We’re coming down the stretch as we’re in the final month of the regular season. Fantasy baseball playoffs have already started in some places. Roto league races are getting as tight as they’ve been all year long. It’s a fun time for fantasy baseball and it’s a fun time to be adding players off of the fantasy baseball waiver wire. There are some elite prospects available, such as Brandon Sproat and Colson Montgomery, and wily veterans returning to the mound like Luis Garcia.

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

Brandon Sproat, SP, New York Mets

  • ESPN: 4% / Yahoo: 12%
  • FAAB: 8-10%

The Mets are calling up one of their top pitching prospects. Water is wet. Brandon Sproat is the third pitching prospect the Mets have called up in the past month and if this goes anything like Nolan McLean and Jonah Teng, things will be good in Mets land.

What do we need to know about Sproat? Well he was drafted in 2023 and this is only his second year in professional baseball. He made 26 appearances at Triple-A this year and has a 4.24 ERA and 4.55 xFIP.

Sproat features a 96.4 MPH fastball and his usage of the four-seamer has been down from 50% to 30% because he’s increased his sinker usage to 18%. He’s also thrown a slider 31% of the time compared to just 10% last season, so his pitch mix has drastically changed from one year to the next.

The strikeouts haven’t been there this year, which is a little concerning at the major league level, but they really weren’t there for Nolan McLean and now we’ve seen what happens when pitchers start working with major league staffs. His groundball rate is elite, too, and I think Sproat could stick, especially with the Mets sending Kodai Senga down to the minor leagues.

 

Ian Seymour, SP/RP, Tampa Bay Rays

  • ESPN: 10% / Yahoo: 34%
  • FAAB: 3-5%

At the minor league level, Ian Seymour forced the Rays to call him up and he doubled down when he arrived and forced them to deploy him in a larger role. A role he was used in at Triple-A. He’s missed a boatload of bats at every level and was at 10.9 K/9 this season at Triple-A this year. That has translated at the major league level, too. He’s sitting at an 11.3 K/9 with a 31% K-rate. 

He’s converted into a starters role in two of his last three outings, with one coming in a bulk relief role. Seymour has eight strikeouts in each of his starts while allowing one earned run. The strikeouts seem real and are likely to stick as he’s posted a 14% SwStr rate thus far, which is an elite mark. For context, amongst all qualified starting pitchers, the only arms over 14% are Tarik Skubal, Dylan Cease, Zack Wheeler, and Jacob deGrom. That is some eye popping stuff and something you should be willing to look at in fantasy leagues.

 

Luis Garcia, SP, Houston Astros

  • ESPN: 6% / Yahoo: 22%
  • FAAB: 7-9%

The last time we saw Luis Garcia on a mound was May 1st, 2023 and he made his return against the Angels and looked pretty sharp. He struck out six batters over six innings while allowing three runs. His 4.5 ERA was attached to a 3.19 xFIP and 2.92 SIERA.

Let’s look at some data on his return thanks to our friends at Fangraphs;

I highlighted a couple of things. The fastball velocity was down pretty significantly, to the point in which it’s a career-low. He threw it a LOT despite that, however. He also threw a career-high 12.7% curveball, which is interesting because it’s never been a big pitch for him. It rated out as a negative pitch after his first start while his slider, which he threw slightly less, rated out as his BEST pitch.

It’s hard to ignore the fact that Garcia threw six innings in his debut, which plays in both wins and quality start leagues, obviously. 

 

Luis Morales, SP, Athletics

  • ESPN: 23% / Yahoo: 44%
  • FAAB: 5-7%

Luis Morales has burst onto the scene in a big way and we’ll see if the luck can continue because when you look at some of the metrics, there is a little luck behind it. What’s not lucky is his fastball velocity. He has 89th percentile velocity at 97.2 MPH and it’s a big reason as to why he’s striking out 27% of batters. There’s the good, right? High velocity, high strikeouts, low ERA.

Now, let’s talk about some of what could hurt him a bit..

Some of the batted ball metrics could hurt when he pitches in his home ballpark. He only generates 33% GB while posting a 45.7% FB rate and a whopping 43% HH rate. He’s been VERY lucky with his BABIP posting a .221 mark there, which does show why he has a 3.92 xFIP and 3.9 SIERA, which are good, but shows regression is coming.

 

Jose A. Ferrer, RP, Washington Nationals

  • ESPN: 9% / Yahoo: 27%
  • FAAB: 3-5%

When the Nationals shipped out Kyle Finnegan at the trade deadline, there were some questions about who would close games in Washington and Jose A. Ferrer has grabbed a bit of a stranglehold on the position.

After pitching to an ERA north of five in the first half of the year, he’s at 1.45 since the All-Star break, and has held opponents to a .221 AVG. The strikeouts are night and day as well, as he had a 19% mark in the first half and 26% in the second.

He’s recorded five saves in his last seven appearances dating back to August 16th, a span in which he’s yet to allow an earned run in. He’s not going to cost you a lot and there aren’t a lot of saves available this week after Abner Uribe was the hot commodity a week prior.

 

 

 

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Infielders

Colson Montgomery, 3B/SS, Chicago White Sox

  • ESPN: 16% / Yahoo: 40%
  • FAAB: 11-13%

HOW is this man still available in 60% of Yahoo! Fantasy leagues? Someone needs to answer because I have no idea how it’s possible.

Here are the list of names that have hit more home runs than Colson Montgomery since July 4th, which was the date of his callup;

End of list. He’s tied with Giancarlo Stanton, but that’s how short the list is and how much power is just simply available on a waiver wire near you. He’s 3B and SS eligible and is going to continue to mash home runs.

 

Kyle Teel, C, Chicago White Sox

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

Another White Sox player? I get it. It’s not comfortable, but man, Kyle Teel is really good. It’s beyond the point of “he’s going to be really good in the future.” Nah dawg, he’s really good NOW.

Teel’s often on base and has a very elite batters eye. He has an 11% BB rate, .391 OBP, and has his batting average up to .295 on the year. He does have power, too, but it hasn’t shown through just yet. His .440 SLG% does not entirely match his .473 xSLG%, which is always a good indicator the power will start to come. It’s a small sample, but his slug is over .900 in September. There just aren’t many other catchers that are better offensively than Teel at this point in the season.

 

Kyle Manzardo, 1B, Cleveland Guardians

  • ESPN: 11% / Yahoo: 17%
  • FAAB: 6-8%

This has been the power campaign that the Guardians and fantasy owners have hoped for. His second half has been where he’s really shined, however. After hitting .217 with 15 home runs in 82 first half games, he’s at .264 with 10 bombs in just 39 games.

His second half includes a .519 SLG%, .877 OPS, .256 ISO, and a .375 wOBA and that’s something that the Guardians have to look forward to. They continue to run Manzardo behind Jose Ramirez as protection, which means he’ll continue to get all of the pitches to hit.

If you’re looking for a powerful first baseman, Manzardo’s the guy for you on the fantasy baseball waiver wire.

 

 

 

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Outfielders

Daulton Varsho, OF, Toronto Blue Jays

  • ESPN: 11% / Yahoo: 19%
  • FAAB: 9-11%

Is this Barry Bonds? Is this Hank Aaron? Is it Baby Ruth? Daulton Varsho has had an insane 2025 campaign. His batting average may only say .243 and he might also have a 30% K-rate, but that doesn’t matter. At all. It doesn’t matter because he has a .365 ISO and has 18 home runs through 52 games. Varsho has been a powerful dude before, but this is taking it to a different level.

He’s not running like he used to because he’s had three straight seasons with double-digit stolen bases, but it doesn’t matter if you’re going to hit 25 home runs in 85 games. He’s a must-own for ANY team looking for a power surge in the final month.

 

Josh Lowe, OF, Tampa Bay Rays

  • ESPN: 10% / Yahoo: 43%
  • FAAB: 6-8%

Josh Lowe is an extremely talented player that really hasn’t had health on his side, but over the last two weeks he’s hit his stride and has given us a glimpse at what he can be when he’s going right. Over that two week span, he has a .318/.362/.568 slash with two home runs, six total extra-base hits and four stolen bases.

If you look at Lowe’s career, he’s always been productive when he’s on the field. He is working on back-to-back campaigns with at least 25 stolen bases and is eight shy of that currently. In his lone season in which he’s played 130 games, he was a 20/30 player, which he shows upside to be from time to time. 

Lowe will provide you with much needed stolen bases and some home runs for the final month of the year.

 

Drew Gilbert, OF, San Francisco Giants

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

I always say it, but the more playing time a young player gets the more confidence he gains. The Giants have been giving former top-50 overall prospect, Drew Gilbert, a LOT of playing time lately and he’s been incredible. He’s had at least one hit in five straight starts and in those games, he’s homered twice, scored seven runs, and driven in nine more.

Gilbert’s prospect report had nothing eye popping, but has a LOT of really good things. He has a GOOD hit tool. He has GOOD power. He has GOOD speed. If he’s going to continue to play nearly every day for the Giants, there’s a reason to take a shot on a player riding a hot streak right now.