Waiver Wire Week 11

I want to apologize to anyone who added Fitts and Nelson, talk about disaster outings. The good news is we have some Meidroth and Clemens HRs today, at least! I still recommend both if they're available, alongside others from previous weeks, like Paddack and Soroka, both of whom i've included too many times at point. Dobbins is almost at that point, but he's worth mentioning once more if he finally has a rotation spot cemented. I'm a bit exhausted today, as one of our family dogs had to be put to sleep yesterday after 16 long years, so I apologize if it's a bit short or lacking of flair. Follow me on Bluesky at Gerbilsports

Colton Gordon To be honest, I'm not quite sure what I was doing when Colton Gordon was called up, and as both a baseball enthusiast and UCF alumni, I feel a bit of shame for being late to the party. Houston's #14 prospect has now made five starts and his underlying metrics are looking strong enough for him to cement a spot in the rotation. His expected ERA comes in at a healthy 3.13 in spite of a .260 xBA, and the main contributor to this is his stellar 99th percentile BB %. Simply put, this guy has absolutely elite-tier location - even Fangraphs has him at a 110 Location +. Although his 4-seam averages 91, his 83rd percentile extension bumps that perceived velocity into the 94 mph range. The 4-seam also has less vertical break vs the average, and some really solid horizontal break with 3.3 inches gloveside. Add on to this his 27 degree arm angle, exactly the same as Bryan Woo's (see below for visualization), and you have a pitcher that's throwing a 4-seam with tons of ride. Don't let the velocity deceive you - this is a very good fastball and should have pitch shape enthusiasts sweating. His secondary pitch, the sweeper, currently has a .239 xBA against, yet hitters are currently hitting .345 against it, which means there's more to unlock here for Gordon when the math works itself out.

27 degrees has the fastball riding in a Woo-esque fashion.

Sean Burke It's not aesthetically pleasing to have someone with such an icy blue statcast be on a blog that salivates for those red bars, but the same could have been said about Chris Paddack a few weeks ago when his awful start to the season deceptively destroyed his statcast. As of late, Sean Burke has been pretty damned good, posting four quality starts in his last 7 outings. I've been watching the film and it's noticeable that his 4-seam is often touching 95-96 mph, and as that fastball velocuty ticks up, so does his production. 2024 Sean Burke averaged 95.3 mph on the 4-seam and touched 98 mph, so this shouldn't come as too much of a surprise. If we run this over with an even finer comb, we can see that in his most recent outing, Burke actually had his curveball working for the first time this year as he came out of the contest with a .198 xBA and 56% whiff rate against. In 2024, the curveball was Burke's most lethal pitch, but has been a liability in 2025 with an awful .422 xBA against, so it's awesome to see that he finally had it working.

With Burke having been one of the most commonly drafted waiver wire sleeper picks, and then the most commonly dropped pitcher in the early goings of the season, we can just call his poor start some good fortune for those who can now snag him off waivers.

If the velocity continues to tick up, that 4-seam is going to be a problem at 92nd percentile extension.

Ben Brown

It's getting pretty hard to ignore Brown, even if I try. I'm not exactly a fan of his profile - the guy basically throws two pitches, with his 4-seam that he throws 58% of the time having a .298 xBA and 48% hard-hit rate against. Yet somehow he's making it work, sometimes, and it's hard not to chase performances like his most recent - 7 IP, 7Ks, 1 BB, 2.57 ERA. But when Ben Brown isn't dominating, Ben Brown is being dominated, and for me that relegates him to streamer territory. BUT WAIT

I had you there for a second. Check out his most recent performance:

He threw the changeup more than he ever has, 9.8% of the time! And this is actually a pitch that has a stellar .158 xBA against and 36% whiff rate! If this trend continues, Ben Brown is suddenly an entirely new pitcher.

Tyler Freeman

Tyler Freeman is quietly putting it together over in Colorado, as he now has a .291 BA, .767, and 4 stolen bases across 55 ABs. His statcast looks awesome, with some slightly above average power indicators to go with some elite whiff and K rates. If Freeman continues to get on base and has the green-light to swipe bags to generate any kind of offense for a desperate club, he could actually be an extremely useful fantasy asset.

Nolan Jones

I'll include what I wrote in my mid-week post below. Since the post, his statcast has actually gotten even better, and I endorse the add even further.

This may be a league-winning play, and if you compare his 2024 statcast and 2025 statcast, you'll probably see why. In 2024, Nolan Jones' bat speed clocked in at the 40th percentile, a farcry from his 59th percentile bat speed in 2023 when he was a very solid baseball guy. Well, now it's 2025, and Nolan Jones has a .... 70th percentile bat speed. Oh shit.

Yep, Jones is swinging the bat faster than he ever has in his career. And with that, his statcast is starting to look extremely potent. The ball is flying off his bat at a 91st percentile average exit velocity and 82nd percentile Hard-Hit %. To go with these excellent power metrics, he's also rarely chasing outside the zone and maintaining solid launch angles. The production is beginning to catch up to the metrics as he's hit .333 over his last 16 games and is providing a spark at the heart of the Guardians lineup. If this continues, he'll be the primary hitter driving in J-Ram going forward, and that's a metric ton of a run value and counting stats.

Add him, quickly, before word gets out that he may be even better than he was in 2023.

Hunter Dobbins

Welcome back to the team, for a third time this year. Maybe the Richard Fitts blowup was a blessing in disguise because Hunter Dobbins is a pitcher that deserves, and has earned, a rotation spot. After Fitts was pulled from his disaster start, Dobbins pitched 5 innings of solid baseball (how fitting), racking up 4 Ks, 1BB, and giving up a single run. His K/BB continues to be fantastic for ratios and as he continues to improve, that awesome 79th percentile chase rate will hopefully result in even more Ks. I decided to peek his pitch mix in this most recent outing, as it was one of his more impressive outings of 2025, and it was interesting to see he dramatically increased his slider usage for the first time this year. Dobbins is a talent young arm still refining his pitch mix, and the upside is hard to ignore.

Watching/Fringe:

Jésus Sanchez is hitting the ball extremely well and swiping bags. The issue with the 5-tool player has always been launch angle, and with a 9th percentile sweet-spot, it hasn't exactly been corrected. Still, with this kind of bat speed and power, it's hard to ignore.

Curtis Mead has played well over the past few weeks, and that muscle mass he put on in the offseason may finally be showing up. If he earns more reps, he's worth a deeper look.

Hunter Goodman had a wildly productive week, but I still remain skeptical of the discipline and bat-to-ball skills.

Daniel Schneeman has three stolen bases in his last four contests. Not sure if he can suddenly run, we'll see.

Brett Harris (Prospect, could be promoted with Andujar on the IL)