Welcome to the Waiver Wire Picks, our daily fantasy baseball article highlighting the best players to add to your rosters. We’ll look at players who are likely to be available in most leagues, as well as some deep league waiver-wire options. We’ll also look at the most-added players in fantasy baseball across the major sites and tell you who to add and who to leave on the wire.
Top Priority Players to Add
Spencer Jones (NYY) – OF (Yahoo – 29%)
Jones has a lot of things going for him. He’s tall, fast, swings the bat extraordinarily hard, and has an affinity for barrels (15.8%). He also has a pretty good glove that will keep him in the Yankee lineup. However, strikeouts could prove to be his downfall. His 35.9% K rate would rank dead last among qualified hitters. And his 37.8% chase rate doesn’t provide optimism either. But we’ll worry about that in the offseason. In the meantime, he has produced well enough (.767 OPS / 113 wRC+) and starts the week with a can’t-miss explosion spot in the Bronx, teeing off against the most beleaguered staff in baseball: the Rockies. His matchups against the Mets this weekend (McLean, Thornton, Scott) aren’t ideal, but I’d still take my chances given that it’s in Yankee Stadium, and especially with Judge back. Words cannot express how much better the Yankee lineup is with him in it.
Mason Montgomery (PIT) – SP, RP (Yahoo – 40%)
Montgomery closed the door on the Halos Sunday for his tenth save. He also has a stupid-good 37.9% K rate. Please don’t let this man sit on waivers. I’m begging you.
Justin Martinez (ARI) – RP (Yahoo – 5%)
Martinez’s fastball velocity has been off the charts, and he has not allowed an earned run since returning from the IL on August 18th. He earned his first win yesterday, working a clean ninth in a 5-4 ten-inning victory over the Royals. Yes, he has been a little wild (16.7% BB%), but it kinda sorta feels like his first save is right around the corner.
Emmet Sheehan (LAD) – SP (Yahoo – 49%)
Sheehan’s struggles this year were well-documented (5.29 ERA). But he took an important step past it last night, holding the Reds to one earned run across five and two-thirds innings while striking out ten (18 whiffs/42 swings). The Dodgers’ rotation plans remain a mystery, but last night’s results were too good to ignore.
Will Warren (NYY) – SP (Yahoo – 45%)
We’re at the point now where every start matters. Warren has had a pretty forgettable season (4.16 ERA / 1.38 WHIP) but looked great in his most recent start against the Red Sox on August 30th and got five outs in support of Fried this Friday. Up next? A start today against the Road Rockies. If he sticks, he could certainly pick up another win or two.
Yahoo and ESPN Most Added Players
Thomas Saggese made another appearance. He’s been a solid role player for the Cards (117 wRC+) and has produced lately with multi-hit efforts in five of his last seven games, not including last night’s series opener in San Francisco. His metrics are also pretty decent (109 Process). The only downside is that he’s hitting near the bottom of the order. Consider him a decent stopgap in deep leagues.
Jonah Tong’s 2026 big-league debut went alright, as he limited the Marlins to four runs on four hits through five while earning his second win. His next turn will come either this weekend against the Yankees or early next week against the Orioles. In theory, Tong has upside as a former pitching prospect. However, he also had a 12.6% BB rate across 23 starts with Triple-A Syracuse and struggled a ton in his brief stint last year. I’d let someone else roll the dice on him.
Patrick Sandoval, AKA the Irish Panda, will almost always hurt your WHIP, but the Halos have been so awful lately (70 wRC+ since 8/1) that I’d be willing to take a chance on him. And, yeah, it’s a revenge game, too.
Michael McGreevy will always give you a shot at a QS, but look elsewhere if you need K’s. Last night’s matchup at Oracle Park was a good one, but I feel far less excited about his second date this week against a White Sox lineup that ranks fifth in home runs. I’d avoid that start if possible.
Heriberto Hernández came up empty in yesterday’s matinee against Tong and the Mets. However, he has had a really nice season for the Fish, totaling a 114 wRC+ with 24 home runs and 11 SBs. His 127 Process has me feeling pretty bullish on him the rest of the way as a fifth outfielder.
Trevor Rogers earned his tenth win, holding the Guardians to one run across seven and a third innings. I’m not excited about his next matchup this weekend against the Jays at the Rogers Centre, but he’s been on too good of a roll to bench (3.46 ERA over his previous 11 starts).
J-Lo lost a QS thanks to a leadoff Okamoto home run that kickstarted a seventh-inning Jays rally. He also returned just two whiffs, which might not be too surprising since the Jays have the second-lowest K rate in baseball. Regardless, he will wrap up a two-start week against the Mariners this weekend in Sacramento. That’s a red matchup according to PLV’s team offense rankings, putting him in dice-roll territory.
Noah Cameron held the Snakes scoreless across six innings, but the bullpen let him down. He gets a tough matchup this Sunday at Fenway; you’ll gladly take it in points leagues, but in category scoring you might want to bench him if things are tight.
Nick Pivetta defied expectations last night; he needed just 63 pitches to get 15 outs while earning his second win in his first appearance since April 15th. Now that that’s out of the way, he should be rostered everywhere, especially with a good matchup on deck against the Giants.
Streaming Pitchers
Be sure to check Nick’s daily SP streamers article.
Today:
Quinn Mathews (STL) – SP (Yahoo – 7%) at SF
Not surprisingly, the lefty rookie had a forgettable outing his last time out at Dodger Stadium. However, he showed good ability in the minors (14.4% K-BB%) and has a much better matchup against the Giants at Oracle Park.
Tomorrow:
Davis Martin (CWS) – SP (Yahoo – 28%) vs. PIT
Am I excited by Davis Martin? No, not in the least bit. But the Pirates have a 78 wRC+ since August 1st, the second-lowest in baseball.
Deep League Options
Blaze Alexander (BAL) – 2B, 3B, SS, OF (Yahoo – 6%)
You’re probably best off ignoring any Oriole not named Alonso. Nonetheless, Alexander has started each of the last six games. However, the Orioles have faced five consecutive left-handers, so it might be a scheduling fluke. Regardless, Alexander has done just enough to monitor (10 SB, .769 OPS).
Jonah Cox (SF) – OF (Yahoo – 10%)
Like Alexander, Cox’s playing time seems uncertain; he sat against two right-handers on 9/2 and 9/4. However, the 25-year-old rookie also stole 34 bases in the minors across 55 games.
