Hard as it may be to believe, fantasy baseball is entering its fourth week. There have been a ton of surprises, disappointments and player injuries to keep fantasy managers glued to their rosters. Of course, Belly Up Sports is here to help navigate the waiver wire jungle. This series began with an article for week one, added week two and included week three. Most of the players in those article are probably long gone by now, but they are still worth a look. Now that is over, let’s dive right in to baseball waivers week four.

Omar Narvaez, C, Milwaukee Brewers, 32.4% Owned

Usually in fantasy baseball, catchers are viewed as a painful necessity. Catchers are not typically as good a hitter as players at other positions. Worst of all, they are not in the lineup more than three days at a time. However, as stated, they are a necessity and there are more quality catchers this season to go around than in seasons past.

Case in point is Omar Narvaez. As of this writing, Narvaez is hitting an astonishing .389. Of course that won’t last, but his other stats are almost as good. He has three homers, 11 RBIs and seven runs scored. In addition, Narvaez has a .477 OBP, a .574 slugging and an out of this world 1.051 OPS. He looks well on his way to surpassing his 2019 season in which he hit .278-22-55.

Best of all, the Brewers have played 21 games to this point and Narvaez has appeared in 18 of them. He is getting the bat on the ball with only seven strikeouts in 65 plate appearances. Narvaez checks every box and needs a fantasy home. Any manager out there with the slightest catching problem needs to act immediately and add Narvaez.

Kole Calhoun, OF, Arizona Diamondbacks, 15.9% Owned

The way this season was shaping up, it didn’t look like Kole Calhoun would be included in any kind of waiver wire pickup article. He wasn’t anywhere to be found in the Diamondback lineup. However, Calhoun did get himself healthy and from his first game until now, his bat has made him a fixture on the lineup card. Calhoun has played in 12 games and has hits in nine of them. There is no doubt that Calhoun has a sweet swing and when he gets going, all everyone has to do is sit back and enjoy it.

With the hot stretch, Calhoun has raised his average to .289 with a .333/.489/.822 slash line. He struck out six times in his first four games but has only seven since then. If he can keep them under control, he will make the fantasy manager that picks him up very happy. If injuries or a slump catch up to Calhoun, cut him loose and pick up someone else. Such is live in fantasy baseball.

Maikel Franco, 3B, Baltimore Orioles, 17.1% Owned

It seems that Maikel Franco had fallen off of the planet after he departed from Philadelphia in 2019. That is not exactly true as Franco hit .278-8-38 for Kansas City last season. However, it is a safe bet that he wasn’t on many fantasy rosters in 2020. Without question, that needs to change in 2021. Franco enters Monday with a .253 average, three homers, 16 RBIs and seven runs scored. In addition, Franco has a .330/.430/.760 slash line.

Looking further into his stats reveals that Franco is swinging a hot bat right now. He has hits in four straight games, seven of eight and 11 of 14. Franco has five games in which he has scored at least two runs. The Orioles are a young team and a veteran like Franco can really help on the field and in the clubhouse. He will be a fixture in their lineup and he can certainly help a fantasy roster. Franco needs a home. Managers, bring Franco out of the cold today.

Guillermo Heredia, OF, Atlanta Braves, 5.2% Owned

When the season began, it looked like the Atlanta Braves would have no place in their outfield for Guillermo Heredia. However, that changed in a hurry after Christian Pache, Ender Inciarte and, of course, Ronald Acuna battled injuries recently. Acuna is back in the lineup, but the return of Pache and Inciarte is still up in the air. This recommendation doesn’t come because of Heredia’s batting average, which is only .231. However, his slash line of .375/.538/.913 is much more revealing.

When all of the Braves’ outfielders are healthy, Heredia will most likely lose a lot of playing time. That only matters when it happens, though, and Atlanta needs all of the hitters it can get in their lineup right now. The two games played on April 16 and 17 demonstrate exactly what kind of hitter Heredia is. He had five hits in those two games, including two homers, six RBIs and three runs scored.

Fantasy leagues with a large number of teams may not have a lot of options on the wire right now. Heredia is certainly one of them. Without question, Heredia is a short term fix. However, he can help a team now and that is the reason Heredia is included on this baseball waivers week four edition.

Brady Singer, SP, Kansas City Royals, 21.5% Owned

Last week’s edition had Danny Duffy front and center. Not to be left on the shelf, Brady Singer makes his debut in this week’s edition. Singer certainly deserves it even though he has yet to win a game this season. After his first start against the Rangers, it looked certain that fantasy managers would have nothing to do with Singer this season. After all, he allowed five runs on six hits in just 3.1 innings. His ERA after that start was an unappealing 13.50.

However, as is so often the case, baseball players have a way of turning the bleak into a clear, blue sky. Singer has done just that, allowing just one earned run in his last two starts. Singer walked three in that first game, but only three since then to go along with 12 strikeouts. The Royals are a much better looking team this season than most expected and will put runs on the board for their pitching staff. Singer will start racking up the victories with more experience and he definitely belongs on this baseball waivers week four edition.

Josh Harrison, 2B/3B, Washington Nationals, 19.3% Owned

Josh Harrison has never been a player that fantasy managers should get excited about. Harrison is a decent enough hitter with a lifetime batting average of .273. However, he has never hit more than 16 homers or driven in more than 59 runs in his 11 year career. Why include him here then? Because Harrison is hitting the ball in the early going like never before.

As of Monday, Harrison is hitting .318 with a slash line of .388/.432/.820. Harrison is getting the bat on the ball with regularity with only five strikeouts in 49 plate appearances. It certainly looks like he is on the way to his best season since hitting .315 in 2014. Harrison doesn’t provide much in the way of power, at least not yet. However, Harrison makes up for that with his contact skills. That means there will be few negative fantasy points generated. Harrison is an experienced hitter and can really help managers, especially in large leagues. He is certainly worth a look see while sitting on the wire.

Justin Upton, OF, Los Angeles Angels, 27.8% Owned

It seems that whenever fantasy managers the world over are ready to dump Justin Upton for good, he manages to resurrect himself. His BA (.242) is clearly nothing to get excited about. However, his other stats are as Upton has four homers, 11 RBIs and 10 runs scored. His .311/.455/.765 slash line is just a bit below his career norm.

The biggest reason, however, to get excited about Upton is that he is red hot at the plate right now. As this is being written, Upton has hits in nine straight games and had scored at least a run in five of six entering the weekend. Upton has been in the lineup every day and is doing all he can while 3B Anthony Rendon is on the injured list. Rendon is expected back soon and that will make the Angels an even deeper offensive team. Upton won’t stay this available for long, especially now that he has been featured on this baseball waivers week four edition. Don’t hesitate another second and add him today.

Tucker Barnhart, C, Cincinnati Reds, 11.8% Owned

Another catcher that is begging for a fantasy home is Tucker Barnhart. Just like the rest of his Reds teammates, Barnhart is swinging a hot bat and he doesn’t look like he will cool any time soon. As this is being written, he is hitting a Tony Gwynn like .366. Barnhart also has two homers, nine RBIs and eight runs scored. His other stats are out of this world- .435 OBP, .610 slugging and 1.045 OPS.

Barnhart hasn’t been in as many games as Narvaez (above), appearing in 12 of the Reds’ first 18 games. That is certainly enough, however, for a catcher to be on much more than 11 percent of fantasy rosters. When the weekend began, Barnhart had hits in four straight games and he had a five game streak earlier this season. Additionally, he has at least two hits in four games.

The entire Reds team was hitting the cover off the ball before St. Louis managed to cool them down. It would be a wise move for a manager to get Barnhart on the fantasy team before the hot stretch goes cold.

Robbie Ray, SP, Toronto Blue Jays, 24.2% Owned

After three starts, Robbie Ray has yet to qualify for a win. That is about all that missing from Ray’s resume, however, as he has pitched well in all three. In 16 innings, Ray has a stellar 2.81 ERA to go along with 15 strikeouts. He clearly needs to cut down on the walks, as he has nine. If Ray can get the free passes under wraps, we are looking at a quality starting pitcher for pennies on the dollar.

It would certainly be nice to see a bounce back from Ray after a disastrous 2020 season. Pitching for Arizona and Toronto, Ray fashioned a hideous 6.62 ERA. It wasn’t that long ago (2017) that Ray was one of the best pitchers in baseball, going 15-5 with a 2.89 ERA. Ray also won 12 games for Arizona in 2019. The first three starts of 2021 look promising for Ray to return to that level. If he keeps pitching the way that he has, Ray will certainly be off the wire before long. Therefore, the smart manager needs to act before the shelf is bare.

Thanks all for joining me for this fantasy baseball waivers week four edition! As always, I welcome input from all of my readers. Have other players to include? Disagree with the selections? Let me know! Follow me on twitter @kevin62wilsea, and be sure to turn to Belly Up Sports and Belly Up Fantasy Sports and Picks for all the latest MLB and sports news!