Eric Cross' Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups: Hitters and Pitchers (Week 12)

June 12, 2026

Eric Cross' top fantasy baseball waiver wire adds for Week 12 of 2026 (June 15 - June 21). His favorite free agent hitters and pitchers under 40% rostered.

Is it just me, or has this been one of the weirdest seasons we've had in the last several years? So many elite names are struggling, and countless undrafted or late-round players are having career years. You never know when you're going to pick up a player off the waiver wire who turns into a valuable season-long asset for your fantasy teams.

The players below are all under 40 percent rostered in Yahoo! leagues. Some of them might already be rostered in your leagues, but if they're available, I'd recommend considering them to see if they could be good fits for your fantasy teams. To add, Bryce Eldridge is still only 26% rostered. I recommended him last week, and he's really gaining momentum at the plate and with his playing time.

Last week's waiver wire recommendations: Carson Benge (NYM), Jung Hoo Lee (SFG), Bryce Eldridge (SFG), Nick Gonzales (PIT), Christian Scott (NYM), Yoendrys Gomez (MIN)

Braden Montgomery (OF - CHW)

37% Rostered on Yahoo

It's been a phenomenal first two Major League games for Braden Montgomery. The 2024 first-round pick has two hits in each game so far and finished his Major League debut by hitting a walk-off home run off veteran all-star closer Raisel Iglesias. This comes after Montgomery hit 10 home runs and 13 doubles with a .314/.422/.548 slash line in 56 minor league games between Double-A and Triple-A this season.

BRADEN MONTGOMERY HITS A WALK-OFF HOMER IN HIS MAJOR LEAGUE DEBUT! pic.twitter.com/ifxPs2t57F

— MLB (@MLB) June 10, 2026

The power department is where Montgomery has always stood out. He was running a 93.2 mph AVG EV, 53.8% hard-hit rate, and a 10% barrel rate in Triple-A this season, and projects as a possible 30-homer bat down the road. However, Montgomery also had a 75.9% zone and 66.2% overall contact rate at the level, and has recorded a contact rate below 70% at every minor league level outside of Low-A.

With his power and ability to add a stolen base here and there, I could see Montgomery hitting 10-15 home runs with a handful of steals for the White Sox over the remainder of the season. But I'm not sure the batting average will be super impactful in redraft leagues this season.

Dalton Rushing (C - LAD)

25% Rostered on Yahoo

While it came at the expense of Will Smith's neck, Dalton Rushing has started in each of the last five games behind the plate for the Dodgers, picking up six hits in his last four games. We've seen glimpses of Rushing's potential when he actually gets a chance to play this season, with the former top prospect slashing .277/.362/.536 with eight home runs in 127 plate appearances this season. But with Smith behind the plate and that Shohei Ohtani fellow in the DH spot, consistent playing time has been hard to come by for Rushing.

Even this current playing time surge could wind up being short-lived, as Smith isn't expected to miss significant time with his next injury. But it sounds like we'll get at least another week with Rushing as the Dodgers' starting catcher, and maybe even longer if Smith's neck issue lingers a bit. Rushing currently has a 40.2% hard-hit rate, 9.8% barrel rate, 9.4% walk rate, and elite batted ball angles, highlighted by a 25.6% pull-air rate.

Cole Carrigg (OF - COL)

6% Rostered on Yahoo

If you followed Cole Carrigg's minor league career at all, you'll know that he was accustomed to putting up fun offensive numbers. Carrigg combined for 32 home runs and 99 stolen bases in 238 games in 2024 and 2025, and had already racked up 30 steals in 57 Triple-A games this season, along with 26 extra-base hits, six home runs, and a .338/.414/.529 slash line. It didn't take him long to add his first Major League home run either, going yard in just his third Major League game on Saturday.

Cole Carrigg hit his first MLB home run in just his third game since being called up from Triple-A.

Carrigg is an above-average contact hitter who steals a ton of bags and has enough power to be a 15-20 homer guy.

The profile is very fantasy-friendly.pic.twitter.com/UXZgsEkGWl

— Eric Cross (@EricCrossMLB) June 12, 2026

The main reason why a fantasy manager would and should target Carrigg is for the speed impact he brings to the table. But he's no slouch with the bat either. Outside of a lower AVG in 2025, Carrigg has excelled at every level he's been at, sporting a career .283/.359/.474 minor league slash line across 334 games. In Triple-A this season, Carrigg was running an 88.9 mph AVG EV, 40.8% hard-hit rate, 86.2A% zone contact rate, and a 78.4% overall contact rate.

While rookies always carry an element of risk for fantasy, you're not going to find this much upside sitting on your waiver wire with a sub-10% roster rate this often.

Angel Martinez (2B/OF - CLE)

27% Rostered on Yahoo

Angel Martinez is putting together a sneaky-good season that really isn't getting talked about enough. In 238 plate appearances, Martinez has racked up 11 home runs, nine steals, 33 RBI, and 27 runs scored with a .240/.278/.443. Yes, the OBP is terrible. Martinez's 2.9% walk rate has a lot to do with that. But at the same time, he's currently on pace for 25 home runs, 21 steals, 76 RBI, and 65 runs scored. That's not too shabby for a waiver wire pickup who has dual eligibility at second base and outfield.

When you pop the hood on Martinez's profile, nothing blows you away. However, he's been hitting the ball harder this season, increasing his hard-hit rate from 29.3% last season to 36.4% this season while more than doubling his barrel rate from 3.5% to 8.1%. Martinez is also making contact at a stellar 89.8% in zone and 80.8% overall. His aggressive nature (44% chase rate) will likely continue to cause peaks and valleys, but the combination of dual eligibility and 25/21 pace should intrigue fantasy managers.

Griffin Jax (SP/RP - TBR)

29% Rostered on Yahoo

Remember when Griffin Jax was a popular draft-day target as a high-upside reliever? Well, now we're targeting him off the waiver wire as a starting pitcher. It's funny how roles can change so quickly in baseball. But that's why we need to stay on our toes and utilize the waiver wire throughout the season.

In his eight starts this season, Jax has recorded a 3.00 ERA and 1.27 WHIP across 30 innings. He's gone five innings in three of his last five outings as well, and the Rays will continue to stretch him out over the coming weeks. While Jax's strikeout rate is a middling 21.9% as a starter, I'm expecting that number to rise thanks to three offerings with a whiff rate above 35%. He's been going to his curveball more in June as well, which has a 52.9% whiff rate for the season.

While the transition from reliever to starter was unexpected, Jax's upside makes him a priority waiver wire target in every league where he's available.

Brandon Young (SP - BAL)

14% Rostered on Yahoo

It feels like every season, we have a sneaky-good Baltimore pitcher come out of nowhere to provide fantasy value. Do these arms just spawn out of the harbor? Where do they come from?!

Entering the season, I wouldn't have guessed that I'd be including Brandon Young in a waiver wire article in the middle of June, but here we are. Young has rattled off four straight quality starts and hasn't allowed more than three earned runs in any of his last seven starts. For the season, Young now sports a solid 3.04 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, and a 7.9% walk rate in 10 starts. However, a below-average 17.6% strikeout rate does keep his value in check to some degree.

Here's the splitter adjustment that #Orioles Brandon Young made on May 24th.

5 mph slower, 3" more drop, 4" less arm-side movement

Old: 87.7 mph, 5.4" iVB, 11.8" HB
New: 82.8 mph, 2.1" iVB, 7.8" HB pic.twitter.com/CtpvjIYSxO

— Lance Brozdowski (@LanceBroz) June 11, 2026

On the bright side, Young has averaged five strikeouts per start over his last four outings, so it's not like he's a zero in the strikeout department for fantasy teams. Young also has an elite 35.4% chase rate and has a 42.6% whiff rate on his slider, an offering he's been throwing more frequently in his two June starts. There's some additional intrigue with Young's splitter as well, as outlined by Lance Brozdowski above.

While the upside isn't massive, the profile leads me to believe that Young can stick around as a fantasy-viable starting pitcher moving forward.

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