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There are times during a Fantasy Baseball season when a particular position sees a sudden influx of potential breakthoughs. It's especially common in the outfield, seeing as it's a place where a larger number of players play, but still, rarely have I seen a week like this past one where so many outfielders demanded an immediate pickup.

You can't have them all, of course, but how do you choose? Odds are they're not all actually breaking out, even though they may be showing signs of it, so if you have your pick, you don't want to miss.

Check out Scott White's top priorities on the Tuesday Waiver Wire, plus we discussed the Tigers rookies and double-dongs galore on Tuesday's Fantasy Baseball Today podcast. Follow all our podcasts and subscribe here.

To help you out, I've selected 10 of the outfielders that have attracted the most attention on the waiver wire recently and ranked them by my order of preference — complete, of course with an explanation why.

Recent outfield surgers, ranked
NYM N.Y. Mets • #3 • Age: 31
ROSTERED
68%
BA
.365
HR
5
OBP
.484
OPS
1.196
AB
52
FPPG
3.10
Turns out I may have been a year early on Jesse Winker, who had homered five times in five games before the Reds were forced to shut down because of a positive COVID-19 test. As ridiculous as it has made his overall numbers, his quality of contact is so high that his expected stats (xBA, xSLG, xwOBA) are right in line. He has always been a high on-base guy with the sort of contact and line-drive rates that lend themselves to a high batting average, so if the power comes through, we're talking about a potential MVP-caliber bat.
TOR Toronto • #25 • Age: 30
ROSTERED
88%
BA
.271
HR
7
OPS
.935
AB
85
K
12
FPPG
4.29
Anthony Santander's availability has dwindled to almost nothing -- no surprise considering his recent power binge has made him a top-five Fantasy outfielder -- but it's still worth investigating the legitimacy of the performance. And while he's destined to cool off some, yeah, I'm fairly confident he can remain an impact power hitter with a batted-ball profile not too unlike Mike Moustakas. The extreme fly-ball tendencies that make all those home runs possible will drag down his BABIP, but he makes such regular contact that it won't sink his batting average. The effect may not even be so exaggerated for him given how well he hits the ball to the opposite field.
CHW Chi. White Sox • #15 • Age: 29
ROSTERED
70%
BA
.244
HR
2
SB
2
OPS
.816
AB
45
FPPG
2.93
Nick Senzel came into the year with residual prospect appeal even after an underwhelming rookie season, but the underlying numbers suggested that improvements would need to be made. Boy, have they. He's hitting the ball considerably harder (average exit velocity up from 87.8 to 90.6) and elevating considerably better (average launch angle up from 11.3 to 18.1), with some improved plate discipline to boot, and the result is a .288 xBA and a .516 xSLG. It's a particularly small and scattered sample thanks to a groin injury and the Reds' recent quarantine, but given the prospect pedigree, I'm salivating nonetheless.
CHC Chi. Cubs • #8 • Age: 30
ROSTERED
64%
BA
.310
HR
3
OBP
.437
OPS
1.006
AB
58
FPPG
3.11
When Ian Happ returned from the minors last August to deliver a still-high-but-not-prohibitive 25 percent strikeout rate, I thought, "OK, let's see him do it next year." Well, so far he has while also ranking the top 10 percent in hard-hit rate and the top 2 percent in walk rate. It gives him a .293 xBA and an xwOBA like the one Anthony Rendon put together last year. The small sample size caveat still applies, of course, but this is what Happ's best-case outcome would look like. And now that manager David Ross seems committed to playing him every day, I'm happy to see where it takes me.
ARI Arizona • #8 • Age: 30
ROSTERED
63%
BA
.321
HR
1
SB
2
OPS
.882
AB
53
FPPG
2.81
In the blink of an eye, Garrett Hampson went from being a utility player who might get to start against the occasional lefty to the Rockies' leadoff hitter. It's a cushy job that has contributed to Charlie Blackmon scoring more than 110 runs in four straight seasons, and you might even say Hampson earned it by going 13 for 39 (.333) with four extra-base hits and two steals since his first look in it. Currently boasting the league's best line-drive rate, Hampson offers a Whit Merrifield-like profile, right down to the second base eligibility, but with the added benefit of hitting in one of the most desirable lineup spots in baseball.
NYY N.Y. Yankees • #22 • Age: 29
ROSTERED
68%
BA
.296
HR
6
OPS
1.116
AB
54
K
15
FPPG
3.85
Dominic Smith has one of the clearest drawbacks of anyone on this list in that we still don't know if the Mets are willing to play him against right-handed pitchers, but now that he has homered in four of the seven straight he has started, all against righties, I'm willing to gamble it's just around the corner. He actually had better numbers against lefties than righties last year, albeit over a tiny sample. And this year? After earning rave reviews in summer camp, he's putting the ball in the air more than ever and barreling up everything so far. It's a long-awaited breakthrough for the former top prospect.
BAL Baltimore • #15 • Age: 26
ROSTERED
64%
AB
10
H
2
2B
1
BB
1
K
2
FPPG
1.00
Normally, the recently arrived prospect gets top priority on the waiver wire, so for Dylan Carlson to rank this low shows you the caliber of his competition. It helps that he hasn't made a splash of his own yet, not that there's any reason for concern. He's at least showing a solid approach at the plate and has the talent to emerge as a five-category contributor in the weeks ahead. But I'm confident enough in what the players above him here are doing that I don't need to prioritize the theoretical.
PIT Pittsburgh • #46 • Age: 30
ROSTERED
44%
BA
.298
HR
1
SB
3
OBP
.373
AB
67
FPPG
2.74
Yes, Nick Solak is eligible in the outfield now, and it won't be long before he's eligible at second base as well. A former 20-steal guy in the minors, he has thankfully gotten a chance to demonstrate that skill in the majors this year, and his longstanding on-base skills ensure he'll always be in a position to run. So even if he can't replicate the power that saw him hit 32 homers between the majors and minors last year (and it was always in doubt), he has skills that acclimate him to both categories and points leagues. It's worth noting, too, he actually has a higher hard-hit rate and average launch angle than last year, so don't count out the power yet.
CHW Chi. White Sox • #15 • Age: 30
ROSTERED
56%
AB
15
H
8
HR
2
2B
3
K
4
FPPG
6.75
I could see slotting Clint Frazier ahead of Nick Solak if you're in a position to sell out for the upside, but the fact is we don't know how committed the Yankees are to the soon-to-be 26-year-old or if this hot start is just another fakeout. But things are looking more promising for Frazier than they have in quite some time, thanks largely to a new timing mechanism that he thinks has unlocked the full extent of his bat speed, delivering big results since way back in spring training. Manager Aaron Boone has started Frazier every day since he arrived and even moved him into three-hole Monday.
KC Kansas City • #8 • Age: 35
ROSTERED
34%
BA
.286
HR
3
SB
4
OBP
.452
AB
56
FPPG
3.89
Skepticism is warranted in the case of Robbie Grossman -- a 30-year-old who has heretofore served as a light-hitting utility outfielder -- and it's worth pointing out that the Athletics themselves have yet to play him against a lefty. But I look at what he's doing so far -- which is backed up completely by the data, small though the sample may be -- and am reminded of the mid-career breakthroughs Marcus Semien and Mark Canha had for this team just last year. The plus-plus plate discipline along with a willingness to run is an especially useful combination, whether the power is there or not.