Must-Add Waiver Wire Pickups: Mid-Week Fantasy Baseball Adds for Week 9

May 28, 2026

Dan analyzes 6 must-add fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups, mid-week adds for Week 9 of the 2026 MLB season. Grab these players asap off the waiver wire.

Hello again, RotoBallers! Believe it or not, we are already halfway through the week (the holiday weekend really threw me off). As such, it is time for a mid-week check-in for Must-Add Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 9 of fantasy baseball.

This week’s list is a well-balanced mix to meet positional needs. Below you will find a reliever in a prime spot to stack up saves and a quietly consistent starter who has been flying under the radar. On the hitters’ side of things, there is one infielder who recently debuted after starting the year on the injured list and another who is eligible around the horn. Rounding things out are a couple of outfielders (both of whom are also eligible at first base) riding hot streaks so long that it might be time to accept them for who they are.

Like any other week, this group will be available in at least 50% of Yahoo leagues. If you need further assistance or advice in managing your fantasy baseball roster, feel free to hit me up on X (@danifestmestiny) or Bluesky (@danifestmestiny.bsky.social). For now, read on for my top Waiver Wire Pickups for the rest of Week 9 of the fantasy baseball season.

2026 Fantasy Baseball: Mid-Week Waiver Wire Adds

Tanner Scott, RP, Los Angeles Dodgers

Relief pitcher Tanner Scott of the Los Angeles Dodgers is rostered in just 48% of Yahoo fantasy baseball leagues. This struck me as low, considering that Scott, for all intents and purposes, sits on top of the bullpen depth chart for one of the best teams in baseball. The Dodgers’ high-powered lineup and Scott’s effectiveness out of the pen may be limiting his appeal in fantasy.

With the Dodgers’ high-powered offense winning games handily (Los Angeles’ +117 run differential is tops in MLB), save opportunities are few and far between. In fact, the Dodgers have had the same number of save opportunities (17) as the neighboring Angels, tying them with the Cubs and Rangers for the fourth fewest in MLB.

More than that, though, is the fact that Scott has been so good at his job that manager Dave Roberts is treating the reliever more as a fireman and less as an outright closer. Scott snagged the first three saves for the Dodgers in May, but since his last one on May 14, three other relievers have been used in the ninth.

Still, Scott is having an incredible season for a bullpen arm. In 21.2 innings this season, he has allowed 13 baserunners and three earned runs, crediting him with a minuscule 0.60 WHIP and a 1.25 ERA. Scott’s 28.6% K-BB% points to how the 31-year-old is managing to put away opposing batters one after another.

The soft committee in Los Angeles is frustrating, but I want in on Scott now. He’s in the best position if Roberts stops shuffling things around, and I’ll take his strikeouts and ratio help in the meantime.

Jackson Holliday, 2B/SS, Baltimore Orioles

Baltimore Orioles infielder Jackson Holliday is finally back after starting 2026 on the injured list thanks to a fractured hamate bone. Holliday made his season debut on May 19, going 0-for-2 with a strikeout before being relieved in the eighth inning. Through his first seven games of the season, he is 4-for-18 with one home run, four runs, four RBI, and two stolen bases.

Holliday’s ups and downs as a major leaguer are well known. The first overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft, Holliday was pushed through the minors and made his MLB debut in 2024 at the age of 20. He struggled mightily that season, slashing .189/.255/.311 over 60 games. In 2025, Holliday fared better in his first full season in the majors, putting up .242-17-55-70-17 in 145 games and showing better decision-making and discipline skills at the plate.

Not stellar, but an encouraging step in the right direction for the once-heralded prospect.

So far in 2026, the Orioles are employing Holliday in a platoon. Luckily, the left-handed-hitting Holliday stands to benefit most from the timeshare, but it is a situation for fantasy managers to be aware of nonetheless. It may be one that helps Holliday’s numbers, as his splits heavily favor matchups against right-handed pitchers.

Holliday is there for the taking for managers who need help at either middle infield position. Still just 22, Holliday has plenty of time to continue developing. With his blend of power and speed, those who scoop him up now will reap big rewards if things start falling into place this year.

Jake Bauers, 1B/OF, Milwaukee Brewers

Jake Bauers of the Milwaukee Brewers is off to a tremendous start in 2026. With just 45 games under his belt so far, Bauers has met and surpassed his numbers from last year. He hit his eighth home run of the year on Tuesday night and has now scored 29 runs, tallied 30 RBI, and is hitting a cool .290 with a .858 OPS. On May 23, he saw a 22-game on-base streak come to an end.

In his age-30 season, Bauers seems to have unlocked a new dimension to his game. Never known for his contact numbers (his career batting average coming into 2026 was .211), Bauers is suddenly flirting with being a .300 hitter. After trying for most of his career to play the role of masher and pull flyballs down the line, Bauers is apparently going the opposite way this year, literally.

Bauers’ pull AIR% is the lowest of his career, and he is using left field with greater frequency than ever.

Making better decisions about which pitches he tries to crush into the bleachers and which he pokes the opposite way is doing wonders for his production. Bauers may return to earth at some point, but for the time being, he offers help in four categories to anyone in need of a first baseman or an outfielder. While he is in a platoon role, he’s on the strong side, and the Brewers are projected to face off against righties straight through their next two series.

Troy Johnston, 1B/OF, Colorado Rockies

If Bauers doesn’t scratch your 1B/OF itch (or if he’s already taken), Troy Johnston of the Colorado Rockies is widely available. A career minor leaguer, Johnston finally got his first taste of MLB action last year with the Marlins. Now 29 and with the Rockies, he is one of MLB’s surprising early candidates for a batting title. Johnston currently ranks second in the National League and in all of MLB with a .323 batting average.

Johnston’s plate approach is less like Bauers’ and more like that of Luis Arraez: low bat speed and an emphasis on quality of contact. Johnston’s bat speed lies in the fourth percentile, but his launch angle sweet spot rate is in the 98th.

Johnston does not have a lot of power in his bat, and he won’t deliver much in the way of runs and RBI, being in the Rockies’ lineup. He will be of use for teams that need help with batting average. Three of the Rockies’ next four series are at Coors Field, so there is the potential for a slight bump in production that comes with the park’s effects.

Walbert Urena, SP, Los Angeles Angels

One of the season’s quieter success stories is that of Walbert Urena. A starting pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels, Urena has a 2-4 record, 36 strikeouts, and 2.58 ERA in nine games (seven starts). A propensity to issue walks has inflated his WHIP to 1.38, but he has done well to limit the damage once runners are on base.

Urena has a fastball that runs into the high-90s, but his changeup has been his go-to pitch, generating a 35.7% whiff rate and holding opponents to a .136 batting average. Urena’s second pitch is a sinker that hitters are seeing extremely well and is responsible for most of the damage done to him this season. I would hope that the Angels’ coaches step in sooner rather than later and tell him to get away from it in favor of the aforementioned four-seamer.

In his last five starts, Urena has averaged 3.2 hits allowed, one earned run allowed, and 4.6 strikeouts, and has a 1.67 ERA over that stretch to show for it. He will have a start against the Rays this weekend, followed by a matchup against the Rockies (at Angel Stadium) next week.

Oswald Peraza, 1B/2B/3B/SS, Los Angeles Angels

Oswald Peraza started the season as the Angels’ second baseman. As third baseman Yoan Moncada’s (knee) cold start to the season never quite dissipated, Peraza found himself shifting over to the hot corner more and more often. With Moncada hitting the injured list as of May 22, Peraza seems to have the position to himself for the time being.

With a possible IL stint for Nolan Schanuel (calf) on the horizon, Peraza seems to have plenty of work for the next couple of weeks.

Finding ways to keep Peraza in the lineup would be good for the Angels, as he is seeing the ball as well as anyone right now. Over the last week, he has gone 8-for-22 with a home run, three RBI, three runs scored, and has an OPS of 1.007. Through 49 games this season, Peraza has a .277 batting average, six home runs, and five stolen bases.

Peraza hasn’t stolen a base in over a month, but that could change soon. This weekend, the Angels face the Rays, who have allowed the second-most stolen bases in the league. Eligible at all four infield spots on Yahoo, his flexibility further boosts his fantasy value amid his current hot streak.

Other Waiver Wire Targets

• Luis Garcia Jr., WSH
• Ezequiel Duran, TEX
• Ezequiel Tovar, COL
• Daulton Varsho, TOR
• Jesus Sanchez, TOR
• Cade Cavalli, WSH
• Ryan Waldschmidt, ARI
• Keider Montero, DET

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