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
Cristian Javier (HOU), SP (22% owned in Yahoo)
Javier is all the way back after tossing six no-hit innings in his most recent outing against the Angels. The right-hander looks to be pretty much back to form and perhaps even better. He’s showing the best four-seam Stuff+ of his career (114) and slider (136). Javier is most known for that two-pitch combination over his career, but has now expanded his arsenal more as he has aged. He’s throwing a sinker exclusively to righties this year, a noteworthy adjustment and one that teammate Hunter Brown did before going on a major heater last season.
Cristian Javier, Dirty 79mph Knuckle Curve…and Sword. ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/94G3ynz1a8
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 12, 2025
He’s seemingly pretty close to fully stretched out after getting to 85 pitches last outing. There’s a clear track record of success with Javier over an extended period of time, holding a career 3.59 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, and a 17.3% K-BB. While things may not be as clean while he’s returning, he is clearly worth adding and can help your pitching as the season closes out.
Payton Tolle (BOS), SP (32% owned in Yahoo)
Tolle looks like a pitcher with outlier characteristics from his fastball. The 6’6″ lefty gets to 7.5 feet of extension (99th percentile) and bumps 96 MPH heaters consistently from a 5.5 foot release height. Hitters went 1-for-13 with a 37.5% whiff rate against it in his debut. He mixed in five other pitches around the big fastball usage, but nothing stood out too much from them. Tolle has an exciting profile with a heavy amount of strikeouts and figures to stick in the Boston rotation for the forseeable future.
All 8 Of Payton Tolle Ks from his MLB Debut pic.twitter.com/ZwzoaROIS2
— Lucasparmenter23 (@Lucasparmenter0) August 30, 2025
Isaac Collins (MIL), OF (18% owned in Yahoo)
Collins still hasn’t latched on in too many leagues despite continuing to produce unexpectedly. He’s currently ranked 51st among outfielders in Fangraphs’ 12 12-team 5×5 Player Rater. Since June, he’s hitting 296/.393/.478 with seven homers and nine stolen bases, and his 145 wRC+ is 13th highest among qualified hitters in that span.
Isaac Collins – Milwaukee Brewers (9)
pic.twitter.com/nts0tphwwS— MLB HR Videos (@MLBHRVideos) September 4, 2025
Kyle Teel (CWS), C (17% owned in Yahoo)
Teel has had a really good rookie season, hitting .290/.388/.421 (130 wrC+) with five homers in 215 PAs. The quality of contact has been solid for the young backstop, and his patented patience from the minor leagues has ported over seamlessly. The power ceiling doesn’t project to be massive, but he is likely to be a steady catcher for a while.
Yahoo and ESPN Most Added Players
Jeremiah Jackson has been one of the most productive hitters in the league since coming up at the start of August, hitting .333/.358/.539 (148 wRC+) with four homers. He’s shown strong contact quality during this stretch and has a history of stealing some bags in the minors. He’s a decent pick-up in 15-team formats.
Ryan Bergert was streamed against at home against the Angels on Wednesday and shut them down, allowing only one run on one hit, and three walks while striking out six over five innings in a no-decision. He continues his hot streak, lowering his season ERA to 2.61 and WHIP to 1.09.
Zebby Matthews was a popular streamer against the White Sox on Wednesday, and he delivered, allowing one run on three hits and two walks with two strikeouts across six innings in a no-decision. He’s started to right the ship after a rocky start, and will look to finish strong for fantasy managers with a two-start week next week, starting with the Angels.
Trent Grisham hit two grand slams in four games in the past week and is on his way to a career season. He’s hitting .246/.355/.480 with 29 homers and has been one of the more under-the-radar waiver gems of the season. He’s 31st among outfielders in the 12-team Player Rater, right behind Wyatt Langford and a few spots ahead of Mookie Betts.
Jack Leiter pitched well in Arizona on Wednesday, but took the loss. He struck out eight while allowing two runs across six innings. The 25 year old has been pitching quite well for an extended stretch dating back to late June. He has a 3.13 ERA since June 22, which is a top 20 mark for starting pitchers in that span (minimum 60 innings).
Nolan McLean continues to shine each time out. He has all the makings of someone we take highly in drafts next season.
Nolan McLean, K’ing the Side…
And freaking out Jason Benetti:
“What was THAT??!” 🤣 pic.twitter.com/KgXti5DS6y
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) September 3, 2025
Jonah Tong may not be far behind his teammate, with him sticking in the rotation. It was a strong debut for the right-hander, allowing one run with six strikeouts in five innings.
Tim Lincecum vs. Jonah Tong. pic.twitter.com/lOpe0ynvqv
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 30, 2025
Luis Morales was someone I touted as a player to watch in deep leagues a while back because of his great stuff numbers in the minor leagues. He’s come up to the majors and mowed hitters down, holding a 1.59 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, and a 27% strikeout rate in 28.1 innings. The home ballpark makes it tricky at times, and it’s a shaky fastball, but there’s some intrigue with Morales.
Luis Morales, Wicked 83mph Sweeper…and Sword. ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/1o3qrW4Vi1
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) September 1, 2025
Mark Vientos has caught fire since August, hitting .267/.330/.628 (160 wRC+) with eight homers. It’s come on premium contact quality, with the third-best barrel rate (20.9%) and 10th-best hard-hit rate (56.7%). Vientos positively improved his strikeout rate and underlying contact metrics for much of this season, but the results were poor. He’s back to whiffing a ton and slgging during this stretch,
Streaming Pitchers
Check out Nick’s daily SP streaming article!
J.T. Ginn (ATH), SP, RP (6% owned in Yahoo)
Despite allowing five runs in his last outing against the Rangers, Ginn reached six innings in a start for the second time this season. He’s racked up 15 strikeouts in his last two starts, but has still conceded damage. He draws Los Angeles on the road on Saturday, and they’ve been one of the worst offenses against right-handers in the second half. Their .660 OPS is third-worst, and their 119 runs scored is second to last, ahead of only the Astros.
Since the All-Star Break, the Angels have struck out 364 times against right-handers. The next closest team is the Cardinals at 302. The difference from first to second is the same as the difference between second and 21st, with the Brewers at 241. The Angels are incredibly reliant on the long ball, and ideally, with a sinker-baller like Ginn, we can get the best of both with some strikeouts and limited damage.
