FAAB Frenzy and Waivers Wild: Week 10

Every Monday, this column will break down the most popular waiver wire and free agent acquisitions of the weekend.

Fantasy baseball managers know that our game is the ultimate test of grit, grind, tenacity, and patience. Unlike fantasy football, where league titles can be won with minimal in-season activity, fantasy baseball leagues require incessant attention and activity. Particularly when it comes to free agent adds and drops. Real-life baseball managers are constantly adjusting batting orders, players are frequently optioned to and promoted from the Minor Leagues, and injuries occur almost daily. There’s no resting on our laurels. We must always stay vigilant with league news and notes and remain active on the waiver wire if we want to win our leagues.

Every week, I’ll dig into the top adds on the ever-popular Fantrax and in the NFBC Online Championship (OC), a national mid-stakes contest with 240 total leagues of 12 and a six-figure grand prize. Reviewing player adds between the two should provide us with a well-rounded perspective and barometer of the fantasy baseball marketplace.

Week 9 Overview

It was Positive Regression Week for Diamondbacks’ second basemen, Ketel Marte. He batted .536, leading all hitters in runs (11), runs batted in (12) and hits (15). Marte had three three-hit games and is on an eight-game hit streak. Rookie outfielder Ryan Waldschmidt also enjoyed feasting on Giants and Rockies pitching. He went 11-22 (.500) with eight runs and four stolen bases. Waldschmidt’s four thefts led all hitters. Marte was batting .221 with 12 RBI (141 PA) when his buy-low feature was published. In 16 games since, Marte is batting .344 with 14 RBI (71 PA).

Nick Kurtz extended his on-base streak to 47 games, passing Rickey Henderson and tying Jimmie Foxx for the second longest in A’s franchise history. Mark McGwire (62 games in 1995-1996) holds the A’s record. The MLB record of 84 games is held by Ted Williams (July 1, 1949 – Sept 27, 1949). A’s outfielder Carlos Cortes has been leading off against right-handed starting pitchers since last Monday, and it has been going well. He had seven hits and seven walks in six games (27 plate appearances). For the season, Cortes is slashing .350/.430/.553 and a 1.14 BB/K (11.3% walk rate, 9.9% strikeout rate).

This is fascinating: seven of the 15 teams with the most runs per game (through Sunday, May 24) were among the bottom 10 in preseason projected win totals. I recognize the correlation here should be with current run production against projected run production, but I went with preseason projected win totals as it still helps get the point of this across.

There is still two-thirds of the season to play, but it’s humbling reminder of how fallible humans in sports prognostications and how fantasy baseball will always keep us on our toes. I personally discounted hitters from “bad” teams in the preseason, yet so many of them are atop leaderboards: CJ Abrams, James Wood, Jordan Walker, Iván Herrera, Miguel Vargas, Munetaka Murakami, Sal Stewart.

Matt Olson is 5-80 (.160) with no home runs over the last two weeks. Something to remember: Olson experienced minor right elbow discomfort after swinging at a pitch. He was seen grabbing his right elbow and forearm after swinging on a pitch on May 15. Perhaps it’s a non-issue, but it’s worth noting now in case the cold streak persists and an IL stint occurs.

Of the 31 two-start pitchers in Week 9, three (9.6%) earned wins in both of their starts — Max Meyer, Zac Gallen, and Foster Griffin. Meyer threw 13 scoreless innings against the Braves and Mets at home with a 14:5 K:BB. Reid Detmers struck out 22 batters, the highest total in a fantasy week this season. José Soriano (20 Ks in Week 3) is the only other starter with at least 20 punchouts in a week in 2026. Among the starting pitchers who were severely thrashed were Shota Imanaga (13.07 ERA, 1.94 in 10.1 IP), Robbie Ray (14.04, 2.64 in 8.1), and Trevor Rogers (11.88, 1.92 in 8.1). Among active starters with at least 40 innings pitched, Trevor Rogers’ 6.96 ERA is the second worst mark in the majors behind Colorado’s Michael Lorenzen (7.21). Simeon Woods Richardson has a 7.53 ERA and 0-6 record and was moved out of the rotation last week.

Cleveland Guardians’ shutdown closer Cade Smith earned four saves and led the majors in the category for a third consecutive week. He has pulled away with the major league lead (18), with Mason Miller (16) and Bryan Baker (14) closely trailing. Juan Morillo was Arizona’s most consistent reliever and likely the next in line if Paul Sewald faltered or went on the IL. Morillo had a rough week, blowing two save opportunities. Kenley Jansen blew his fourth save chance over the weekend and might cede some ninth-inning work to Kyle Finnegan or Will Vest in the short term. Jansen is tied for the league lead in blown saves alongside Adrian Morejon (SD) and Riley O’Brien (STL).

NFBC OC and Main Event – Most Added in FAAB

This week, I chose to compare the average winning bids of the NFBC’s two largest national contests, the 12-team OC and the 15-team Main Event (ME). The OC has 240 leagues (2,880 teams) and the ME has 60 (900 teams). The OC typically garners lower average winning bids since the player pool is shallower and replacement costs are lower. As expected, Dylan Crews and Colt Emerson were the two most popular acquisitions in both contests, as well as on Yahoo and Fantrax. Their costs of acquisition in the OC were 55-58% of their ME costs. Emerson’s AWBs may have been slightly lower if not for his 4-for-4 (three doubles) performance on Sunday. There is always slight market trepidation with prospects, no matter how heralded, with the uncertainty of sticking in the majors when the inevitable cold streak hits. In Emerson’s case, a couple of data points surfaced this week that helped increase our confidence: J.P. Crawford volunteering to move to third base and Brendan Donovan’s extended absence coupled with word that Donovan would assume a utility role when he returns to keep Cole Young at second base. Crews offers high stolen base upside, though with severe batting average category risk. He has mostly batted fifth since being recalled. I believe both Crews and Emerson are here to stay.

Most of the top acquisitions this week were starting pitchers. Zebby Matthews was scooped up in 29% of OC leagues (he was only available in 31%, so he’s now almost universally rostered), partially fueled by a road two-step against the White Sox and Pirates. Matthews made his major league debut in August of 2024 and made 25 starts over the last two seasons. His 18.1 percent K-BB% over those starts was stellar, but the results were poor — a 5.92 ERA, albeit a 3.88 xFIP. This year, Matthews had a poor spring and didn’t crack the Twins rotation. He posted a 4.72 ERA, 1.51 WHIP and a 14.6% K-BB% over seven minor-league starts, was called up on May 14, and has pitched well (13 IP – 9 H – 2 ER – 1 BB – 11 K). The name of the game in shallower formats is burning-and-churning, so if Zebby’s starts this week don’t go well, he will be dropped by many next Sunday.

It’s amazing how short our memories are! Bubba Chandler was quickly becoming persona non grata in the fantasy community due to his horrendous control. Heading into Friday’s start in Toronto, Chandler had almost as many walks as strikeouts (31 BB, 36 K) through his first nine starts. Against the Blue Jays, Chandler served up three free passes, but punched out 11 batters, which was enough to give current Chandler holders hope, and a reason for others to bid on him. His next start is this Wednesday against the Cubs. Then, he lines up to face the Astros on the road in Week 11. The Pirates expect fireballer Jared Jones to make his season debut this week, and manager Don Kelly may explore a hybrid 6-man rotation to keep Jones and others fresh. Chandler is currently in danger of being booted from the rotation or demoted, but it’s certainly within the realm of possibilities. There’s only one way for Bubba to give himself job security: reduce the walks and start pitching better and more consistently!

With closer chaos at an all-time high this season, there is never a stone unturned in weekly free agent bidding when it comes to relievers with a pulse who sniff a single save chance. Two slightly perplexing AWBs in Main Events this week were Kirby Yates ($51) and Jeff Hoffman ($41). Desperate times call for desperate measures, I get it. In the case of Yates, it’s a matter of “there’s nobody else there” and a bit of job security since Ryan Zeferjahn has been awful and Ben Joyce (on the 60-day IL) experienced a setback with his shoulder. Yates can certainly do damage to the ratios, but he’s the clear ninth-inning man in Anaheim. Hoffman earned two saves last week, though they were contests where Louis Varland was unavailable. Varland has been outstanding (40 K, 9 BB, 2 ER in 27.2 IP), so there is no reason for him to give Hoffman the job back. But managers can do whatever they want, for the most part, so we can’t be shocked if there’s a sudden switch. Though his high average winning bid was surprising, it makes sense for fantasy managers in a tough spot with saves and with FAAB dollars to spend. Hoffman was added in all 24 leagues, with a high winning bid of $87 and a low of $3. Grant Taylor may have gone for over $100 in all leagues if not for his Sunday appearance. It wasn’t the two runs allowed, it was the fact that Taylor came in after the starter, in the fifth inning. It was a sobering reminder of how valuable he is to the White Sox — to be utilized in a variety of ways, and likely not running away with the closer job anytime soon.

Jonah Tong was a relatively affordable speculation-add. If Tong was having a good season in the minors before his promotion, his market rate might have been double that $32 AWB; and perhaps triple that if he was locked in for at least five innings next week. Tong pitched three scoreless innings in his 2026 big-league debut, though he followed Tobias Myers and Sean Manaea, and might be on a similar setup this week. Tong is a promising young pitcher who will eventually find a spot in this rotation. With Kodai Senga on track to be activated soon, it might have to wait just a bit longer.

Drop of the Week

Bon voyage, Spencer Jones! At least Scranton, Pennsylvania isn’t that far away. He just couldn’t hack it despite lots of hacking (44%). Now watch him hit five dingers in Triple-A this week.