Waiver Wire Week 5: The Dark Tawa

Follow me on Bluesky at Gerbilsports. I'm actually pretty excited about this week's list, which will not include Agustin Ramirez because I think you all clearly know about him by now. That's the tough part of these blogs - sometimes guys get going at the beginning of the week and the only thing I can do is put out a Bluesky notification - which hopefully those following my Bluesky saw! Seriously, follow me if you don't want to wait until Sundays for the scoop, it is what it is. You may have missed out on Agustin because of it! Aside from Agustin and Keaschall (RIP), we still have some really exciting deep cuts this week that I know a bunch of you will be keen to grab. And that's on top of guys who might still be available in your league, like Kyle Stowers (who maybe is better than Kjerstad, my bad). Tim Tawa (A+)

Tawa is someone I've been itching to add since I mentioned him in my prospect piece two weeks ago, but Noelvi Marté and Keaschall were the two adds that took precedence due to my desperate need for speed (though Tawa is surprisngly fast). Keaschall's absolutely heartbreaking injury left me with an open roster spot, and I knew exactly who I was adding - Tim The Tower. Timmy may only be 5'11, but he has the power, bat speed, and presence of someone two inches taller. His average exit velocity and barrel % clock in at the 55th and 60th percentile, respectively, and his BB% is through the roof despite less than desirable whiff and chase rates. With a solid 80th percentile sprint speed and .358 OBP, there's actually tremendous stolen base upside to go with a good hitting profile. The question has been whether or not Tawa can find a spot in the lineup when Ketel returns, and I think the answer is "absolutely." Don't expect Lawlar to get promoted any time soon. with Tawa's emerrgence as a solid hitter and plus defender. The D-backs would be remiss to send down a productive 26 year old in the midst of a breakout.

Ryan Gusto (S) Gusto's got the gusto, and now I have the Gusto too. Gusto's enjoying a solid rookie campaign with a sparkling 2.78 ERA and 1.10 WHIP, and it doesn't seem like a fluke based on his 106 Stuff+, 105 Pitching+, and solid statcast metrics. Gusto has the type of profile that works in categories leagues - walking few, striking out many. His fastball is thus far one of the strongest in the MLB, mostly due to it's perceived rising action - only 12.4 inches of vertical break, 2.2 inches less than the average 4-seam fastball. This has the pitch sitting at an 8 run value with a stupidly good .194 xBA. Pardon me for saying his 4-seam reminds me a lot of Woo's. His changeup has also been an excellent offering sitting at 37.5% whiff rate and absurd .069 xBA. Gusto was only slated to join the rotation until the return of the perpetually injured Mccullers, but frankly, there's no chance they take one of their best pitchers out of the rotation for a 31 year old veteran. They'll look to go to a 6-man rotation or remove someone else.

Trevor Larnach (A+) Larnach was someone I followed closely throughout 2024 and made several blog appearances, and was featured on my preseason gems post. Unfortunately, he started the season terribly and most people have giiven up on him.... Which is great, because now YOU can scoop him up and enjoy his regression upward! Larnach has been on absolute fire over the past week, and don't let the icy blue statcast fool you....it looked a lot worse before the blistering stretch. Just remember what his statcast looked like in 2024, and look at what he's doing right now. Will this continue for the rest of the season?

Jordan Beck (B) What a week for Beck, hitting 5 dingers over the span of two days. Now, you may be thinking grabbing Jordan Beck is a stat-chasing, foolish endeavor. And maybe you're right. But I for one love Jordan Beck, and he was Gerbilsports' #1 hitting prospect in 2024. His failure upon promotion was utterly disappointing, both for myself and readers who may have added him on my recommendation, but boy would it be awesome to see him put it together in 2025. He'll continue to whiff a lot, but his profile has always been lots of whiffs and lots of dingers, so let's see what happens. At the very least, he's a better Coors streamer than Goodman.

Hunter Goodman (C+) Goodman is just one of those dudes that's going to drive managers crazy with his J.R. Smith-esque microwave ability. One week he'll be ice cold, and the next a bastion of producton and extra base hits. Will he ever consistently produce? Not with his current whiff rates and inability to square up on the ball, whilst lacking the cold-hard power numbers someone like Beck possesses. Could we have all used his production over the last week? Absolutely. Goodman may just be the ultimate streamer when the Rockies are at home, so plan accordingly.

Isaac Collins (ALERT ALERT, DEEP CUT) This guy has a really, really weird profile. This is a guy who, in the minors, somehow managed to compile a 93rd percentile average exit velocity despite less than average barrel and hard hit rates. And somehow, he's doing the exact same thing at the MLB level - his average exit velocity and ability to square up on the ball are extremely promising and his whiff/K rates are what you want to see. These metrics combined with an 84th percentile sprint speed have allowed this guy to defy less than stellar xBAs and xSLG throughout his career, and that kind of weirdness is always something I really enjoy. Isaac Collins seems to be an anomaly. His splits are also super encouraging, with him currently bashing RHP to the tune of a 1.548 OPS. But fear not for his ability to hit LHP, for he had some really nice splits in the minors in 2024 : an .838 OPS against LHP and .840 against RHP. I'll be adding the switch-hitting Collins, I like what I see. I think the Brewers like it too.

Angel Martínez

Angel makes yet another appearance on the blog after yet another solid week, and at this point, it's pretty difficult to find reasons not to add a kid hitting .354 with an .818 OPS. Yes, he has zero HRs, but honestly, we have to consider this guy to be a ratio savior that should probably be rostered by anyone who has struggled in the BA and OPS department. His ability to consistently square up on the ball and never whiff or K has led to a solid .288 xBA, and although this is quite a bit lower than his current .354 BA, shows us he's rosterable even without favorable luck.

Noelvi Marté (S) You probably can't get him anymore, but if you can, dump at least 25% of your ADP to secure the acquistion. This guy is faster than Elly right now and has the same green-light to run. There's league-winning potential here.

Watching: Michael Toglia Masyn Winn Brooks Baldwin Ben Williamson (day to day) Rowdy Tellez (Edit, added)