Top Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups (2025)

Welcome back, you fantasy die-hards. The fantasy season is coming to a close, but for those of you still in it, I’ve got you covered. I’ve discovered 12 more solid contributors that are vastly being ignored.

With the season coming to a close, hot bats and sharp arms are your best friends. There’s no need to hold onto that slumping veteran anymore. With some roto leagues coming down to the wire, that extra run or base hit could make all the difference. So get to the waiver wire and add some of these hot hitters immediately before the competition does. There should be something for everyone with this week’s fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups, so let’s get to it.

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups

Let’s cover pitchers first. All players listed are rostered in 40% or fewer of Yahoo Leagues.

Connelly Early (SP – BOS): 8%

Striking out 12 batters in a debut is extremely impressive. Bordering on a record-setting outing, Connelly Early was electric in his first taste of the big leagues. Not only did Early strike out the world, but he also registered a 56% ground ball rate. The heavy dose of ground balls and high strikeouts is on par with his Minor League numbers, so the impressive showing shouldn’t come as a complete surprise.

Early regularly struck out more than 11 hitters per nine and averaged better than 50% of ground balls throughout his Minor League career. He posted a 2.60 ERA across the two highest levels of the Minors this year and is currently lined up to face the A’s again at home on Tuesday. Early is a must-add everywhere.

Bubba Chandler (SP – PIT): 29%

I’ve mentioned Bubba Chandler before as a speculative add, but now he’s getting his chance to start. He went six innings, striking out seven and allowing just one earned run on Saturday. Chandler is one of the top prospects in all of baseball. The organization slow-played his opportunity, but he should start a few more games down the stretch.

Chandler throws in the high 90s and possesses an excellent slider and change-up. The Pirates have a plethora of top young arms. It’ll be interesting to see if, in the future, they can add some offense to help get them back in contention.

Joey Cantillo (SP, RP – CLE): 14%

Joey Cantillo has been special lately. Pitching into the ninth inning in his latest outing, Cantillo now owns a 1.09 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP over his last four starts. The Guardians’ latest quality arm not only lasts deep into games but also registers a ton of strikeouts. Cantillo’s up to 92 strikeouts over just 80.1 innings. He has also secured back-to-back victories in his two starts this month.

Cantillo is set to take on Detroit this week on the road. The Tigers have been a tough opponent this year, but they really haven’t seen him before, other than a quick one-two-three inning in relief much earlier this year. Cantillo also qualifies as a relief pitcher for those in head-to-head leagues looking to maximize their return.

Brandon Sproat (SP – NYM): 23%

I suggested Brandon Sproat last week, and he didn’t disappoint. Of the three Mets pitching prospects brought up within the last month, prognosticators have Sproat rated as the highest. Whether or not he can live up to those lofty expectations remains to be seen, but simply said, all three have a very bright future.

The Mets are currently utilizing a six-man rotation, so after Saturday’s start, Sproat should be in line to face the Nationals next week. He was excellent in his debut, holding the Reds to three hits and seven strikeouts over six innings. Unfortunately, he did walk four batters, but I expect that number to drop as the nerves settle down.

The soon-to-be 25-year-old was a menace on the farm the last few months, holding Triple-A opponents to a 2.44 ERA with a 30% strikeout rate and an 8% walk rate. He’s still widely available and is an excellent waiver wire pickup for his upcoming matchup.

Daylen Lile (OF – WSH): 38%

Daylen Lile had his scoring streak snapped on Thursday when he failed to score a run for the first time this month. He’s been massively productive lately, filling up the stat sheet, hitting for a .395 average in September after posting a robust .305 average in August.

Lile’s already scored 12 times and has a miraculous five triples this month. The lefty swinging outfielder has also knocked in eight runs while hitting for a pair of homers and stealing a base. Lile has a keen eye for the dish for a rookie, striking out just 16% of the time.

The 22-year-old is a former second-round pick and was ranked as the Nats’ eighth-best prospect in a system full of promising players. Lile has also been acting as their cleanup hitter of late. He’s worth adding for the final two weeks of the season.

Harrison Bader (OF – PHI): 27%

Harrison Bader’s been a monster for Philly, batting .430 since August 20th. During those 21 games, the well-traveled outfielder scored 18 runs and drove in 11. Bader also launched three home runs, nine doubles and a triple during that outburst. The former Cardinal is in the midst of a well-balanced 53/16/54/10/.285 season. He’s been hitting out of the leadoff spot since Tuesday and should be starting in all leagues.

Brandon Marsh (OF – PHI): 7%

Brandon Marsh is another Phillies outfielder who has moved up in the lineup and caught fire. Marsh is now 16 for his last 37 (.432) with 11 runs scored over the last two weeks. He also launched two home runs during that span. The former Angel was nearly a 20/20 player in limited playing time last season, so he has the potential to be a fine fantasy commodity.

Marsh has also produced multiple seasons where he hit above .275. He has hit fourth or fifth in the lineup this week and could be a sneaky add for the final days of the season.

Jake Bauers (1B, OF – MIL): 3%

Jake Bauers said move over, Andrew Vaughn and Rhys Hoskins, there’s a new sheriff in town. Bauers has been an afterthought for some time now in fantasy leagues, but he has caught fire and has suddenly taken over as the Brewers’ starting first baseman.

According to FanGraphs, Bauer has been the sixth-best player in baseball over the last week. Since the beginning of the month, Bauer’s recorded eight RBI, eight runs, two homers, two steals and a .500 batting average. He could cool off at any moment, but with a soft schedule coming up and a hefty dose of righties on the horizon, Bauer is a decent candidate to keep the good times rolling.

Austin Hays (OF – CIN): 16%

Austin Hays has been a solid contributor this season. Limited to 95 games because of injury, Hays is now up to a 56/15/64/7/.266 fantasy line. Those numbers roughly translate to 95 runs, 25 homers, 109 RBI, 12 steals and a .266 batting average over an entire season.

Hays has been the Reds’ most productive hitter with runs in scoring position. He’s been especially good of late, knocking in 10 over his last 11 games. Cincinnati has some decent matchups coming up against the A’s and Cardinals, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Hays continue to produce.

Patrick Bailey (C – SF): 6%

Patrick Bailey’s come alive lately, mashing three home runs in the last four days. The Giants backstop has been a run-scoring machine of late, touching home 11 times over the last 13 games. He’s also knocked in 12 and even stolen a base. It took Bailey all year to find his timing, but as the fifth-most productive offensive fantasy player over the last two weeks, the switch-hitting catcher deserves a look.

Kyle Manzardo (1B – CLE): 23%

Kyle Manzardo is also an option for those in need of power and RBI. However, he doesn’t offer any stolen base potential or hit for much of an average. He also doesn’t score often. That said, he’s up to 26 big flies on the season and has driven in 12 runs since August 26th.

Andrew Benintendi (OF – CWS): 10%

Andrew Benintendi is also worth mentioning. He’s swinging a hot bat lately and continues to produce despite my deciding to pass on him every week. He’s 22 for his last 61 (.360), with 13 RBI and five home runs. Rostering Benintendi may not excite you, but he can be helpful in deeper leagues.

Austin Lowell is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Austin, check out his archive.

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