Brett Baty, Samuel Basallo and more top fantasy baseball waiver wire options

We’re entering the endgame of the season. Prospects are getting called up, and the best teams are tinkering with an eye toward the playoffs. There’s an extra dose of chaos in the final stretch. We’ll start as usual with the most added players on Yahoo:

I’ll get to some youngsters in a bit, but here we’re seeing a bunch of veterans on hot streaks. I’ve been a Ryan O’Hearn fan all year, and he’s continued his torrid hitting in San Diego. He sits versus lefties, but often enters the game later as a pinch hitter. Noelvi Marte is riding an 11-game hitting streak in which he’s gone an absurd 21-for-47 with three homers and six doubles. There is some BABIP luck in there, but he’s way under-rostered at the moment.

Brett Baty has hit his way back into regular playing time and is making the most of it. He has all the tools to be a stud. His teammate, Jeff McNeil, is quietly having a great season. He’s easy to overlook in fantasy because he doesn’t offer much in home runs and steals, but he’s a value in the other three categories.

I understand general relativity more than Trent Grisham’s roster rates. He has been 31% better than league average as a hitter for the full season and hits leadoff in the league’s biggest market. It’s not like he’s a fringy utility guy on the Twins. 

Brooks Lee, on the other hand, is a fringy utility guy on the Twins. He is useful in deep leagues, but he’s roster spackle in 12-teamers. 

Lourdes Gurriel is having a more interesting season than I realized. He is chasing a bit more, but a career-high Contact% (including a big jump in O-Contact%) has kept his strikeout rate at a career-low level. He has also reached double digits in steals for the first time in his career. He can help cover a weak spot in your outfield.

Bryson Stott is one of the better, potentially available speed options out there. For most of the season, that’s all he’s given you (he had a .206 average from May to the end of July). He has made better contact recently and turned back into an asset.

José Caballero looked like he would be a bench player on the Yankees when they traded for him, but he started four consecutive games last week, rewarding fantasy managers with four steals and a two-homer game against the Rays, his former team. If he’s in most days, he will keep the thefts coming.

Paul DeJong was below replacement level through April 15, when he was hit in the face by a Mitch Keller pitch. He returned at the start of July and has been raking since then (only securing regular playing time in the past two weeks). He’s still the same basic hitter you remember: Decent power with lots of strikeouts. Expect homers and a low average. 

On to some lesser rostered names.

Outfielders under 40% rostered

Cluster 1

Trent Grisham (OF, NYY) — See above.

Isaac Collins (OF, MIL) — Collins’ underlying stats don’t fully back up his performance, but he can give a little back and still be a solid five-category player. 

Jung Hoo Lee (OF, SFG) — It’s strange to see Lee make the roster cut-off for this section, given how fun a real-life player he is, but I sort of get it. Almost. He’s not a big power source, and he steals a little less than you might think (10 SBs on the year thus far). Still, he’s not a zero in either of those categories and contributes plenty everywhere else. 

Daulton Varsho (OF, TOR) — He’s a platoon player who has been crushing righties this year. It’s hard to know what he’ll do the rest of the season, but I think he has potentially found a new level.

Cluster 2

Jo Adell (LAA) — The average is too low for me to put him in the top cluster, but he’s your guy if you just need power (this month, he has seven HRs and nine runs).

Matt Wallner (OF, MIN) — He’s platoon power with a low average.

Evan Carter (OF, TEX) — He will probably always be injury-prone, but he’s good when he’s in.

Mickey Moniak (COL) — Moniak’s essentially a lesser Varsho: he hits righties hard, just not quite as hard as the Blue Jay.

Gavin Sheets (1B/OF, SDP) — He shook off a rough July and is hitting well again. The playing time is less consistent post-trade deadline, but he’s still in there most days.

Cluster 3

Wenceel Pérez (OF, DET) — He doesn’t excel but doesn’t hurt you too much in any particular category.

Nathan Lukes (OF, TOR) — I still don’t buy the power, but Lukes has been putting up good numbers for a while now.

Joc Pederson (OF, TEX) — I’m sneaking him in here because he has OF eligibility in some leagues. Joc has looked more like his old self of late and can provide good power against righties.

Corner infielders under 40% rostered

Cluster 1

Brett Baty (2B/3B, NYM); Ryan O’Hearn (1B/OF, SDP) — See above.

Cluster 2

Colt Keith (1B/2B/3B, DET) — He’s starting to lose playing time against lefties, but he’s still solid when he’s in.

Warming Bernabel (1B, COL) — He looks like he’ll be more contact than power, but he can still provide plenty of value, especially if he starts stealing, which he has the speed to do.

Kyle Manzardo (1B, CLE) — The average is a little low; otherwise, he has a good bat. Bump him up a cluster in OBP leagues.

Miguel Andujar (3B/OF, CIN) — He’s playing over his head, but good contact skills and decent power play well in that park.

Cluster 3

Coby Mayo (1B, BAL) — I could see the average rising to acceptable levels and Mayo becoming a real power threat. I’m just not convinced that’s happening this year.

Nolan Schanuel (1B, LAA) — If the Angels could combine him and Jo Adell, they would have another Mike Trout. He’s an asset for batting average and not much else.

Middle infielders under 40% rostered

Cluster 1

Colson Montgomery (SS/3B, CHW) — The batting average won’t be great, but the power is very much for real.

Jeff McNeil (2B/OF, NYM) — See above. He has some shoulder soreness, so keep an eye on that.

Cluster 2

José Caballero (2B/SS/3B/OF, NYY) — I’m unsure where to put him because he could quickly return to being a bench guy, but snap him up if you need steals.

Jonathan India (2B/3B/OF, KC) — He does enough to be a useful deep league filler, but he isn’t more than that unless the steals come back.

Brooks Lee (2B/SS/3B, MIN) — See above.

Paul DeJong (SS/3B, WAS) — See above. He’s the lesser Colson Montgomery. 

Cluster 3

Nolan Gorman (2B/3B, STL) — Gorman was unplayable for the first two months of the season, but since then, he’s returned to being his low-average/medium-high power self. 

Luis Rengifo (2B/3B, LAA) — He’s a very different player from Nolan Schanuel, but the fantasy contributions have been similar since July. Rengifo offers a good average but not a ton of juice in the counting stats.

Chase Meidroth (2B/SS, CHW) — No power here, but Meidroth can provide a boost in average and steals.

Catchers under 40% rostered

Cluster 1

Alejandro Kirk (C, TOR) — He has been on a power surge recently, and I’m generally a fan of the bat.

Samuel Basallo (C/1B, BAL) — As with any prospect, it’s impossible to know how they’ll fare in their first taste of MLB action, but the tools are good enough here that he’s worth a shot. See the “call-ups” section for more.

Dillon Dingler (C, DET) — He’s been good, and the expected stats show another level. He’s a name to grab this year and remember for next.

Cluster 2

Ryan Jeffers (C, MIN) — You could do worse at the position. Jeffers is a decent bat with regular playing time.

Kyle Teel (C, CHW) — He has had a nifty rookie year, and now the power is starting to show up. 

Drake Baldwin (C, ATL) — He’s in a true job share with Sean Murphy, but hits when he’s in.

Call-ups

Bubba Chandler (SP, PIT)

Chandler entered the season as one of baseball’s most anticipated prospects. Now that he’s finally set for his debut on Friday … I dunno. He has the stuff to come up and play well, but he hasn’t been able to dominate Triple A, so he’s a real risk for now. In July, he had two consecutive excellent starts of six shutout innings, with six strikeouts in one and seven in the other. Then he had a clunker, followed by another strong start. In the four starts since then, he has thrown 17.1 innings and given up 15 runs, due in part to surrendering three home runs and 12 walks in that span. His call-up has more to do with the fact that he’ll retain rookie eligibility next year than his performance. He’s still an exciting talent, and he should give you a strikeout per inning, but for this season, I’d tread carefully.

Parker Messick (SP, CLE)

Messick hasn’t gotten the same level of attention as Chandler, but he’s still a Top 100 prospect, and the results in Triple A have been better. This year, he has had an ERA in the mid-3s with a strikeout rate just below 30%. He was great in his first start against the Diamondbacks on Wednesday and could be an asset going forward. 

Samuel Basallo (C, BAL)

Another top prospect finally arrives. Good thing MLB changed the rules to discourage service time manipulation. I’m sure all of these guys just happened to show they were ready for the big leagues after retaining rookie status for 2026. Anyway, Basallo can really hit, and he has catcher eligibility. Thus far, he hasn’t looked overmatched against MLB pitching. The main X-factor is how much power we see this year. He was putting up Cal Raleigh numbers in Triple A this year (23 homers in 76 games with a .270 average).

Dylan Beavers (OF, BAL)

The Orioles’ other big entrant doesn’t have Basallo’s power, but he offers a more well-rounded profile for fantasy purposes. Beavers held a .304/.420/.515 line with 18 homers and 23 steals in 94 games in Triple A this year. He seems to have a regular spot in the lineup and gets some extra juice in OBP leagues.

Carson Williams (SS, TB)

He’s the hitter version of Chandler in that the tools are off the charts, but the results have been decidedly … on the charts. Williams has fantastic power and speed, but they come with a major strikeout issue – over a third of his Triple-A plate appearances have ended in a K this year. Still, he’s managed 23 home runs and 22 steals in 451 times to the plate this year.

Starting pitchers under 40% rostered

Cluster 1

Cam Schlittler (NYY), Nolan McLean (NYM), Cade Cavalli (WAS), Dustin May (BOS), Ryan Bergert (KC)

The two New York pitchers have nifty stuff and have looked good so far. Cavalli is similar, and while the ERA will rise, he still looks like a guy making up for lost time in his return to MLB. 

May has tinkered with his pitch mix since landing in Boston, throwing more cutters, which may be helping his fastball and slider play up. Either way, the results have been great, and he could be a great addition for the stretch run. This is a little aggressive for Bergert, and he leans a little too much on his fastball and slider, but the results have been great for the past month, and he seems to be able to put the ball where he wants it.

Cluster 2

Cristian Javier (HOU), Jack Leiter (TEX), José Soriano (LAA), Emmet Sheehan (LAD), Zebby Matthews (MIN)

Javier has looked solid so far, I just want to see it another one or two times before declaring him back. The others are all good pitchers who have had some recent wobbles. Zebby is a great source of strikeouts, but he’s volatile when it comes to run prevention. All have fairly high ceilings and low floors.

Cluster 3

Jameson Taillon (CHC), Colin Rea (CHC), Nestor Cortes (SDP), Dean Kremer (BAL)

The Cubs have a type, and it’s the type that can be effective without as many strikeouts as other pitchers. It’s like they’re continually trying to recreate peak Kyle Hendricks. Rea has been more solid overall, and Taillon has made it work lately. Cortes hasn’t been nasty, but he can usually provide steady innings. It’s been a similar story for Kremer, whom I don’t quite trust, but he has put together a solid run.

Top relievers under 40% rostered 

Dennis Santana (PIT), JoJo Romero (STL), Riley O’Brien (STL), Calvin Faucher (MIA), Ronny Henriquez (MIA), Victor Vodnik (COL), Hunter Gaddis (CLE), Jose Ferrer (WAS), Keegan Akin (BAL), Reid Detmers (LAA), Abner Uribe (MIL)

There is still a lot to sort out post-deadline, which means many leagues have saves up for grabs on the wire. Santana, Ferrer, and Akin seem to have the closer role for their teams. The Cardinals and Marlins are in a job share with Romero and Faucher looking like they have the upper hand for their teams. Vodnik, like many Rockies closers of years past, will make you ask yourself just how badly you want those saves. Gaddis is the setup man to Cade Smith, but he’ll snag a save here and there. Uribe is also in the setup role and is one of the better ratio smoothers out there. Detmers is the best bet to step in if Kenley Jansen misses time.

(Photo of Samuel Basallo: Paul Rutherford / Imagn Images)