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Five hot fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups, streamers, and sleepers for Week 23 (2025). Undervalued hitters outperforming their ownership percentage and should be more widely owned.
Major League Baseball's regular season has less than a month remaining as we set sail in September, and for most fantasy baseball leagues, it's coming down to the wire. Depending on your format, you may already be in the postseason or in the critical last few days in closely contested categories. With rosters expanding and more young players getting time as teams look to the future, this month is always exciting for fantasy baseball, with plenty of players stepping into larger roles and fantasy relevance. Some of them can offer just what your team needs to finish the season strong!
This week's five bargain basement hitters have been heating up over the last few weeks and can give you just the boost you need in the remaining weeks of the season. As the best fantasy baseball managers know, it pays to constantly keep an eye on the waiver wire since new players are constantly emerging who can give your team a boost in the short term or for the rest of the season. In this post, we're skipping past the big-name, obvious pickups and diving deeper in search of hidden values from the bargain basement. If injury or ineffectiveness is forcing you to look for a bargain basement alternative, check out these emerging bats to consider.
In most leagues, these options are available for free or at a minimal cost from your FAAB budget. If your league uses waiver priority instead, these are options that can be targets even if you have low priority. As a whole, they are plug-and-play options that can be scooped and started in most formats. All stats are through games played on Monday, September 1, unless otherwise noted. Which widely available hitters should be on your shopping list?
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Mike Yastrzemski, OF - Kansas City Royals
10% rostered
Yastrzemski was traded from the Giants to the Royals at the MLB trade deadline, as the Royals looked to add a veteran bat to their corner outfield mix. He's been a strong fit so far in Kansas City, and the 35-year-old lefty has taken over as the Royals' primary leadoff hitter against righties.
Since arriving in Kansas City, he is 22-for-82 (.268) with eight doubles, seven homers, and a .404 wOBA. Yastrzemski has a 51.4% hard-hit rate with the Royals after only a 39.1% hard-hit rate in his 97 games with the Giants.
Mike Yastrzemski Since Joining The Royals:
87 PA
.260 AVG
.356 OBP
.603 SLG
6 HR
18 R
12 RBI
.398 wOBA
154 wRC+Phenomenal deadline add for Kansas City!#FountainsUppic.twitter.com/c1KrAOnGgG
— Tobey Schulman (@tschulmanreport) August 28, 2025
Yaz has provided good power production and a very solid average, and he's in a premier run-production spot, hitting just in front of Bobby Witt Jr. He could get squeezed for time down the stretch if the Royals fade from the playoff race and play younger hitters instead of the veteran.
After the season, Yastrzemski is slated to be a free agent, and he's boosted his stock since leaving San Francisco with his good run of production since joining the Royals. If he continues to play so well for the final month of the season, he'll probably earn a short-term deal either with the Royals or another team in need of a veteran left-handed bat in the outfield.
Yastrzemski's significantly increased hard-hit rate over the last month shows that his production isn't fluky, and he's a solid mixed-league pickup for as long as he stays hot.
Luis Matos, OF - San Francisco Giants
11% rostered
Yastrzemski's departure opened playing time for the Giants' younger hitters, including Luis Matos, who was called up from Triple-A on August 21, and has caught fire since returning to San Francisco.
The 23-year-old bounced back and forth between the majors and Triple-A for most of the season. Before his recent call-up, he only hit .167 in 40 games in the majors with five homers and two stolen bases. In Triple-A, he was slightly better, hitting .260 with seven homers and six stolen bases with a .337 wOBA and 96 wRC+.
He seems to have found his groove, though, since August 15. He went 8-for-22 (.364) in his last five Triple-A games with a home run. He was called back up to the majors on August 21 and has gone 16-for-37 (.432) with three doubles, three homers, two stolen bases, and a .520 wOBA in his 10 games since returning.
Dave Flemming pays tribute to Bob Uecker on this Luis Matos home run call 🎙️ pic.twitter.com/6RFivw5LoQ
— SFGiants (@SFGiants) August 24, 2025
In the bigger picture, Matos has bounced back and forth between Triple-A Sacramento and San Francisco for the last three seasons. He has shown lots of promise and has good physical tools, but hasn't been able to put it all together consistently in the majors.
Matos is still only 23 and may have turned the corner and be ready to regularly contribute. As the last 10 games indicate, he definitely can be fantasy relevant when he's at his best. At this point, it is uncertain if he can maintain this pace, especially after his slow start to the year. However, if he is ready to be a key contributor heading into next season, he'll have every chance to prove it over the last month of the season.
Matos is less proven than Yastrzemski but brings a little higher ceiling as long as he stays so locked in.
Jeremiah Jackson, SS/OF - Baltimore Orioles
18% rostered
The Orioles have two players on the bargain basement bats list this week, with Jackson as the first player stepping into a larger role and producing over the last few weeks. The O's have fallen completely out of contention and have multiple injuries, which have opened an opportunity for Jackson to play every day.
The 25-year-old spent time in the Angels and Mets systems before joining the Orioles as a minor league free agent this past offseason. He started in Double-A, but moved up to Triple-A at the beginning of June. In Norfolk, he hit an impressive .377 with 11 homers, nine stolen bases, and a .461 wOBA.
The Orioles promoted him to the majors for his debut on August 1, and he is hitting .337 with five doubles, two triples, three home runs, and a .376 wOBA in his 25 games in the majors.
Jeremiah Jackson extends his hitting streak to 12 games.
He has hit safely in 17 of his last 18 games.pic.twitter.com/qiPFt1qZrz
— Kirk Snyder (@dynastyinfo411) September 2, 2025
Jackson has played a few different positions since arriving and is likely to add 3B eligibility soon, since he's helping to fill in for Jordan Westburg (ankle). While his positional versatility has helped him stay in the lineup, he's been locked into the second spot in the O's order. He is one of the few Orioles prospects who is a right-handed hitter, which could help him have an easier path to playing time.
He is locked in right now as the second hitter in the order, and he could fill that spot next year if he continues to impress. Even in redraft leagues, though, Jackson has shown enough potential to be a mixed-league add for the rest of the season, especially with more positional flexibility just around the corner.
Dylan Beavers, OF - Baltimore Orioles
6% rostered
Another Orioles prospect finishing the season strong has been outfielder Dylan Beavers. Beavers is the team's No. 3 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, and he had a great season in Triple-A. The team didn't call him up until mid-August to preserve his Rookie of the Year eligibility for next year, but now that he's arrived, he looks ready to contribute.
Beavers posted a .304/.420/.515 triple-slash with 18 homers and 23 steals in Triple-A for the Norfolk Tides. He's another lefty for the O's, but he brings standout speed and has the profile to hit leadoff for Baltimore, possibly even in front of Jackson next season.
He has played 15 games since joining the Orioles and has not looked overmatched at all. He's 16-for-48, .333 with four doubles, a home run, and a stolen base. He only has a 33.3% hard-hit rate in the majors, but he does have a 9.1% barrel rate and has also taken his chances to show off his elite speed.
#Orioles' Dylan Beavers was flying down the line on this 1-out infield single in the top of the 2nd inning.
30.2 feet/second sprint speed, per Statcast -- that's elite (which is anything 30+). pic.twitter.com/TPDLam6BZ3
— Jake Rill (@JakeDRill) September 1, 2025
He has only attempted one stolen base (successfully) in the majors, but was 54-for-62 in stolen base attempts in the last two seasons in the minors. If he gets more aggressive on the bases, he has elite speed potential, and he's definitely an exciting talent to track the rest of the year in Baltimore.
Joc Pederson, OF - Texas Rangers
4% rostered
The Rangers signed veteran lefty Joc Pederson to a two-year contract as a free agent this past offseason, and that deal looked awful until the last month.
Pederson battled injury issues and was limited to 50 games before August. During that span, he hit an atrocious .120 with only two homers, a .227 wOBA, and a 43.1% hard-hit rate.
In his last 25 games, though, he has turned things around in a big way. Since August 1, the 33-year-old is hitting .274 with six homers, a .383 wOBA, and a 50.9% hard-hit rate. He had four of those long balls in his last nine games, including this blast onto the berm seating area called Home Run Hill in Sacramento:
Joc Pederson has arrived and seems like he’s here to stay
He has an OBP of .350 and an OPS of .968 in his last 20 games 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/6GqYhFK8GP
— Rangers Nation ⚾️ (@rangers__nation) August 31, 2025
Pederson has been a streaky power producer throughout his career, and he is on enough of a surge to be a fill-in that brings more power upside than most options in the bargain basement. The rest of the options discussed here are better all-around pickups and bring more batting average, but if you're in pursuit of pure power, Pederson is potentially a perfect pickup from the bargain basement.
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