roles (long relief, opening, setting up and closing). There’s AL-only league value here.
• Ji Hwan Bae teased us during his MLB debut two years ago, but it’s been all downhill since. He improved his walk rate last year and racked up 24 steals, but everything else regressed. And while Bae’s walk rate has again risen this season, he’s been hurt a couple of times and has barely played in the bigs. His stolen base potential is intriguing, but he’s just 4-for-6 this year and is no more than a very deep NL-only option at this point.
• After ostensibly hitting rock bottom last year, Mitch Haniger has only been slightly better this season, but he enjoyed a rare highlight on Thursday, smoking a three-run double in the ninth inning to cap Seattle’s rally over Detroit. He put together back-to-back multi-hit games to start the month, but had gone hitless in three straight before Thursday. Haniger’s PT is down, but at least he’s hitting decently in August, so more of this will help him dig his way out of a season-long battle to avoid the Mendoza Line. Hey, it’s something, right? Three years ago, he was a Fantasy stud, flirting with 40 homers; now, he’s AL-only fodder.
• Although all four runs he gave up on Thursday were unearned, Washington RP Robert Garcia was still tagged with his fourth loss and has now been scored in three of four appearances this month. Since the end of April, he’s actually been quite effective, but he’s been unable to build on the promise he showed as a rookie last year. Garcia has collected a decent number of holds, but he’d probably be buried in Triple-A in most bullpens. Consider him an option only in the very deepest of deep NL-only leagues.

RotoRob Tune of the Day

In 1972, David Bowie helped spur the glam rock movement with his androgynous alter ego Ziggy Stardust. Here’s a demo version of “Ziggy Stardust,” one of the bonus tracks from his fifth album, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.