We are beginning to approach an interesting part of the MLB season as you prepare your fantasy baseball lineups for the playoffs. Any MLB minor leaguers that are promoted will no longer have the ability to play in enough games to utilize their full rookie eligibility. That means it is very possible we are not far away from seeing MLB top prospects such as Gunnar Henderson, Corbin Carroll, and Triston Casas get called up. They all have the ability to help your teams down the stretch and should be top fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups. The fantasy thought process with these MLB prospects is that it is always better to be a waiver wire period early rather than late (when possible) to help reduce a possible bidding war. As the prospects rise up fantasy baseball rankings and MLB projections, they can also help you replace any players on the recent MLB injury report. Of course, we are still on the quest for saves and anything else that can possibly help improve your fantasy baseball teams. Be sure to check out the latest fantasy baseball stock watch to see which players are trending up and down over the past week. Let us now take a look at players to target on the MLB Fantasy Baseball waiver wire. 

 

 

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Hitters

Gunnar Henderson, SS (BAL) – FAAB Bid: 4%

Rumors began to swirl this week about the impending promotion of Henderson and with the Orioles continuing to surpass expectations, we should expect it any day now. Henderson began the season with 47 games at Double-A in which he hit .312 with eight home runs and 35 RBI while walking more than he struck out (41 vs. 38). That did not continue upon his promotion to Triple-A (26% strikeout rate), but Henderson has still managed to hit .289 with 11 home runs, 40 RBI, and 19 stolen bases combined between the two levels. It is hard to argue with that body of work and Henderson should no longer be found on your waiver wire.

Triston Casas, 1B (BOS) – FAAB Bid: 2%

Eric Hosmer is not going to be what holds Triston Casas back, and neither is Bobby Dalbec. For Boston, it is all about next season and they are going to need to know what they have at first base. There is no questioning the fact that Casas can hit and this season he is getting a chance to do at Triple-A. After having his 2021 season interrupted by the Olympics, Casas saw an ankle injury break up 2022 – but he is back in action and healthy. With just nine home runs and 33 RBI in 275 plate appearances in Triple-A this year, we are still waiting for Casas to truly find his groove with in-game power. Still, his 19 doubles also show that the groundwork is there. Casas does have a solid approach at the plate with a 14.5% walk rate, which makes him a true asset on OBP leagues, and his 22.5% strikeout rate should translate to a reasonable adjustment to major league pitching.

Corbin Carroll, OF (ARI) – FAAB Bid: 5%

Arizona has already stated that Carroll will make his major league debut before the end of the season and, based on his talent, the outfielder should not be available on the waiver wire when that time comes. Known for his speed, Carroll has 31 stolen bases in 87 games in Double-A and Triple-A. The Diamondbacks' top prospect has also shown some power production with 21 home runs to this point. I am not expecting, at least initially, a similar power explosion upon his promotion, but it is not something that can be overlooked either. With a .313 (.430 OBP) average in Double-A and .298 average in Triple-A (.409), Carroll has a complete set of plate skills and there has not been a minor league level in which he did not have success.

Lars Nootbaar, OF (STL) – FAAB Bid: 3%

Nootbaar really has been rolling lately atop the Cardinals batting order and he does not appear to be going anywhere soon. Over the last seven days, Nootbaar is hitting .360 with three home runs, seven RBI, and 10 runs scored while bringing his average up to .243 for the season. It has been a strong second half of the season for the St. Louis outfielder with a .287 batting average in the last 29 games while scoring 21 runs and driving in 14 in this span. Batting leadoff has also gone well for Nootbaar and we do not have to worry about anything relating to playing time as long as he continues to produce with an 11.1% barrel rate. 

Jake Fraley, OF (CIN) – FAAB Bid: 2%

As long as Fraley hits, the Reds should continue running him out there each day to bat at the top of the order. Fraley has really gotten rolling in August, hitting .309 over 18 games with five home runs, 14 runs, and 11 RBI while striking out just nine times against 10 walks. This is the first time Fraley has really gotten consistent playing time and, so far, the results have followed. 

 

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pitchers

Cade Cavalli (WAS) – FAAB Bid: 4%

Good news has been difficult to come by for Washington this season, but Cavalli can allow both Nationals fans and fantasy managers to dream. It has been a strong season overall for the rookie right-hander with a 3.71 ERA and 1.18 WHIP over 97 innings in 20 starts. Things have begun to turn a corner even more so for the Nats' top prospect. In his last seven starts, Cavalli brought his ratios down to a 1.47 ERA and 0.95 WHIP as he continues to strike out more than a batter per inning. Making his MLB debut against the Reds should also help, and at this point in the season, the rookie is a lot more appealing than what is remaining on the waiver wire in most leagues – especially in deeper formats.

Roansy Contreras (PIT) – FAAB Bid: 2%

It has been an up-and-down rookie season for Contreras, and it was hard to miss what he did in his last start against Atlanta. In a career-high seven innings, Contreras limited the Braves to just two runs on four hits while striking out five. We do not want to go too crazy here as the right-hander’s 3.86 ERA is burdened by his 5.04 xERA and 4.82 FIP. The Pittsburgh Pirates' youngster is still working through walking over four batters per nine innings and allowing 1.43 home runs per nine. There is talent here, though, and I would prefer to bet on that as Contreras has also shown he can generate results at the big-league level. 

Germán Márquez (COL) – FAAB Bid: 1%

This feels crazy to say, but Marquez has actually been solid as of late. Heading into last night’s start against the Cardinals, the right-hander was working on a streak of six quality starts out of seven. That came crashing down as the Colorado Rockies starter allowed six runs at home against the Rangers, which brought his ERA up to 5.22 for the season. As his performance prior to that showed, Marquez was moving in the same direction that his ERA metrics suggest (4.72 xERA and 3.91 xFIP) and that did catch our attention. While down slightly off previous paces, Marquez does have a 47.5% ground ball rate and I have no problem focusing on his 3.69 ERA in July as you look for some streaming innings to close out the season. 

Pete Fairbanks (TB) – FAAB Bid: 2%

Tampa Bay’s bullpen is generally quite confusing and frustrating for fantasy managers, but for most of the season they did not have Fairbanks. The Rays right-hander has not allowed a run in his last six appearances, and recorded saves in back-to-back games against Kansas City earlier this week. In 13.2 innings this season, Fairbanks has four saves overall along with a 1.98 ERA (1.51 FIP) while striking out 19 batters. Not only is he an interesting name for saves, but there is standalone value here based on how he has been pitching. 

Jonathan Loáisiga (NYY) – FAAB Bid: 1%

It is quite evident that the Yankees need help in the bullpen. Who is going to close games for them over the next month is going to be quite the mystery and a rocky ride. Loaisiga has both health and performance issues this year but it is worth noting that in four of last five outings, he did not allow a run. The Yankees turned to Loaisiga to get a four-out save on Monday against the Mets and it worked out well for the right-hander. His ERA is still 5.76 on the season along with a 1.48 WHIP, but his 4.26 FIP does make you feel a little better along with 2.57 ERA over seven innings in August. 

 

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