Fantasy Baseball 2021: Waiver-Wire Players to Pick Up for Week 12

The Toronto Blue Jays are typically praised in fantasy baseball circles for their powerful lineup, but their pitching staff could be more valuable in Week 12.

Toronto enters a favorable stretch for its hurlers Tuesday, when it visits the Miami Marlins for a two-game set. Ross Stripling could be the biggest beneficiary of the upcoming run versus Miami, the Baltimore Orioles and Seattle Mariners.

The right-handed hurler is coming off a solid outing against the New York Yankees and is in line for a two-start week versus weaker opponents.

The Week 12 schedule also has some favorable numbers for hitters, especially ones in the National League East.

The New York Mets and Atlanta are scheduled to play eight games over seven days, starting with a doubleheader at Citi Field on Monday.

Atlanta's hitters could carry more fantasy value over the seven-day stretch since a matchup with the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park awaits after the trip to New York.

Stripling's favorable matchups with Miami and Baltimore stand out.

The right-handed hurler could be in for a pair of long outings with high strikeout potential.

Stripling's potential to succeed is even greater since he is coming off a great outing in Buffalo, New York, against the Yankees.

The 31-year-old fanned nine Yankees over 6.2 innings and he only conceded two earned runs off three hits versus Aaron Judge and Co.

Miami's and Baltimore's lineups are far less menacing, with Orioles outfielder Cedric Mullins being the biggest offensive threat from the teams.

Both squads are mired at the bottom of their respective divisions, and Toronto could use its series against Baltimore to inch closer to the Boston Red Sox in the tight American League East battle.

As long as the Toronto offense continues to hit with power in those two series, Stripling should be in line for a pair of victories. He lasted at least five innings in each of his past five starts.

The volume of games on Atlanta's schedule and Abraham Almonte's recent form at the dish make him a perfect waiver-wire pickup for the next week.

Almonte comes into Sunday with a four-game hitting streak, and he has an RBI in each of those four contests.

The outfielder is hitting behind Ozzie Albies in the Atlanta order that has been depleted by a litany of issues. Almonte might not be the cleanup hitter for the rest of the season, but his position is worth taking advantage of right now.

Almonte should avoid Jacob deGrom in New York, and he will have a chance to hit in Cincinnati for a few games at the end of Week 12.

The Reds rank third in Major League Baseball in home runs at home with 56, and Atlanta is fourth overall with 98 long balls.

The weekend series could be a hitter's paradise, and it may worth adding a few players with low roster percentages from the two squads.

Hunter Renfroe is beginning to heat up toward the bottom of the Boston Red Sox order.

Over the past week, the outfielder turned in a pair of multi-hit games and produced two RBI in back-to-back games.

When Renfroe's bat is hot, he has the chance to pile up the stats because he hits behind Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers.

Renfroe carries better splits across the board against left-handed hurlers, and he has the potential to face a few in the next week.

Depending on how the rotations shake out for the Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees, Renfroe could have the chance to feast on Rich Hill, Shane McClanahan and Jordan Montgomery.

The draw of a weekend Red Sox-Yankees series could also lead you to Renfroe since those games are typically high-scoring affairs.

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90. Statistics obtained from MLB.com.