Even though fantasy baseball leagues are indeed a marathon and not a sprint, it’s time to lean on the gas — we’re approaching the finish line. Category needs are mostly clear, and with league trade deadlines behind us, the waiver wire is the last remaining source of hope. Sharp baseball managers will stay laser focused on playing time, while others lose sight to the siren song of fantasy football. That gap in attention is the exploitable edge, and a little due diligence is all it takes.
These are my favorite adds at each position, as well as rankings of next week’s two-start pitchers. Please prioritize the positional lists over the featured player write-ups. I’m trying to avoid covering the same players more than once, and I don’t want any extra focus to be misconstrued as personal preference. Away we go!
Top waiver-wire hitter options
Catcher: Yainer Diaz, HOU
Sometimes all it takes to find a second-half star is remembering an old familiar face. After three straight seasons as a top-10 hitting backstop, Diaz fell sharply from fantasy favor when his power metrics took a nosedive to career-lows this season (30.9% Hard Hit, 5.6% Barrel). However, there are always two halves of every season. Diaz is MLB’s No. 3 catcher over the past two weeks, looking eerily similar to that former top-100 fantasy pick. Houston is also pushing for the postseason with its best foot forward — Diaz started six of the Astros’ past seven tilts, and we know volume is king.
First base: Spencer Torkelson, DET
The book on Torkelson has been out there for years. Highly touted as a 2020 No. 1 overall pick, there’s unquestionable power in the profile, yet disciplinary flaws led to inconsistency, which resulted in Tork landing on entirely too many drop lists. I’m buying back in on the talent based solely on improvements in zone contact. Torkelson refined his approach as 2026 progressed, dropping his strikeout rate each of the four months this season. Even amid the struggles, his power is on par with legitimate MLB sluggers (13.0% Barrel, .407 xwOBAcon), so it was always just a matter of getting the bat on the ball.
Second base: Willi Castro, COL
Jack of all trades, master of some. Few players have done more cyclical rotations on and off the fantasy waiver wire in 2026 than Castro. And why not? He plays half his games in Colorado while remaining eligible at nearly every position. Nevertheless, some spotty playing time concerns with a sprinkle of missed games due to injury prevented Castro’s season from ever really getting on track. Apparently Colorado grew tired of the Edouard Julien experiment, finally clearing way for Castro to man second base every day. I can’t speak to its sustainability, but in case you’re wondering about the sudden power breakout (six home runs in past 61 plate appearances), it’s due to a seismic change in air-pull rate this season (+20%!), and you know I’ve always been a sucker for elevated pulled batted-ball events. I mean, who isn’t?
Shortstop: George Lombard, NYY
The trade deadline brought some major changes to the Boogie Down Bronx, and not all were external. A major part of this Yankees’ second-half shake-up centered around the promotion of top shortstop prospect George Lombard. The 26th-overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft just became legal to drink alcohol only two months ago, but that didn’t stop him from making an immediate splash after his call-up. Mostly known for his defense-plus-speed profile, Lombard instantly flashed a glimpse of the power potential expected down the road, when he nuked a 392-foot home rune off Hunter Dobbins in a one-run game. Between widespread positional desperation and the usual Yankees tax, we won’t be afforded the luxury to wait for more info, and I’m just fine with that.
Third base: Caleb Durbin, BOS
Right now, when all else fails, turn to Boston for relief. Smack in the middle of a legendary franchise winning streak, the Red Sox continue finding offensive answers in the back-half of the order. Leading the charge is Durbin, who headlined the Kyle Harrison trade with Milwaukee earlier this year. Essentially left for fantasy dead after a dreadful start to 2026 (164 PA, .163 BA, 1 HR, .479 OPS, 33 wRC+), a half-week benching in late-May apparently righted the ship completely. Since then, few third basemen have produced a better five-category statline (.307 BA/ 38 R/ 34 RBI/ 10 HR/ 9 SB), and there’s no signs of slowing considering the elite combination of contact (86%) plus elevated pulled batted balls (18.0% Air-Pull). Maybe that trade wasn’t so lopsided after all.
Outfield: Héctor Rodríguez, CIN
For the first time all season there’s an air of desperation surrounding the outfield wire. Whether it was losing Byron Buxton, Juan Soto, James Wood or even Ryan O’Hearn, suddenly outfield demand is outweighing supply. A similar scenario has played out in Cincinnati, who’ve lost Blake Dunn and Spencer Steer, freeing up regular plate appearances in an ideal hitting environment. Enter Rodríguez into the conversation, a 22-year-old toolsy Dominican prospect with an impressive MiLB 600-PA pace going back to 2023 (.281 BA/ 93 R/ 74 RBI/ 22 HR/ 15 SB). It’s entirely too early to make any determinations on the MLB sample size alone, but I’m a sucker for a low strikeout rate coming up through the minors — it’s the one of the stickier traits to prevent a quick demotion. Plus, we want our players hitting in Great American “Small” Park during the peak temperatures of the summer.
Top waiver-wire pitcher options
Starting Pitcher: Mitch Bratt, AZ
If you thought outfielders were scarce, don’t look at the pitching waiver wire — it’s even worse. We’ve officially entered “grab the last starter to pitch a gem” territory. Between Mike Soroka, Corbin Burnes, Ryne Nelson and now Zac Gallen, the Diamondbacks put the better part of a rotation on the shelf this year. I mention it because I’m generally less excited for prospects getting an opportunity due to attrition over skill. To that point, color me unsurprised when Bratt posted a 6.32 ERA with more walks than strikeouts through his first career four starts. It’s no shock — MLB is hard.
Perhaps I’m making the cardinal mistake of eyeball analysis, but I watched Bratt’s most recent start versus a surging Padres team, and he looked phenomenal. The 23-year-old rookie southpaw toyed with San Diego all evening, allowing just one hit through seven scoreless frames. Arizona’s broadcasters mentioned a concerted effort to throw more changeups and slurves to righties, which seemingly worked wonders. I can’t say from just a few innings that it’s clear skies ahead because the command still irks me, but the past two starts must be classified as encouraging to say the least — 12 IP, 1 W, 1 ER, 4 H, 11 K, 7 BB. It’s also worth noting the Snakes are producing their best offense of 2026, and if you’re like me — in absolute need of wins — this could be a path to a few Ws.
Relievers
Mining the perfect fantasy closer comes down to finding the ideal combination of skills and role. Remember not to get too hung up on the first part either — we’ll still take the bad pitcher getting save opportunities every time. For those managers who punted saves on draft day, the season begins on high alert, but fear not; you’re in luck. MLB’s save environment is literally as chaotic as ever.
Unbelievably, we’re now up to a remarkable 219 different pitchers who have already recorded a save in 2026. With that, the goal is to acquire a reliever who either has the job now or direct access to it soon. Given the incredible number of league types out there, our best course is to keep a running list of relievers; grab the best available.
Graduating class
The following players are now on many fantasy rosters, but those in 10-team leagues should look to them first before adding other, lesser-rostered players.
