July 19 marks the resumption of the MLB season after a four-day All-Star break. Depending on what league you’re in, the 19th could mark the start of Week 16 or the resumption of Week 15 with the 16th week on the horizon. Regardless of the fact, reinforcements may be needed. With that said, here’s a look at five fantasy baseball hitters to target on the waiver wire for what will be for some a 10-day Week 16.
Xavier Edwards
We’ll start our Week 16 fantasy baseball hitters to target list with Xavier Edwards, a former top prospect who had a lot of success at the MLB level before the All-Star break. The Marlins infielder finished tied for tenth in the Majors in total hits (17) from July 1-14, as he batted .378 with three stolen bases in that span. The run from Edwards comes months after the 24-year-old began the year on the IL with a foot infection and spent most of his season in Triple-A before July.
Edwards received a long look at short in July after Tim Anderson was DFA’d — and succeeded to this point. And with above-average speed, he could be a nice hit and stolen base option on the fantasy bench over the coming weeks.
Brandon Lowe
We featured Brandon Lowe on our weekly hitters’ waiver wire target list a month ago, as the Rays infielder was healthy after a month-long stint on the IL. When we did, Lowe had a .214 average but that was significantly higher than the .132 one he had on May 12. Since then, Lowe’s raised his average to .248 and in July, he has three home runs and a .333 average.
It’s been a while since we’ve seen Lowe be a premium fantasy asset. Three years ago, Lowe belted 39 home runs. But, Lowe’s spent time on the IL in the three seasons afterward, including this year. The good news, though, is he’s showing the power not seen since that 2021 campaign. His .230 ISO is his best since 2021.
Joey Ortiz
Brewers infielder Joey Ortiz became a valuable asset for fantasy owners in May. Ortiz batted .307 with four home runs and 12 RBI in May before cooling off in June. Still, the 26-year-old posted a .250 average but not as much power. He hit the IL on July 3 (retroactive to July 2) but returned nine days later.
There are multiple reasons why Ortiz is a good candidate for fantasy baseball players. Aside from the fact Ortiz can slot in at second and third, the Brewers infielder has the discipline (84th percentile in Chase%, 90th in Whiff%) and above-average bat speed.
Eugenio Suarez
Eugenio Suarez‘s first three and a half months in Arizona could have gone better. Suarez batted .216/.302/.366 with 10 home runs and 39 runs scored, numbers that have him on pace to fall short of his 2023 numbers (22 HR, 68 R) in the same categories. However, Suarez made up for some of his struggles in July.
Suarez tore up Major League pitching over the first two weeks of July, as he hit .341 (15-44) with four home runs and 16 RBI over 13 games. Those 16 runs batted in were tied with Rafael Devers for fourth in the league in RBI from July 1-14, and only Trea Turner, Lawrence Butler, and Ben Rice had more. The 33-year-old is a well-known power threat and it showed up in recent weeks.
Tyler Stephenson
We’ll end our Week 16 list with Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson. It’s not the first time Stephenson has been featured on our weekly lists, as we brought up the 27-year-old’s name in Week 8. Stephenson was amid a power surge heading into the break. The Reds catcher belted four home runs over 48 July plate appearances, already his most dingers in a full month this season.
Stephenson’s batted ball metrics were strong when we first profiled him two months ago. That remains the case, as he is maintaining an above-average Hard Hit% (45.8%) rate and a clean Chase% (23.2%) rate.