This week’s list of fantasy baseball waiver wire options trends to younger players, as every player who earned a paragraph is under 28 years old. There is a balanced mix of sluggers, speedsters and starters, and a skilled reliever who is flying under the radar in many leagues.
Pitchers to add
Cade Cavalli, SP, Nationals, 28%: Cavalli is coming off his best start of the season, in which he allowed just one unearned run while striking out 13 Red Sox over seven innings. The spectacular outing came on the heels of a start in which he recorded seven strikeouts over six innings of two-run ball against the Phillies. Although the right-hander is unlikely to be a WHIP asset, his ability to rack up whiffs (10.2 K/9 rate) while limiting scoring (3.69 ERA) makes him a viable lineup fixture in most formats, especially given that he is backed by a high-scoring offense. Cavalli is currently appealing a 7-game suspension, which will likely be reduced to 5-6 games and merely cause one of his starts to be pushed back a day or two.
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Zebby Matthews, SP, Twins, 18%: Take out a pair of seven-run disasters over his nine starts and Matthews would have a 2.35 ERA. He has notched a quality start in each of his other seven outings, and his 46:12 K:BB ratio is an excellent mark. Matthews will always have some volatility due to his propensity for allowing homers, but his good starts are so good that he’s worth the risk. His roster rate should be at least 65%, although I’ll admit that I would exercise some caution for his next start, which will take place at homer-happy Yankee Stadium.
Troy Melton, SP/RP, Tigers, 46%: After failing to accumulate whiffs in his initial pair of 2026 starts, Melton has fanned at least five batters in each of his past five outings. The right-hander has logged impressive ratios (2.41 ERA, 0.90 WHIP) across 89.2 career innings, albeit with the help of a .178 BABIP. The ERA estimators are all over the place on Melton, with xERA (3.05) loving him and FIP (4.54) suggesting caution. I ranked him third among starters in this week’s article for a reason, but I have enough interest to suggest that his roster rate climbs by another 10%.
Jake Bennett, SP, Red Sox, 31%: Last week, I recommended Bennett as a waiver-wire option but stopped short of suggesting that he should go into lineups for a difficult matchup with the Yankees. It turns out that the Judge-less Bombers were no match for the rookie lefty, who held them to one run over 6.1 innings. With few starters emerging on the waiver wire in recent weeks, I’ll enthusiastically recommend Bennett for his start Friday against the strikeout-prone Angels. There is a good chance that he remains in the lineup in 12-team formats.
Grant Taylor, RP, White Sox, 17%: Managers who are looking for a high-volume reliever who provides helpful ratios should have Taylor at the top of their list. The right-hander has already compiled 64 whiffs, which makes him one of the few relievers who are on pace to reach the 100 plateau. Taylor has produced excellent ratios (3.02 ERA, 1.12 WHIP) and earned three wins and one save during June by working high-leverage innings on a rapidly improving White Sox team.
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Hitters to add
Esmerlyn Valdez, OF, Pirates, 41%: Valdez is one of the hottest hitters in baseball, having hit .542 with four homers and nine RBI over his past seven games. His early results suggest that he may not be able to consistently hit for average until he lowers his 32.8% strikeout rate. But Valdez has power that cannot be disputed, as is evidenced by his 92.3 mph average exit velocity. He’s more of a boom-or-bust option than the others on this list, and he fits the bill for those who need homers.
A.J. Ewing, 2B/OF, Mets, 20%: The more I watch Ewing, the more I like him. The speedster is a strong fielder who can collect his share of swipes. And he improved his contact skills in June, logging a 19.4% strikeout rate after posting a 32.4% mark in May. Still just 21 years old, Ewing should produce just enough power this summer to avoid being someone who contributes solely in batting average and steals.
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Kyle Teel, C, White Sox, 19%: Teel should return to the radar of those in deeper formats. Although he hasn’t done anything notable (.710 OPS) in eight games following a season-opening stint on the IL, the youngster showed as a rookie last year that he can reach base often while providing some power and occasionally swiping a base. Once Teel gets into a groove, he should rank among the top-15 catcher options.
Hitters with favorable weekend matchups
Bryce Eldridge, 1B, Giants, 28%: Although Eldridge cooled off in recent days, he was effective overall in June (.883 OPS). He is poised for a memorable weekend when he heads to hitter-friendly Coors Field to face baseball’s worst pitching staff. The left-handed hitting Eldridge will also benefit from facing a trio of right-handed starters.
Owen Caissie, OF, Marlins, 11%: Although prone to strikeouts, Caissie has been an effective hitter since May 1, batting .262 with eight homers and an .837 OPS. After enjoying four games at Coors Field earlier this week, the hard-swinging outfielder could add to his homer total when he spends the weekend at homer-happy Sutter Health Park against an Athletics pitching staff that ranks 29th in ERA.
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Pitchers to stream this weekend (ranked in order of preference)
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Jake Bennett @ LAA (Friday, 31%)
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Zebby Matthews @ NYY (Sunday, 18%)