Welcome to the Waiver Wire Picks, our daily fantasy baseball article that looks at the best players in baseball that you should be adding to your rosters. We’ll look at the players that are likely to be available in most leagues, as well as some deep league waiver wire options, and we’ll also look at the most added players in fantasy baseball across the major sites, and let you know which players to add and which you can leave on the wire.
Top Priority Players to Add
Christian Encarnacion-Strand (BAL) – 1B, 3B (Yahoo! – 10%)
It’s been so long since Encarnacion-Strand was on the fantasy radar that his acronym has fallen by the wayside. But CES is showing new life with his new team. He got the call from Triple-A on July 18th after a strong half-season in the minors where he posted a .848 OPS with 19 HR in 71 games. He’s matching that success with the Orioles, with an .854 OPS and 6 HR in 24 games.
The question for Encarnacion-Strand throughout his career has always been if his strikeout issues would outweigh his raw power. CES made his debut for Cincinnati in 2023 after crushing the upper minors. While his K% was a high 28.6%, he still managed a .270 batting average and 13 HR in 63 games, thanks to the excellent contact he made. The following two seasons saw his batting average plummet to just under .200 as the quality of his contact cratered. His barrel rate dropped, his groundball rate ballooned, and his results went from good to terrible. He missed most of 2024 to injury and struggled to find his form in 2025.
Now, he looks a lot like his 2023 self. He still strikes out plenty, but he’s hitting the ball hard enough to make it work. I’m not sure what’s making the difference for him, but he’s a different hitter than he was last year without a doubt. Maybe it’s the new glasses, à la Max Muncy. If you need a slugger for your playoff push, you have your man. This is the version of CES that deserves the acronym.
Tanner Scott (LAD) – RP (Yahoo! – 46%)
It’s pretty easy to make a case for picking up Scott. He has the closing job in the wake of Edwin Díaz’s latest injury. Dave Roberts has demonstrated that he’s comfortable using Scott as a true closer (as long as Díaz isn’t around). A 2.20 ERA, a 0.92 WHIP, 11.39 K/9, and a 5.64 K/BB are about as good as you could hope for from a closer off the waiver wire. He might not be Mason Miller, but Scott could be the last good closer available on the wire before the playoffs. That’s probably an overstatement — especially with Justin Martinez and Daniel Palencia returning from the IL this week — but Scott is as sure a thing as you’re likely to see in terms of walking immediately into a clean full-time role.
Yahoo! and ESPN Most Added Players
Yahoo!
Tyler Mahle had yet another stellar outing against the Twins, earning a quality start but taking the loss. He’s definitely the pitcher of this group to target.
Eric Lauer survived Five Innings at Coors, ceding four runs but walking away with the win. His job in the starting rotation should be safe with Justin Wrobleski injured, but Emmet Sheehan could end up taking his place instead.
Five innings, three earned runs, and the loss against the Pirates last night for Keider Montero. He’s a fine pitcher for 12-team leagues, but you can likely do better elsewhere.
Kyle Leahy is in a similar boat as Montero: he’s fine; check the List first for better options.
Christian Encarnacion-Strand was a priority pickup above.
ESPN
See the Yahoo! section above for Tyler Mahle, Kyle Leahy, and Keider Montero.
Carlos Rodón is criminally under-rostered after returning from the injured list. He’s a great pitcher with an excellent track record, and he shouldn’t be available on any waiver wire.
It was a solid bounceback effort for Kyle Harrison last night against the Mariners. He’s been phenomenal all season, and I wouldn’t let his disastrous start last week scare you off.
Streaming Pitchers
Check out Nick Pollack’s SP Streamer Rankings for a complete breakdown of every start over the next few days.
Today (Wednesday): Walbert Ureña (LAA) (46% on Yahoo!) Ureña’s starts keep lining up on Wednesday or Thursday, so I’ll keep recommending him. He has a 2.67 ERA on the season, and I see no reason to doubt him now.
Tomorrow (Thursday): Anthony Kay (CWS) (15% on Yahoo!) I’m not too excited about any of tomorrow’s options, but I’ll go with Kay, who has a 3.38 ERA in his last seven starts.
