Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: Zebby Matthews, Nolan Schanuel, Ryan Zeferjahn

FANTASY BASEBALL WAIVER WIRE PICKUPS

Zebby Matthews (SP Twins): Rostered in 13 percent of Yahoo leagues

While I've mostly lost my enthusiasm for Matthews as a long-term mixed-league starting pitcher since the start of the year, there's probably never been a better time to roster him than right now. He's set to make his next start at home Friday against an injury-riddled A's lineup, followed by back-to-back outings against the Royals. That's about as kind of a schedule as a starter can get at the moment.

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Ignoring the schedule, it's easy to see why Matthews is widely available in fantasy leagues at this point. He might have been unlucky to post a 5.56 ERA in his 16 starts for the Twins last year, given his nice 24.9 percent strikeout rate and 6.8 percent walk rate. This year, though, he's fanning just 19.5 percent of the batters he's faced, and he's clearly earned his 5.40 ERA while giving up 15 homers in 70 innings. His velocity is down a bit more than one mph, and his formerly excellent slider is just an average pitch as a result. He still has very good command, but it's just not enough against quality lineups.

Fortunately, Matthews won't be facing any of those until mid-August comes around. The A's are without Nick Kurtz, Brent Rooker and others, and they're dead last in the majors when it comes to scoring runs on the road. Kansas City's best bats aren't 100 percent, and the Royals don't hit a whole bunch of homers even when things are going well. Matthews probably won't remain worth rostering after the stretch is over, but he's a smart short-term pickup.

Nolan Schanuel (1B Angels): Rostered in 10 percent of Yahoo leagues

This is previously covered territory, since Schanuel was featured in the very first Waiver Wire article of the year. That proved to be a false start; Schanuel soon came down with a mysterious ankle injury that he played through for at least a month before going on the IL in late May. The Angels brought him back after just 13 days, even though everyone knew he wasn't 100 percent, and he missed some additional games and treaded water until June 19, when he finally seemed to turn things around. He's since hit .352/.430/.477 with two homers and five doubles in 23 games.

Schanuel's success during the surge is partly BABIP driven, but he seems deserving. Of the 196 batters with 75 plate appearances during the timeframe, Schanuel is 28th with a .374 xwOBA. He's fanned just 11 percent of the time. He's not matching exit velocities with most of the players around him on the list and he probably never will, but his current 33 percent hard-hit rate is up nicely from 29 percent last year and 25 percent in 2024. He's currently fourth in the majors with a 25.3 percent line drive rate.

While Schanuel did a fair amount of sitting against lefties early on, he's now playing full-time and hitting third against right-handers. He doesn't offer the power upside one likes from a corner infielder, and it's also a bummer that, probably because of the ankle, he's gone without a steal this year after collecting 10 as a rookie and five last year. Still, Schanuel figures to keep hitting for a solid average and is a better position for runs and RBI while batting in a premium spot.

Ryan Zeferjahn (RP Angels): Rostered in two percent of Yahoo leagues

Let's stick with the Angels here and the newest favorite for saves in the team's bullpen. Despite giving up a homer to the Tigers' Riley Greene leading off the ninth, Zeferjahn notched his third save of the year Sunday. That came two days after Kirby Yates, who seemed to be reemerging as the preferred choice in the ninth, blew a save and took a loss a loss in the ninth.

The big reason Zeferjahn wasn't getting save chances prior to Sunday was poor control, but he's locked it in lately. Since July 8, he's made five straight appearances without walking or hitting a batter, striking out seven in 5 1/3 innings during the process. In his previous 35 appearances this year, he'd walked 31 (three intentionally) and plunked seven batters in 40 2/3 innings. Maybe it won't last, but even with his wildness, he's been more reliable than the typical Angels reliever since debuting in 2024. With his high-90s fastball and mid-80s slider, he's amassed a 30 percent strikeout rate (32 percent this year) and posted a 4.05 ERA in 120 career innings.

Things still could get complicated in an Angels bullpen that has been wide open all year. The rehabbing Ben Joyce could finally return from shoulder surgery at the beginning of August and blow away the rest of the competition. Also, Zeferjahn has been mentioned as a trade candidate, since his strikeout ability would make him really intriguing for contenders looking to load up for October. Zeferjahn will make the major league minimum through next year and won't be eligible for free agency until after 2030, so the Angels would want a significant return. For now, though, the best guess is that he'll stay put and remain a factor in the ninth for the Halos.

Waiver Wire Quick Hits

- Called up to make his major league debut last Friday, Tommy White is getting some attention while filling in for Kurtz on the A's, but I'd rather have Schanuel. The 2024 second-round pick has some power, but it's neutralized by his tendency to hit the ball on the ground. He was basically just a league-average hitter at Triple-A Las Vegas this year.

- Pittsburgh's Mason Montgomery went from earning his first save in his final appearance before the All-Star break to opening a game against the Guardians in his first appearance of the season half. He's probably the Pirates' best option at the end of games right now, so even though he's a tough sell in shallow leagues right now, he's just another or two save chances away from being a smart pickup.