Do you smell that? September is right around the corner. Leaves are going to change colors. Starbucks is going to come out with their pumpkin drinks (they’re already out, my wife took me with her). Also, the last month of the regular season is here, in which fantasy baseball playoffs are beginning and roto leagues are coming down the stretch with EVERYTHING more in focus now than ever before. Some elite prospects such as Payton Tolle, Jonah Tong, and Parker Messick have all been called up and could help YOUR fantasy baseball team down the stretch.

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

Jonah Tong, SP, New York Mets

  • ESPN: 22% / Yahoo: 39%
  • FAAB: 10-12%

The Mets have officially called up one of their top prospects, Jonah Tong, and sky's the limit for Tong who has dominated at every level he’s pitched at. Just this year between Double-A and Triple-A, Tong has tossed 113.2 IP and has a 14.2 K/9 this season. He has a 40.5% K-rate at the minor league level.

40.5!!!!!!!!!

Tong has so many strikeouts year in, year out, and there’s nothing suggesting the Mets are going to limit him at all and if he pitches well, he’ll stay in their rotation for the remainder of the year. He throws mostly fastballs and changeups and gets a LOT of groundballs when he’s not missing bats.

 

Kyle Bradish, SP, Baltimore Orioles

  • ESPN: 6% / Yahoo: 30%
  • FAAB: 8-10%

Yup. Kyle Bradish is who we thought he was. This is the third time he’s showing up in this column but he’s still far too underowned. He was fourth in the American League Cy Young race in 2023.

In his season debut, Bradish had 10 strikeouts across six innings in which he allowed two earned runs. He only allowed four hits and his 3.00 ERA was attached to a 1.82 xERA, 1.32 xFIP, and 1.08 SIERA. 

He generated an unbelievable amount of whiffs as he notched an 18.5% SwStr rate, which is nearly double of what he’s been at for his career. So we should likely expect regression there, but he’s a really good pitcher regardless and had a 25% K-rate in ‘23. 

Here’s some of the velocity and pitch mix stuff from start number one;

He didn’t lose velocity post surgery and started throwing the sinker a lot more than he was back when he was a top-five Cy Young Candidate.

 

Abner Uribe, RP, Milwaukee Brewers

  • ESPN: 27% / Yahoo: 42%
  • FAAB: 8-10%

Trevor Megill, Brewers closer, hit the injured list with a right flexor strain, which likely puts him down and out for the remainder of the regular season and if he does come back, it won’t be until well into September. That puts THIS guy front and center and boy oh boy is Abner Uribe impressive.

Yeah. Red is good. ALL RED? ELITE. Is the only thing bad about Uribe that he walks too many batters? He’ll just strike out whoever comes after the walks, though. He’s a must-add with how often the Brewers are winning games and putting Megill – and now Uribe – in a position to notch a save.

 

Parker Messick, SP, Cleveland Guardians

  • ESPN: 7% / Yahoo: 19%
  • FAAB: 7-9%

Through two starts of Parker Messick’s career, the 2022 second-round pick has dazzled opponents and has looked like a front-line pitcher for years to come. Now, pitchers can do that in a small two-game sample, but there are a LOT of things backing Messick up here.

Messick’s notched a 24% K-rate through the two outings and has pitched to an 0.66 ERA. Obviously that’s naturally going to regress, but his xFIP is 2.48, SIERA 3.09, and xERA is 2.85. Those are all plus numbers and numbers you’d love to get from one of your starting pitchers.

Messick threw 133.2 IP in 2024, so don’t expect him to be shut down or limited at all as the end of the season is soon coming to a close. He’s only at 111 between the minors and majors this season. It should be smooth sailing for the talented young lefty moving forward.

 

Payton Tolle, SP, Boston Red Sox

  • ESPN: 10% / Yahoo: 27%
  • FAAB: 10-12%

Doing anything better than Paul Skenes is impressive and in Payton Tolle’s debut that came against the Pittsburgh Pirates and Paul Skenes, Tolle generated 14 whiffs to Skenes 11. That’s not fair considering the two teams' offenses, but that shows you that Tolle belongs at the major league level.

His major league debut was a good one spanning 5.1 IP, 84 pitches, eight strikeouts, and only two earned runs, which were both scored in the sixth inning. Tolle had a 36.5% K-rate in the minors this year and showed off his plus-plus stuff at the major league level in his debut. With the Red Sox pushing Dustin May back a day and outright releasing Walker Buehler, Tolle has a chance to stick in the Red Sox rotation.

 

 

 

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Infielders

Kyle Teel, C, Chicago White Sox

  • ESPN: 5% / Yahoo: 17%
  • FAAB: 8-10%

Thanks to his recent stretch, Kyle Teel heads into the weekend hitting .300, 54 games into his rookie campaign. Teel’s batted ball skill is impressive, as is his eye because he’s nearly at a 11% BB rate. 

He’s actually been unlucky on the slugging side of things even though it’s coming around better in August. He has a .411 SLG% but a .467 xSLG%, which just goes to show you there IS power in there. He also has sneaky catcher speed as he’s 58th percentile and had a 13 steal season in the minor league season.

There truly aren’t many good catchers in fantasy baseball to begin with and unless you have Cal Raleigh, Shea Langeliers, Will Smith, and just a couple of other names, Teel is likely a better option as the season comes to an end.

 

Jared Triolo, 1B/2B/3B/SS, Pittsburgh Pirates

  • ESPN: 5% / Yahoo: 25%
  • FAAB: 3-5%

The position player that’s been added more than anyone else on Yahoo! Fantasy baseball is none other than Jared Triolo. He’s been quite good lately and it’s been an extended period of time, so can we buy into it? He’s hitting over .500 over his last seven days, .424 over his last two weeks, and .338 over his last 28 days, which is a span of 25 games.

Triolo has found his way atop the Pittsburgh order lately and again, he continues to hit and there’s no reason to think that will slow down any time soon. Triolo has FOUR infield positions you can slot him in at and he can do a little of everything. His best trait is his speed and the more he plays the more stolen base upside he has.

 

Brooks Lee, 2B/3B/SS, Minnesota Twins

  • ESPN: 14% / Yahoo: 27%
  • FAAB: 3-5%

We haven’t really gotten to see consistent production out of Brooks Lee who was the 18th ranked prospect in 2024 in major league baseball. He’s been a top 52 prospect in MLB, Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus in 2023 and 2024. That may be changing because Lee has been great lately. Over the last 14 days, he’s hitting .293 with a 1.010 OPS but that’s a small sample over 394 at-bats.

Lee’s value is elevated by the fact that he’s hitting in the middle of the Twins lineup and by his position eligibility. He can be played at three different infield spots and has hit better than sixth in nine consecutive games, including second or third five times.

 

 

 

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Outfielders

Trent Grisham, OF, New York Yankees

  • ESPN: 25% / Yahoo: 30%
  • FAAB: 10-13%

Someone help me understand this one. Grisham is still 70% available on both ESPN and Yahoo! Fantasy. Trent Grisham has 28 home runs, 70 runs scored, and 57 RBI and continues to lead off for the league’s top scoring offense. 

It seems as if August may be his best month yet as he’s already hit a season-high 10 home runs, has 20 runs scored and has 17 more driven in. What is there not to like? Someone please help me! My brain is in a pretzel!

Whether or not he’s been this good offensively in the past, it’s all real. Just look at this beautiful page via Baseball Savant.

 

Mike Yastrzemski, OF, Kansas City Royals

  • ESPN: 6% / Yahoo: 7%
  • FAAB: 5-7%

Sometimes it’s very simple to see why a player suddenly is performing better than we’re used to seeing. We’ve only seen him in a San Francisco Giants jersey and he played all of his home games in the worst park in baseball for offense.

Since August 1st, which was his first game with the Royals he’s notched a .356 OBP, .603 SLG%, .342 ISO, and a .398 wOBA. He’s been leading off for them against righties too and that’s been the primary reason he’s scored 19runs in August. He’s also hit seven home runs and has 13 RBI this month.

The Royals offense as a whole has been one of the league’s best since they added Yastrzemski and he should continue to get plenty of pitches to hit with Bobby Witt and Vinnie Pasquantino hitting behind him.

 

Jeremiah Jackson, SS/3B/OF, Baltimore Orioles

  • ESPN: 2% / Yahoo: 5%
  • FAAB: 2-5%

Before being called up, Jeremiah Jackson was absolutely raking at Triple-A and he hasn’t stopped one bit since he hit the major league level. Before his call-up, he was hitting .377 with a 1.073 OPS across 11 home runs in 40 games. He’s hitting .329 through his first 23 games with the Orioles.

Jackson has a lot of skills including a 55/60 raw power grade, as well as a 55 speed grade. He’s been able to flash both of them at the minor league level posting a 22-27 season back in 2023 but he’s only hit one homer and hasn’t stolen a base at the major league level yet.

There’s a lot to like about Jackson and he’s yet to flash many of the skills he possess yet. He has multiple position eligibility and has spent eight straight games hitting out of the two hole. He’s riding an eight-game hitting streak over that span. Jackson’s barely rostered on Yahoo! Fantasy or ESPN Fantasy platforms and he should be.

 

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