Justin Mason | Tue, Jun 3rd 2025, 9:24am EDT

Top 7 Fantasy Baseball FAAB Waiver Wire Pickups: High-Stakes

The best players in the world play fantasy baseball on NFBC. The most popular high-stakes contest is the NFBC Main Event, which has a $1,750 buy-in with a $7,000 league prize and a $200,000 overall prize. Thankfully, for everyone, NFBC allows us to see what each team is doing with their FAAB pickups on Sunday night.

Each week, I look at the most popular fantasy baseball waiver wire and FAAB pickups in the NFBC Main Event to see who the best players in the world are picking up and whether we should add them.

Fantasy Baseball FAAB Waiver Wire Pickups

Josh Bell (1B – WSH)

Josh Bell was picked up in 45 Main Event leagues with a max bid of $41 and a minimum bid of $1. Bell has been terrible this season, hitting .185/.284/.358, but he has hit nine home runs.

However, since May 12th, he has hit .296/.406/.519 with four home runs and has made good in-zone contact with power behind it. He likely won’t continue at this pace, but he should be the hitter he has always been the rest of the way, which is viable in a 15-team league.

Jake Mangum (OF – TB)

Jake Mangum returned from the injured list (IL) and was immediately picked up in 44 Main Event leagues with a max bid of $76 and a minimum bid of $12. He was great in April before getting hurt, hitting .338/.384/.397 with eight stolen bases.

Mangum had an immediate impact, hitting his first career home run over the weekend. He won’t hit for much power, but he can steal a bunch of bases and provide a good batting average.

Richard Fitts (SP – BOS)

Richard Fitts was picked up in 42 Main Event leagues with a max bid of $45 and a minimum bid of $1. Fitts returned from the IL last week and was on deck for a two-start week. Unfortunately for those who picked him up, he got destroyed in the first start of the week, throwing one inning and allowing five earned runs on four hits and a walk while striking out just one batter.

Fitts has talent, but his upcoming schedule is brutal with a matchup against the Yankees at the end of this week and next week before heading to Seattle after that.

Thairo Estrada (2B – COL)

Thairo Estrada returned from the IL last week, which is why he was picked up in 41 Main Event leagues with a max bid of $89 and a minimum bid of $3. Estrada is an accumulator on a bad team, but he could have value because of his ability to do a bit of everything.

Mick Abel (SP – PHI)

Mick Abel was picked up in 37 Main Event leagues with a max bid of $145 and a minimum bid of $12. Abel is a top pitching prospect who has been fantastic in AAA this season, throwing 57 innings with a 2.21 ERA, and was great in his first start in the Majors last month.

Abel is expected to be recalled to start on Thursday versus the Blue Jays, which is a good matchup. If he sticks, he could have a massive upside this season.

Kumar Rocker (SP – TEX)

Kumar Rocker was picked up in 35 Main Event leagues with a max bid of $135 and a minimum bid of $3. Rocker is expected to be reinstated from the IL to face the Rays on Wednesday.

Rocker has been terrible this season, with an 8.10 ERA across 20 innings. However, there is a ton of upside in Rocker’s arm. If he can keep the command in check, he could take a massive step forward.

Calvin Faucher (RP – MIA)

Calvin Faucher was picked up in 33 Main Event leagues with a max bid of $93 and a minimum bid of $3. Faucher registered two saves last week and appears to be in the conversation for saves, but the Marlins won’t win a ton of games, and they have Ronny Henriquez, Anthony Bender and Jesus Tinoco, which means there won’t be a lot of meat on the bone for him week to week.

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