Welcome back to another fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups by category column. 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 Trade Analyzer
- Best Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Tools
- Fantasy Baseball Lineup Assistant
- MLB Prop Bet Cheat Sheet
Last week we hit on some gems but also fell flat on a couple of calls. We’ll try to do even better this week. Without further delay, here are this week’s top fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups by category. All players listed are rostered in 50% or fewer of Yahoo leagues.
Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups by Category
Home Runs
Hector Rodriguez (OF – CIN): 20%
After hitting 28 home runs in Triple-A earlier this season, Hector Rodriguez is doing damage on the Major League stage. The Reds’ top offensive prospect has already launched five home runs in just 82 at-bats.
The Reds’ latest leadoff hitter has also scored 11 times while knocking in 11 runs. Rodriguez’s average will likely end up around .250, but the 22-year-old’s got power to spare, and he could be a nice pickup for the last few weeks of the season.
Runs
Mickey Gasper (C, 1B – BOS): 24%
Trevor Story‘s back and hitting well, but he’s mostly batting at the bottom of the order, so we’ll go with the red-hot Mickey Gasper instead. I’ve mentioned Gasper in the past, but anytime you have a catcher-eligible player hitting like this, he’s immediately a must-add.
Gasper is 12-for-his-last-33 (.364) with nine runs, five homers and seven RBI. He’s launched eight dingers over the last month and has hit well above .350. The switch-hitting Gasper is a no-brainer addition where available.
RBI
Heriberto Hernandez (OF – MIA): 26%
The Marlins are still hovering around .500, and it’s largely because of quiet performances from players like Heriberto Hernandez. He has hit the most home runs of anyone you’ve never heard of.
The 26-year-old outfielder is now up to 23 big flies on the season in just 366 at-bats. His ISO is .238, and his slugging rate has reached .467. Those power ratios would be good enough to place him in the top 32 of all players were he to qualify. Hernandez tops the likes of Corbin Carroll, Freddie Freeman, Alec Burleson, Andy Pages and Bobby Witt Jr.with those numbers.
The power output has led to a robust 61 RBI, with eight of them coming in his last 10 games. Hernandez has also managed to steal 10 bases, furthering his value. He won’t help your batting average, but hitting third in a lineup surrounded by plenty of high on-base type players should see the RBIs continuing to mount.
Batting Average
Ty France (1B – SDP): 31%
Brett Bateman is an option here as well, but his lack of power makes me lean Ty France’s way instead. France is also not a newcomer to this list, but it’s been quite some time since he last appeared.
France is simply a solid hitter. He can do damage and ranks positively on nearly every type of offering thrown his way. He also consistently drives the ball to all fields.
San Diego’s first baseman is hitting .435 over the last week and .315 over the last month. France also scores plenty of runs and knocks in a hearty amount of RBI batting in the middle of the order. He’s worth a look in most leagues.
Stolen Bases
Jonah Cox (OF – SFG): 7%
Need steals? Pick up Jonah Cox. He has been a blur on the base paths since his promotion, swiping five bags over the last two weeks. Cox only just became a starter and has since run away with the job.
Cox has gone 12-for-31 (.387) with 10 runs, three homers, seven RBI and five stolen bases. In on-base percentage (OBP) leagues, he ranks as one of the top performers during that span with a .472 OBP. Cox has been an enormous addition to a Giants lineup that is desperate for production outside of Rafael Devers. He’s an exciting sleeper for those in deeper leagues.
ERA
Andre Pallante (SP – STL): 25%
We snagged Cal Quantrill here last week, but for this period we’re turning our sights to Andre Pallante. After holding the Rockies to just one run in Colorado, Pallante lowered his ERA over the past six games to 2.01.
Pallante’s been on a heater lately, and while he’s had his struggles this season, he looks as sharp as ever. The crafty right-hander doesn’t strike out many batters, but his overall WHIP is decent at 1.24.
Pallante has been even more efficient lately, registering a 1.03 WHIP since July 25th. He’ll take on San Francisco next time out, and if he can pitch around the streaking Rafael Devers, he should be in for another fine outing.
WHIP
Andrew Painter (SP – PHI): 31%
We featured Andrew Painter here last weekend, but too few were ready to buy in. The hesitancy is understandable given the slow start to his MLB career, but Painter was once considered the top pitching prospect in all of baseball. After dealing with injuries and plenty of adversity, Painter recently emerged looking every bit the part.
The 23-year-old rookie put together another stellar outing, holding Arizona to just two hits and zero walks over seven shutout innings. The former first-round pick struck out six, pushing his total strikeouts to 20 over his last three starts. Painter’s allowed just 12 baserunners during that span (0.60 WHIP) while posting a 1.80 ERA. I like his chances of continuing his dominant run when he faces the Astros next time out.
Strikeouts
Jacob Lopez (SP – ATH): 37%
Jacob Lopez is on a similar streak as last season when he tossed four consecutive scoreless outings and finished with 27 strikeouts in 20.2 innings. These days, he’s doing similar work, whiffing 50 batters over his last 40.1 innings.
Lopez combines elite extension (top 1% in the league) with a devastating slider (31.4% whiff) to rack up the strikeouts. He also surprisingly leads the league in average lowest exit velocity at just 84.3 miles per hour (MPH). His bugaboo is the walks he surrenders and the minute amount of ground balls he collects.
Lopez’s numbers are interesting, but without overanalyzing, the strikeouts are almost certain to continue. The crafty lefty is a solid addition if strikeouts are what you’re after.
Wins
Jake Bennett (SP – BOS): 50%
Jake Bennett hasn’t been the sharpest over the last month, but he’s set to take on the Angels in his next outing. The Red Sox’s offense has vastly improved lately with a few of their top stars returning from injury and a handful of others hitting well.
Bennett has a 3.34 ERA on the year and a 1.02 WHIP. He has snagged nine wins in 17 starts and will likely earn his 10th when he takes on the lowly Angels this week.
Saves
Mason Montgomery (RP – PIT): 36%
Mason Montgomery has been extremely reliable since becoming the Pirates’ full-time closer. He’s collected seven saves over the last month. He also hasn’t allowed a run since the end of July, which was the only time he was scored upon since June.
The flame-throwing lefty has punched out 91 hitters despite throwing fewer than 60 innings. If you need saves, don’t overthink it; Montgomery is an absolute must-add.
Subscribe: YouTube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | iHeart | Castbox | Amazon Music | Podcast Addict | SoundCloud | TuneIn
Austin Lowell is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Austin, check out his archive.
