Welcome back to the fantasy baseball waiver wire, folks! With the 2026 MLB Trade Deadline just hours away and massive blockbusters like Tarik Skubal heading to the Dodgers already sending shockwaves through major league depth charts, staying agile on the wire right now is how fantasy championships are won. Whether you are chasing the elite, must-add prospect upside of Max Clark and Dylan Crews, riding the unstoppable veteran surge of Ty France, or looking to stash high-upside arms like River Ryan whose path just cleared post-trade, this week's slate is loaded with league-winning potential. Let’s dive into the priority targets you need to claim for the stretch run. 

Take a peak at some of the other fantasy baseball content on Fantasy Alarm from this past week;

Fantasy Baseball Stock Watch

Fantasy Baseball Closer Grid
 If you want more waiver wire content, head over to the Fantasy Alarm YouTube channel where Colby Conway and I broke some waiver wire options down for Week 17!

 

 

Top Waiver Wire Targets at a Glance

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Infielders

Ty France, San Diego Padres - 38% Rostered on Yahoo! Fantasy (FAAB - 6-8%)

Nobody can stop Ty France and I’m not sure if anyone will at this point. France just went the entire month of July slashing .326/.370/.596 with six home runs, 20 runs batted in, and 13 more runs scored. He’s nearing almost all of his career-high’s already and it’s August 2nd.

France has been a plus bat this season and it doesn’t look as if it’s going to slow down anytime soon;

The Padres offense is trending up and the run production is a sticking point with France considering how often Tatis, Machado, Rengifo, and Merrill are getting on-base ahead of him.

Cooper Pratt, Milwaukee Brewers - 16% Rostered on Yahoo! Fantasy (FAAB - 6-8%)

I think Cooper Pratt has been a pleasant surprise offensively for Milwaukee but a lot of it looks real. Despite only hitting .241 at Triple-A before his call-up, his .289 AVG is still attached to a .273 xBA and that’s really good at a desolate position. 

Where Pratt’s true fantasy value lies is his ability to get on base and steal bases. He’s already stolen 10 bases in 12 attempts thanks to a robust .382 OBP. Pratt has a 13.2% BB rate up to this point and being on base 40% of the time is good in ANY fantasy format.

When Pratt was originally called up, he was in a bit of a timeshare, but he’s started eight consecutive games and 11 of his last 12 overall. 

Cole Young, Seattle Mariners - 14% Rostered on Yahoo! Fantasy (FAAB - 6-8%)

If we’re talking about points leagues, Cole Young is now the 11th highest scorer in Yahoo! Fantasy leagues, which is very notable because that should only go up from here now that he’s leading off.

As the Mariners leadoff hitter, Young is hitting .209 with a .356 OBP. He’s seventh in homers amongst fantasy second basemen, eighth in runs scored, and sixth in runs batted in. Young is a plus add and is probably an upgrade from a lot of second basemen that might be on your roster.

Kyle Karros, Colorado Rockies - 14% Rostered on Yahoo! Fantasy (FAAB - 4-5%)

Earlier in the season, Kyle Karros was mostly playing against lefties and that’s changed drastically because he’s hitting both splits with equal authority. He has a .295 AVG and .798 OPS against lefties but his .254 AVG and .796 OPS against righties suggests something. 

That something is power.

He has a .438 SLG% and .184 ISO against righties, so Karros has really hit both splits extremely well. Third is weak and Karros is still rostered in over 85% of Yahoo! Fantasy leagues.

Joc Pederson, Texas Rangers - 11% Rostered on Yahoo! Fantasy (FAAB - 2-3%)

After hitting .176 with a 76 wRC+ last year, Joc Pederson is all the way back offensively and is a pretty good add at this point. He’s already up to 20 home runs in his first 100 games this year and continues to lead off against right-handed pitching. Righties are the majority of starters, which is good because Pederson is a platoon bat and rarely plays against lefties. He’s only had 26 at-bats against lefties and is batting .154 against them.

 

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Outfielders

Max Clark, Detroit Tigers - 37% Rostered on Yahoo! Fantasy (FAAB - 13-15%)

Max Clark is simply a must-add for the remainder of the year. Straight up. That’s that. This is a top-five prospect in all of baseball with every tool in the shed at his disposal. 

  • Plus speed? How’s 70 grade?
  • Hit tool? Yeah, 50-60 is in the bag.
  • Well, does he have power? Yeah, homered in his second game with his 50-55 raw power grade.

When you look at Clark’s profile, he’s walked at a high clip at EVERY level and has never really been a big strikeout guy either. He’s a fantasy game changer and although he’s costly, he’s worth it.

Dylan Crews, Washington Nationals - 39% Rostered on Yahoo! Fantasy (FAAB - 7-8%)

It’s been a really good second half of the campaign for Dylan Crews and that’s definitely a positive who we’ve just simply waited for an elongated stretch of good baseball. He reached maximum prospect heights and that just hasn’t matched his play at the major league level, but maybe the light switch is turning on.

Since the All-Star break, Crews has a .292/.424/.563 slash with a .271 ISO, .427 wOBA, and 172 wRC+. He’s been hitting in the middle of the Nationals lineup to boot and they’re the highest run scoring team in the league. Crews has power and speed and since the break his walk rate is WAY up at nearly 14%, which is double his seasonal average. He’s absolutely an upside add at this point in the season.

Jake Mangum, Pittsburgh Pirates - 11% Rostered on Yahoo! Fantasy (FAAB - 3-4%)

There’s been a bunch of batted ball luck behind his breakout, but Jake Mangum is hitting .306 with a .354 OBP on the year. The Pirates continue to run him out atop their lineup because he’s always on base and is their biggest threat to steal a base too.

He’s up to 20 steals on the year and is an elite batted ball guy as he strikes out at just 17.5% of the time. Again, he has a .368 BABIP so regression is likely coming to him, but after batting .296 last year, he had a .345 BABIP and typically batted ball luck finds the speed guys a bit more.

Spencer Jones, New York Yankees - 9% Rostered on Yahoo! Fantasy (FAAB - 4-6%)

There are things that come along with rostering Spencer Jones that you need to know. He strikes out a LOT. A lot a lot. He currently has a 38.1% K-rate at the major league level BUT things have drastically changed since the All-Star break.

It’s only an eight game sample since he returned, his K-rate is only 26.1% and his BB-rate is up to 13% and he’s hitting .300 with a 1.141 OPS. He’s homered in two straight and three times in the eight games he’s played since the All-Star break. If Jones keeps his swing shorter and continues to make more contact, he’s a fascinating fantasy roster for the remainder of the year because the Yankees need offense and he’s one of the only players providing it.

Ryan Waldschmidt, Arizona Diamondbacks - 3% Rostered on Yahoo! Fantasy (FAAB - 1-3%)

It’s been a really good week for Ryan Waldschmidt and things have been really good for him since being recalled on July 10th. Since that date, he’s hit .385 with a .959 OPS and .405 wOBA. He still strikes out a lot and hasn’t swiped as many bags as the groupthink was when he was originally called up, but he has a massive stolen base ceiling if he continues to hit the way he has since rejoining the roster. I think the key here is what happens when Jordan Lawler comes back; will Waldschmidt hang onto his spot or be sent down.

 

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pitchers

Shane Drohan, Milwaukee Brewers - 41% Rostered on Yahoo! Fantasy (FAAB - 8-10%)

If you are scouring the waiver wire for reliable starting pitching down the stretch, it is time to stop scrolling and submit a claim for Shane Drohan. After a quietly solid start to the 2026 season, Drohan has leveled up over the last month, transforming into a model of consistency that fantasy managers desperately need.

Consistency is hard to find on the waiver wire, but Drohan is currently doing just that. Over his last five trips to the mound, he has been a workhorse for the Brewers as he’s tossed six-plus innings in five straight starts. He has recorded four quality starts over that span to boot. Drohan has struck out 6+ batters in four straight games, and five of his last six outings.

The surface-level numbers are great, but under-the-hood stuff reveals a pitcher who is truly earning his keep. Drohan is currently boasting a 3.48 ERA on the year, but the expected metrics suggest he has actually been slightly unlucky. His 3.31 xERA and 3.66 xFIP prove that the run prevention is completely legitimate. Furthermore, he is putting hitters away. A 24.5% K-rate provides a fantastic fantasy floor, backed by a robust 27.5% overall whiff rate that sits comfortably above the league average.

Walbert Urena, Los Angeles Angels - 41% Rostered on Yahoo! Fantasy (FAAB - 8-10%)

Do you like looking at things that make you happy? Well, here ya go. This should make everyone happy;

It’s been a fantastic season for Walbert Urena and outside of the walks, this is a REALLY good pitcher. Over Urena’s last two starts, the walks have been down as he’s had a 10:3 K:BB ratio and that’s been great for him because he’s fired off back-to-back quality starts and it was the first time he got through six innings since June 15th. He does everything else well. He generates whiffs, he keeps EVERYTHING on the ground, and there’s no hard contact. He’s a must-own for the remainder of the season if the Angels have no plans on limiting his innings.

Kumar Rocker, Texas Rangers - 21% Rostered on Yahoo! Fantasy (FAAB - 4-6%)

We’ve seen some REALLY good outings out of Kumar Rocker recently and he’s changed up his pitch mix throwing more fastballs, less sinkers, and even more sliders than before. All of that stuff matters because his slider rates out as his best pitch by a wide margin. His sinker was the polar opposite and it rates out as his worst pitch this season.

Because of the change, Rocker has nearly had a 15% SwStr in each of his last two starts with two quality starts in each. His 13:4 K:BB ratio over his last 12.2 IP is arguably his best two-start stretch on the season.

Kade Anderson, Seattle Mariners - 19% Rostered on Yahoo! Fantasy (FAAB - 7-9%)

We’re nearing Kade Anderson SZN and when he finally arrives, Anderson’s going to stick around. At this current moment, it’s unclear when he’ll be called up but with Seattle moving on from Luis Castillo and possibly Emerson Hancock or George Kirby, it’’s possible Anderson’s a part of the plans as soon as the trade deadline passes.

Anderson held his opponents to a .149 AVG while pitching to a 1.2 ERA and a robust 40.5% K-rate, which is just insane. If you have the ability to stash a pitcher, Anderson’s number one with a bullet.

Brandyn Garcia, Arizona Diamondbacks - 12% Rostered on Yahoo! Fantasy (FAAB - 6-8%)

Now that Paul Sewald has been removed from the ninth inning, the Diamondbacks have publicly said that they’re going to go matchup base with their ninth-inning guy, but Bradyn Garcia has gotten each of the last two save opportunities. 

Since June 11th, Garcia has allowed just two earned runs and they’ve come in the same outing. Over that span, he’s pitched to a 1.1 ERA and opponents have slashed .125/.183/.179 while posting a 41% K-rate.. He misses a lot of bats (10.8 K/9) and his 2.10 ERA is actually attached to a 1.80 xERA this year. Garcia is the best waiver wire relief pitcher on the board and people really still haven’t caught onto how good he’s been considering he’s nearly 90% available in Yahoo! Fantasy leagues.

River Ryan, Detroit Tigers - 8% Rostered on Yahoo! Fantasy (FAAB - 3-5%)

Is it time that the legend of River Ryan finally comes to light now that he’s been dealt? He’s one of three players dealt in the Tarik Skubal trade and we could see Ryan show up at the major league level immediately. 

He hasn’t had a great season at Triple-A but it’s been a little unlucky. He has a 27.2% K-rate and has a 53.8% GB rate and despite having a mid-4 ERA, his xFIP is 3.49. The Tigers rotation has holes as Skubal is gone and Keider Montero’s role with the Tigers seems very fluid, which bodes well for Ryan. He’s a good roster rest of season if you’re willing to stash him until the Tigers call him up.