RADIO
Five hot fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups, streamers, and sleepers for Week 24 (2025). Undervalued hitters outperforming their ownership percentage and should be more widely owned.
As the weather starts to cool off, Major League Baseball's regular season is winding down, which means it's crunch time in many fantasy baseball leagues. Even though the sweltering days of summer are mostly behind us, some players are just starting to heat up at the plate and can be helpful fantasy baseball additions from the waiver wire. With rosters expanding and more young players getting looks over the last month, September is always exciting for fantasy baseball. Plenty of players are stepping into larger roles, and some of them may bring just what your fantasy team needs to sprint through the finish line.
As the best fantasy baseball managers know, the waiver wire always contains some valuable options if you know where to look. New players are constantly emerging, and some of them can give your team a boost in the short term or for the rest of the season. In this post, we're diving deeper, past the big-name, obvious pickups, and examining hidden values from the bargain basement. If injury or ineffectiveness is forcing you to look for a waiver wire alternative, consider snagging one or more of these emerging bats.
This week's five bargain basement hitters have been heating up over the last few weeks, but 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 8, unless otherwise noted. Which widely available hitters should be on your shopping list?
Be sure to check all of our fantasy baseball draft tools and resources:- Fantasy baseball draft kit
- Fantasy baseball rankings
- Team Sync platform and Draft Assistant
- Fantasy baseball mock draft simulator
- Fantasy baseball draft cheat sheets
- Fantasy baseball closer depth charts
- Fantasy baseball prospects
Otto Lopez, 2B/SS - Miami Marlins
29% rostered
Lopez has been in our bargain basement pickups before this season, and the 26-year-old is putting together a great finish to his breakthrough season. Coming into the year, he was viewed as a piece in the second-base mix, but now he's locked himself in as the team's primary shortstop and a regular in the heart of the order.
In his career-high 126 games, Lopez is hitting .249 with 14 homers, 13 stolen bases, 60 runs scored, and 70 RBI. He had a two-homer game earlier this month to power the Marlins past the Phillies.
Otto Lopez provides a bit of breathing room for the @Marlins with his second homer of the game 🐠 pic.twitter.com/PX4G47kYiC
— MLB (@MLB) September 7, 2025
Over his last 11 games, Lopez has hit .375 with three homers, a stolen base, and a .435 wOBA. He's hit both leadoff and cleanup during that stretch, showing his value and versatility. While he isn't one of Miami's prototype high-exit velocity sluggers, he is a very solid all-around bat who brings good speed and power to go with a very solid average.
If you are looking for a bat who isn't going to hurt you in any categories and can chip in meaningful contributions from a middle-infield spot, Lopez is a great option to consider. Lopez has been very consistent for the Marlins this year and should be able to be consistent for your fantasy team over the closing weeks of the season.
Daylen Lile, OF - Washington Nationals
25% rostered
For another team out of the NL East race but still with some fun young hitters, Lile has climbed into the heart of the order, often hitting cleanup over his last few games.
Lile is still only 22 years old and was one of the team's top prospects coming into the season. He got his first taste of the majors in late May and early June and went just 3-for-31 (.194) in 11 games before being sent back to the minors. He returned just over a week later, though, and has looked much more comfortable since the All-Star break, putting on a show as one of the league's most exciting rookies.
Daylen Lile ranks among NL rookies since July 21:
⚾️Hits - 1st, 42
⚾️Triples- 1st, 6
⚾️Average - 1st, .331
⚾️Slugging% - 2nd, .528
⚾️OPS - 2nd, .897
⚾️On-Base% - 3rd, .370 pic.twitter.com/c80Bb4kNOq— Nationals Communications (@NationalsComms) September 7, 2025
In 40 games since the All-Star break, Lile is hitting an impressive .315 with a .368 wOBA, backed up by a 42.1% hard-hit rate. He has eight doubles, seven triples, two home runs, and five stolen bases over that span.
Lile comes into Tuesday night's matchup with an eight-game hitting streak. During that streak, he has gone 14-for-32 (.438) with four triples, a double, a home run, and 10 runs scored.
The Nationals have a strong young core of bats that they're building around, but Lile has definitely proved he deserves to be a starter for them moving forward, and that he's already at a level where he can contribute in the majors.
He could be the final piece of an impressive outfield alongside James Wood and Dylan Crews. That outfield alignment would have plenty of range and speed, but no true center fielder in the mix. Lile or Crews could work at becoming the center fielder, or the team could use Jacob Young as a defensive specialist and let Wood be the designated hitter.
However the team decides to fit him in long-term, he can definitely contribute to your fantasy team the rest of the season, as long as he stays so red-hot.
Romy Gonzalez, 1B/2B/3B/SS - Boston Red Sox
18% rostered
If you're looking for versatility, Gonzalez is a great get since he can play all the infield spots in Yahoo! standard leagues. If you have a league with a positional maximum, he can help max out the spots by sliding around on off days, and especially contributing whenever the Red Sox take on a left-handed starting pitcher.
The Red Sox snagged Gonzalez off waivers from the White Sox before last season, and the utility player has had two strong seasons in Boston.
In 2024, he hit .266 with 11 stolen bases in 89 games, but this year he has been much more productive at the plate, hitting .306 overall with eight homers, a .353 wOBA, and a 56.9% hard-hit rate. His stolen base production has dipped with only five thefts on the season, but his average and power production have still made him very useful.
The 29-year-old has slid into a role as a specialist against left-handed pitchers, and is hitting .336 on the season in the split with six of his eight homers and a .411 wOBA.
Like the other hitters in this post, Gonzalez has been heating up down the stretch. He has hit safely in 11 straight games coming into Tuesday's contest, going 18-for-42 (.429).
Romy Gonzalez on his approach during his 10-game hit streak:
"I feel pretty good ... just taking what the opposing pitchers are giving me." pic.twitter.com/IMya1zqkfX
— NESN (@NESN) September 9, 2025
All 18 of those hits have been singles, but on the season, he does have 19 doubles and three triples to go with his eight long balls. He's not going to bring nearly as much power potential as the other options in this post, but he brings enough batting average production and countable stats to be a great option to fill in the edges on your roster as other players get days off in the closing weeks of the season.
Austin Hays, OF - Cincinnati Reds
15% rostered
The Reds added Hays as a free agent this offseason after the 30-year-old righty split last season between the Orioles and Phillies. Like Gonzalez, Hays has hit lefties well throughout his career, but he brings a little more thunder than Gonzalez if you need to mix some thump into your outfield mix.
His first season in Cincinnati has had some obstacles with injuries, but when he has been in the lineup, he has been very productive. For the season, he's hitting .265 with a .334 wOBA, 15 homers, and 64 RBI. He's been even more productive over the last few weeks, hitting .299 in his last 20 games with five homers, a .365 wOBA, and a 44.6% hard-hit rate.
Hays has hit safely in seven of his last eight games with four dingers during that span, including this one from Monday:
Austin Hays - Cincinnati Reds (15)
pic.twitter.com/hOozy4RB2D— MLB HR Videos (@MLBHRVideos) September 9, 2025
The Reds are trying to hang in the NL Wild Card race, and their offense has been trending in the right direction, with Hays typically hitting cleanup. His average can be a liability at times, and he is prone to cold streaks. However, he's on a heater right now and can definitely contribute in the short term as the Reds finish their trip to San Diego before stops in Sacramento and St. Louis over the next week.
JJ Bleday, OF - Athletics
9% rostered
Bleday is another repeat name on this list who is heating up coming down the stretch. He started the year with expectations that he was a key part of the A's lineup after a big 2024, but he stumbled coming out of the gate and ultimately ended up getting sent back to Triple-A to iron things out in late May.
After coming back up for a short stretch and still struggling at the end of June, he spent most of July in Triple-A, continuing to try to figure things out.
Since his return on August 2, he has been very solid, though, hitting .301 with six homers, 17 runs scored, and 16 RBI in 24 games. He has a .409 wOBA over that stretch and is worth considering as a power threat, especially when the A's are playing at homer-happy Sutter Health Park.
He hasn't hit all his homers off pitches like this one, but he did leave no doubt about his 14th homer of the year. He has four homers in his last four games with multiple at-bats after this blast.
Bleday blast adds 3 more 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/qYNOOzsdOG
— Athletics (@Athletics) September 7, 2025
Bleday's playing time isn't quite as consistent as would be ideal, and he doesn't have a premium lineup spot like the other options highlighted in this post. However, he does have upside as a pure power option and can bring home runs and RBI if the A's give him regular time down the stretch.
Since he is eligible for arbitration for the first time after this season, the team may give him extra chances to show his worth in the last few weeks of the season.
More Fantasy Baseball Advice
Download Our Free News & Alerts Mobile App
Like what you see? Download our updated fantasy baseball app for iPhone and Android with 24x7 player news, injury alerts, sleepers, prospects & more. All free!
