Finding power on the waiver wire isn’t easy. The good news for fantasy baseball players, though, is several interesting power hitters are available in most leagues who could provide a punch. With Week 14 of the 2024 fantasy baseball season on the horizon, here’s a look at five waiver wire hitter targets we like.
Spencer Horwitz
We’ll start our Week 14 fantasy baseball hitter waiver target list with Blue Jays 1B/2B Spencer Horwitz. Amidst the need for offensive production and the presence of a scorching-hot Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Horwitz has been shifted to second base. The move allows the Jays to get his bat in the lineup, one that’s been productive. Through 18 games, Horwitz is batting .333 with two home runs and six RBI.
Horwitz is not our preferred option on our list for this week. However, the Blue Jays infielder can provide value for fantasy players, as he does have some pop, and in the Minors, he put the ball in play and found holes. The 26-year-old hit .335 with Buffalo (AAA) before his promotion.
Heston Kjerstad
It’s not that Heston Kjerstad‘s value has dropped since his 13-game cameo in 2023. The former first-round pick pounded Triple-A pitching this season, as he batted .301 (.998 OPS) with 16 home runs and 31 extra-base hits with the Tides. The issue with Kjerstad was this: where would he play in a deep Orioles lineup? Well, that’s been answered in recent weeks.
Kjerstad’s received time in left, right, and DH over the last week since he’s been called. The 25-year-old did serious damage against the Rangers, as Kjerstad hit two home runs and drove in seven between June 28-29. If he keeps hitting this way, it’ll be hard to keep Kjerstad out of the lineup.
Jose Miranda
Last season, Twins infielder Jose Miranda had a season to forget. The 26-year-old hit .211 (.566 OPS) and was demoted to Triple-A but he’s turned it around this season. Heading into play on June 29, Miranda’s hitting .294 over 65 games and he’s been a force over the last two weeks.
From June 14 through 29, Miranda hit .400 (16-40) with two home runs and 12 RBI, the latter of which was tied for 13th in the Majors. He doesn’t put up eye-popping power numbers (8.2% Barrel%) but has nonetheless been above-average in terms of batted-ball metrics.
Carlos Santana
When the Twins added 1B/DH Carlos Santana this past winter, the move on paper made sense. Minnesota needed help at first base and Santana’s past production against lefties has been strong. Santana’s done his job against lefties, as he’s batting .300 with five home runs and nine extra-base hits over 75 plate appearances. But this month, Santana’s hit everyone.
The veteran first baseman batted .333/.398/.571 with four home runs, 12 extra-base hits, and 16 RBI in June. And with 12 home runs on the season, Santana is on pace to crack the 20-home run marker for the ninth time in his career. Those in need of power might want to look towards Santana, available in over 60% of Yahoo! leagues.
James Wood
We’ll finish our Week 14 hitters list with James Wood. The 21-year-old will make his MLB debut on July 1 after Wood tore up Triple-A pitching. As we detailed on June 28 when the news came, Wood’s been among the best in the circuit in terms of hard-hit balls and has legitimate potential to be a 25-25 player at the MLB level one day. But for the meantime, his job will be to infuse some pop into a Nationals lineup that could use it.
Wood’s loud tools make him an obvious waiver wire target. Just be quick.