Austin Lowell | Tue, Aug 18th 2026, 10:03am EDT

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups by Category (2026)

Welcome to another fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups by category column. Last week, a few recommended players really made me look good. We’ll look to keep the good times rolling this week as we break down a few more potential adds.

This weekly piece covers players who can help in at least one specific category. For example, if your team is scoring plenty of runs and hitting for a strong average but struggling to steal bases, you can scroll directly to the stolen bases section for a targeted pickup.

While most of these players will contribute across multiple categories, their primary value comes from the one they’re listed under. I also rarely repeat players week to week, so it’s not a bad idea to read previous articles to see if any of those players are still available.

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups by Category

Without further delay, here are this week’s top fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups by category. All players listed are rostered in fewer than 50% of Yahoo leagues.

RBI

Zac Veen (OF – COL): 16%

Zac Veen went on a massive tear in the Minors earlier this month, which led to his inevitable call-up. The former ninth overall draft pick crushed eight homers over his final 12 games in Triple-A while driving in 24 runs. Once brought up, the 6-foot-3, 243-pounder immediately hit two homers and drove in four runs.

Veen bulked up this offseason, and it has paid off. He’s up to six RBI over five games so far, and he still hasn’t played a game at home yet.

Veen’s main drawback is that he will likely sit against left-handed starters, but he should still see some mid-inning at-bats even in those games. He’s been too locked in lately to ignore and is someone I’m counting on to produce heavily over the final few weeks. I’m rolling with him in all league types except for maybe shallow weekly leagues.

Runs

Zack Gelof (2B, 3B, OF – ATH): 49%

Zack Gelof‘s move to the middle of the Athletics’ order is immediately paying dividends. Batting in either the two-, three- or four-hole over the last week, Gelof has been a beacon of production, scoring seven times in seven games. He also launched three homers, knocked in five and hit for a .304 average.

With the A’s losing the majority of their starts to injuries, it’s been players like Gelof asked to fill the void. He’s done more than enough since coming off the injured list (IL) and can be counted on to continue filling up the stat sheet as long as he stays healthy. Gelof also qualifies at multiple positions, helping boost his value.

Batting Average

Alec Bohm (1B, 3B – PHI): 48%

Alec Bohm has come to life, batting .550 over the last week and .340 for the last month. He’s been a top-25 offensive fantasy player since mid-July and is producing across the board. With so many hits come plenty of RBI opportunities, as Bohm has now collected 21 RBI over the last 30 days.

Bohm also clubbed three homers during that span. Bohm hit over .280 in the previous two seasons, so it was only a matter of time until he took off. His .255 batting average on balls in play (BABIP) is also extremely below his career .309 average. His numbers should continue to climb in the coming days.

Home Runs

Joshua Baez (OF – STL): 49%

Joshua Baez kicked off his Major League debut with a historic bang, launching three homers in his first three at-bats. It was a night to remember as the St. Louis fans were treated to a once-in-a-lifetime event. Unfortunately, Baez hasn’t done much since, but that’s slightly to be expected from the young slugger.

Baez crushed 34 homers in Triple-A this year but also struck out 136 times while batting .256. He’ll be lucky to maintain a .250 average in The Show, but if he runs as he did in the minors (21 steals this season, 54 last season), his power/speed combo should more than make up for a dismal batting average. Get him active in your lineups before he goes on another home run barrage.

Stolen Bases

Andres Gimenez (2B, SS – TOR): 14%

Andres Gimenez has been playing regularly and performing well. With 14 hits and four walks over the last 11 games, the Blue Jays infielder has been a regular on the base paths. Reaching base so often has led to a boost in steals, as the former Guardian is now up to 17 for the year.

Gimenez is not the speediest burner in the league, but he is widely available and has been effective of late. He is a decent add this week if you’re in the hunt for steals.

ERA

Brandon Pfaadt (SP – ARI): 46%

Anyone who hasn’t gotten on the Brandon Pfaadt train by now has missed out. I wrote about him back in June, and he’s been in beast mode ever since. The Diamondbacks starter has now pushed his scoreless streak to 32 innings over five starts. He hasn’t allowed more than two runs in a game since April (some outings were in relief), and he’s arguably been one of the best pitchers since early summer.

Pfaadt has become an elite groundball specialist. Focusing on inducing soft contact while pounding the strike zone. He won’t grant you many strikeouts, but the ratios have been elite. Pfaadt is still available in just over half the leagues out there, so pick him up where you can.

WHIP

Clay Holmes (SP – CHC): 42%

Clay Holmes bounced back nicely against the Cardinals, holding them to just one hit and a walk through 6.2 scoreless innings. The sinker-ball specialist threw 80 pitches and struck out three.

Holmes has been on a bit of a pitch-count limit since his return, but he should be a bit more stretched out for his next start against the White Sox. Holmes’ ERA for the season is now down to a paltry 2.56 through 11 starts.

The former closer started one game last season against the White Sox, and although it’s a vastly different team this year, it’s a nice boost of confidence knowing he held them to just one run on four hits through 5.2 innings of work. He’s worth scooping up in most leagues.

Strikeouts

Hagen Smith (SP – CWS): 2%

Need some strikeouts? Pick up Hagen Smith. In leagues with innings caps, Smith holds some serious value. Getting the most bang for your buck is key this late in the game. If you went starter-heavy early on and are looking to reduce those weekly innings, Smith can help you out.

The college standout has already racked up seven strikeouts over 4.2 innings in the Majors. He’s also snagged two wins in the process. After averaging over a 35% strikeout rate in the minors, it’s no surprise to see him racking up the whiffs in the Majors.

Smith is heading down a career path similar to that of a former top White Sox pick. Garrett Crochet was Chicago’s first pick back in 2020, and he also came up in his first couple of seasons as a reliever. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Smith (the fifth overall pick in 2024) follow a similar trajectory.

Smith is looking like a real weapon out of the bullpen and could be a solid source of strikeouts per inning the rest of the way. And yes, he did just give up a game-winner to Pete Crow-Armstrong, but who isn’t being crushed by Crow-Armstrong these days.

Wins

Hayden Wesneski (SP – HOU): 14%

Seattle roughed him up in his latest outing, but I’m willing to bet Hayden Wesneski bounces back nicely against the A’s. After pitching into the sixth or seventh inning in his first three starts, the Astros righty had his first bad game of the season.

Lasting deep into games, combined with a strong one-two punch at the back of the bullpen, gives Wesneski a great chance at winning every time out. The Athletics’ offense is severely depleted, and their pitching staff is among the worst in the league. Look for the Astros to come away with a victory this Friday, with Wesneski likely picking up the win.

Saves

Kodai Senga (SP, RP – NYM): 24%

After fantasy managers spent months scouring for saves on the waiver wire, the trade deadline and a few injuries opened up plenty of options. This week we’ll turn our attention to Kodai Senga.

Senga was awful as a starter this season but has looked like a completely different pitcher in relief. Over his last five outings, the 33-year-old has allowed just three base runners and zero runs. He struck out seven and earned the Mets’ two most recent saves.

With Devin Williams on the shelf with a shoulder injury and more than half of the bullpen shipped away via trade, the closer role is Senga’s to lose. He’s worth adding anywhere saves matter.

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

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