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Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups: If you have lineup problems, we have solutions

You can keep staring at it as long as you like, but your underperforming fantasy roster isn't gonna fix itself. At some point, you're going to need to do some adding and dropping. Here are a few recommended options to address your fantasy problems ...

Christian Walker, 1B, Arizona Diamondbacks (41% rostered)

As we've already mentioned a time or two this season, Walker has been an absolute Statcast her, ranking among the MLB leaders in barrels, barrel percentage, xwOBA and a bunch of other fun stuff. He's now up to 19 home runs for the year after blasting three in his last four games. When he hits 'em, they generally aren't cheap:

Walker has had very little luck on balls in play this season, at least when they don't clear the fence (.187 BABIP). This fact has obviously contributed to his dreadful batting average (.208). He's never been a solid contributor in AVG, but we shouldn't expect him to continue to be such a liability. In any case, his power is undeniable.

Lenyn Sosa, 2B/SS, Chicago White Sox (8%)

Sosa has been a revelation this season, slashing .331/.384/.549 with 14 homers at Double-A Birmingham while leading the Southern League in hits (85), runs (47) and RBIs (48). He got the call on Thursday because White Sox infielders can't seem to stay healthy. Sosa, 22, has played second, short and third for the Barons, so he offers defensive versatility. If he hits, he has a chance to stick. He's a fun flier if you're in need of middle-infield assistance.

It certainly would have been nice to see him starting in Thursday's lineup, but that's Tony La Russa's call, not mine.

Josh Lowe, OF, Tampa Bay Rays (8%)

So is Lowe gonna faceplant again, as he did back in April? Um ... yeah, well, maybe. We can't rule it out. He's been a strikeout machine to this point. But Lowe was also a 22/26 power-speed player last season at Durham and he was perfect on his stolen base attempts. He slashed .291/.381/.535 at Triple-A last year and he's hit .299/.382/.540 for the Bulls in 2022.

Again, we'll make no guarantees with Lowe, but if he ever figures things out — even halfway — he can be a multi-category asset. Players with his profile are worth a long look.

Josh Lowe #15 of the Tampa Bay Rays has fantasy intrigue
Josh Lowe's fantasy potential could make him worth the add. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)

Jesus Aguilar, 1B, Miami Marlins (25%)

Aguilar returned from the COVID list this week, going 5-for-11 in the Colorado series with three runs scored. He isn't necessarily a spicy pickup like Sosa, but there's something to be said for a vet with well-established power credentials who won't crush your roster's batting average. Aguilar hit 22 bombs last year while driving in 93 runs in just 131 games and his power pace has been similar this season. He hit his ninth homer of the year last week before he was sidelined by illness. You might recall that Aguilar has a 35-homer season to his credit, so he has the potential to surge.

Jhoan Duran, RP, Minnesota Twins (43%)

If you like your relievers to have triple-digit fastballs, phenomenal K rates and elite ratios, Duran is your guy regardless of his bullpen role. He may lock down the ninth for Minnesota at some point, but, for now, he's at least giving us a 0.84 WHIP while striking out 35 percent of the batters who face him. This is weapons-grade stuff right here:

Even in a late-inning non-closing role, he belongs on someone's roster in nearly all leagues. He's vicious.

Brad Hand, RP, Philadelphia Phillies (18%)

Let's be clear: Seranthony Dominguez has been the best option in the Phillies 'pen, having struck out 35 batters in 26.2 innings while delivering a WHIP of 0.86. He's excellent. Dominguez is also scooped up in 44 percent of Yahoo leagues, and it seems as if he might be slotted behind Hand in Philadelphia's closing hierarchy after Corey Knebel was bounced from the ninth inning.

Hand, of course, has plenty of closing experience. He's been perfectly fine this season, though hardly as dominant as Dominguez. If you're chasing saves, he's probably worth the add.

Roansy Contreras, SP, Pittsburgh Pirates (35%)

Contreras might very well set the modern record for consecutive appearances in the Friday pickups feature—that's up to you guys. If you keep ignoring him, I'll probably keep writing about him. He's struck out 38 batters in 37.1 innings for the Bucs and his ERA is 2.89. Contreras will face the Rays on Sunday, which isn't exactly a terrifying spot. He's a hard-thrower with nasty breaking stuff coming off a breakout minor league campaign in 2021 (2.65 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 34.9 K%).

We'll go over all these facts again next week when he remains under-rostered.