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Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Picks: 8/21

Scoop up these players off your waiver wire.

Kyle McCarthy
Waiver Wire 8/21/2025

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 players you can leave on the wire.

 

Top Priority Players to Add

 

Nolan McLean (NYM), SP (30% owned in Yahoo!)

McLean had an excellent debut last Saturday against the Mariners, throwing 5.1 scoreless innings with two hits and four walks while striking out eight. The four walks were a tad high, but he looked super impressive and comfortable on the mound. He has a legit six-pitch mix with a curveball that nears 3400 RPM.

 

The right-hander had a 126 Stuff+ at Triple-A this season, which was the best among the top pitching prospects. The command is still an area to watch for him in starts, but he looked very polished and is set to stick in the Mets’ rotation. With a great pitcher’s park and lineup for support, his promising profile, he should be added in all 12-team formats.

Cade Cavalli (WAS), SP (10% owned in Yahoo!)

Cavalli has made three starts in the big leagues and has passed the eye test. He’s allowed four runs to go with a 14:4 K:BB ratio in 16.1 innings. The right-hander throws hard (97.5 mph fastball), and has four other pitchers that rate as above average or better by Stuff+. While his lack of strong command will lead to the occasional blowup, the walk rate hasn’t been crippling in the minors. The stuff is good enough to make him interesting, and gambling on if you need pitching.

Jordan Beck (COL), OF (30% owned in Yahoo!)

Beck has been a solid player for fantasy purposes this year, ranking 39th among outfielders in Fangraphs’ 5×5 12-team Player Rater. He’s put together an interesting blend of power, contact, and speed slashing .272/.336/.451 with 14 homers and 14 steals this season. He’s still striking out a good bit at 27.8%, but he combats it with strong contact quality.

 

Yahoo! and ESPN Most Added Players

 

Hurston Waldrep has figured things out in the majors as he twirled another gem Wednesday against the White Sox. He’s been unlocked as he’s moved away from his four-seamer in favor of a cutter while also pushing his splitter usage. The splitter is his best pitch, and it led the way again in this outing. He threw it 35 times out of his 87 pitches, generating eight whiffs on 31 swings.

José Caballero is typically in a utility role for the Yankees, but has gotten more consistent run lately as he’s been productive at the plate. He hit two of his four homers on the season in Tuesday’s win over the Rays.

Bubba Chandler has at last been promoted to the majors in Pittsburgh. Unfortunately, he’ll be pitching out of the bullpen for the time being. He’s one of the top arms in the minors and is still worth an add everywhere, even with the usage concerns.

Cam Schlittler spun a gem Wednesday against the Rays, allowing only one hit and two walks while striking out eight in 6.2 innings. The rookie righty was perfect through six innings before Chandler Simpson led off the bottom of the seventh with a single.

Riley O’Brien looks to be in the mix for saves now with the departure of Ryan Helsley. He’s earned two saves compared to JoJo Romero’s three since the deadline. O’Brien feels like the better bet between the two, with a higher strikeout rate and Stuff+ than Romero.

 

Jacob Lopez has sustained his success for a while now, holding a 2.64 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, and a 31% strikeout rate in 75 innings since June. With one of the lower fastball velocities at 90.8 mph, his 31% strikeout rate in that span trails only Paul Skenes, Logan Gilbert, Tarik Skubal, Garrett Crochet, and Zack Wheeler.

Miguel Andujar is hitting .395/.458/.674 with three homers in 14 games since getting traded to Cincinnati. It’s a favorable home environment for the third baseman, and he is a quality hot-hand add.

Jakob Marsee was called up at the start of August and has done nothing but mash. He’s led baseball in almost everything in this time, hitting .367/.443/.767 with four homers and six steals in 70 plate appearances. The Marlins’ number 10 prospect isn’t this good, but he’s worth adding in most standard formats after a run like this.

 

Streaming Pitchers

 

Check out Nick’s daily SP streaming article!

Zebby Matthews (MIN), SP (19% owned in Yahoo!)

Matthews gets a favorable matchup against the White Sox in Chicago on Friday. He just allowed four walks in his most recent outing against the Tigers, the most in any start in his big league career. The young right-hander’s ERA still sits over 5.00 for the year, but he’s maintained positive underlying metrics with a 22.7 K-BB% and 3.22 SIERA. Matthews has the ability to put things together, and it just feels like a matter of time.

While the White Sox have been solid against right-handed pitching with the 10th most runs scored against them since July, Matthews should bounce back in this one and deliver an effective outing. He hasn’t completed six frames in a start since July 25 against the Nationals, which hopefully changes.

 

Deep League Players to Watch

 

Brett Baty (NYM), 2B, 3B (5% owned in Yahoo!)

Baty has started eight of the Mets’ last nine games while alternating between second and third base recently. He’s seemingly gained the upper hand on Ronny Mauricio for playing time. Starting against a lefty from time to time, Baty is hitting .281/.347/.484 with a 12.2% barrel rate and 22.2% strikeout rate in 72 plate appearances over his last 30 games. He’s a player with a prospect pedigree that is worth keeping an eye on.

 

Luis Morales (ATH), SP (2% owned in Yahoo!)

Morales is a player I highlighted here a few weeks ago when he was still in the minors. He’s since appeared in three games with the Athletics (two as a starter) and allowed only two runs in 9.2 innings with nine strikeouts. However, he’s been a tad wild with eight walks as well. He boasts a slider with an excellent shape by Stuff+, grading out at 140. It’s a tough home ballpark for a pitcher to come up and pitch in, but Morales has stuff that makes him intriguing.

 

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Kyle McCarthy

Kyle is an avid sports fan and stats appreciator. He is a die-hard Washington Commanders fan.

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