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Fantasy Baseball waiver wire: Nolan Gorman gets the call

Andy Behrens
·Fantasy analyst
·4-min read

We've got a notable prospect joining the fantasy baseball party this weekend and it's hard to believe someone in your league can't use his help. If you're looking for a power upgrade, this is your guy...

Nolan Gorman, 3B, St. Louis Cardinals (37% rostered)

Gorman has been obliterating baseballs at Triple-A Memphis all spring, making his call-up inevitable. He'll debut for St. Louis on Friday, playing second base. This is definitely an actionable fantasy event. Gorman is worth a speculative pickup pretty much anywhere. He's already launched 15 homers this season, hitting .308 with a 1.044 OPS.

We won't guarantee that his batting average will hold against big league pitching, but his power is not really up for debate at this point. Gorman will gain eligibility at second base after making five starts at the position, so you won't have to wait long.

St. Louis also promoted left-hander Matthew Liberatore from Memphis, the top pitching prospect in the Cards' organization. He'll start this weekend against Pittsburgh, so he's definitely in the streaming conversation. Liberatore has struck out 46 batters in 40.0 frames so far this year.

Hunter Dozier, 1B/3B/OF, Kansas City Royals (18%)

Let's just forget last season ever happened and try to focus on what Dozier has done so far in 2022. He's slashing .288/.331/.472 for the Royals with 13 extra-base hits and he just launched his fourth homer...

Dozier is the ideal bench option for a fantasy roster, because he's eligible at multiple positions. You need that sort of utility in most leagues, unless you have mega-benches.

Chase Silseth, SP, Los Angeles Angels (26%)

The Angels right-hander made his MLB debut last week, just a few days before turning 22, and he shut out Oakland over 6.0 impressive one-hit innings. Silseth had been nearly untouchable at Double-A Rocket City before his call-up, striking out 37 over 26.0 innings while producing a 0.85 WHIP.

He's a hard-thrower (upper-90s) with an effective slider and ridiculous split. Silseth will face the A's again on Friday, so the matchup shouldn't scare you off.

Yadiel Hernandez, OF, Washington Nationals (42%)

Hernandez is a heart-of-the-order bat for the Nats and he happens to have a pair of MLB's on-base leaders— Juan Soto and Josh Bell — hitting ahead of him. Seems like a pretty favorable situation, no? Hernandez currently has an average north of .320, which is basically consistent with his long professional career. He launched 33 homers in the PCL back in 2019, so it's not as if he doesn't offer power. Add wherever you can use pop, RBIs and/or AVG.

Yadiel Hernandez should be rostered in more fantasy baseball leagues. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Yadiel Hernandez should be rostered in more fantasy baseball leagues. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) (Michael Reaves via Getty Images)

Brandon Nimmo, OF, New York Mets (49%)

OK, perhaps an outfielder with only modest power and speed isn't exactly what you're looking for. I hear you. Just please note that Nimmo is batting leadoff for one of the highest scoring teams in the majors, he's about to begin a three-game series at Colorado and he gets himself on-base at an elite clip (career .393). If he can manage to remain healthy this season, he's a candidate to score 90-plus runs while delivering a useful average.

Aaron Ashby, SP/RP, Milwaukee Brewers (12%)

Aaron Ashby has been a part-time starter and occasional reliever so far this season and his stuff is generally filthy, no matter his role...

He's whiffed 33 batters over 27.1 innings, which shouldn't surprise anyone. Ashby has always missed plenty of bats; control has been an issue, but his stuff is of the highest quality. He struck out 100 batters in just 63.1 innings at Triple-A last season, an absurd rate (14.2 K/9).