FAAB & Waiver Wire Report (Week 8)

Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

In thiss article, I cover the players using CBS’s and Yahoo’s ADD/DROP rates. Both sites have the option for daily and weekly waiver wire adds. CBS uses a weekly change while Yahoo looks at the last 24 hours. Yahoo is a great snapshot of right now, while CBS ensures hot targets from early in the week aren’t missed. I start players being added at CBS who started the week on less than 40% of rosters.

The players are ordered for redraft leagues by my rest-of-season preference, grouped by hitters, starters, and relievers.

Batters

A.J. Ewing: I had him graded as the best hitter in AAA before his promotion. He doesn’t have a weakness. He hits for power with plenty of contact. And stole 17 bases in the minors this season. If there is a fault, it’s that he hasn’t hit many HR (2 in AA, 0 in AAA, 1 in MLB).

JJ Bleday: He needs to be pushing 100% rostered since he cut his strikeout rate from 27% to 14% and bumped up his ISO from .192 to .431. And started against the last three lefties.

TJ Rumfield: Hits for power (6 HR) and batting average (.273 AVG). Should be rostered in most leagues.

Henry Bolte: His AAA Contact% took a major step forward (69% to 81%), and that helped lead to a great AAA line: 12 HR, 17 SB, and a .348 AVG. It remains to be seen if he’ll continue to make contact (69.2% Contact%) in 15 MLB PA. The biggest issue with him will be his playing time. He needs to stick in center field. I looked at three sources. Two graded his defense as above average, and the other as unplayable.

Ezequiel Duran: Qualified at every position, including bullpen catcher, starting every game, and hitting (.283 AVG, 3 HR, 4 SB).

Zack Gelof: With his Contact% from from 60% to 74%, he’s a solid contributor with 5 HR, 2 SB, and a .260 AVG.

Brayan Rocchio: With 5 SB in May, the 25-year-old is turning into a Nico Hoerner clone with 3 HR, 7 SB, and a .269 AVG.

Sam Antonacci: Placed after Rocchio, but they have almost the same skill set: speed and batting average with non-zero power.

Ryan Waldschmidt: Making contact (82% Contact%, .273 AVG), but no power yet (.091 ISO). His fantasy value will ride on how many bases he steals (29 SB in ’25, 1 in ’26).

Austin Martin: Starting, getting on base (.330 AVG, .448 OBP), and stealing bases (7 SB) with little power (1 HR).

Nasim Nuñez: Has 19 SB, which is more than the entire teams of Houston, Toronto, and San Francisco (12). The 0 HR are not helping his value which is 100% based on a fantasy team’s need for steals. He is currently 96th in our Player Rater, one spot ahead of Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Mark Vientos: He’s been playing and hitting (6 HR) for some power.

Jake McCarthy: After an off 2025 season (.591 OPS, 6 SB), he is back to being himself with a .277 AVG, 2 HR, and 7 SB.

Nick Gonzales: He has a .313 AVG, but with no power (0 HR, .049 ISO) and just 3 SB. Bench streamer.

Chase Meidroth: Hitting for average (.277 AVG), but not much more (3 HR, 1 SB, 10 RBI).

Luke Raley: Strong-side platoon bat who was scheduled to face seven righties this week. Next week, he faces just two, so he should be benched or dropped.

Ha-Seong Kim: Only 14 PA since returning from the IL, he has just a single and a walk. Pitchers are showing him no respect by throwing 74% fastball to him, averaging 92.7 mph.

J.P. Crawford: He’s hit 5 HR and nothing else. His .211 AVG is a drag. A pass.

Zach Cole: A 41% K% and 55% Contact% is not going to cut it. Also, a 0% BB%. At least two of his hits so far have been home runs.

Paul Goldschmidt: There is no reason to roster someone with three starts in the last eight games.

Gage Workman: No idea why he’s being added. Are people getting excited over a 2-for-4 game with 3 RBI? Ignore.

Catchers

Jesus Rodriguez: Solid catcher hitting .250/.308/.375 with 1 HR and 1 SB. Susac has cut into his playing time.

Daniel Susac: A .478 BABIP makes everything look good (.984 OPS). No major red flags in 28 PA.

Joe Mack: Pitchers aren’t afraid of him (.100 ISO) and they pound the strikezone (3% BB% in MLB after a 19% in AAA). While he’ll play, he might not be productive. Ranked high on the unknown.

Brandon Valenzuela: Hitting .231 AVG with 4 HR.

David Fry: Putting up boring catcher stats (3 HR, .246 AVG).

Nick Fortes: Dropped his strikeout rate (19% K% to 14% K%) and is a decent source of batting average (.279 AVG).

Adrian Del Castillo: If catcher-eligible (9 G), he should be a consideration in two-catcher leagues.

Keibert Ruiz: 3 HR and a .207 AVG. Now that’s replacement-level catcher production.

Mitch Garver: A .173 AVG and 1 HR from a 29% K% (67% Contact%). Ignore.

Luis Torrens: No new tricks from the 30-year-old catcher with a career .637 OPS.

Hitting Prospects

Edwin Arroyo: In AAA, the 22-year-old shortstop hit .347/.414/.605 with 9 HR and 7 SB in 198 PA.

Cole Carrigg: In AAA, the 24-year-old outfielder hit .364/.416/.549 and 4 HR and 26 SB in 179 PA.

Eric Hartman: In High-A, the 19-year-old outfielder hit .326/.408/.689 with 12 HR and 14 SB in 152 PA.

Starting Pitchers: There is not much out there. It seems like people are latching onto anyone with a good start, no matter how bad the underlying data is.

Christian Scott: Since his 1 IP debut/disaster, he has a 3.14 ERA (2.98 xFIP), 1.19 WHIP, and 11.9 K/9. Might be the only must-add of the week.

Connor Prielipp: He’s been lucky with a .196 BABIP, but even with some regression, he should be a near 4.00 ERA pitcher with a 10.0 K/9. That’s as good as it gets.

Trevor McDonald: In 30 career innings, he has a 2.08 ERA (2.77 xFIP), 0.96 WHIP (1.5 BB/9), and 8.0 K/9. He’s in the middle of a two-start week. In his first start, he had 3 ER, 4 K, and 2 BB in 5 IP. McDonald’s biggest issue is securing a starting rotation spot when Webb comes off the IL. McDonald should take one of Houser’s or Mahle’s spots, but the one thing I know about the current Giants, they will make the least expected move … so who knows what will happen.

J.T. Ginn: A solid 4.00 ERA talent, which is tough to find on the waiver wire.

Ben Brown: While Brown has not allowed a run when he starts, he hasn’t faced a lineup a third time this season. His changeup (6% usage) has been decent with a 12% SwStr%, and no one has gotten a hit off it yet this season. He is effectively a middle reliever who can’t get a Win because he doesn’t throw enough.

Zebby Matthews: Matthews seems intriguing because he hasn’t struggled in the majors yet (0.00 ERA, 0.71 WHIP, 6.4 K/9). In AAA (24 IP), he struggled with a 4.72 ERA (4.26 xFIP), 1.51 WHIP, and 8.7 K/9. He was better over his last three minor league starts, with his K-BB% jumping from 12% to 17%. The pitching models were not a fan of an 84 Pitching+ and a 4.97 botERA. Ranked “high” based on the unknown.

Brayan Bello: Since he moved off the cutter (26% to 10% usage) for his April 29th start, he has a 3.18 ERA (3.23 xFIP), 1.06 WHIP, and 7.0 K/9. Additionally, he moved his release point about half a foot over the last two starts.

I might buy into the changes.

Slade Cecconi: He’s interesting. The overall line is horrible, but over the last four starts, he added about 0.5 mph to his pitches while moving away from his slider (12% to 6%) and curve (19% to 9%). He’s thrown more strikes over the time frame, with his walk rate going from 4.4 BB/9 to 2.2 BB/9. With the improvements, his ERA estimators are around 4.00 during those games (4.23 botERA). It’s not great, but better than the other options.

Colin Rea: He’s a streaming option against weaker teams. For example, over his last four starts, he faced the Dodgers and Braves (11 ER and 7 IP) and the Reds and Diamondbacks (3 ER in 10 IP).

Stephen Kolek: A 2.5 HR/9 is never good. The home runs are clearing the bases with just a 51% LOB% in the two starts. At least he only has a 2.5 BB/9. A 3.83 FIP and 4.11 botERA point to him being a streaming option.

Braxton Garrett: He was fine in 37 IP in AAA (5.35 ERA, 3.49 xFIP, 1.19 WHIP, 8.3 K/9). In his first start against the Twins, he lasted 1 IP with 5 ER, 3 K, and 5 BB. I think he should be a rostered-but-bench because it could be a “nerves” start like Stott had and then shove.

Spencer Miles: A reliever who has been forced into rotation. He has a solid sinker (11% SwStr%, 62% GB%), and every other pitch is not good. A few walks and a good ground ball rate, it could work. Ranked high on the unknown.

Kyle Leahy: He’s been hit around (.328 BABIP, 1.4 HR/9, 5.99 xERA), but looks like he might be worth streaming against the right team. His biggest hindrance is the 1.59 WHIP coming from the high BABIP and 3.9 BB/9. He’s not good, but not as bad as the other options.

Mike Burrows: The overall stats are fine, but he doesn’t have a way to get lefties out. On the season, he has a 3.57 xFIP (.690 vsOPS) against righties and a 4.81 xFIP (1.006 vsOPS) against lefties. In his last start, he allowed 7 ER to Seattle, who has the third-highest wRC+ (118) against right-handed pitchers. He’s scheduled to face the Twins this week, who are 19th against righties (96 wRC+).

Walbert Urena: He throws hard (98 mph), and his walk rate is down to 3.9 BB/9 in May (7.9 BB/9 in April). I’m sort of interested, but I feel the walks have to come down a little more for me to be all in.

Brandon Sproat: He has earned his 5.74 ERA and 1.57 WHIP. A 5.0 BB/9 will do that. The walks were trending down, but over his last three starts, he has a 4.6 BB/9.

Keider Montero: His 3.65 ERA (4.69 xFIP, .225 BABIP) seems acceptable, but he’s been in a free fall in May, with his xFIP going from 4.08 in April to 5.63 in May. His strikeouts are down to 4.2 K/9. I’m not sure he’s worth holding on to.

Matthew Liberatore: My guess is that his demand is from the two-start week he’s in, because a 4.50 ERA to 5.00 ERA talent shouldn’t be rostered. In the first start, he rewarded his managers with a 5 ER, 5 K, and 2 BB in 5 IP.

Aaron Civale: A 90% LOB% is keeping his ERA under 3.00. His 1.39 WHIP is doing as much ratio damage as a 4.87 ERA. He’s a bad pitcher with no upside.

Hurt Starters

Lucas Giolito: He has struggled during his minor league buildup with a 4.76 ERA (5.38 xFIP), 1.41 WHIP, and 7.9 K/9. I’m passing at this point.

Pitching Prospects

Kade Anderson: As I’ve already implied, the starting pitching options are bad right now. If any team wants to take a chance on huge upside, I’d add Anderson. No one on this list compares to him. In AA, the 21-year-old lefty has a 1.85 ERA (2.60 xFIP), 0.76 WHIP, and 13.5 K/9 in 34 IP.

Jack Wenninger (possible Clay Holmes replacement): In AAA, the 24-year-old righty has a 1.08 ERA (4.33 xFIP), 1.11 WHIP (4.9 BB/9), and 10.3 K/9 in 33 IP.

Relief Pitchers: Saves-based ranks

Caleb Kilian: Average reliever who is the closer.

Rico Garcia: A great reliever who is temporarily the closer

Ryan Zeferjahn: Average reliever who could be the closer.

Gus Varland: Below-average reliever who is the closer.

Bryan King: Below-average reliever who is temporarily the closer.

Antonio Senzatela: Average reliever who could be the closer.

Tejay Antone: Once a great reliever who is part of a closer-by-committee.

Pierce Johnson: Below-average reliever who is part of a closer-by-committee.

Erik Sabrowski: A great reliever who is the backup closer.

Dylan Lee: Great reliever who is a step or two away from closing.

Aaron Ashby: Great middle reliever who is a few steps away from closing.