We’ve officially crossed into late August, and the margin for error on your fantasy baseball roster is thin. With head-to-head playoffs locking in and rotisserie category races coming down to every single stat, holding onto underperforming draft picks or unproductive stashes is a luxury you can no longer afford. Every transaction needs to focus on immediate impact, hot splits, and structural upside down the stretch.

This week’s wire offers high-upside options across the board, from top-tier prospect call-ups like Walker Jenkins and Kaelen Culpepper to surging bats capitalizing on prime August runs and key ballpark factors. Whether you need the hot hand of Tristan Peters, the Coors Field schedule density working in Connor Norby’s favor, late-season rotational upside from Gage Jump and Elmer Rodriguez, or elite save leverage from Elvis Alvarado, there is plenty of talent available to bolster your championship run.

Be sure to check out the 2026 Fantasy Baseball Closer Grid to run down a list of players that are likely available in your fantasy baseball leagues.

 

If you want more waiver wire content, head over to the Fantasy Alarm YouTube channel where I broke some waiver wire options down for Week 23!

Top Waiver Wire Targets at a Glance

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Infielders

Bryce Eldridge, San Francisco Giants - 15% Rostered on Yahoo! Fantasy (FAAB - 10-12%)

This dude is good. Bryce Eldridge is really, really good. His rostership from his original call-up has spiraled and he’s starting to really turn it back on.

Eldridge, through 91 games, has belted 15 bombs and has scored 43 runs while driving in 42 more. August has been his second best month to date as he’s posted a .365 OBP%, .830 OPS, .365 wOBA and 133 wRC+. He’s been better at home this season, which is usually where people worry about Giants bats, as he’s posted an .822 OPS at home and .786 OPS on the road.

Connor Norby, Colorado Rockies - 13% Rostered on Yahoo! Fantasy (FAAB - 7-9%)

Since arriving in Colorado, Connor Norby is hitting .302 and is reaching base over 40% of the time. Norby has a week-long schedule at Coors Field this week and has 16 games left at Coors Field this season, which is over half of their remaining schedule.

Since joining the Rockies on August 11th, a span of 17 games, Norby is hitting .302 with two home runs and nine runs scored, and nine more driven in. He has a .913 OPS and .399 wOBA as a whole and if you look at his home/road splits he hasn’t been much worse on the road. He has a .405 OBP%, .817 OPS, and .369 wOBA away from Coors Field in August.

Kaelen Culpepper, Minnesota Twins - 13% Rostered on Yahoo! Fantasy (FAAB - 6-8%)

It’s been an impressive start to his career as Kaelen Culpepper as he’s hitting .313 with a .366 OBP% while belting three home runs. Culpepper is a very toolsy player and this year in 74 MiLB games, he hit 14 homers and stole 17 bases. We’ve yet to see Culpepper’s speed on display at the major league level but that’s coming too.

Culpepper is going to continue to play every day and is mega talented. Culpepper has hit both handednesses well at the minor league level and the major league level he’s done the same thing in his small sample.

Pedro Ramirez, Chicago Cubs - 7% Rostered on Yahoo! Fantasy (FAAB - 4-5%)

Before his call-up, Pedro Ramirez’s bat broke out in a major way and it hasn’t stopped at the major league level. Ramirez slashed .312/.395/.547 at the minor league level and as a major leaguer he’s done much of the same. He’s hitting .292 with a .355 OBP and .446 SLG% along with four homers, 28 runs scored, 24 RBI, and seven steals through his first 60 games.

Ramirez has hit well from both splits, especially from the right side, and has multiple position-eligibility. He is always hitting with people on base because of how good of the lineup he hits in and has protection in every direction he turns.

 

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Outfielders

Tristan Peters, Chicago White Sox - 37% Rostered on Yahoo! Fantasy (FAAB - 5-7%)

The stretch that Tristan Peters is coming off is insane and it’s worth mentioning in this week's waiver wire column. Peters, in the month of August, is hitting .329 with six homers, 14 runs scored, and 14 more driven in with a .671 SLG% along with a 1.091 OPS. Peters is two games removed from a five-game stretch in which he homered every day.

Peters has had all of his success against right-handed pitching, which is the dominant split in major league baseball. Peters has slashed .297/.357/.500 along with a .203 ISO, .371 wOBA, against righties. Peters is a platoon and that’s worth mentioning as he won’t have many at-bats against lefties.

Dylan Crews, Washington Nationals - 29% Rostered on Yahoo! Fantasy (FAAB - 5-7%)

We continue to wait for Dylan Crews to turn into the top-10 prospect he formally was and it just never materializes but he has put together a nice stretch of baseball recently. He has a .919 OPS over his last seven games while driving in six runs while posting three extra-base hits. He’s hit .277 with a .333 OBP over his last 12 games, so it’s expanded past just seven days.

He continues to hit in the heart of the order for Washington against both right-handed pitching and left-handers as well. Crews’ primary issue is with right-handed pitching because he has an .800 OPS against lefties. He’s improved against righties since the break as he’s hit .240, which is up from his .195 AVG on the year.

Walker Jenkins, Minnesota Twins - 20% Rostered on Yahoo! Fantasy (FAAB - 7-10%)

The five-tool Minnesota Twins top prospect is here and is here to stay. Walker Jenkins is a five-tool player that doesn’t strike out and walks a lot and we’ve already seen that at the major league level through his first two games (14.3% K & 14.3% BB).

At Triple-A this year, in 69 games, Jenkins hit .308 with 12 home runs, 51 runs scored, 28 more driven in, and 17 stolen bases. Fangraphs, upon his call-up, had him listed as the fourth-ranked prospect in all of baseball and has a 50+ hit grade, power, and speed. This is a must-add player for the remainder of the year.

Heriberto Hernandez, Miami Marlins - 14% Rostered on Yahoo! Fantasy (FAAB - 6-9%)

Heriberto Hernandez has homered three times over his last four games over his last seven games. He’s been a plus power-hitter all season long putting up 22 homers to this point in the year and he’s hit nine homers in the second half of the season in his first 37 games. Here’s how everything looks on the surface for Hernandez;

Hernandez has also contributed nine steals on the year and has plus speed and is a candidate to reach 30 homers and 15 steals on the year and is widely available in most Yahoo! fantasy leagues.

 

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pitchers

Zebby Matthews, Minnesota Twins - 28% Rostered on Yahoo! Fantasy (FAAB - 4-6%)

Over his last six games, Zebby Matthews has pitched extremely well, which was not the case prior to this stretch. Matthews has pitched to a 3.74 ERA while holding his opponents to a .248 AVG, .309 wOBA, and 3.53 xFIP. 

The ground balls he’s gotten have trended way, way, way up as he’s averaged a 54.6% GB rate during this aforementioned six-game stretch. His strikeout rate is over 21.3% over that span and it’s up from his 20% mark on the year. Matthews has had a home run problem throughout his career but has helped that issue by keeping the ball on the ground recently.

Joe Musgrove, San Diego Padres - 26% Rostered on Yahoo! Fantasy (FAAB - 4-6%)

Let’s face the fact that Joe Musgrove is 33-years old coming off a major arm injury and surgery. First things first there. He has, however, worked up his pitch count in the minor leagues to 70 pitches and has been able to get through five innings of work to boot. He’s a previously successful major league pitcher that should be able to make four-to-five major league starts and there’s value to rostering him depending on the matchup.

Gage Jump, Athletics - 14% Rostered on Yahoo! Fantasy (FAAB - 7-10%)

For the record, I think Gage Jump is the most talented pitcher on this list and I’m not even sure there’s a close second, but he pitches his home games at Sutter Health and other than his last outing, he has not had much success there.

On the year, Jump has a 25.2% K-rate this year and has a .333 BABIP against him as well, which suggests a lot of bad luck and that definitely makes sense considering how bad it is to pitch at Sutter Health Park. You don’t typically find strikeout artists this widely available on the waiver wire.

Elvis Alvarado, Athletics - 10% Rostered on Yahoo! Fantasy (FAAB - 3-5%)

Just over the last week, Elvis Alvarado has saved three games in four appearances and has only allowed one hit over that span. Alvarado has taken a strangle hold of the ninth-inning role for the Athletics and despite not being a winning ballclub, they play a lot of close games.

Alvarado strikes out a bunch of batters posting a 29.5% K-rate and in August, his walk rate is actually going down as his 12.5% BB rate is the lowest of his campaign. Opponents are batting just .143 against Alvarado in August while pitching to a 1.5 ERA to boot. He’s one of the better save options widely available on the waiver wire.

Elmer Rodriguez, New York Yankees - 4% Rostered on Yahoo! Fantasy (FAAB - 7-9%)

Elmer Rodriguez made his return to the majors against the Astros and looked like a completely different pitcher than he was the first few times he was at the major league level. His velocity was up, he generated a bunch of whiffs, and is going to stick around with Ryan Weathers down and out.

Rodriguez’s a very talented arm and has an elite schedule coming up as he faces off against the Angels and possibly the Rockies or Mets after that. Rodriguez and his improved stuff should be a threat at the major league level if he can hone in on his shaky control.