I feel like I’m living in a time warp. Last week, I was running around the backyard, jumping through the sprinkler with the kids. This week, school buses are driving past my house full of children. Where did the summer go, and how did it leave us all behind so quickly? The good news is that if you’re still reading this column, you haven’t fully moved on from your summer yet. There’s still plenty of baseball to be played – and plenty of time to improve your fantasy team through FAAB each week. This time of year, it’s extremely important to keep your eye on the news – the “#mlb-news-and-updates” channel in the Pitcher List Discord is an excellent resource – because there are so many teams who are bringing up their highly-touted prospects, waiting until after the deadline to maintain their rookie eligibility for next season, but still wanting their young studs to get MLB at-bats or innings. Names like Bryce Eldridge, Samuel Basallo, Travis Bazzana, Bubba Chandler, and Andrew Painter might surface on your wire over the next few weeks. Be aware of what’s going on and don’t be afraid to take a gamble and snag one of those guys a week early if you have the bench space.
As a reminder, this column is designed to help guide those in Free Agent Acquisition Budget (FAAB) leagues in making the best choices regarding who to target on the waiver wire. Specifically, we’re focusing on players who are between 20-25% rostered in most 12-team leagues and/or 25-50% rostered in 15-teamers. Every league is different, so we won’t be labeling player bids with any sort of recommended dollar amount but instead will use a four-tier investment rating system, ranging from a minimal spend to a potential difference-maker (or LEAGUE-WINNER, if you will).
Let’s dig in!
Investment Rating System
Nine teams will take on a full seven-game slate this week as the Chicago Cubs, Colorado Rockies, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, and Texas Rangers each take the field every day. Be wary of the Tampa Bay Rays‘ bats, as they play just five times. The Reds and Athletics are each on the road for all six games this week, taking the West Sacramento ballpark and Great American Ballpark out of the equation for fantasy managers. Meanwhile, the Rockies host the Dodgers for a four-game series in Coors early in the week.
SEVEN GAMES: CHC, COL, HOU, KCR, LAD, MLW, SDP, SFG, TEX
FIVE GAMES: TBR
Batters
Outfielders
Owen Caissie ($$$): Don’t break the bank for this Cubs prospect, but definitely submit a bid in your waterfall. Caissie joins the Cubs after showing off a stellar hit tool and above-average power at Triple-A, where he batted .290 and hit 22 home runs. The Cubs’ offense is deep and just got deeper with the addition of Caissie. He may struggle to adjust to MLB pitching – as all prospects seem to for a limited time – but once he makes the adjustment, expect power and solid average as well as counting stats in that potent Cubs lineup.
Dylan Moore ($$): The Mariners face three consecutive Phillies lefties to open the week and then get two more lefties over the weekend opposite the Athletics. If there was ever a week to roster Seattle right-handed bats, this is the one. Moore also adds the bonus of being able to steal bases on occasion. And who knows, maybe he pops off like he did in April again.
Austin Martin ($): The former first-round draft pick is a part-time leadoff hitter for the Twins, but he got 21 at-bats last week as Byron Buxton transitioned back to health. Martin provides some speed stats and could add counting stats if he stays in the leadoff spot, but I’m not overspending here.
Miguel Andujar ($): Andujar was hot last week and has hit a couple of home runs since joining the Reds, but he’s not an everyday player, and the Reds are on the road this week. Those desperate for power can dabble, but I won’t be in on him this weekend.
Infielders
Paul DeJong ($$): One of the lone bright spots in the Nationals lineup at the moment, DeJong has mashed three home runs in his last five games, batting 9-for-22 over that span. As long as he continues to get full-time playing time at third base, he remains an asset in deep leagues. There’s merit to streaming him at corner infield while guys like Austin Riley and Jonathan Aranda remain on the injured list.
Blaze Alexander ($$): One of the best names in baseball has been living up to it over the past couple of weeks, where he’s been on fire from the plate. Alexander is batting 11-for-33 with three home runs over the past two weeks, batting at the bottom of the Arizona lineup. With Suarez dealt to the Mariners and Jordan Lawlar still on the mend, Alexander is making the most of his shot at playing time and could fend off Lawlar a little longer if he continues to perform – we’ve seen how reluctant the Diamondbacks are to give the prospect regular at-bats. Don’t be surprised if Alexander continues to rake with the Diamondbacks playing in Coors this weekend, and that happens to drive his price up higher. He’s a solid streaming option at the corner or middle infield spot.
Kyle Karros ($): The Rockies have introduced Karros to the major leagues, and the young bat has responded well with a handful of hits in his first taste of MLB. Unfortunately for Karros, the Rockies lineup is so bad that his counting stats are minuscule, but as long as he keeps hitting, I’m on board with scooping just about any hot Rockies bat for a week or so.
Catchers/UT
Mitch Garver ($$): As mentioned above, the Mariners face left-handed starters in five out of six games this coming week. Garver should be in action more often than not and has traditionally found success against left-handed pitching.
Adrian Del Castillo ($$): Del Castillo is getting a full-time run in Arizona as the designated hitter, earning 24 at-bats over the last seven games, which ranks third among all MLB catcher-eligible players during that span. He’ll sit against lefties, but is hitting in the middle of the Snakes lineup whenever they face a right-handed starter. There aren’t many catchers available in over 50% of 15-team, two-catcher leagues, and even fewer that are getting 20+ plate appearances a week. He’s an auto-add in places where volume at the catcher position is key.
Riley Adams ($): With Keibert Ruiz on the IL, Adams has stepped into a full-time catching role in Washington. A streaming option for those in need of volume, that’s about all that Adams offers.
Pitchers
Starting Pitchers
Luis Gil ($$$): After a Still ILL start in his return from injury, where he allowed five earned runs in three innings, Gil settled down in his next outing against the Astros, generating 15 whiffs and seven strikeouts over 5.1 innings pitched. It looks like the young Yankee arm is back to form and should be picked up in most leagues. By the time this is published, he will have pitched against the Cardinals on Friday night. If he shoves, the price will likely be pretty high. If he posts a pedestrian start or worse, the depressed price might make him even more viable for those who have spent most of the FAAB budget for the year. I’m in on Gil and willing to bid 75-80% of my remaining budget to get him if he’s still available.
Hurston Waldrep ($$$): Something’s different about Waldrep this time around. After getting shelled in a couple of spot starts last season, Waldrep has looked really solid in his pair of outings in 2025. He’ll go against the Guardians on Friday night, which could change things, but with an impending matchup with the White Sox next week, I’m very interested in his resurgent arm. The splitter is a very nice whiff pitch, and he throws it 30% of the time, while the curve and cutter mix well with a mediocre fastball. He’s flummoxed middling to below-average lineups in his first two starts this season, and I’m happy to continue to attack those kinds of matchups with Waldrep. Plus, I trust the Braves’ track record of developing their young pitching.
Cristian Javier ($$): Javier threw 85 pitches in his season debut as he earned a win over the Boston Red Sox. He allowed a first-inning two-run home run but then settled in to shut out the Red Sox over the next five innings, allowing just three hits on the day. He’s not quite the same guy we saw in 2022, but he’s not as far off from that as some might have thought he would be. The control and command were far better than what we had seen in the rehab starts, and the velocity is up to near 95 mph on the fastball again. He will throw against the Orioles over the weekend and then again next week. The matchup isn’t too scary, and if he continues to command his pitches like he did in his debut, he’s definitely worth a streaming shot, with potential to hang around on your roster.
Jose Quintana ($$): The Brewers are an absolute wagon right now. And Quintana is doing his part every fifth day to keep it that way. His WHIP is a little scary, but he’s limited offenses and induced weak contact enough times to work out of jams and keep the ERA down low enough to prompt fantasy managers into streaming his services. His next two projected starts come against the Giants and Diamondbacks – two lineups that I’m not afraid to attack. He’s managed his way to quality starts in three of his last six appearances while allowing more than three earned runs just once since June. Available in 15-20% of 15-team leagues, he’s a guy that will be in my waterfall bids wherever he’s available.
Nestor Cortes ($): How desperate – er… brave – are you? Nasty Nestor has a two-step this coming week, with starts at home against the San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Since returning from injury, he’s posted a pair of decent starts but hasn’t gone deep enough in either one to earn a win yet, capped at around 80 pitches in both outings. The cutter/changeup combination is working, and the fastball isn’t getting completely smoked, so he’s seeing some success. The start against the Giants on Monday is a solid matchup, but against the Dodgers on Sunday is kind of scary. Maybe it rains in Southern California sometime this week, and he only faces the Giants? Not sure we should be hoping that a two-start gets rained out, but in this case, that might be the best scenario.
Relief Pitchers
Phil Maton ($$$): Acquired from the Cardinals at the deadline, Maton has emerged as the top closer candidate for the Rangers after a long season of floundering between guys. From Luke Jackson to Chris Martin to Robert Garcia, it appears that Bochy has finally settled on Maton as his ninth-inning guy. Although he allowed four earned runs and took the loss on Wednesday night against the Diamondbacks, Maton should be considered a solid option for saves the rest of the way. He’s one of the only closers available in 15-20% of 15-team leagues and ought to be a hot commodity this week.
Keegan Akin ($$): Akin has earned the Orioles only two save appearances since the trade deadline after Félix Bautista went down with an injury. It wouldn’t be shocking to see the non-contending Orioles shut Bautista down for the season and allow Akin to take over as the ninth-inning guy the rest of the way. Being that he is a lefty, there may be nights where he’s called upon for an eighth-inning matchup to lock up a high-leverage spot before the ninth, but he should be Baltimore’s default closer when those kinds of situations don’t arise.
Will Vest ($$): Vest earned each of the Tigers’ past two saves this week, sharing the role with deadline acquisition Kyle Finnegan. Available in nearly 25% of 15-team leagues, Vest is part of a closer committee for one of the best teams in baseball. I would prefer to scoop him over Akin and would be tempted to put him at the top of my closer waterfalls. However, I just can’t bring myself to trust the Tigers to remain consistent with their back-end bullpen. They’ve been a struggle to nail down all season, and I think it continues with this two-man crew the rest of the way.
