The Waiver Wire Witching Hour: Players Haunting your Free Agent Pool
- 13 hours ago
- 5 min read
How’s it going fantasy folks? Well, we’re creeping up on the Mid Summer Classic (the best ASG of the 4 major North American sports leagues imo), meaning we are just past the half-way point of the MLB regular season. Not sure about the rest of you, but my league has just completed 16 of a possible 25 weeks of the fantasy baseball season. But once you consider playoffs start in week 23, you realize you are 72% of the way through the fantasy baseball regular season. It’s crunch time; time to figure it out or you’ll be caught watching the big dance from outside the gymnasium. Where’s the fun in that? Here are 3 players to consider adding to your squad as we gear up for the stretch drive.
All roster rates are from Yahoo as of Sunday evening
BRANDON PFAADT (ARI, SP – 8% rostered)
Hey Hey Hey it’s ol’ Pfaadt, (Brandon) Albert. The former 2020 5th round pick had a bit of pedigree coming up in the D-backs system, as he had a strong 2022 (218Ks in 167IP) in the upper minors. The results have been uneven to say the least since he broke into the league in 2023. That pattern has held true for 2026 as he had been moved to the bullpen and was ultimately demoted to AAA Reno on the back of a 5.92 ERA. Well, whatever work he did down on the farm is clearly giving him (& hopefully fantasy managers) the confidence to succeed back in the Big Leagues. In 3 starts since being recalled, he is 3-0 over 15.2 IP with a 1.72 ERA and 0.89 WHIP. The Ks are underwhelming (only 10 during this stretch), but I think that’s acceptable given how good the rest of his stat line looks. He is turning in those strikeouts for efficiency, something seen in his matchup versus the Mighty Dodgers on Saturday evening. In 5.1 IP he threw only 77 pitches, with 55 of them going for strikes. He walked no one and only had a single instance where the count reached ball 3. Lack of strikeouts aside, this recommendation may be one for the rest of the year. Especially with news that fellow starter Zac Gallen was scratched and placed on the IL prior to today’s game with an elbow injury. Not to mention Gallen has been downright putrid this year (98IP, 61Ks, 6.34 ERA, & 1.56 WHIP). I’m definitely interested in Pfaadt in 14+ team leagues, maybe even 12+ team mixers if he has another good outing after the All-Star break.
JARED JONES (PIT, SP – 27% rostered)
I was just Jonesing for the Buc’s pitcher to put up a good outing after he had experienced several uneven performances since being re-instated from the IL in late May. He was perfect though 6 innings against the Braves in his most recent start while racking up 8Ks. He was pulled after having thrown only 77 pitches (his season high is 81). While he is back from UCL surgery, it can often take pitchers a little while to get a feel for their repertoire after having this procedure. Well, he may be back, as he has looked great in his last 2 outings (0.9 ERA, 0.4 WHIP, 14Ks). The fact he is available in almost 3 quarters of leagues simply isn’t right. I’ll remind you he was effective in his MLB debut season back in 2024 (121.2 IP, 132Ks, 4.14 ERA, 1.19 WHIP). I doubt you will find more upside on the wire than this recommendation for standard-deeper mixed leagues. I’m definitely interested in 12+ team mixers. So much so, I added him back to my roster after his dominant performance.
LUIS ROBERT (OF, NYM – 41% rostered)
Speaking of upside, there’s definitely some in this next player recommendation. Don’t get it twisted though, his cup isn’t over filling. It depends on if you are an optimist or a pessimist how you view his glass. I mean there’s definitely some volume of liquid in it, so it’s not empty. That much we can agree on. Robert has been mostly teasing fantasy managers with his blend of power and speed since breaking into the league back in 2020. He has delivered on his promise once over the course of 7 seasons, way back in 2023 when he had 38HRs, 20SB, and a .857 OPS. It’s been fairly grim since then (with the exception of the SBs) as he has only managed campaigns of sub .700 OPS since his 2023 All-Star season. Nevertheless, Robert is currently rehabbing in the minors after he has missed all but 24 games of the season with a lumbar disc herniation (a real sore back for you non-medical types). He has 1 HR and a .294 AVG on his rehab assignment. The Mets have mostly been a mess this year (see: Peralta, Freddy. aka my wasted 6th round pick). The reason why I’m somewhat intrigued by Robert despite years of underdelivering for us fantasy managers is actually because of the strong play of his replacement AJ EWING (34% rostered – worth a look for anyone needing OF help as he has hit leadoff the last 7 games and boasts 7HRs, 9SBs and a .276 AVG over 56 games) has to force the Mets’ hand to trade Robert prior to August 1. I think a change of scenery could do him wonders, so long as he can stay healthy (which admittedly has been challenging for him). I like this play because you can still stash Robert on your IL (no need to waste a roster spot) and wait and see once he returns after the All-Star break. As you can tell from my previous articles I do love a good IL stash. Thankfully I don’t play in any leagues with Tommy Pham (here’s a video explanation if you don’t remember him slapping Joc Pederson for using his IL to its full extent: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFPvLMMGjEM) He’s worth a look in 14+ team mixers at this point.
Onto roster review time. As a reminder I play in a 12 team H2H 5x5 categories league with weekly matchups.
Just an absolute juggernaut of a week if I do say so myself. Not to mention I had the pitching categories wrapped up on Saturday so left a total of 5 pitcher starts on the bench just in case they had thoughts of blowing up my ratios. It’s nice when the offense and defense get on the same page. Uncommon, but nice.
The HERO of the week is Mr. Ryan O’Hearn, quite possibly one of the best (and most surprising) waiver wire additions of the 1st half. He did most of his damage on Tuesday July 7 with a 3 dong, 10 RBI performance. Honorable mention to the guy I’ve been frequently shouting out, with a 2-start 14 K week, Mr. Cam Schlittler. I know I must sound like a broken record, but the guy has absolutely been the ace of my staff. Let’s just say I wasn’t expecting quite these results when I drafted him 116th overall.
The ZERO of the week has been my catcher position. After a hot-potato run, Carter Jensen came back to earth, proving he is indeed mortal. A sub .100 batting average will do that to you though.
Well, take a breath my fine friends. It’s the only pause we will get until the end of the fantasy baseball season. 4 days without our beloved pastime (with the 2 worst days of the year – no scheduled games for the 4 major North American sports leagues). Hunker down, get some action on the HR derby tomorrow night and it will be Friday before you know it. At least there’s a World Cup game on Wednesday to help fill the void. If you have holes in your roster, head on down to your friendly neighborhood waiver wire (the “waiverhood” if you will). Sure, it looks like a cross between a sketchy flea market and if Facebook marketplace had a physical space to call home, but it’s all we got. Look hard enough and you may be able to find some gem hidden deep in the clearance rack, just waiting to be uncovered.
Until next time, stay thirsty.