In weekly FAAB leagues, your waiver wire claims have likely already been processed. Our FAAB Insights articles are great sources for finding targets ahead of weekly waiver deadlines.
Here, you will find players you can pick up if you have daily waiver claims or if you are able to pick up players throughout the week.
With many leagues finishing up playoffs this week, your player acquisition strategy may need to change. In keeper or dynasty leagues, any player who you are not keeping should be in consideration to be dropped for a player who is performing well. Pay attention to hot streaks, some of which will be highlighted below. And make sure to take advantage of matchups.
For batters, there are several teams to consider avoiding when searching for waiver adds this week. The White Sox, Royals, Mets, Athletics, Giants, and Blue Jays have some tough matchups. The Yankees begin the week facing the Jays’ pitching staff, but wrap up against an easier opponent in the Royals. The Dodgers begin the week in Colorado for an excellent matchup, but face a more challenging pitching staff in San Francisco to end the season.
As far as hitters to target, the Reds have a great matchup with St. Louis at the end of the week. The Twins would also be a great team to add players from with solid matchups all week.
Also, thank you so much for those who have read these articles week after week and interacted with questions and comments. You are appreciated!
These are players you should consider adding from the waiver wire for matchup number 26 who are available in 60% or fewer of ESPN leagues.
Catcher
Logan O’Hoppe (C – LAA) 8% Rostered
Over the last seven days as of writing, Logan O’Hoppe has a disappointing .200 AVG. However, he has two homers, three runs, and four RBI. On the season, O’Hoppe has 12 home runs, 17 runs, 26 RBI, and a .220 AVG.
O’Hoppe makes for a great waiver option for the final week of the season. He has some moderately appealing matchups against Texas before facing off against Oakland over the weekend. While Oakland’s park leans more pitcher-friendly, Globe Life Field in Texas is among the top half of the league in hitter-friendly parks, especially for righty batters.
All of this should play into O’Hoppe’s strengths, which include hitting the ball hard and mashing home runs. Here is his latest:
https://x.com/LockedOnAngels/status/1705411639703646413?s=20
O’Hoppe has incredible hard contact, including a 90.9 average exit velocity that would rank third among catchers if he qualified. He also has a 16% barrel rate and a 47% HardHit rate that would rank first and second respectively among catchers if he qualified. Those sorts of numbers, combined with a 47% flyball rate and a 21% HR/FB rate have led to his 12 home runs in just 44 games.
Any fantasy managers dissatisfied with their catcher should consider adding O’Hoppe from the waiver wire.
Honorable Mention: Luis Campusano (8%), Gabriel Moreno (7%), Yainer Diaz (20%)
Corner Infield
Christian Encarnacion-Strand (1B/3B – CIN) 9% Rostered
Christian Encarnacion-Strand has three home runs, four runs, seven RBI, and a .368 AVG over the last seven days as of writing. He has been on fire and has earned more playing time with several of his teammates struggling. On the season, he is up to 10 homers, 23 runs, 31 RBI, two steals, and a .278 AVG.
Encarnacion-Strand has an excellent shot at improving on those numbers later in the week. Early in the week, he has a tougher matchup against the Cleveland rotation. Over the weekend, though, he will face Jake Woodfoord, Drew Rom, and Zack Thompson in St. Louis. Those pitchers have 5.09, 6.92, and 4.57 ERAs respectively. Add CES now!
Encarnacion-Strand has flashed elite power this season, with a 10% barrel rate and a 49% HardHit rate. That HH rate would tie him for 20th overall with Adolis García if CES had enough plate appearances to qualify. His hard contact is a major reason why he has tallied 10 homers in just over a third of a season’s worth of games. On top of that, our PLV data shows just how elite his power has been:
This also shows how he has been improving throughout the season.
CES is on a hot streak, has earned more playing time, and is only getting better. This is prime time to add him from the waiver wire wherever he is available.
Honorable Mention: Ke’Bryan Hayes (29%), Jake Burger (17%), Ryan O’Hearn (12%), Jared Triolo (1%), Brandon Drury (28%), Harold Ramírez (15%), Junior Caminero (5%), Josh Jung (46%),
Middle Infield
Kyle Farmer (2B/SS/3B – MIN) 1% Rostered
As of writing, Kyle Farmer has five runs, three RBI, a steal, and a .318 AVG over the last seven days. He has 11 home runs, 47 runs, 41 RBI, two steals, and a .253 AVG this season.
Not only has Farmer been hot over the last week, but he also has excellent matchups this week at home against Oakland and in Colorado. While Target Field in Minnesota is more friendly to pitchers, Coors Field in Colorado is the most hitter-friendly park in baseball for right-handed contact hitters. That should play into Farmer’s strengths quite well. Just look at his Contact PLV data:
This shows a hitter with elite contact ability that has improved over the season. For fantasy managers looking especially for some help with batting average in the last week of the season, Farmer is your guy.
His 79% contact rate would rank him in the top-10 for shortstops and third basemen, and top-15 for second basemen if he had enough PAs to qualify.
Farmer is widely available and should be a waiver wire consideration for this week.
Honorable Mention: Jon Berti (3%), Miles Mastrobuoni (0%), CJ Abrams (33%), Luis García (7%), Ezequiel Tovar (12%), J.P. Crawford (26%), Brendan Rodgers (11%)
Outfield
Evan Carter (OF – TEX) 8% Rostered and Matt Wallner (OF – MIN) 1%
Matt Wallner has just a run and two RBI with a .250 AVG over the last seven days. On the season, though, he is up to 12 home runs, 35 runs, 35 RBI, two steals, and a .240 AVG.
Evan Carter has been scorching hot for the Rangers over the last seven days. During that span, he has two home runs, six runs, five RBI, a steal, and a .353 AVG. That takes his stat line to three homers, 12 runs, eight RBI, three steals, and a .325 AVG across 15 games this season.
Carter’s best matchups come earlier in the week against the Angels before he faces the Mariners. And Wallner’s best matchups come later in the week when the Twins go to Colorado. If you have daily pickups, consider streaming an outfield spot with Carter and Wallner.
After performing well at AA and AAA, Carter has continued to look great in the majors. He has a 10% barrel rate and a 42% HardHit rate that would rank 17th and 22nd among outfielders if he qualified. He has driven and pulled the ball well, with 25% and 50% rates respectively. Carter has also been hard to fool, with just a 12% chase rate.
Carter also has the speed to pick up some steals after tallying more than 20 in both 2022 and this season in the minors. As he picks up more hits, he should get a chance to swipe a few more bags – that is, unless he keeps hitting triples like this one:
https://x.com/ProspectTimes/status/1703946959868797142?s=20
As for Wallner, he is in Minnesota’s lineup nearly every single day. And with his hard contact, he should get fantasy managers a few homers while playing in Colorado. He has a 16% barrel rate and a 47% HardHit rate that would rank first and 17th respectively among outfielders if he qualified. He has a 47% FB rate and a 20% HR/FB rate, so as long as he continues putting balls in the air, they should keep leaving the park.
Wallner has a .273 AVG against righty pitchers this season and will likely face two righties while playing at Coors. Considering Wallner’s PLV Power data seen below, combined with his hard contact ability, he makes for a good pickup:
If you are not in a weekly league, alternating between these two outfielders could be a winning strategy for this week. Consider both players from the waiver wire.
Honorable Mention: Mark Canha (17%), Nolan Jones (36%), Willi Castro (8%), Ji Hwan Bae (2%), Chas McCormick (29%), Josh Lowe (47%), TJ Friedl (21%), Johan Rojas (1%), Joshua Palacios (0%), Jack Suwinski (8%), Connor Joe (2%), Brenton Doyle (0%), Sal Frelick (8%)
Starting Pitcher
Braxton Garrett (SP – MIA) 42% Rostered
Yes, Braxton Garrett may be rostered in your league already. If he is not, scoop him up immediately. If he is rostered already, check the honorable mention starting pitchers for this week. I cherry-picked some of my favorite pitching matchups for you to target.
As for Garrett, he has two excellent matchups against the Mets and Pirates. Both teams are terrible against lefty pitchers, which makes Garrett even more enticing. The Mets have the fifth-worst AVG against LHPs, and the Pirates have the seventh-worst AVG. The Pirates also have the second most strikeouts against LHPs, while the Mets have the ninth most.
On that note, Garrett has an 8.9 K/9 rate this season after tallying a 9.2 rate last season. He also has the fourth-lowest BB/9 rate at 1.5 among all qualified starters.
Garrett has also been elite at both stranding runners and inducing groundballs. He ranks 14th in LOB rate at 76% and ranks sixth with a 49% GB rate among qualified starters. He also has a 3.53 ERA – 15th best among qualified starters – while possessing a 3.36 xFIP, good for seventh best.
The Pirates have a hitter-friendly park, while the Mets have one of the most pitcher-friendly parks in baseball. If you are limited by innings, the Mets present a slightly better matchup for Garrett and should be the priority.
If he keeps leaning on his slider, which our PLA data grades as his best pitch – well above average – he should have no problem against either of his matchups this week:
Garrett’s slider has a .170 batting average against, a 41% whiff rate, and a 23% putaway rate. Among pitchers who have thrown a slider in at least 100 PAs, Evan Phillips, Tyler Glasnow, Shane McClanahan, Blake Snell, and Fernando Cruz are the only pitchers who have a better BAA, whiff rate, and putaway rate on a slider than Garrett. Here is Garrett’s slider in action:
https://x.com/PitchingNinja/status/1704286119829942305?s=20
With top-notch matchups, elite stuff, and skills that rank among the best in the game, Garrett should be a waiver-wire priority for this week.
Honorable Mention: Grayson Rodriguez vs WAS (42%), Mike Clevinger vs SD (38%), Cal Quantrill at DET (12%), Reese Olson vs KC (10%), Sawyer Gipson-Long vs KC (14%), Cole Ragans at DET (46%), Patrick Sandoval vs OAK (27%), Kenta Maeda vs OAK (18%), Bailey Ober at OAK (25%), Clarke Schmidt at KC (12%), Cristopher Sanchez at NYM (15%),
Relief Pitcher
With so many of the top relievers already on rosters, here are a few relatively off-the-radar options for you, along with their ESPN roster percentage.
- PHI José Alvarado – 14%
- BOS Chris Martin – 4%
- KC James McArthur – 1%
- NYM Adam Ottavino – 8%
- KC Taylor Clarke – 0%
- DET Will Vest – 2%