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
Jonah Cox (SFG) – OF (Yahoo – 8%)
If you’re reading this article, you’re likely either locked in a championship matchup or looking to salvage third place. And you might need a guy to help tip the balance for you in just one or two categories. So let’s look at some specialists who might be able to move the needle in your favor.
Jonah Cox made a lot of noise in the Minor Leagues before San Fran called him up, batting .400 in AA with the Richmond Flying Squirrels. Cox is blessed with 30.1 ft/s foot speed, which puts him in Witt/Elly territory, and helps him grind hits out of grounders to the left side. Cox stole a pair of bases on Wednesday night and should be able to nab a couple more now that he’s leading off most nights for the Giants.
Grab if you need: Batting Average, Steals
Christian Encarnacion-Strand (BAL) – 1B,3B (Yahoo – 9%)
CES has provided a power boost to the Orioles lineup over the last couple of months, hitting a homer every 17.3 at-bats. He’s got a .505 xSLG and a 15.3% Barrel rate and is showing that he belongs with the big club in an everyday role. He’s also hitting for a decent average (.277), though I wouldn’t count on that to stick. But he was thought to be the Next Big Thing with the Reds when he was a prospect hitting balls out of AAA stadiums (basically, he was Sal Stewart before Sal Stewart came along).
You won’t find many players with 35-homer power that are less than 10% owned. And CES has been hot, with a .314/.588/.963 slash in September.
Grab if you need: Home Runs, RBIs
Joey Ortiz (MIL) – 3B,SS (Yahoo – 6%)
Ortiz is one of those players that just quietly clocks in each day, a true product of the Brewers’ system. He was pretty mediocre in the first half (and honestly, for much of his career), but something’s changed since the All-Star Break and is only now getting attention. Ortiz has been a top-10 hitter in average over the span, with a .338 average and a .946 OPS.
Ortiz credits his success to ’simplifying things’ at the plate, but he’s long dealt with a neck inflammation injury that cratered his numbers last year. He might finally be over it and is playing like he did the first half of 2024, when he carried an .801 OPS and a 37% OBP.
Grab if you need: Batting Average, Runs
Brett Bateman (TOR) – OF (Yahoo – 9%)
Bateman’s come out of nowhere (he was Toronto’s 20th-rated prospect) to lead off every day for the Blue Jays, and it’s…working out pretty well! In 69 PA’s in September (he’s getting a lot of volume), he’s getting on base 42% of the time and has scored 13 runs in 16 games (which is a 130-run pace over 162). He’s got five multi-hit games this month and has gone hitless in just three.
The Chicago Cubs traded away Bateman for Kevin Gausman on August 2nd, and they might regret the move. Toronto decided that after a couple of games in AAA, Bateman belonged in their lineup. And on the day he was called up, he rocketed a double off Zack Wheeler.
Bateman’s also got 70-grade speed though he only has three steals so far, but he hasn’t been caught and could chip in a couple more the rest of the way.
Grab if you need: Batting Average, Steals, Runs
Ben Joyce (LAA) – RP (Yahoo – 16%)
Fun fact: even though Joyce’s first game was on August 5th after recovering from a shoulder injury, he’s now the season-long Saves leader for the Angels. A dominant arm when he’s healthy, Joyce averages 99.3 on the gun with a 30% Whiff rate. He gives up a fair number of fly balls, but many are pop-ups, and his Hard-Hit rate’s in the 95th percentile.
Joyce only throws three pitches: a fastball, sinker, and a slider. The fastball has a .161 batting average against, and the sinker (which he throws 34% of the time against lefties) has a .111 BAA. As for the slider? No one’s gotten a hit on it all season.
Sure, the Angels have one of MLB’s worst records. But they’ve got a series against the Twins this weekend before facing the Athletics and Mariners next week. They should be leading a few of those going into the ninth, and Joyce should be able to pick up a couple of chances the rest of the way.
*Update: Joyce got an opportunity for a save last night but gave up a game-tying homer. Still, the Angels don’t really have another closer, so he should still be the guy.
Grab if you need: Saves, Ks
Yahoo and ESPN Most Added Players
Yahoo!
This late in the season, it’s basically streamers-only at the top of the transaction trends. If you’re chasing a couple of ever-elusive Wins, there are lots of pitchers to roll the dice on.
I’m usually not high on Erick Fedde, who has a first-percentile Chase rate and strikes out just 15% of hitters. He had a decent outing last night and could have come away with a W had the White Sox not pulled him before he finished the fifth inning (he was at 89 pitches).
Next on the list is Walbert Ureña. To which I must ask: how is he not 90% owned at this point? Ureña’s been a tremendous pitcher all season with an ERA under 3 and nearly a strikeout per inning. At just age 22, he’s utilizing a four-pitch mix effectively and has a devastating change-up that he throws about 35% of the time. If you didn’t get a chance to own him this year, he’s a prime target as a 2027 breakout.
Justin Wrobleski was another hot target, but given he’s been limited to the bullpen lately, it was no surprise that he lasted just three innings against the Reds (though he pitched very effectively). If he can stay in the rotation next season, Wrobleski should be another breakout candidate (though you could say he broke out for much of this season).
If you have Kyle Harrison on your roster, you shouldn’t at this point. He’s been demoted to the ‘pen and something is clearly wrong here, as he’s been absolutely shelled in his last couple of appearances. Hopefully he can fix things soon, if he does he’s a great buy-low candidate in ’27
It’s also obvious Seth Lugo hasn’t been his best this season, with a WHIP of nearly 1.5 and most of his metrics in the lowest tenth percentile. I always liked him in points leagues given he could get you 200 innings, but though he might hit 180 this year, those innings come with an ERA over 5. I would only stream him in the best of matchups, and against the Astros wasn’t one of them (and he gets the White Sox next week).
ESPN
Ureña tops ESPN’s list, as he absolutely should. But Aaron Nola’s also a solid name here. Tagged for years as someone who will kill your ratios, Nola’s been impressive since the All-Star Break and has a 2.03 ERA and 1.05 WHIP in September. He struck out 41 batters over 34 innings in August and picked up three wins that month. If your league goes through next week, he’s still worth keeping even against the Brewers.
Tyler Mahle’s got a 1.25 ERA and 0.92 WHIP since moving to the Braves midseason, and frankly looks like a different pitcher. He’s been using Sean Murphy as his personal catcher and simplified his pitch usage to just his fastball and splitter (‘Going with what works’, as he puts it). Luck’s been a bit of a factor here, admittedly, but he’s clearly happier with his situation and thriving.
Taj Bradley is getting close to being universally owned on both platforms (he’s 81% rostered on Yahoo), and while the results are up and down, he’s always good for strikeouts. He should get the Giants in San Fran in his last start, a great place to pitch in.
Streaming Pitchers
Check out Nick Pollack’s SP Streamer Rankings for the complete breakdown on every start for the next few days. There are two pitchers to highlight.
Randy Dobnak (KCR) – SP (Yahoo – 9%) @ PIT
Dobnak’s been a little unlucky in September, with a WHIP below 1 but an ERA over 5. Still, his season-long ERA is under 3 after eleven starts. A ground-ball specialist who leans on a sinker 40% of the time, Dobnak gets the weak-hitting Pirates in their home park and has gone at least six innings in three of his last four appearances. He should be able to keep the ball in the yard and net you a handful of K’s.
Andrew Alvarez (WSH) – SP (Yahoo – 14%) @ STL
Alvarez is much better than his 2-6 Win-Loss record suggests, with a 3.35 ERA and 99 K’s in 102 IP. He throws his curveball more than any other pitch and sometimes has trouble locating it, but hitters are batting .165 with a .218 SLG off it and have a 33.5% Whiff rate. Hitters are barreling him just over 5% of the time and he too has an excellent ground-ball rate. He also draws a solid pitcher draw in Cooper Hjerpe for the Cardinals, so the Nats should be able to give him run support.
