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
Samuel Basallo (BAL), C/1B (14% Yahoo, 5% ESPN)
At long last, Samuel Basallo finally got the call to the major leagues. The mega prospect has been mashing in the minors all season long, and fans have been clamoring for months to see him in big league action. Of course, it never made sense for the Orioles to call him up sooner and waste his rookie eligibility during a lost season. However, with less than 45 days left in the regular season, teams now have the green light to call up their youngsters without sacrificing their rookie status for 2026. If you’re not familiar with the type of player Basallo is, one of the most common comps you will see for him is Yordan Alvarez. A Yordan Alvarez who plays catcher? Sign me up.
At only 21 years old, the slugger slashed .270/.377/.589 with 23 home runs, 49 runs, and 67 RBI in 76 Triple-A games this year. The raw power is about as good as you’ll see anywhere, and he also walked at a 13.7% clip. While it might be hard to retain catcher eligibility for next year with Adley Rutschman stationed behind the dish in Baltimore, for the last one and a half months of 2025, he could be a potential must-start option at the position. Between first base, designated hitter, and catcher, the youngster should get the opportunity to play nearly every day the rest of the way, and he is a must-add in all leagues.
Nolan McLean (NYM), SP (24% Yahoo, 13% ESPN)
Nolan McLean impressed in his major league debut on Saturday, but is still only up to 24% rostered. He went 5.1 shutout innings against the Mariners, allowing two hits and four walks while striking out eight. The strikeout upside for the rookie is real, as he punched out 127 batters in 113.2 innings in Triple-A this season. Control could be an issue, as evidenced by his four walks against Seattle, but legitimate high-upside starters are hard to find on the waiver wire this late in the season.
Jakob Marsee (MIA), OF (46% Yahoo, 19% ESPN)
Jakob Marsee didn’t start the game on Sunday, but came in as a pinch hitter in the 8th, where he singled and then later launched a two-run home run to break a 3-3 tie in the top of the ninth. It’s been a truly sensational start to the youngster’s career, as he’s slashing .377/.468/.774 with four home runs and six stolen bases through his first 17 games. He batted just .246 in Triple-A this season, so it’s unlikely that he’s going to continue to be a superstar caliber player, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t add him and ride the hot streak. With the end of the season drawing closer, potential regression is something you don’t have to worry about nearly as much anymore.
Bryan Abreu (HOU), RP (51% Yahoo, 29% ESPN)
Astros star closer Josh Hader landed on the injured list with a left shoulder capsule sprain that will likely sideline him for the remainder of the regular season. That leaves the closing job open for setup man Bryan Abreu, who has been one of the most dominant relievers in baseball this season. In 56 innings, he has posted a 1.61 ERA and 1.05 WHIP with 84 strikeouts, which is must-start production now that he will be getting saves for Houston.
Luke Keaschall (MIN), 1B/2B/OF (51% Yahoo, 23% ESPN)
Luke Keashall looked like he was on his way to a breakout rookie season when he was called up on April 18, but quickly suffered a broken arm that sidelined him for over three months. He finally made his return on August 5 and has since batted .333 with two homers, three doubles, and a stolen base in 12 games. That brings his season slash line to .343/.429/.522 with two homers and six steals in 19 games. The 23-year-old has also walked as many times as he has struck out (8 each), which shows he has the skillset to excel in both roto and points formats.
Yahoo and ESPN Most Added Players
The most added list on Yahoo is the usual for the platform, being five streamers for the previous day. Ryan Bergert led the group in adds and ended up allowing two runs (one earned) on six hits and two walks with seven strikeouts in 5.1 innings. He’s yet to last six full frames in any of his ten starts this season, which limits his upside enough to make him not worth hanging on to after streaming him. Cristian Javier allowed one run on three hits while striking out two in three innings before leaving the start with an illness. He has enough of a track record of being a successful major league pitcher to be worth adding in any standard-sized leagues going forward. Will Warren once again struggled with efficiency, lasting only 4.2 innings while allowing three runs (one earned) on six hits and a walk. He remains too inconsistent to be anything other than a streamer.
José Soriano has been the most successful of this group on the season, but struggled Sunday, allowing five runs over 5.2 innings against the Athletics. He’s had several blowup outings but tends to be a solid option in most of his starts, with 14 quality starts on the year. Besides Javier, he’s the only other one of this group who I believe is worth holding on to in standard-sized leagues. Javier Assad allowed one run over four innings and threw only 65 pitches as he still builds himself up following an injury. He’s safe to drop for a new streamer.
The most added list on ESPN over the past five days includes two repeats from Yahoo in Javier and Warren. Hurston Waldrep tops the list for good reason, as he has begun his career by allowing two total runs over his first three starts, spanning 17.2 innings. The top prospect makes for one of the better pitching waiver wire options right now. Jacob Lopez has turned a corner as of late and is also worth adding where available, as he’s now had four straight scoreless starts. The last two were especially great, going at least seven innings in both of them with 19 combined strikeouts. The only hitter on this list is Ernie Clement, who earned his place on this list thanks to a five-game stretch where he homered four times. That streak ended six days ago, which is why he is still one of the most-added players over the past seven days. He hasn’t done much since then, though, so he’s not a priority add.
Streaming Pitchers
Be sure to check out Nick Pollack’s SP Streamer Rankings to figure out who you need to start, stream, or sit each day this season. There is one name that I particularly like for today.
Cade Horton (CHC), SP (54% Yahoo, 27% ESPN)
It’s shocking that Cade Horton is still less than 60% rostered, considering he’s given up just one earned run in his last five starts and 28.1 innings. That run came in his last outing against the Blue Jays in a game where he carried a no-hitter through the first five frames. The eight strikeouts in that start also set a season high, and his ERA and WHIP now sit at 3.07 and 1.18, respectively. He has been the definition of a must-start pitcher as of late, which is why he makes for a great streaming option on Monday, even if it’s against the red-hot Brewers.
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