We’re back this week with more fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups for each major category. This weekly piece will cover players who can help in at least one specific category. For example, if your team is scoring plenty of runs and hitting for a strong average but struggling to steal bases, you can scroll directly to the stolen bases section for a targeted pickup.
While most of these players will contribute across multiple categories, their primary value comes from the category they’re listed under. I also don’t generally repeat players from week to week, so it’s not a bad idea to check back on previous articles to see if any of those players are still available.
Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups by Category
Without further ado, here are this week’s top fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups by category. All players listed are rostered in fewer than 55% of Yahoo leagues.
Home Runs
Jeremiah Jackson (2B, 3B, OF – BAL): 51%
Jeremiah Jackson toiled his way through eight long years in the minor leagues before finally getting called up. After putting up some impressive numbers in 2024 (1.073 OPS in Triple-A), Jackson forced Baltimore’s hand and appeared in 48 MLB games. Over those two months, Jackson did quite well, registering a .276 average with a .775 OPS.
This season, he’s off to a massive start with five homers, 16 RBI and a .317 batting average.
Unfortunately, Jackson hasn’t earned a single free pass, so his lack of walks has relegated him to the bottom of the order. There is also some hesitancy to buy in because another Jackson is nearing his return. Jackson Holliday will be back before long, but it’ll very likely be Coby Mayo who is pushed from a starting job.
Jackson is here to stay. With the heavy recent production and a strong minor league pedigree, the Orioles power hitter is worth taking a flier on. He also qualifies for two of the harder positions to fill, which further boosts his value.
RBIs
Josh Jung (3B – TEX): 9%
Josh Jung was slow out of the gate this year, barely reaching base over Texas’ first 10 games. After a few days off, however, Jung has reemerged as a true offensive weapon. Not since his rookie campaign in 2023 has Jung been fantasy relevant, but the former eighth overall pick is extremely locked in.
Jung is 8-for-14 with two homers and four RBI over his last three games. He’s reached base in all nine games since his short hiatus and is 14-for-34 (.412 average) during that span. He’s also done it against some of the league’s elite arms, facing the Dodgers and Mariners.
Jung is still a wait-and-see in shallow leagues, but for those in leagues that roster over 300 players, he’s worth a strong look to help boost your RBI and overall profile.
Batting Average
Dominic Smith (1B, DH – ATL): 11%
Jurickson Profar‘s season-long suspension opened up a roster spot for Dominic Smith, and it may have been a blessing in disguise. Smith quietly performed well last year for the Giants, producing a .284 average and a .750 OPS. He has now carried that success over to Atlanta — and then some.
With the spotlight no longer on the former top prospect, Smith has settled in nicely against right-handed starters. The slugger has registered an impressive .362 average with four home runs and 16 RBI. His strikeouts barely surpass his home run total, with six, and his Statcast page is full of red.
The main drawback with Smith is that, outside of the shortened 2020 season, we’ve never seen him produce over the long haul. He also sits versus southpaw starters. But consider me on board.
Smith just turned 30 last year, and without the pressure he faced in New York as a young up-and-comer, he may be ready to unleash his full potential. He also isn’t asked to play the field anymore, where he’s struggled in the past.
Smith will likely continue to sit out a couple of times a week, but for those able to make daily lineup adjustments, the former Met is worth adding.
Runs
Austin Martin (2B, OF – MIN): 2%
Austin Martin has been hitting second in the order for the Twins, where he’s managed 10 runs over his last 12 games. The speedy outfielder has also clubbed a homer and stolen a pair of bases.
Martin is better suited for daily leagues because he doesn’t always start, but with a .325 average and so many runs scored, he’s a nice addition while he’s hot for those lacking in scores.
Stolen Bases
Oswald Peraza (1B, 2B, 3B, SS – LAA): 14%
Oswald Peraza stole 156 bases in the minor leagues and swiped another 18 in the Majors. He’s failed to reach base consistently enough to be considered a true stolen base threat, but after turning a few heads with a strong spring, Peraza is finally getting a real look at a starting job.
The former Yankee has started six of the last seven games for the Angels, including every game this week. He’s up to three stolen bases on the year, but he’s also managed to launch four home runs. The late-blooming infielder is hitting .286 for the Halos and suddenly looks like a real 20/20 contender.
Peraza has always possessed excellent speed, but now he’s pairing it with power and is being allowed to showcase it. He also qualifies at all four infield positions.
Wins
Seth Lugo (SP – KCR): 51%
Seth Lugo has been solid this season, consistently spinning his breaking balls right on the edge of the plate. He’s held opponents to just four earned runs over four starts and has kept his WHIP below 1.00. He’s now set for a two-start week, beginning with the Orioles and then the Angels next Sunday.
The 36-year-old looks to be back to his 2024 form, when he won 16 games and finished as a top-30 starter. The good times likely won’t last all season, but Lugo is a strong choice for those chasing wins.
WHIP
Steven Matz (SP, RP – TBR): 31%
Steven Matz is a tough sell because every time we start to believe, he disintegrates with a blow-up outing. That’s a bit of an exaggeration, but those of you who have played in fantasy leagues long enough (or are Met fans) know what I’m talking about.
That said, the transition to the bullpen last season seems to have cleared up some of the issues Matz has consistently faced. The walks, while always manageable, dropped to a minuscule amount, and that improvement seems to have carried over to this year.
After posting a 0.88 WHIP in Boston and a 1.18 WHIP in St. Louis last year, Matz has continued the trend this season, registering a 1.03 WHIP for Tampa over four starts. He’s also picked up three wins.
With a strikeout rate just under 25% and a WHIP hovering just above 1.00, Matz is a nice pickup for those in deeper leagues, and even some shallow leagues.
ERA
Casey Mize (SP – DET): 41%
Casey Mize is pitching extremely well right now and is worth considering in all league types. His latest start came in Boston, where he shut out the Red Sox over nearly 6.2 perfect innings. He did have a clunker earlier in the season against Minnesota, but his ERA has dropped to a strong 2.78. His WHIP is under 1.20, and he has struck out 25 batters in 22.2 innings.
Mize’s signature splitter has been elite this year, holding opponents to a .138 batting average with a 36% whiff rate. He’ll not only help your ratios, but with a strong bullpen behind him and the ability to pitch deep into games, Mize is also a candidate to rack up a decent number of wins.
The strikeouts should continue to mount as well. I wouldn’t consider the former top pick in the draft a must-start pitcher yet, but he’s inching closer every day.
Strikeouts
Reid Detmers (SP, RP – LAA): 45%
I was deciding between Reid Detmers and Ryan Weathers here — both can rack up strikeouts — but I have more faith in Detmers continuing to miss bats.
The issue with Detmers is you never quite know what you’re going to get. He either looks completely dominant or struggles mightily. In two starts this season, he’s been elite, holding the Yankees and Mariners to just one run over 13.2 innings. In his other two starts, he was hit hard, allowing eight runs.
That said, the one consistent component has been his strikeouts. Over the past couple of seasons, Detmers has struck out well over a batter per inning. Granted, some of that came out of the bullpen, where velocity tends to tick up, but he still struck out 189 batters over 151 innings. This season, he’s continuing that trend with 26 strikeouts over 22.2 innings.
Mize’s four-seam fastball is nearly unhittable at the top of the zone; unfortunately, he doesn’t always command it. His slider is also a real weapon, producing a .176 average and a 33.4% whiff rate. The real test is today against the Padres. If he performs well in that matchup, he’s worth scooping up for the following period.
Saves
Enyel De Los Santos (RP – HOU): 13%
Saves have been a revolving door early in the season. With so many teams utilizing the dreaded committee approach — and several established closers struggling — there have been plenty of opportunities to snag saves off the waiver wire.
Today, we’ll turn our attention to Enyel De Los Santos of the Astros. While I was tempted to focus on Joel Kuhnel, he’s a tougher sell after the Athletics deployed him in the seventh inning with the game on the line yesterday. While I still believe he’ll get the bulk of the immediate save chances for the A’s, he’s not their official closer.
De Los Santos, however, is the closer for the Astros. Houston just moved Josh Hader to the 60-day injured list (IL), and I highly doubt they’ll try Bryan Abreu in that role again after his early struggles. De Los Santos secured back-to-back saves for the Astros earlier this week and has allowed just one run in six appearances.
The Astros’ new closer is a bit of a journeyman reliever, bouncing from team to team, but as long as De Los Santos is putting up zeros in Houston, it’s his job to lose for the foreseeable future. Target the 30-year-old righty this week if you need those elusive saves.
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Austin Lowell is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Austin, check out his archive.