Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: Heliot Ramos among priority pickups

If you find yourself desperately flailing thoughtfully tweaking in fantasy baseball right now, we have a few recommended pickups for your consideration. We are pleased to offer fantasy adds to address any roster need and accommodate any budget ...

Mark Vientos, 1B/3B, New York Mets (39% rostered)

Vientos appears to have taken firm control of the third-base gig for the Mets, and he has been scorching hot at the plate the past two weeks. He’s slashing .333/.392/.621 over 20 big-league games this season after hitting .285/.376/.500 at Triple-A. Vientos is also up to five homers for New York, including a few no-doubters:

His batting average isn’t likely to remain north of .300 over a full season, but the power is very real. If you have a need at either corner, he can certainly help.

David Hamilton, 2B/SS, Boston Red Sox (6%)

Hamilton has earned a near-every-day role for Boston, going 14-for-40 over his past 13 games. He’s generally hitting in the bottom third of the lineup, but the Red Sox are allowing him to utilize his one elite trait: game-altering speed. Hamilton has swiped nine bags in 10 attempts. He stole 57 bases at Triple-A last season and 70 the year before at Double-A, so his speed credentials are well-established. When he plays, he runs.

Zack Gelof, 2B, Oakland Athletics (42%)

It hasn’t exactly been a smooth ride for Gelof this season, as he has dealt with injury, underperformance and occasional poor luck. Still, the power/speed potential is appealing. Let’s recall that he went 14/14 for Oakland over 300 plate appearances last season and 12/20 at Triple-A Las Vegas. After going 2-for-3 with a homer and a steal on Wednesday, he was riding a six-game hitting streak for the A’s (which ended with an 0-for-3 on Thursday). It’s not unrealistic to think he can go 20/20 this season.

Heliot Ramos, OF, San Francisco Giants (19%)

No one is feasting quite like Ramos these days. He has homered three times in his past four games while driving in six runs and scoring four. On Wednesday, he reached base in all six of his plate appearances, homering once and drawing four walks. For the season, Ramos is reaching base at a .407 clip while batting .304. He has cleared the fences 13 times this year, splitting time between Triple-A (8) and the big leagues (5). If you’re looking for a weekend boost from a blazing-hot bat, this is your guy.

Josh Smith, 3B/SS/OF, Texas Rangers (43%)

Josh Jung's early-season wrist injury cracked the door for Smith, who has emerged as a stellar every-day bat for the Rangers. After a three-hit game with a homer and a steal on Wednesday, Smith is batting .290/.377/.440 over 60 games with 20 XBH and four stolen bases. His career minor-league OPS is .921, so it's not as if the production at the plate is out of nowhere. Smith's positional versatility enhances his fantasy (and real-life) value in a big way, particularly in leagues with limited bench space.

José Soriano, SP/RP, Los Angeles Angels (12%)

Fantasy managers have been treating Soriano as a pure streamer all season, but there are simply not many pitchers in the game with such high-quality stuff. He has top-of-the-charts velocity and one of the highest ground-ball rates in the game (59.6 GB%), plus his secondary pitches are absolutely vicious:

Soriano is coming off a Wednesday win in which he allowed one earned run over 6.0 innings, inducing 16 ground balls. Looking down the road just a bit, he should close the month of June with a two-start week in which he’d face the A’s and Tigers. This is a high-upside young starter with plenty of useful innings ahead.

Ryne Stanek, RP, Seattle Mariners (12%)

Andrés Muñoz is dealing with a lower back issue, though it doesn’t sound too severe as of this writing. Stanek is the next-man-up behind Muñoz, earning a save Thursday with a clean inning against the A's. He has been excellent in recent appearances, and his ratios for the year are solid (1.17 WHIP, 9.8 K/9). Add him as Muñoz insurance. He's likely in the mix for saves in the upcoming series against the Royals and White Sox.