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Five hot fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups, streamers, and sleepers for Week 3 (2026). Undervalued hitters outperforming their ownership percentage and should be more widely owned.
With another week of MLB action in the books, it's time to do another deep dive into some undervalued hitters. These hitters are under 25% rostered on Yahoo and will likely not blow your FAAB budget, as they seem to be going under the radar in the vast majority of leagues.
This week, we will spotlight a platoon bat in Philadelphia who is making a case to be a weekly starter and a 34-year-old in Arizona who is enjoying a late-career power surge.
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Ildemaro Vargas, 1B/2B, Arizona Diamondbacks
5% rostered (Yahoo)
The 10-year MLB veteran opened the season in a multi-utility depth role in Arizona but has since carved out a lead role in this offense. Through 11 games, Vargas has been one of the game's most productive bats, posting an elite .381/.409/.667 line with a 1.076 OPS. He has gone deep twice while adding four doubles, one triple, and holding a 7:2 K:BB.
Last summer, Vargas appeared in just 38 MLB games and posted a solid .270 AVG, but was a minimal contributor in power, posting a low .383 SLG with just three long balls. Throughout his lengthy MLB career, the highest home run total he has posted in a season was six, back in 2019 with the Diamondbacks.
Is this recent surge a flash in the pan or the building of a potential late-career rebirth?
While the sample sizes are still small, we are beginning to see more data that can help us determine a breakout from a fake-out. Vargas has generated an impressive .409 xwOBA with a 100th percentile xBA (with .375). His power total appears to be sustainable as suggested by his high-end .545 xSLG and elite 48.6% LA Sweet-Spot, which places him in the 98th percentile.
However, Vargas is not impacting the ball hard; instead, he is hitting it effectively for power. Per Baseball Savant, the veteran has generated a low 86.4 mph average exit velocity, with a modest 5.6% barrel rate and a 37.1% hard-hit rate, the latter being well below current averages. Fortunately, Vargas has kept the ball off the ground and has pulled it at an elite rate, which has led to his rise in power.
Vargas has generated an eye-catching 25.7% Pull AIR%, which is on pace to not only be the highest of his career, but is one of the highest marks among hitters this season. His low 37.1% ground-ball rate is a near 20-point drop from his 2025 mark and is on pace to be the lowest of his career.
Given his career trajectory, managers should expect both of these numbers to normalize, but any improvement would be a major plus for his outlook.
The other aspect of his profile where Vargas could face some regression is in his production against fastballs. The 34-year-old has seen this type of pitch 48.8% of the time and posted a ridiculous .952 SLG, compared to the underlying .683 xSLG. While the underlying mark is still elite, managers should expect some regression here.
While Vargas has never been a power hitter, he has begun optimizing his swing, which has given his fantasy value a major boost. Managers needing additional infield depth should look to ride this hot streak, as this could be the foundation for a potential 15-20 HR season. The Diamondbacks have begun to move Vargas up to the leadoff spot, suggesting how they view his recent surge in production.
His high-end xBA should also keep his batting average usable for fantasy, even if his power numbers normalize.
Vargas goes Yard. pic.twitter.com/L7EyEuQPmH
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) April 14, 2026
Edouard Julien, 1B/2B, Colorado Rockies
5% rostered
Edouard Julien was always an intriguing prospect as he progressed through the Twins system, but he never carved out a consistent role on the MLB roster. In 2023, he appeared in his career-high 109 games (debut season) with the Twins and posted a .263/.381/.459 line with 16 long balls, which made him an intimidating breakout pick heading into 2024.
However, that season, Julien posted a low .199 AVG with just eight home runs over a similar 94-game stint. In 2025, these struggles persisted as he posted a .220/.309/.324 line with three home runs over a 64-game stint.
Fast-forward to 2026, where he now plays for the Rockies and is not only drawing a full-time role against right-handers, but is looking like his rookie self.
Through 15 games, Julien has posted an elite .314/.385/.429 slash line with one double, one home run, two stolen bases, and a 9:4 K:BB. His two stolen bases total lie just four behind a career-best, while his .814 OPS is right in line with his .840 OPS as a rookie.
Under the hood, Julien has looked the part, generating a .356 xwOBA, .274 xBA, and a .467 xSLG, all of which place him above the 70th percentile among qualified hitters. While his xBA is nearly 30 points lower than his surface-level marks, it is still a high mark and will be more than valuable for fantasy.
The interesting aspect of his profile is how he is impacting the ball. Julien has raised his Pull AIR% rate to 15.4%, which is on pace to be the highest of his career. Additionally, Julien has generated a 46.2% LA Sweet-Spot%, which places him in the 95th percentile. This is a six-point increase compared to his rookie-season marks, and the only time in his career it has been above 40.0%.
Julien was always credited for his elite eye, and that has translated well to Colorado, as he has posted a 10.3% BB% with a solid 23.1% K%, which is on pace to be the lowest of his career.
As always, the sample size is small, but Julien is impacting the ball far more effectively than he ever has. Playing home games in Coors Field will only help this translate to more power. Even though he is on a strict platoon, Julien has value as an MI/CI on an extended homestand in all standard leagues.
Brandon Marsh, OF, Philadelphia Phillies
10% rostered
Like Julien, Marsh is in a strict platoon (strong side) and needs to capitalize on his opportunities to be fantasy valuable. Fortunately, Marsh has exceeded all expectations against right-handed pitching and has been one of the most productive hitters in the opening weeks.
Through 16 games, Marsh has posted a .305/.332/.475 slash line with four doubles, two home runs, and two stolen bases. Last season, Marsh swiped a total of just seven bags over 133 games. His current 82nd-percentile sprint speed suggests Marsh may return to his 19-SB total from 2024.
Under the hood, Marsh boasts elite metrics that suggest he could be in store for a career season. He has generated a .308 xBA, which is even lower than his surface-level .305 BA, suggesting there is room for slight improvement. His .483 xSLG is also lower than his face-value statistics, and his .351 xwOBA places him among the 68th percentile among qualified hitters.
Compared to his previous marks, his .308 xBA is 40 points higher than his 2025 season mark and is on pace to be the best of his career.
When facing fastballs and offspeed pitches, Marsh has been nearly flawless. Per Baseball Savant, Marsh has generated an xBA above .340 when facing both pitch types and an xSLG above .440. As shown below, the "expected" marks for both pitch types are lower than those shown in the box score.
While his production against breaking balls remains a weakness, he can hide this Achilles' heel by maintaining this pace against fastballs and offspeed pitches.
Lastly, as noted for names earlier on this list, Marsh is impacting the ball quite effectively, boasting a 45.7% LA Sweet-Spot%, which is also on track to be the highest of his career.
His platoon role will limit his overall production, especially when looking at counting stats, but given how effective he has been against right-handed pitching, Marsh should remain an elite asset in batting average and carry near-15-SB upside. He is a must-roster in all standard five-outfielder leagues.
Casey Schmitt, 1B/2B/3B, San Francisco Giants
5% rostered
The super-utility man will be the next player on our list. Schmitt carries eligibility at 1B, 2B, and 3B on Yahoo but has seen most of his time at first base and DH this season, sharing time with Rafael Devers.
Through 12 games, Schmitt is on pace to enjoy the best seasons of his career, holding a .341/.413/.537 line with an elite .950 OPS. He has tallied five doubles, hit one home run, and even stolen a base.
Under the hood, he has generated a .343 xwOBA, .265 xBA, and a .429 xSLG, all of which are above the average marks, but suggest he has slightly outperformed his current underlying metrics. However, Schmitt is hitting the ball harder than ever before, which could keep his production stable.
Per Baseball Savant, Schmitt has generated a high 93.3 mph average exit velocity, 53.6% hard-hit rate, and a 10.7% barrel rate, all of which place him in the 67th percentile or higher, while the hard-hit rate and average exit velocity place him in the 90th percentile or higher.
Compared to last season, Schmitt has raised his hard-hit rate by 10 points and barrel rate by 1.7 points.
The other interesting component to note is his massive improvement against offspeed pitches. As shown in the visual below, his xSLG against fastballs and breaking balls has not changed throughout his career. However, when looking at offspeed pitches (the green line), Schmitt has taken a massive step forward.
His career line of .234/.291/.393 does not instill much confidence; he is hitting the ball harder than ever before and reaping the rewards. Managers should expect him to sit in the mid-270s in terms of batting average, but he should begin to see some positive regression in the power department, as evidenced by his elite 25.0% Pull AIR%.
We may even see a double-digit stolen-base campaign, as shown by his 66th-percentile sprint speed.
Ryan Jeffers, C, Minnesota Twins
15% rostered
The final player we will spotlight this week is a backstop. Last week, we took a look at Detroit Tigers backstop Dillon Dingler, who is emerging as a viable low-end C1 in all standard leagues. We will now turn our attention to another primary backstop in his division, Ryan Jeffers.
Jeffers had a quiet start to the season, holding a .226/.351/.290 line over his first nine games. However, over his last three, Jeffers has racked up six hits with two of them leaving the yard. Many managers have already begun picking him, as his rostership is rising, but is this just an April fluke or something sustainable?
Under the hood, Jeffers carries impressive metrics, including a .402 xwOBA, .283 xBA, and a .506 xSLG, which suggests his cold start was just unlucky. He has generated a high 15.6% barrel rate and a 50.0% hard-hit rate, both well above average.
His current hard-hit rate is an eight-point jump from the last season and would be the highest mark of his career by a wide margin. His 15.6% barrel rate is on pace to be a nice point jump from 2025, and the first time since 2023 he posted a double-digit barrel rate.
Under the hood, Jeffers has raised his fast-swing rate from 36.3% to 43.7% (compared to 2025), which would be the highest mark of his career. This rise in fast-swing rate has correlated with how hard he has been able to impact the ball.
Additionally, paired with his increasing power, Jeffers has begun to pull the ball far more effectively than ever before, generating a 25.0% Pull AIR%, which can result in the power surges we saw this past week.
He has also been drawing a high 15.7% clip, which should help offset any potential regression in batting average, as his xBA is nearly 30 points higher than his surface-level mark.
While he has not entered must-start against in standard leagues, he is a top pick in all two-catcher leagues as he appears primed to post another 20+ HR campaign. Managers in standard one-catcher leagues should keep an eye on him and view him as a top streaming option, especially when facing several southpaws in a given week.
Ryan Jeffers sent that outta here 💥 pic.twitter.com/vq3IMU4lm1
— Twins.TV (@twinstv) April 10, 2026
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