5 Bargain Basement Hitters - Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups For Week 18

July 30, 2026

Five hot fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups, streamers, and sleepers for Week 18 (2026). Undervalued hitters outperforming their ownership percentage and should be more widely owned.

Welcome, RotoBallers, to another edition of our Bargain Basement Hitters for Week 18 of the fantasy baseball season. We're in the thick of the stretch run now, so it's time to boost our teams with some helpful pickups. The focus for this week is on players with seven games on the schedule.

As always, we will look at five hitters who are improving and are widely available across all Yahoo! leagues. These are recommendations for pickups due to their favorable schedules. Be sure to follow RotoBaller MLB on X for all of our league-winning content and me, @FAmmiranteTFJ, for any questions!

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Ryan Waldschmidt, OF, Arizona Diamondbacks

3% rostered (Yahoo)

Ryan Waldschmidt is a highly touted prospect who slashed .288/.405/.492 with six homers and six steals in 234 plate appearances at Triple-A this year. He's a refined hitter with a polished approach, as highlighted by a 13.2% walk rate and a 22.6% strikeout rate during that stretch at Triple-A. So far in the big leagues, Waldschmidt is slashing .276/.318/.400 with one homer and six steals in 158 plate appearances.

The walks haven't been there just yet, as we see with his 5.7 BB%. Plus, he's struggling to make contact, as we note with his 33.5 K%. However, Waldschmidt is slowly getting on track, hitting safely in eight of his last nine games. During this stretch, he hit his first homer of his career. This could be the case of a talented rookie finding his groove in the big leagues.

Ryan Waldschmidt collects his first two career RBI and gives the @Dbacks an early lead! pic.twitter.com/52jJx1NpF0

— MLB (@MLB) May 10, 2026

Now is the perfect time to pick up Waldschmidt because he's not exactly top of mind when it comes to waiver pickups, but there are encouraging signs as he heads into a favorable seven-game schedule. The Diamondbacks have four games against the Padres and three games vs. the Dodgers, each of which is at home. If you need some speed, Waldschmidt makes sense to grab right now.

Remember, with rookies, there is an unknown ceiling. Yes, they can completely fall apart, but they can also hit like stars. Just look at Esmerlyn Valdez with the Pirates. No one expected to see such a power surge. To that end, pick up Waldschmidt for this seven-game week and see where he takes you.

Pedro Ramirez, 2B/3B, Chicago Cubs

4% rostered (Yahoo)

Pedro Ramirez is a 22-year-old infielder who put up impressive numbers for the Cubs at Triple-A, where he slashed .312/.395/.547 with nine homers and 19 steals in 196 plate appearances. This included excellent plate discipline metrics, such as a 10.7% walk rate and a 16.3% strikeout rate. So far in the big leagues, Ramirez is slashing .322/.362/.471 with one homer and four steals in 95 plate appearances.

Even though he's hitting between the 7-9 spots, he's provided a boost to the Cubs lineup at the bottom of the order. This includes three consecutive multi-hit games heading into Wednesday's action. Here's a case where we have a red-hot rookie worth picking up for his upcoming schedule.

PEDRO RAMÍREZ FIRST BIG LEAGUE HR‼️ pic.twitter.com/NqNZhgJsJ0

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) June 14, 2026

The Cubs have seven games this upcoming week, including four at home: three vs the Dodgers and one vs the Blue Jays. They'll also head on the road for three games vs. the Royals. Hitting at Kauffman Stadium against a questionable pitching staff will give Ramirez a chance to keep the good times rolling.

Just like I said with Valdez: the same applies here. You just never know how good a rookie can do, so pick them up when they're running hot, especially if they performed well in the minors.

Luis Lara, OF, Milwaukee Brewers

4% rostered (Yahoo)

Here we have my third rookie in a row. This time, it's a Brewers outfielder. Luis Lara was impressive at Triple-A this season, where he slashed .321/.432/.470 with nine homers and 24 steals in 346 plate appearances. As with Ramirez, Lara had terrific plate discipline metrics, featuring a 15.6% walk rate and a 13.9% strikeout rate. So far in the big leagues, Lara is slashing .289/.391/.447 with two steals in 46 plate appearances.

While it certainly hasn't been a notable start for Lara with the Brewers, you have to like that he's still walking at a 15.2% clip while keeping his strikeout rate in check at 13.0%. Lara has two multi-hit games in his last four. He also stole a base and was caught stealing on Tuesday night. That kind of aggression on the basepaths is what we want to see.

LUIS LARA TRIPLES IN TWO RUNS pic.twitter.com/Jbz1DUsIJa

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) July 29, 2026

Now is the time to give Lara a chance because the Brewers play seven games this upcoming week. This includes seven games at home: four against the Pirates and three against the Twins. If you need a boost in speed, picking up Lara is a smart move. He's also more valuable in OBP formats due to his high walk rate.

We also should note that Lara has seen an uptick in playing time lately, as he's suited up in five of the last six games for the Brewers. When he was first called up, his playing time was much more sporadic, so this is a notable development.