MLB

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Adds: Week 26

Matt Kupferle  —  @MKupferle Sep 19th, 2021

With the 2021 baseball season wrapping up, nailing the waiver wire and the players available are critical to beating out your league-mates in season-long leagues.

Each week we will take a look at players who are rostered in fewer than 50% of Yahoo leagues and can help out your season-long squads. Remember, if you aren’t scouring the waiver wire, you are falling behind.

Chris Stratton, RP, Pittsburgh Pirates

Roster Percentage: 22%

Let's take a ride on the closer carousel, shall we?

With David Bednar out, Chris Stratton has racked up four saves and a win in his last five appearances, leaving there no doubt who the end-game reliever is for the Pittsburgh Pirates. And these aren't empty saves, either. Over the last month, spanning 14 2/3 innings, Stratton has fanned 23 batters with a 0.82 WHIP.

Stratton is well worth an add if you're chasing saves.

Austin Hays, Baltimore Orioles

Roster Percentage: 38%

It's honestly a bit hard for me to fathom that Austin Hays is rostered in only 38% of leagues.

While he has had a bit of a rocky 2021 season overall, Hays season-long numbers -- thanks to a recent torrid streak at the plate -- look pretty darn respectable. Mashing seven homers over the last two weeks can do that for you. He's now up to 67 runs, 21 long balls, and 65 RBI -- throwing in 3 steals for good measure.

Hays needs to be rostered.

Nestor Cortes, SP, New York Yankees

Roster Percentage: 49%

It seems a bit odd that you can pick up this good of a starter this late in the season, but Nestor Cortes is definitely worthy of some attention.

After a scintillating 11-strikeout performance over 6 1/3 innings pitched last time out, Cortes has to be on our radar. The New York Yankees are 8-3 in his last 11 starts. Since joining the rotation around the start of July, Cortes has recorded a solid 2.60 ERA over 79 2/3 innings pitched, including 87 punchouts.

He gets a woeful Texas Rangers offense next time out, so give the hurler a look.

Lane Thomas, OF, Washington Nationals

Roster Percentage: 29%

In the last two weeks of the season, we really should be prioritizing volume across all of our leagues, and newly minted leadoff hitter Lane Thomas is just a dude we can't ignore any longer.

Occupying the spot atop the Washington Nationals' lineup, Thomas has racked up 13 runs, 13 RBI and 3 long balls over the last two weeks. The former stud prospect in the St. Louis Cardinals organization has also posted a stellar .391 OBP over that time.

If you need a solid multi-category contributor, Thomas is worth grabbing for the stretch run.

Games in Coors Field This Week

Los Angeles Dodgers (3), San Francisco Giants (3)