As we barrel into the critical stretch run of the fantasy baseball calendar, every single roster spot matters, whether you are fighting for a playoff bye, clawing into the postseason, or grinding out every stat in roto formats. Fantasy managers are facing high-stakes decisions, and navigating the waiver wire for stretch-run contributors is paramount. From red-hot post-injury returns like Trevor Story and eye-opening second-half surges from the likes of Zack Gelof and Cal Quantrill, to out-of-nowhere statistical anomalies like Mickey Gasper, there is plenty of league-winning upside waiting on the wire. Whether you need elite counting stats, speed/power upside down the stretch, or a second-half rotation boost, let’s break down the top target pickups to prioritize heading into the final weeks of the season.

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.

Top Waiver Wire Targets at a Glance

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Infielders

Zack Gelof, Athletics - 45% Rostered on Yahoo! Fantasy (FAAB - 8-11%)

It’s been a breath of fresh air to see Zack Gelof hitting on the road because he’s been incredibly good at home and bad on the road until recently. But, over his last five games all of which on the road, he’s nine runs scored, three home runs, four runs batted in, and two stolen bases.

Through 92 games this year, Gelof has 17 home runs, 63 runs, 42 RBI, and 12 stolen bases. That’s elite counting stats and not to mention he’s been a 116 wRC+, which is well above league average of 100. Of the Athletics final six series, four of them are home including a four-game series to end the season. It’s a plus schedule for the Athletics to end the year and that sets up extremely well for Gelof.

Trevor Story, Boston Red Sox - 42% Rostered on Yahoo! Fantasy (FAAB - 5-7%)

In an incredibly small sample, post-injury Trevor Story has been a different player than pre-injury Trevor Story. In six games, Trevor Story has a .440 AVG with four extra-base hits, three runs, and four more runs driven in. Boston has two of their primary offensive options on the injured list and Story has moved up in the lineup because of it. He’s a solid add moving forward, especially if you’re looking for middle infield help.

Mickey Gasper, Boston Red Sox - 25% Rostered on Yahoo! Fantasy (FAAB - 6-8%)

There’s no explaining what Mickey Gasper is doing right now. None. He’s 30 years old and had two career home runs before this second half stretch and even in the minor leagues, he never had more than 12 home runs in any single campaign.

In 17 games since being recalled in the second half of the season, Mickey Gasper has hit EIGHT home runs and is hitting .354 with a .516 OBP, .938 SLG%, .583 ISO, and 283 wRC+. That’s all elite stuff. All of it. Elite. Will it continue? Can it continue? I mean, he’s barreling everything (22%), hitting everything hard (41.5%), and actually has a BABIP in the .280’s suggesting things could be even better and from a batting average standpoint, that’s true (.354 AVG, .370 xAVG).

Kaelen Culpepper, Minnesota Twins - 14% Rostered on Yahoo! Fantasy (FAAB - 6-8%)

A top-40 prospect having major league success? We’ve heard it all year and it’s been no different with Kaelen Culpepper. Culpepper is hitting .307 with a .361 OBP this season and has even been moved up the two-hole in the Twins’ latest game.

Culpepper is an incredibly toolsy player with plus power, speed, and is a guy with a good hit tool to boot. He’s already belted three home runs but only has one steal through 24 games. He’s always on base though, so that should lead to plenty of base running opportunities for the remainder of the season. Culpepper, amongst the three shortstop options listed here, has the highest ceiling of the three.

Cooper Pratt, Milwaukee Brewers - 7% Rostered on Yahoo! Fantasy (FAAB - 4-5%)

It’s been great to see Cooper Pratt’s response to his benching because he’s really been a productive fantasy player since that moment in time. Over his last six games in specific, he has scored four runs, has belted one home run, stolen one base, but driven in nine runs. 

In just 57 games played this season, Pratt has scored 28 runs, driven in 28 more, and swiped 13 bases. That’s a lot from a bottom of the order bat and the speed factor is a big-time plus to boot. He doesn’t play every day like Story and Culpepper does, but he’s arguably been more productive in terms of counting stats than the others.

 

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Outfielders

Tommy Edman, Los Angeles Dodgers - 29% Rostered on Yahoo! Fantasy (FAAB - 7-9%)

There are a multitude of reasons as to why Tommy Edman is a good fantasy player, but his versatility is a primary reason. He can slot in at many different positions and is the Dodgers swiss army knife because of it. He’s been productive on the field too and has hit leadoff or second in four consecutive games and four times over the last five.

Over Edman’s last 12 games specifically, he’s slashed .286/.375/.449 with two home runs, eight runs driven in, 11 more scored, and two stolen bases. He’s providing counting stats in every single category you’d want and there’s a chance he sticks as the team’s leadoff hitter if they do in fact put Shohei Ohtani on the 10-day IL, which the team is mulling over. Even if he’s hitting second because Ohtani returns, that’s more run producing opportunity for Edman moving forward.

Spencer Jones, New York Yankees - 27% Rostered on Yahoo! Fantasy (FAAB - 7-9%)

It’s been a big glow up for Spencer Jones since being recalled and there’s a chance, with Trent Grisham hurt, that he plays every day down the stretch for the New York Yankees. Since the All-Star break, Jones has cut his strikeout rate down from 41.5% to 32.8% and he’s posted an .804 OPS, .488 SLG%, and .236 ISO compared to .687, .370, and .137 respectively.

Jones’ counting stats have been quite impressive and it’s not just about the power, which is all the talk with him. He’s belted seven home runs yes, but he’s driven in 23 runs, scored 22 more, and stolen eight bases in a 39 game window. That’s super impressive and will be a part of a lineup that greatly improves in the upcoming week with the return of Aaron Judge. Jones is as close to a must-add for the stretch run as you’re going to find if you’re looking for a power/speed addition.

Henry Bolte, Athletics - 13% Rostered on Yahoo! Fantasy (FAAB - 6-7%)

It’s been a fantastic stretch of baseball for Henry Bolte since the start of August. Bolte has flashed far more power lately and has remained a productive leadoff hitter too. Since August 1st (149 plate appearances) he’s slashed .316/.389/.489 with a .385 wOBA. 

What’s better than your leadoff hitter reaching base nearly 40-percent of the time while scoring 23 runs in 33 games? That’s a great mark, especially for someone so widely available in fantasy leagues everywhere. I mentioned it earlier when talking about Zack Gelof, but the Athletics have an elite schedule for the remainder of the season and that’s great news for Bolte owners.

Jonah Cox, San Francisco Giants - 8% Rostered on Yahoo! Fantasy (FAAB - 2-4%)

Typically a faster player has a higher BABIP because they can leg out hits that others can’t. Jonah Cox has 70-grade speed and is hitting .291 but I’m a little skeptical that it’ll continue considering his robust .475 BABIP. Now, it’s not to say he doesn’t have value because he does in fact have fantasy value, but regression is definitely in his near future.

Cox has been a thorn in left-handed pitching’s side while being a serviceable option against righties. He has a .920 OPS against southpaws and it’s sitting at .736 against right-handed hurlers. He’s used his speed and that’s his fantasy super power as he’s stolen nine bags to this point. He needs to cut down the strikeouts because a 40% clip is extremely high.

Brett Bateman, Toronto Blue Jays - 5% Rostered on Yahoo! Fantasy (FAAB - 2-3%)

This is similar to Jonah Cox above, but Brett Bateman is an even lesser prospect than Cox ever was as he’s gone from 36th prospect in their system to leadoff hitters for the Jays. In 19 games in the leadoff spot, Bateman is hitting .351 with 14 runs scored and three stolen bases. He’s reached base at a 41% clip, too, which is EXACTLY what you want your table setter doing. Bateman is going to specifically contribute in on-base, runs scored, and stolen bases and is available in any and all fantasy platforms.

 

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pitchers

Cal Quantrill, Texas Rangers - 47% Rostered on Yahoo! Fantasy (FAAB - 8-10%)

What can we even say about Cal Quantrill at this point? He’s having his Jeremy Lin stretch but even Jeremy Lin has to be impressed with how long this has gone on for. In 50.1 IP since the All-Star break, Quantrill has pitched to a 2.50 ERA while holding opponents to a .209 AVG while seeing his strikeouts go up and walks go down and a lot of it is starting to look real.

Quantrill had a 14.5% K rate before the break and it’s up to 22.5% since the second half kicked off. His walks went from 6.7% to 5.5% and the big key are the ground balls. He’s keeping everything on the ground. His grounder and fly balls have basically swapped as he had a 33.6% GB rate before the break and it’s 46.9% since the break. His 48.6% FB rate before the vacation is 37.1% afterwards. Better late than never to hop onto the Quantrill bus ride, I suppose.

Jacob Lopez, Athletics - 39% Rostered on Yahoo! Fantasy (FAAB - 7-9%)

Another Jacob Lopez start, another great outing. It’s a weekly thing at this point and if you haven’t bought in yet you should get started on that. In EVERY outing since the break, all nine of them, he’s allowed two earned runs or less. He’s had a quality start in four of his last five starts and has struck out six or more batters in four straight and six of his last seven.

Staying on the strikeouts for a second, they’re not going anywhere any time soon. For the season, Lopez has a 10.9% SwStr rate but hasn’t dipped below 11.8% in any outing in the second half and has SIX outings of 14% or higher. Those are incredibly elite numbers. The ballpark thing scares me a bit but he suppresses hard contact at one of the highest levels in the league.

Mason Montgomery, Pittsburgh Pirates - 37% Rostered on Yahoo! Fantasy (FAAB - 4-6%)

When the Pirates acquired Luke Weaver, the groupthink was that he’d become the Pirates closer but he’s actually stayed in high-leverage eighth inning situations and Mason Montgomery has had a lionshare of the ninth inning opportunities. Montgomery has converted three saves in his last four outings and picked up a win in the fourth.

He’s had four saves just since August 25th and hasn’t allowed an earned run since July 26th. That’s a span of 17 outings. In fact, he’s only allowed seven hits and three walks over that span. He’s been flat out dominant because he misses a ton of bats too. He’s the best reliever on the market because of the saves, but also because of the ratio’s he’s bringing with him.

Andrew Painter, Philadelphia Phillies - 31% Rostered on Yahoo! Fantasy (FAAB - 6-8%)

I mean, we’re going to keep listing Andrew Painter here until he’s rightfully rostered and being available in nearly 70% of Yahoo! Fantasy leagues is disrespectful to the former top-25 prospect in baseball.

Painter is fresh off a seven inning, two-hit, zero run dismantling of the Arizona Diamondbacks and that’s his third straight quality start in which he struck out at least six batters. He’s struck out at least six batters in five of his seven outings since being recalled.

We’ve talked about it a bunch, but his whole seasonal – and possibly career – outlook changed when he went to the minors and changed his pitch mix and started throwing a change up. Painter is a must-add moving forward, but that’s been the case for an entire month.

Corbin Burnes, Arizona Diamondbacks - 25% Rostered on Yahoo! Fantasy (FAAB - 2-3%)

Welcome back, Corbin Burnes. I’m not going all in here, but I’ll dip my toes into the water because of the quality of the pitcher. Burnes is making his return on Tuesday and will reportedly throw around 60 pitches. He’s only made one rehab appearance and it didn’t span too long, but Burnes will essentially be on his rehab assignment at the major league level. By the end of the year, we should see Burnes built up to full, which means 2-3 starts of a full-go Corbin Burnes is possible and worth at least a look.

Jonah Tong, New York Mets - 5% Rostered on Yahoo! Fantasy (FAAB - 2-3%)

The last four starts at the minor league level for the Mets gave them indication it might be time to get Jonah Tong back to the majors. He’s pitched to an 0.84 ERA while striking out 23 batters across 21.1 IP. He’s walked 10 batters over that span at the same token, so that problem has still been persistent but with the Mets starting to limit some of their pitchers, Tong’s going to get a shot in the majors.

Just last year we saw Tong have major league success and strike out a bunch of batters, albeit a small sample, but he notched a 10.6 K/9. That’s what he’s done at every level he’s pitched at throughout his career. Missed bats. That’s the appeal for Tong who could be auditioning for the 2027 rotation.