The end of August means we’re entering prospect season! We’re seeing prospect after prospect get the call, from Bubba Chandler, to Samuel Basallo, to Nolan McLean, they’re all showing up in the majors for the stretch run of the 2025 fantasy baseball season. Just in time to add players off the waiver wire that could be difference makers. Let’s dive into the players we’re looking at as we can almost see the finish line.

There are a lot of great fantasy baseball waiver wire additions and we’re attacking them all in this week’s column. If you have any questions about your waiver wire, hit us up in the Fantasy Alarm Discord or hit me up on Twitter!

 

 

 

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pitchers

Hurston Waldrep, SP, Atlanta Braves

  • ESPN: 48% / Yahoo: 60%
  • FAAB: 10-12%

Not often are players that are this highly owned in this column, but we HAVE to mention Hurston Waldrep here and the blowup in fantasy baseball waiver wire additions we’ve seen this week. Over the last 24 hours alone, Waldrep’s ownership is up 25% on Yahoo! Fantasy baseball and on ESPN, he’s up 36%.

Waldrep has been dominant at the major league level through his first four starts. He has an 0.73 ERA through his first 24.2 IP and a 27% K-rate. He’s fired off three quality starts and his fourth outing finished off just one out shy.

He obviously doesn’t qualify for anything this year, but if he did, everything looks super legit. 

 

Nolan McLean, SP, New York Mets

  • ESPN: 19% / Yahoo: 31%
  • FAAB: 8-10%

Like Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said, Nolan McLean is here to stay. For a second consecutive turn in the return McLean was very sharp and the Atlanta offense couldn’t really muster anything together. McLean fired seven innings of two-run baseball while striking out seven batters.

Through two outings, there’s not much to say other than how well he’s pitched. He’s averaged 10.9 K/9, a 69% GB rate, and has given the Mets depth. McLean’s primary pitch has been his sinker that is averaging 97 MPH, which speaks to why everything is hit on the ground. McLean is as big of a priority add as anyone else on this list.

 

Kyle Bradish, SP, Baltimore Orioles

  • ESPN: 5% / Yahoo: 19%
  • FAAB: 6-8%

It looks as if Kyle Bradish’s minor league rehab is over and the next time he pitches will be on a big league mound after throwing 89 pitches in outing number six. He’s available in 95% of ESPN fantasy leagues and he should be rostered in all formats.

In 2023, Kyle Bradish was nearly a 5.0 WAR pitcher and finished FOURTH in the American League Cy Young race. He had a 2.83 ERA and had 168 strikeouts in 168.2 IP. If there was any concern about Bradish and his velocity, there shouldn’t be. He’s averaged 94.6 MPH during his rehab, which was the same velocity he sat at during his eight starts in 2024 and nearly two MPH more than his near top-three Cy Young finish.

 

Cam Schlittler, SP, New York Yankees

  • ESPN: 7% / Yahoo: 23%
  • FAAB: 4-6%

Things are starting to click for Cam Schilttler with each start and his last one was easily his most impressive. He fired off six perfect innings before running into some trouble in the seventh but was saved by the bullpen and finished with 6.2 scoreless innings while striking out eight batters.

In that start, Schlittler generated 19 swings and misses and had a career-high 20% SwStr. Through his first seven starts, Schlittler is over 9 K/9 and has a 25% K-rate. His ERA sits at a very solid 3.22 as well. Given his ability to miss bats at every level has translated to the major league level, there’s no reason to think it won’t continue and possibly even tick up moving forward, especially if the whiff rate continues to soar.

 

Ryan Bergert, SP, Kansas City Royals

  • ESPN: 6% / Yahoo: 23%
  • FAAB: 2-4%

He did not once, not twice, but three times in a row now. Ryan Bergert continues to look REALLY good in Kansas City. In Friday’s start against the Tigers, he had 12 whiffs and five strikeouts across 5.2 IP and has had five or more punch outs in three straight outings with the Royals. Bergert’s ERA is 2.79 and his just a smidge under 9 K/9 at this point. If he can continue to miss bats and pitch into the sixth – and even expand that into possibly the seventh – he has value as a solid fantasy baseball waiver wire add for the remainder of the season.

 

 

 

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Infielders

Noelvi Marte, 3B/OF, Cincinnati Reds

  • ESPN: 28% / Yahoo: 42%
  • FAAB: 8-10%

It’s been a BIG month of August for Noelvi Marte and just like that, his seasonal numbers look like the player that was a consensus top-50 prospect just a few years ago. So far in August, Marte is slashing .354/.354/.600 with a .246 ISO, and .406 wOBA. That slash has propelled him to a .305 average for the season.

The power has been on full display as his slug is up to .524 and ISO at .220 while he’s belted 10 homers in 58 games. Marte’s also a 90th percentile sprinter, so his stolen base total will likely continue to climb like we’ve seen from him at the minor league level. 

 

Samuel Basallo, C/1B, Baltimore Orioles

  • ESPN: 11% / Yahoo: 26%
  • FAAB: 10-11%

There’s a lot going on in Bird Land and it all revolves around Samuel Basallo. Basallo is fresh off signing a multi-year extension FOUR games into his major league career. Not only that, but he’s going to catch every day – or close to it – for the remainder of the year as Adley Rutschman is dealing with another injury and has been placed on the IL.

Who is Basallo and why is he a must-add? Well, the Orioles number one prospect and number eight prospect in baseball according to MLB absolutely rakes. In just 76 games at Triple-A this year, Basallo slugged 23 home runs and drove in 67 runs. He has 80 grade power, which is the highest number you can give a prospect.

With how thin the catcher position is, if you’re unsure about the situation you have now, you’re now sure. You surely add Samuel Basallo and your life in the catcher streets will vastly improve.

 

Carson Williams, SS, Tampa Bay Rays

  • ESPN: 1% / Yahoo: 5%
  • FAAB: 6-8%

Welcome to the show, Carson Williams! There must be few things better than making your major league debut and also homering in that same game. Williams’ debut couldn’t have gone any better as he went 2-for-4 with the home run, three runs batted in, and two more scored.

The 22-year old Williams came into the season a top-10 prospect in baseball and when he was called up, he dipped to number 47 on MLB’s list, but how quickly it is you remember why he was in the air he was in to start the year. He has big, big power, and also has a lot of speed, he just strikes out a lot. He gets to hit in a plus ballpark in Tampa for the remainder of his home games this season and should be playing every day with Ha-Seong Kim on the IL once again.

 

Jose Caballero, 2B/3B/SS/OF, New York Yankees

  • ESPN: 11% / Yahoo: 29%
  • FAAB: 3-5%

The Yankees hands are going to be forced because of how well Jose Caballero has played. They need to get him into the lineup more. He’s an absolute force to be reckoned with. He’s chaos every time he steps into the box or onto the basepaths. 

He has insane positional eligibility and leads major league baseball in stolen bases. We even saw him double dong the other day, which isn’t something we should expect to happen very often, but at least we know it IS in the range of outcomes. He’s worth adding, even if he isn’t playing every day, because he checks so many boxes when he does; especially in the stolen base category.

 

 

 

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Outfielders

Jo Adell, OF, Los Angeles Angels

  • ESPN: 14% / Yahoo: 37%
  • FAAB: 8-10%

It just simply doesn’t make sense to me how Jo Adell is so widely available across fantasy formats. Has anyone been paying any attention to how well he has played? How many home runs he’s hit? Is it possible that he’s even gotten extremely unlucky? IT IS!

Look at how ELITE some of this stuff is. 99th percentile bat speed. 96th percentile slug. Adell is hitting .233 and his expected batting average is FORTY points higher! This is a legit GOOD player that should be rostered. Hell, maybe some luck will bounce his way for the final stretch and the average will creep up the way it should.

 

Jhostynxon Garcia, OF, Boston Red Sox

  • ESPN: 2% / Yahoo: 9%
  • FAAB: 1-3%

Nobody in the outfield was added more on Friday than this man, Jhostynxon Garcia, aka “The Password.” Garcia didn’t do anything in his major league debut, going 0-for-3, but he hit fifth for the Red Sox. It’ll be interesting to see how he’s used, but it looks as if he’ll hit in the middle of the lineup with a lefty on the hill.

At the Triple-A level this year, he hit .303 with a .932 OPS and 17 HR in just 66 games. He had nothing left to prove and if you’re looking for a spark, he’s potentially someone who could give that to your fantasy roster.

 

Daulton Varsho, OF, Toronto Blue Jays

  • ESPN: 10% / Yahoo: 17%
  • FAAB: 3-5%

Can I interest you in a power source that’s widely available everywhere you do your fantasy baseball shopping? He’s not going to ever hit for any sort of solid average, but Daulton Varsho has a boatload of power. He’s now played 41 games this year and has hit 14 home runs and has a robust .597 SLG%, which for context, would only trail Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani if he was qualified. Yes, greater than Cal Raleigh, Kyle Schwarber, and anyone else you can think of.

That’s how game-changing Varsho’s power has been.

Now, that’s really all he’s doing, but that’s what I’m suggesting you add him for. If you are in a category league and you’re looking for home runs, Varsho is your guy. Especially THIS version of Daulton Varsho.