Major League Baseball has reached the end of June. That’s right, the dog days of Summer have arrived! That being the case, there are quite a few managers looking for an edge to push their teams over the top and nail down a victory. Of course, that is where the waiver wire comes in. There are several players for those in 12 team or less leagues that can be used for a day and then sent back to the waiver pool. This strategy can be used for pitchers as well as hitters. Identifying those players is crucial. That is where this fantasy baseball weekend options for June 26 through 28 comes into play. Let’s get right down to it. As a reminder, all ownership percentages come from ESPN.

Top Weekend Hitter Streamer Options

Hunter Dozier, 1B/3B/OF/DH, Kansas City Royals, 18.5% Owned

As is so often the case, matchups are key to deciding who to select off the waiver wire. This weekend, the Royals welcome Oakland into Kansas City. As the A’s are the worst team in baseball, anyone playing them immediately comes into focus for fantasy purposes. Of the available Royals players, Hunter Dozier goes to the head of the list. After coming through a recent difficult 0-13 stretch, Dozier has regained the swing that has made him an attractive add throughout the season.

Dozier began this week with two hits in back-to-back games, including a homer. During those games, he scored a total of five runs and even stole a base. For the season, Dozier is hitting .259-7-22 with 30 runs scored. His home run rate is right around his career average, but he has significantly cut down his SO% to 21.8 while also maintaining his hard-hit rate. His current BAbip is .317, which shouldn’t be hard to maintain.

However, as stated above, the reason owners will want to get Dozier into their lineups this weekend is he will be facing an awful A’s pitching staff. Oakland is 24th in team ERA, 23rd in WHIP and only nine teams have allowed more homers. Any way you slice it, their numbers are terrible. Given Dozier’s multiple position eligibility, he will fit into any fantasy lineup. If available, pickup Dozier for this weekend’s games.

Brandon Belt, 1B, San Francisco Giants, 38% Owned

Speaking of poor pitching staffs, no one does it worse than Cincinnati. Their 5.27 team ERA is last in all of baseball. This weekend, their team jet will take them into the bay area to play the Giants. That immediately puts Brandon Belt into the conversation of fantasy baseball weekend options. Belt recently returned from a knee injury and has shown some of his old flashes at the plate. In the five games Belt has started since coming back, he has a couple of hits in two of them.

Without doubt, this has not been an impressive offensive season for Belt thus far in 2022. His .231-5-12 stat line certainly proves that. Even so, his SO% and BB% have improved from last year. Everyone is aware of the kind of offensive performance Belt is capable of and there won’t be a better time for him to demonstrate that than this weekend. The Giants sat Belt on Monday, so his chances of being in the lineup each day against the Reds is good. If first base is a fantasy need, Belt is a logical choice to help solve the problem, at least for this weekend.

Ezequiel Duran, 2B/3B, Texas Rangers, 7.5% Owned

Set aside for a moment the indignity of Ezequiel Duran’s involvement in the two immaculate innings that shamed the Rangers last week. Even with that cloud hanging over his head, Duran has shown some hitting prowess that will come in handy this weekend. The Washington Nationals will make their way into Arlington and all of the Rangers’ hitters should be excited about the prospect, including Duran. In his last 13 games, Duran has a hit in nine of them. He has four games with at least two hits.

No question, Duran will have to cut down the strikeouts. This weekend, however, that is not a huge concern with the Nationals coming to town. Washington has the second worst team ERA in baseball and are 21st in strikeouts. Some managers may be tempted to keep Duran longer than this weekend. If that is you, just be aware that his BAbip of .368 would indicate that regression could be coming. However, no such concern should be applied against the Nationals. Fire up Duran against them and enjoy the rewards.

Top Weekend Pitching Steamer Options

Zach Davies, Arizona Diamondbacks, 10% Owned

Given that Zach Davies has a 154 ESPN fantasy points, he has a surprisingly low ownership rate. Fortunately for anyone that is looking for pitching help this weekend, that fact will work in their favor. Davies has pitched into the sixth inning or later five straight starts. He allowed four earned in his last turn against San Diego on the road. However, seeing as how the Padres have one of the better offenses in baseball, that is something managers can overlook coming into this weekend.

This season, Davies only has a 2-4 record. Arizona’s offense will never be confused with the Padres, which leads to less than stellar win-loss records for their starters. Overall, Davies’ ERA is solid at 3.96. Prior to the SD start, Davies delivered 25, 16 and 22 fantasy points. Best of all for those add him this weekend, however, is the matchup he will face. Detroit comes into the weekend with the second worst offense in all of baseball with a .610 OPS.

Even worse, they have the fewest homers as a team. Add up all these factors and Davies rises to the top of this fantasy baseball weekend options edition. Additionally, he takes the mound on Sunday, which helps in leagues that place restrictions on the number of starters during the week. Once used, Davies can be safely returned to the waiver pool, which would open up a roster spot for the week to come.

Roansy Contreras, Pittsburgh Pirates, 12% Owned

It may be hard to believe with the Rays battling for a playoff spot, but Tampa’s offense hasn’t been very robust this season. The pitcher that should be able to benefit most from that fact on Sunday is Roansy Contreras. In all of baseball, only three teams have a worse OPS than the Rays’ .668. Additionally, they are 26th in slugging and 27th in OBP. Not surprisingly, they are in the bottom third of baseball in home runs. No question, Tampa Bay is built on pitching, which won’t have much effect on Contreras.

He comes into this game with a 2-1 record and an excellent 2.89 ERA. Contreras has pitched into the sixth inning in only one start. However, he didn’t move into the rotation until late May. Further, he does average a strikeout an inning. His ERA as a starter is 2.73. Managers should expect to receive positive results in this matchup against the Rays. Contreras definitely has a place on this fantasy baseball weekend options edition. As with Davies above, use Contreras for this one start and then cut bait. That open roster spot will most likely come in handy once Monday arrives.

Dylan Bundy, Minnesota Twins, 19.3% Owned

As is well known, there are few teams that are as Heckel and Jeckyl when they hit the road as is the case with Colorado. At home, the Rockies are baseball’s best hitting team. No surprise there. Once they leave the Mile High City, though, it is a completely different story. On the road, the offense falls all the way to 22nd. Most likely, that stat is also not a surprise to many. The point of all of this? The pitcher that stands to benefit Friday when the Rockies travel to the Twin Cities is Dylan Bundy.

Bundy has had a up and down season that rivals any pitcher in the league. It certainly seems, however, that Bundy has turned the corner given his last start. Pitching the best he has all season, Bundy threw eight stellar innings at the Diamondbacks, holding them to one run in eight innings. In addition, he struck out seven and didn’t issue a walk. That start earned him 32 fantasy points. The base on balls has not been an issue of late for Bunday, as he has walked just three batters in his last five appearances.

Bundy looks like he is ready to return to the success he had in his first three starts of the season. He delivered 20, 21 and 20 fantasy points in those games, allowing only a single run in 15.1 innings. He also won all three of those starts. Bundy lost his way in his next seven starts, losing three and not winning any of them. Granted, that sounds bad. Even so, with Colorado in town and coming off a magnificent performance, Bundy should get the call Friday. As with the pitchers above, once used, he can be dumped back into the waiver pond if so desired.

The Final Word

Thank you for joining me for this fantasy baseball weekend options June 26 through 28 edition! As always, I welcome any and all suggestions, comments and input from my readers. Have players to add to the list? Let’s discuss! Follow me on twitter @kevin62wilsea. Please feel free to share this article. Be sure to turn to Belly Up Sports and Belly Up Fantasy Sports & Picks for the MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL happenings and all the latest sports news! 

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