Welcome to Waiver Wire Watch, our weekly fantasy baseball waiver wire guide. We’ll be doing things a little differently this season, with Eric Samulski publishing the initial waiver-wire article on Friday afternoon. Then James Schiano updates it every Sunday to make sure you get the most up-to-date information.
The premise of the article is pretty straightforward. We’ll give you some recommended adds each week based on recent production or role changes. When we list a player, we’ll list the category where we think he’ll be helpful or the quick reason he’s listed. We hope this helps you determine whether the player fits your team’s needs. Not every “trending” player will be a good addition to your specific roster.
To qualify for this list, a player needs to be UNDER 40% rostered in Yahoo! formats. We understand you may say, “These players aren’t available in my league,” and we can’t help you there. These players are available in over 60% of leagues and some in 98% of leagues, so they’re available in many places, and that can hopefully satisfy readers who play in all league types.
⚾️ Baseball is back on NBC: MLB returns to NBC and Peacock in 2026! In addition to becoming the exclusive home of Sunday Night Baseball, NBC Sports will broadcast MLB Sunday Leadoff, “Opening Day” and Labor Day primetime games, the first round of the MLB Draft, the entire Wild Card round of the postseason, and much more.
Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Hitters
Caleb Durbin – 2B/3B, BOS (39% rostered)
(HOT STRETCH, STOLEN BASE UPSIDE)
Durbin’s roster rate fell 1%, so he still remains eligible for this list. The narrative around Durbin at the beginning of the season was so toxic that we’re not sure people realize how good he’s been. In 49 games since June 1st, Durbin is hitting .300/.365/.506 with nine home runs, 32 runs scored, 22 RBI, and eight steals. That’s a 140 wRC+ and is exactly what people envisioned from the second-year hitter when moving into a park like Fenway. Perhaps it took Durbin a bit longer to adjust his approach.
Dylan Crews – OF, WAS (38% rostered)
(FORMER TOP PROSPECT, HOT STRETCH)
We’ve had Crews on here a few times because we liked the underlying quality of contact since he returned. The swing decisions just weren’t really improved, and so the results weren’t there. Since the All-Star break, he’s hitting .282/.440/.590 with three home runs, nine runs scored, and six RBI. His 83% zone contact rate over that stretch is still slightly below average, and his 15% swinging strike rate isn’t ideal, so this isn’t a slam dunk add, but it’s not a bad idea to bet on a former top prospect. If you were focused more on speed, you could add Jacob Young – OF, WAS (4% rostered), who’s hitting .350/.471/.550 in his last 14 games with eight RBI and five steals. Young hits ninth and doesn’t even start against all right-handed pitching, so this is just a deeper league speed play.
Tommy Edman – 2B/3B/OF, LAD (36% rostered)
(BATTING AVERAGE UPSIDE, GREAT LINEUP)
This is now our fourth week with Edman on this list. As we mentioned before, you’re probably not getting the same amount of speed from Edman anymore due to his myriad lower-body injuries, but he does have three steals in July. He’s also hitting .300/.378/.450 in his last 25 games with 18 runs scored and 14 RBI because he hits in the Dodgers’ lineup. That’s going to be production that helps if you need average and counting stats.
Ty France – 1B, Padres (35% rostered)
(STARTING JOB, HOT STREAK)
Ty France just continues to hit, so we’ll keep putting him in this article. Eric had an article about players who could see a second-half surge and mentioned that France was already surging. We also recorded a video last week on how France has become a key part of this lineup since Nick Castellanos was released, so that’s worth checking out to see why we’re into France. A deeper league corner infield target could be Coby Mayo – 1B/3B, BAL (2% rostered). The former top prospect has some contact concerns that likely won’t be fixed unless he makes a swing change, but he has been producing in May with a .275/.341/.650 slash line in 17 games with four home runs, 10 runs scored, and nine RBI. The Orioles could be major sellers at the deadline, so it’s unclear what their roster will look like, but Mayo could get plenty of playing time the rest of the season.
A.J. Ewing – 2B/OF, NYM (28% rostered)
(POWER SURGE, BATTING AVERAGE UPSIDE)
We’re not sure why more people aren’t adding Ewing. The rookie is hitting .286/.333/.452 in his last 20 games with three home runs, 13 runs scored, eight RBI, and six steals. We know that the Mets are going to trade away players at the deadline, but Ewing won’t be one of them. He will play pretty much every day and continue to bat leadoff against righties, which gives him a safe floor and value in all five categories.
Nasim Nunez – 2B/SS, WAS (26% rostered)
(STOLEN BASE UPSIDE, HOT STREAK)
We’re keeping Nunez on here for his stolen base upside and because he keeps hitting. In 21 games in July, he’s hitting .275/.346/.319 with 13 runs and seven steals. Yes, this is mainly a speed play, but if he can even keep a .270 average, that’s going to be incredibly valuable to your fantasy teams. In 12 games with the Padres, Luis Rengifo – 2B/3B/OF, SD (20% rostered) is hitting .385/.455/.590 with two home runs, seven runs scored, and eight RBI. He’s started the last five games and is beginning to be a more consistent part of the lineup. We’re not sure if it will last, but he could be a bat to pick up while he’s hot.
Max Clark – OF, DET (22% rostered)
(PROSPECT CALL-UP, POTENTIAL STEALS UPSIDE)
People are rushing out to add Clark after the news broke that the 13th-ranked prospect in baseball is getting called up on Friday. On one hand, we get it; he’s a top prospect, he has tremendous plate discipline, and a great month of July. On the other hand, he has only one month this season with an OPS over .795, he has a 37.7% hard-hit rate, and an 88 mph average exit velocity. There is not a lot of immediate power in the profile. He’s also likely going to hit near the bottom of the order for the Tigers with Kevin McGonigle as their leadoff guy. Clark has plenty of speed, but the Tigers have ranked 26th, 30th, and 30th in steals over the last three years. Will they let him run? We know people have comped Clark to AJ Ewing, and that makes sense to us, but Ewing has 14 steals in 69 games. We’re not convinced the Tigers will let Clark run that much, so we’d rather just have Ewing if you wanted to add one of them.
Cole Carrigg – OF, COL (22% rostered)
(COORS FIELD, POWER UPSIDE)
Eric featured Cole Carrigg as a player who could gain fantasy value after the deadline since both Mickey Moniak and Jake McCarthy are allegedly on the trade block. In that article, Eric mentioned that, even though Carrigg isn’t crushing the ball, he has good bat speed and is making better-than-league-average zone contact, which is a nice profile in Coors Field. He just needs to play more consistently. Braden Montgomery – OF, CWS (10% rostered) is another young outfielder who could take a step forward in the second half. Over his last 15 games, he’s hitting .278/.371/.444 with one home run, eight runs scored, 12 RBI, and one steal. That has come with a 40.5% hard-hit rate that is starting to creep up. He began the year in Double-A, so this is a big jump for him, but more at-bats will likely lead to a better plan and more success.
Garrett Mitchell – OF, MIL (17% rostered)
(POWER/SPEED UPSIDE, STREAKY PLAYER ON HOT STREAK)
We featured Mitchell a bunch earlier in the season, and he’s back to putting up really solid numbers, but nobody wants to add him. Since June 29th, he’s hitting .315 with two home runs, 14 runs scored, 12 RBI, and a 50.8% hard-hit rate that ranks 22nd in baseball over that stretch. The tools have always been loud, but the plate approach has been the question. Well, from June 29th on, his zone contact rate is up to 86%, which is league average, and his chase rate is down to 26%. MLB.com had a great article about what has gone into Garrett Mitchell’s breakout, and this is one we’re buying into. Another young outfielder add could be Ryan Waldschmit – OF, ARI (3% rostered). He’s still not a full-time role in Arizona, but the production is starting to come. He’s slashing .333/.333/.545 over his last 11 games with one home run, six runs scored, five RBI, and one steal. He’s one of the better prospects in baseball, and if Arizona gives him consistent at-bats, he may start to put it together.
Heriberto Hernandez – OF, MIA (16% rostered)
(PLAYING TIME OPPORTUNITY, POWER UPSIDE)
An injury to Owen Caissie has allowed Hernandez to play against more right-handed pitchers, and he has responded by hitting .276/.3330/.644 in 24 games in July with eight home runs, 14 RBI, and two steals. He has some swing and miss in his game, and he is not as good against righties, so this may just be a hot streak, but Eric recorded a video this week talking about Hernandez’s hot stretch. His teammate, Griffin Conine – OF, MIA (3% rostered) is a good option if you’re in a daily moves league or a mid-week lineup change league since he won’t play against lefties. Conine is hitting .254/.333/.522 in 24 games in July with six home runs, so there is some power in his bat as well.
Cooper Pratt – SS, MIL (10% rostered)
(REGULAR PLAYING TIME, STOLEN BASE UPSIDE)
The left side of Milwaukee’s infield is a bit crowded at the moment, but Pratt seems to be the guy playing the most consistently. In 22 games in July, he’s hitting .324/.405/.479 with two home runs, 13 runs scored, 12 RBI, and four steals. He already has nine steals in just 35 games with the Brewers, and the batting average has been much better than we expected. If you need stolen bases, there are few better targets right now.
Hao-Yu Lee- 2B/3B, DET (8% rostered)
(REGULAR PLAYING TIME, BATTING AVERAGE UPSIDE)
Even if the Tigers don’t trade Gleyber Torres (they likely will), Lee has seemingly emerged as a regular starter. In 19 games in July, he’s hitting .308/.333/.558 with three home runs, eight runs scored, and 13 RBI. He makes a lot of contact, and while that power may not stick around, he should be a solid source of batting average in a consistent role. Andruw Monasterio – 1B/2B/3B/SS, BOS (2% rostered) has also been producing in July as the starting shortstop in Boston. Since July 1st, Monasterio has hit .357 with three home runs, eight runs, eight RBI, and one steal. His .321 ISO is the best on the team and the 10th best in baseball among hitters with at least 60 plate appearances in July. Monasterio has been particularly good against lefties this season, slashing .282/.364/.603 in 88 plate appearances versus .243/.287/.355 in 116 plate appearances against righties. The Red Sox could deal for a shortstop and take away his playing time, so keep an eye on this weekend’s news.
Tyler Stephenson – C, CIN (6% rostered)
(FRINGE ONE-CATCHER LEAGUE OPTION, UPSIDE BET)
Stephenson is another hitter that was featured in Eric’s second-half surgers article. In 18 games in July, he’s hitting .339/.400/.525 with two home runs and just five RBI, but an 11.6% barrel rate and 40% hard-hit rate. There are some rumors he could be on the move to a team like the Red Sox or Yankees, which would improve those counting stats as well, and Boston might also use him as a regular DH. He could be an interesting name at the trade deadline. Nick Fortes – C, TB (2% rostered) is another catcher option in deeper formats. His batted ball data has looked good for most of the season, but he has turned it on in July, hitting .354/.380/.604 with three home runs and 10 RBI in 18 games. The Rays are in the market for a catcher though, so his uptick in playing time may be coming to a close.
Victor Mesa Jr. OF, TB (3% rostered)
(POWER/SPEED UPSIDE, INTRIGUING METRICS)
Eric recently mentioned Mesa in his second half breakouts article because of his surprisingly solid underlying power metrics, good swing decisions, and near-elite bat speed. He keeps working his way into the Rays’ lineup because he plays elite defense. Sadly, he sits against all lefties, so that makes him tougher to roster, but in 20 games in July, he is hitting .255/.323/.545 with five home runs, nine RBI, and three steals. That will work if he gets a good string of righties. Another strong side potential outfielder is Evan Carter – OF, TEX (3% rostered). By now, almost everybody has had Carter on their roster for some stretch; however, the young outfielder has been on another good run, hitting .300/.426/.480 over his last 21 games with two home runs, nine runs scored, and four steals. That helps you in a lot of categories.
Vaughn Grissom – 1B/2B/3B, LAA (3% rostered)
(PLAYING TIME, HOT STREAK)
The Angels acquired Grissom from the Red Sox this offseason in an under-the-radar move because Boston needed to clear space on their 40-man roster. After having an inconsistent start to the season, Grissom has been great in July, hitting .338 in 18 games with three home runs, 16 RBI, and a 41.8% hard-hit rate. Some of that success has come with a shift to be less fly ball focused. Before July, Grissom had a 43.2% fly ball rate. That has fallen to 23.6% in July. His groundball rate is up from 38.8% to 45.5%, and his line drive rate has also increased. He has also tried to go to the opposite field more, not only raising his opposite field rate by 5% but changing the angle of the sweet spot of his bat as it travels through the zone from zero degrees (right back up the middle) to three degrees towards the opposite field side. He’s still able to turn on the ball when he needs to, but the new approach has led to more base hits despite a small dip in hard contact.
Tyrone Taylor – OF, NYM (2% rostered)
(SAFE FLOOR FOR DEEPER FORMATS, COUNTING STATS UPSIDE)
Juan Soto is on the IL, and there’s a strong chance that Luis Robert Jr. is traded away at the deadline, which could mean that Tyrone Taylor starts in the outfield for the Mets for a good chunk of the rest of the season. In 20 games in July, he’s hitting .326/.420/.837 with six home runs, 12 rrun scored, and 12 RBI. We think this power surge is a bit of a fluke, but the production overall could be solid.
Brady House – 3B, WSN (2% rostered)
(POSSIBLE EVERYDAY JOB)
The Nationals traded third baseman Curtis Mead to the Red Sox last week and called House back up to start at third base for them. Still just 23 years old, House showed decent raw power with regular playing time early this season. His 73.5 mph bat speed is similar to players like Seiya Suzuki and Brandon Lowe; he hit a ball 113.4 mph, and both his barrel and hard-hit rates were above league average. Too many grounders and not enough pulled fly balls held him back, though, and he’s never shown a knack for taking a walk. Those are the types of things that normally improve with age, so don’t overlook House now that he has a role again.
Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pitchers
Shane Drohan – SP/RP, MIL (39% rostered)
Drohan was featured in Eric’s article this week on starting pitchers who are succeeding without elite Stuff+ grades. In that article, Eric mentioned that Drohan added a sinker as his primary fastball to lefties, and the command of his cutter improved, which has helped him miss bats with the four-seamer over the top of it. Drohan has a better swinging strike rate and CSW against lefties, so bringing that changeup back could help him take another step forward against righties, but this is a five-pitch mix with plus command and multiple fastballs, which should help Drohan continue to outproduce his Stuff+ grades. He may not keep his rotation spot after the trade deadline, but he has earned fantasy spots for now.
Zac Thornton – SP, NYM (34% rostered)
Zac Thornton was also in that same article. He has a 2.43 ERA in his first 29.2 MLB innings despite throwing an 87 mph cutter and 92 mph four-seamer. Thornton is a lefty without a real changeup, using it just 5% of the time to righties. However, he does have four pitches, including three fastball variations. For Eric, what was stopping me from fully buying into Thornton’s recent success is that he’s too focused on two pitches to righties. He also throws his sinker 9% of the time to righties, but it’s getting hit hard. The hits haven’t dropped yet, but a 28.6% barrel rate and 43% hard-hit rate in a small sample is concerning. It’s fine to ride with Thornton while he’s pitching this well, but it doesn’t feel as real as Drohan or Jake Bennett and other low Stuff+ lefties who have produced this season.
Keider Montero – SP/RP, DET (33% rostered)
The injury to Jack Flaherty may mean that Montero is getting another shot in the Tigers’ rotation. Eric discussed his potential fantasy value in this video after Flaherty’s injury, and Montero was another pitcher in Eric’s article this week. This season, Montero tightened up both his curve and his slider, throwing them both a bit harder and with less movement. That took away a decent amount of swing-and-miss on his slider, but it also gave him far better control of the slider. The new movement profile on the slider has been far better against lefties and, surprisingly, even though the overall SwStr% is down against righties, his slider is performing even better in two-strike counts. With a five-pitch mix and improved command, Montero has landed himself firmly on a list of pitchers who can outperform their stuff.
Clay Holmes – SP, NYM (31% rostered)
Clay Holmes has likely made his last start with the Mets, but the veteran should be back from his fractured fibula next week and in another team’s rotation. Holmes had a 2.39 ERA and 1,10 WHIP in 52.2 innings for the Mets this season, and while he’s unlikely to produce at that level going forward, and he won’t give you strikeouts, he’s still likely going to be a great source of ratios no matter where he lands.
Yoendrys Gómez – RP, MIN (31% rostered)
We’ve had Gómez here a few times. He has 10 saves since June 1st and a 2.14 ERA in 21 innings over that stretch. Yes, he doesn’t strike people out, but he also doesn’t walk guys, and so he seems like a safe option if you just want a few saves to help you in that category without crushing your ratios. Clayton Beeter – RP, WAS (15% rostered) is another option. He has a 4.91 ERA in 7.1 innings in July, so the ratios aren’t great, but he also has five saves in his last nine appearances, so that’s what you’d be adding him for.
Christian Scott – SP, NYM (28% rostered)
Scott had a nice start against the Braves this week and remains a starting pitcher who we like a decent amount. He has some issues with lefties, but his cutter has been a big reason that is improving. Eric had a detailed write-up in last week’s streaming starting pitcher column, so check that out for more data on Scott.
Grant Taylor – RP/SP, CWS (27% rostered)
In his last 12 appearances, Taylor has two wins, three saves, a 2.65 ERA, and a 33.3% strikeout rate. We’re not sure what more he needs to do to be added. Sure, he’s not the locked-in every-day closer, but he will get saves, and he will help your ratios. That’s good.
Brandon Pfaadt – SP, ARI (21% rostered)
Look, this is happening. Eric covered Pfaadt’s pitch mix changes in detail in his streamer column last week, and then covered him again in the article about pitchers who are succeeding with command. The short version is that Pfaadt has altered his arsenal to maximize command and weak contact, and it appears to be working. He won’t get you many strikeouts, which does hurt his fantasy value, but if you need ratios, this is believable.
Kade Anderson – SP, SEA (16% rostered)
Will Kade Anderson be called up? The left-hander certainly seems ready. He has a 1.27 ERA, 0.64 WHIP, and 41.7% strikeout rate in Double-A. The Mariners could potentially trade both Emerson Hancock and Luis Castillo this weekend, and so stashing Anderson in case he moves into the rotation isn’t a terrible idea.
Luke Weaver – RP, NYM (16% rostered)
We love Luke Weaver as a closer stash. The Mets will almost certainly trade him at the deadline, and the Pirates are said to be interested. He would immediately slot in as their closer. Weaver has a 1.88 ERA in 41 appearances for the Mets and could be a potential difference-maker if he lands in a closer’s role.
AJ Smith-Shawver – SP, ATL (16% rostered)
Smith-Shawver pitched against the Mets on Wednesday and looked pretty good for four innings before tiring. His velocity was up across the board, and he seemed to change his slider into a cutter, which isn’t a bad move. The four-seam vertical movement was great, and I have to think more whiffs will come on that pitch. We’re still talking about a pitcher with a limited MLB sample size who is coming off of Tommy John surgery, so don’t expect anything amazing, but he could be a deeper league option.
Quinn Mathews – SP, STL (9% rostered)
The Cardinals announced that they were calling up Mathews to start on Saturday, and that has many people excited. The former top 50 overall prospect has plenty of swing-and-miss in his arsenal but also just plenty of miss because he has real command issues. Eric recorded a video on Friday about his ultimate fantasy upside.
Carson Whisenhunt – SP, SF (6% rostered)
Whisenhunt appears to be in the Giants’ rotation right now. He allowed four runs in five innings against the Angels his last time out, but the performance was more encouraging than the stat line, as Whisenhunt leaned into his changeup for 15 whiffs and 76 percent strikes. That’s an approach that should work for the left-hander as long as he can locate his fastball up in the zone. He will likely remain in the Giants’ rotation for the rest of the season and could emerge as a streaming option.
Michael Petersen – RP, MIA (6% rostered)
This is the closer stash part of the season with the trade deadline approaching. I’m not sure the Marlins can get anything for Pete Fairbanks right now, but they should probably try. It just hasn’t been a free agent signing that worked. Meanwhile, Petersen has a 3.20 ERA and 1.07 WHIP on the season with 52 strikeouts in 45 innings. He has been increasingly pitching in high-leverage innings and might be a nice low-cost add right now for some end-of-season saves.
Brandyn Garcia – RP, ARI (5% rostered)
We know Paul Sewald is out as closer in Arizona. We don’t know who the closer is. It’s likely a committee, and so we also like adding Juan Morillo – RP, ARI (4% rostered) as the right-handed part of that, but Garcia got the first save chance on Wednesday. On the season, Garcia has a 2.17 ERA and 32% strikeout rate in 29 innings, so if he added some saves to that profile, that would be helpful in all fantasy leagues.
Ben Joyce – RP, LAA (3% rostered)
Joyce has moved up to Triple-A as he rehabs his way back from a shoulder injury and has looked good. He has thrown a few scoreless innings in his early appearances and has been hitting 103 mph on the radar gun. The Angels don’t create many save opportunities, but Joyce could wind up as their primary closer down the stretch.
Read the full article here
