This is the week of the rookie outfielder. Everywhere you turn there’s another rookie outfielder being called up just begging to have waiver dollars thrown at them. A.J. Ewing and Henry Bolte joined Ryan Waldschmidt and Spencer Jones as the most recent prospects called up. There are interesting names for our fantasy baseball waiver wire elsewhere as some pitchers we’re familiar with are being called up and some infielders ready to break out. Let’s dive into this week's fantasy baseball waiver wire adds.

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 Howard Bender and I broke some waiver wire options down for Week 9!

 

 

 

Top Waiver Wire Targets at a Glance

 

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Infielders

Luis Garcia Jr., Washington Nationals

44% Rostered on Yahoo Fantasy

FAAB - 5-6%

It’s been a good week-plus for Luis Garcia but overall, he’s had a really solid campaign as he still has second base eligibility despite a lot of his games coming at first. He’s gained first base eligibility, qualifies at a desolate second base and has 40 runs and RBI combined this season. It’s not exciting, it’s not sexy, but if you don’t have Brice Turang, Ketel Marte, or JJ Wetherholt, are you truly attached to anything at 2B? Garcia is a solid add for the remainder of the year.

Spencer Steer, Cincinnati Reds

25% Rostered on Yahoo! Fantasy

FAAB - 3-4%

It’s been a really nice stretch of baseball for Spencer Steer who has 1B and OF eligibility and is raking. Over his last 10 games, Steer has belted two home runs, 11 runs scored, and six more driven in. There’s a lot under the hood to like about Steer’s 2026 season;

As long as he’s not traded, he has a big-time offensive ceiling in the ballpark he plays in. Really decent add moving forward.

Zack Gelof, Athletics

20% Rostered on Yahoo! Fantasy

FAAB - 3-4%

You’re adding Zack Gelof for the power. He does have speed as we saw him steal 25 bags in 2024, but it’s all about the power right now. He’s hit five homers in 29 games with four of them coming in May. In fact, in May, Gelof has a .643 SLG% and 1.005 OPS.

I should have also mentioned the fact that he’s one game away on ESPN from gaining 3B eligibility and has played two games in the outfield. He isn’t far away from having three positional eligibility and all three are arguably the worst positions in fantasy.

Mark Vientos, New York Mets

6% Rostered on Yahoo! Fantasy

FAAB - 2-3%

Look, the month of May has been very kind to Mark Vientos and there’s light at the end of the tunnel. His numbers look more in line with his 2024 output than his 2025 stuff. He’s actually driven in 15 runs in 14 games during May and his baseball savant page looks like this;

If there’s a takeaway here it’s that he’s going to hit a bunch of home runs for the remainder of the year. This is a guy who nearly belted 30 bombs in just 413 at-bats in ‘24. I’m buying stock in Mark Vientos for the remainder of the year as the turnaround is coming.

 

 

 

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Outfielders

JJ Bleday, Cincinnati Reds

43% Rostered on Yahoo! Fantasy

FAAB - 7-8%

JJ Bleday has been one of the best players in the game in the month of may and there’s really nothing we can do about that. In fact, if you cut JJ Bleday’s wRC+ in half, he’d still be a better-than-average major league player. It currently sits at 214. 

Thus far, Bleday has six bombs in 18 games and is slashing .323/.440/.726 and even though he’s not qualified yet this year, holy cow look at how good this looks;

Bleday is 28-years old and we’ve never seen THIS version of him, but he plays in an elite ballpark and has everything going for him at the dish right now.

A.J. Ewing, New York Mets

39% Rostered on Yahoo! Fantasy

FAAB - 10-11%

It’s been a fantastic start to A.J. Ewing’s major league career as he homered and stole a base within his first three games. Ewing is one of two waiver wire rookie adds with 70-grade speed and also can hit for a little power. Speed is more his thing and would’ve had his second steal if his foot had not come off the bag on Saturday because he had the base stolen by a mile. You’re going to have to pay a pretty penny to get Ewing off of the waiver wire this week.

Carson Benge, New York Mets

16% Rostered on Yahoo! Fantasy

FAAB - 5-6%

While all the hype within the Mets organization is about A.J. Ewing’s call-up, Carson Benge is out here ballin’. He has four multi-hit games over his last five games and is hitting .340 in May. Benge has 10 runs scored in 14 games along with four extra-base hits and seven RBI and two steals. He’s also moved into the leadoff spot and was an elite prospect coming into the year, he just struck out a lot during his opening month as a big leaguer. Ewing’s going to be the much more sought after waiver wire bid, but don’t miss out on bidding for Benge.

Ryan Waldschmidt, Arizona Diamondbacks

15% Rostered on Yahoo! Fantasy

FAAB - 4-5%

It hasn’t been the best start for Ryan Waldschmidt, but it’s been solid, it’s a very small sample, and things should be a little better. He has a .479 xSLG and .338 xwOBA and both are significantly higher than his seasonal averages. Waldschmidt has shown an elite batters eye at the minor league level and hasn’t flashed it yet considering he has a 4.3% BB and 26.1% K thus far. Solid power, solid speed, and should only move up in the order as time goes on.

Henry Bolte, Athletics

15% Rostered on Yahoo! Fantasy

FAAB - 5-6%

Speed. Speed, speed, and more speed. Henry Bolte is gifted with 80 grade speed and even has flashed a bunch of power at the minor league level this year. Bolte was slashing .348/.418/.658 with 12 home runs and 17 SB in 37 games. You’re inserting him in a good offense and in an elite ballpark and that should make for a LOT of fantasy goodness.

 

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pitchers

Tanner Scott, Los Angeles Dodgers

46% Rostered on Yahoo! Fantasy

FAAB - 7-8%

Despite Edwin Diaz going down weeks ago, Tanner Scott is still under 50% rostered in Yahoo! Fantasy leagues. Scott has been dominant this year as he’s allowed just three runs total this season across 20 appearances. He’s had three saves in May and is up to a robust 27.7% K-rate. Scott’s the best closer available and if he’s still on your waiver wire, add him now.

Grayson Rodriguez, Los Angeles Angels

21% Rostered on Yahoo! Fantasy

FAAB - 4-5%

What are we going to get out of Grayson Rodriguez at the major league level after shoulder issues kept him out off the mound since 2024. He’s made two rehab outings and missed a LOT of bats, but he hasn’t made a start above Single-A, so we should temper our expectations a bit, but is a pitcher that was formally a top-20 prospect in ALL of baseball back in 2023.

His season debut comes against the Dodgers, so welcome back to the majors, Mr. Rodriguez, but this is a fantastic test to see where he’s at and to see how his shoulder holds up.

Ben Brown, Chicago Cubs

21% Rostered on Yahoo! Fantasy

FAAB - 3-4%

With all of the injuries the Cubs have endured in their starting rotation, Ben Brown has gotten an opportunity to start games again and he’s seizing it. He’s had eight scoreless innings in his first two starts while allowing just one hit and posting a 10:2 K:BB. He had nine whiffs in his last outing and had seven starts and had nine whiffs in the start before and only had three, but the amount of whiffs is the key here. His whiffs will ultimately generate strikeouts and there’s no reason to think his latest successes will get him removed from their rotation.

This is a good pitcher, guys. 

Connor Prielipp, Minnesota Twins

16% Rostered on Yahoo! Fantasy

FAAB - 5-6%

It was another fantastic outing from Conner Prielipp on Saturday and it came against a really tough Milwaukee Brewers offense. Prielipp lowered his ERA to 2.88 on the year and has a robust 10.4 K/9 through his first five big league starts.

Prielipp’s two issues have been the amount of flyballs he’s allowed and his walks are slightly elevated. Prielipp’s been able to miss bats at every level and that hasn’t changed at the major league level. He checks a lot of boxes because the Twins have been willing to let him pitch deep into games – which helps in quality starts leagues – and he misses bats. That’s a dynamic duo in fantasy baseball.

Zebby Matthews, Minnesota Twins

6% Rostered on Yahoo! Fantasy

FAAB - 3-4%

It was an interesting debut for Zebby Matthews because if you just look at his numbers on the surface, you’d think he’s ready to make a leap. Seven innings, no runs, just four hits and had a 5:1 K:BB ratio. Things under the hood didn’t look great as he generated only seven whiffs, which led to a 7.5% SwSt rate. The Marlins are a tough team to strike out, so that definitely factors in here, but Matthews is over 12% SwSt for his career so I’d expect that to correct over the course of the season.

He’s always been incredibly fascinating because his arm talent is undeniable, but he hasn’t put it altogether at the major league level. His underlying numbers have out performed his surface level stuff in each of the last two seasons so maybe the luck is going to turn in 2026. He’s worth a flier as he’s still over 90% available in Yahoo! Fantasy baseball leagues.