RotoBaller Staff Roundtable - Waiver Wire Pickups: Fantasy Baseball Week 15

July 4, 2026

RotoBaller staff's fantasy baseball Week 15 waiver wire pickups for 2026. Expert advice for waiver wire hitter, pitcher, and closer targets from Nick, Eric, Andy, and Marty.

Welcome, RotoBallers, to another staff roundtable ahead of Week 15 of the fantasy season. The All-Star break is just a week away, but managers should not get too comfortable, as there are many potential second-half impact players on the waiver wire.

This week, we will spotlight several post-hype breakout candidates, including two right-handed starting pitchers and several other top waiver wire candidates from Nick Mariano, Andy Smith, Eric Cross, and Marty Tallman.

Who should we look to pick up this week? Let's dive in!

Hitter Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups

Tommy Edman, 2B/3B/OF, Los Angeles Dodgers

I feel like Tommy Edman is a player I write about in a waiver wire article at least once a season. After missing two and a half months due to an ankle issue, Edman has been hitting extremely well since being activated from the injured list. In his first 51 plate appearances, Edman has slashed .378/.451/.556 with five runs, nine RBI, a home run, and a steal.

Edman has bounced all over the place in terms of position and lineup spot, but that's always been the case with Edman. The important thing is that he's six of the Dodgers' last seven games. And all the moving around on the field has led to Edman having positional eligibility at two or more positions for basically his entire career.

At the plate, it's been a small sample size, but Edman's metrics have been solid. He's currently rocking an 8.3 barrel rate, 90.5 mph AVG EV, and a 38.% hard-hit rate, the latter two of which would be new career-best marks for Edman. He's also walking at an 11.8% clip with a 92.1% zone and 81.2% overall contact rate. Coming into this season, Edman has never produced a walk rate higher than 7.3%.

Edman can do a little of everything for your fantasy team, and the ability to slot him in at three different positions adds value as well.

- Eric Cross

Jake McCarthy, OF, Colorado Rockies

I'm shocked that Jake McCarthy is still available in 60% of Yahoo leagues. If your league is highly competitive, he's probably already been scooped up. But if he's still sitting on your waiver wire, I'd recommend grabbing him immediately. McCarthy is coming off back-to-back productive months in May and June, highlighted by a .326/.361/.554 slash line in June with 13 runs, 13 RBI, three home runs, and three steals.

The @Rockies retake the lead on Jake McCarthy's 2-run homer! pic.twitter.com/YDbG0XKEWc

— MLB (@MLB) July 2, 2026

This was McCarthy's fourth straight month with at least three steals, and he has one of the top sprint speeds in all of baseball for the season, currently sitting in the 98th percentile. On top of that, McCarthy is running an 84.8% zone and 77.8% overall contact rate while only striking out in 17.8% of his plate appearances. And while his quality of contact metrics are all worse than league average, McCarthy's 14.9% Pull-Air rate isn't bad, and he's taken advantage of playing half his games in Coors Field, with five of his seven home runs coming at home.

Even as a below-average power producer, McCarthy can still provide decent value for your fantasy teams, so I'd go scoop him up if he's available in your leagues.

- Eric Cross

Dalton Rushing, C, Los Angeles Dodgers

Even though Rushing is the team's No. 2 backstop, he has been pushed into the lead role with Will Smith on the shelf. Per a recent report, the team's primary backup will be sidelined through the All-Star break, which will leave Rushing in the No. 1 spot for at least the remainder of the first half.

While Rushing went through a brief skid at the dish, the young backstop has begun to find his footing this week and remains very under-rostered on Yahoo. Over his last five games, the second-year catcher posted a .444/.476/.833 line with two long balls and a 4:2 K:BB. Prior to this surge, Rushing held a much lower .108 AVG over his last 12 contests in June.

When looking at his underlying metrics, managers should expect him to maintain this recent improvement at the dish. Currently, the former top-ranked prospect holds a .347 xwOBA with a .260 xBA. Additionally, Rushing is barreling the ball at a high 12.3% rate and generating a 43.9% hard-hit rate, which places him above the average marks.

Lastly, his recent home run binge could continue into the final week of the first half, given how he has optimized his swing. Per Baseball Savant, the catcher has posted an elite 28.1% Pull AIR%, placing him among the elite hitters.

While his playing time may eventually dry up once Smith returns to action, for the time being, Rushing holds top-12 upside at the position. Those lacking a proven option at the position should prioritize Rushing on the waiver wire ahead of Week 15.

07.02.2026 | Bottom 2nd: Dalton Rushing hits a two run home run to put the Dodgers on the board.

Dodgers trail 2-6 pic.twitter.com/y04VyS2amf

— Blue Dynasty (@D_BlueDynasty) July 3, 2026

- Andy Smith

Ryan Waldschimdt, OF, Arizona Diamondbacks

Earlier this season, outfielder Ryan Waldschmidt caught fire after his call-up with the Arizona Diamondbacks, before eventually being sent back down following a league adjustment and the return of veteran Lourdes Gurriel Jr.

In May, he hit .353/.411/.471 over his first 57 plate appearances and looked like an everyday starter.

Unfortunately, pitchers adjusted quickly, attacking him more with sliders and sweepers, and in his next 65 plate appearances, he hit just .180/.231/.262 while chasing more pitches out of the zone.

Those struggles led to a reset in Triple-A, where he’s looked much more like himself.

Since June 17, the 23-year-old out of the University of Kentucky has hit .318 with three home runs, four doubles, nine walks, and nine strikeouts across 54 plate appearances.

Ryan Waldschmidt launches a two-run homer for the @Aces 🚀

The @Dbacks' top prospect has a 1.207 OPS since returning to Triple-A on June 17: pic.twitter.com/icoSmca0u8

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) June 26, 2026

If he continues to improve his pitch recognition, he should be back in the majors sooner rather than later.

Diamondbacks GM Mike Hazen has already said, “He’ll be back to help us win again.” Therefore, a return likely depends on either an injury or continued struggles from Max Kepler, Tommy Troy, or Jorge Barrosa.

Kepler has underperformed since returning from his PED suspension, posting a .154/.154/.231 line (-4 wRC+), while Troy sits at an 89 wRC+ and Barrosa at 66. If Waldschmidt keeps producing in Reno, a late July or early August return is realistic.

In fantasy, he remains a strong stash in 15-team mixed leagues and should be rostered in 12-team five-outfielder formats once promoted.

If he returns in early August, he could hit around eight home runs, steal about seven bases, and bat roughly .260. That kind of production would help in roto leagues across multiple categories.

He’s worth picking up now before someone else grabs him.

- Marty Tallman

Javier Sanjoa, 2B/3B/SS/OF, Miami Marlins

Oh look, another waiver wire target with eligibility at three positions or more. Apparently that's the trend this week. The Miami Marlins have been winning a ton of games over the last month, and Sanoja has been a solid part of that run, starting regularly across three different infield positions. Over the last six games, Sanoja has started in five of those, slotting in at third base three times, once at second base, and once at shortstop. He also carries outfield eligibility, making him eligible at four different positions.

Over the last 30 days, Sanoja has been taking advantage of the increased playing time, slashing .316/.338/.500 with two home runs, two steals, 14 RBI, 11 runs, and a 126 wRC+. For the season, Sanoja has below-average quality of contact metrics, but he has stood out in the contact department with a 91.7% zone contact rate, 87.9% overall contact rate, and a strikeout rate of just 9.8%.

While his counting stats won't knock your socks off, Sanoja can provide a little of everything along with a good average and that four-position eligibility I mentioned above.

- Eric Cross

Garrett Mitchel, OF, Milwaukee Brewers

Mitchell has shown flashes of upside at times, but the former top-ranked prospect in the Milwaukee system constantly battled injuries in his young MLB career. However, through the first half of 2026, Mitchell has finally carved out a lead role in this offense and is showcasing his promised upside.

Through 75 games with the Brewers this season (already a career-high), Mitchell has posted a .265/.361/.452 line with 16 doubles, three triples, seven home runs and six stolen bases. Mitchell has seen his production uptick even further over his last 16 games, where he has hit three of these home runs with a stellar .326 AVG and a 1.024 OPS.

While his recent surge may not appear to be overly sustainable, this could set the stage for a breakout second half. The 27-year-old has generated a .344 xwOBA (71st percentile) with an elite 14.0% barrel rate and a 49.7% hard-hit rate. Additionally, Mitchell has generated a 96th-percentile 77.1-mph average bat speed and a 92.6-mph average exit velocity.

Even though his 11.9% Pull AIR% limits his home run ceiling, Mitchell is hitting the ball very hard, which will continue to drive his power numbers. Also, his stolen base totals should continue to increase, as evidenced by his high 12.4% walk rate and 98th-percentile sprint speed.

Managers could be looking at a 20/20 candidate who is still available in nearly 90% of Yahoo leagues.

MIL - Garrett Mitchell Solo HR (7)

📏 366 ft | 💨 100.3 mph | 📐 31°
⚾️ 97 mph four-seam fastball (CIN - RHP Chase Burns)
🏟️ Out in 30/30 parks 💣

CIN (5) @ MIL (1)
🔻 5th#ThisIsMyCrew pic.twitter.com/HTK7nN8Mfr

— MLB Home Runs (@MLBHRs_) July 2, 2026

- Andy Smith

Pitcher Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups

Zebby Matthews, SP, Minnesota Twins

Matthews spent the start of the 2026 season in the minor leagues, but eventually made his season debut with the Twins on May 14. After tossing seven shutout frames in this outing, the right-hander would lose a hefty 6.44 ERA over his next 29 1/3 innings.

While this rough stretch likely sent him to the waiver wire in most formats, the 26-year-old has quickly flipped the script. Over his last three outings, Matthews has logged 20 innings with a 2.25 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP. He tossed at least seven innings in two of these games and struck out at least five hitters in two as well.

On the season, Matthews holds a 4.15 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP, but his rough path has greatly inflated these ratios. Since the start of June, Matthews has not greatly tweaked his pitch mix, which instead suggests he was quite unlucky over this noted skid. His primary pitch, his four-seamer, has posted a modest .355 xwOBA, but his two breaking balls, his slider and curveball, are borderline elite.

His slider has generated a 38.1% whiff rate with a .272 xwOBA, while his curveball has posted a 37.8% whiff rate with a dominant .154 xwOBA.

The Western California product will remain an elite option to boost your WHIP ratio (5.4% walk rate) and should provide above-average strikeout totals with his impressive set of breaking balls.

- Andy Smith

Ian Seymour, SP/RP, Tampa Bay Rays

There aren't a ton of pitchers who intrigue me this week, but one that certainly does is Tampa Bay's Ian Seymour. After spending the first two months of the season in the Rays' bullpen, Seymour has transitioned to the rotation over the last four weeks, and his last two starts have put him in priority add territory. In back-to-back outings against the Kansas City Royals, Seymour combined to allow just three hits, one earned run, and two walks in 12.2 innings while striking out 15 Royals batters.

Ian Seymour, Nasty 84mph Changeup. 👌 pic.twitter.com/Y1W5mS3lGM

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) July 3, 2026

Yes, these two outings came against a below-average offense, but we can't ignore how impressive Seymour has been. For the season, Seymour has a middling 4.02 ERA, but that comes with a 3.33 xERA, 1.09 WHIP, 9.1% walk rate, and a 26.1% strikeout rate. And when you pop the hood, you'll find an impressive 33.5% chase rate, 29.3% whiff rate, and a .207 xBA, which ranks in the 86th percentile. Seymour also does a nice job of limiting hard contact.

While he technically is a 6-pitch guy, Seymour primarily works with a 4-seamer, sinker, changeup, and sweeper, the latter two of which have a whiff rate above 33% this season. Seymour won't dazzle you with his velocity, but he's pitching well right now with plenty of metrics to be encouraged by.

- Eric Cross

Brandon Sproat, SP, Milwaukee Brewers

Sproat was included in the deal that shipped Freddy Peralta to Queens in the winter. His tenure in Milwaukee got off to a shaky start as he held a high 6.17 ERA over his first 54 innings of work. However, since June 10 (his last 21 innings of work), the right-hander has looked far more comfortable, posting a 3.00 ERA with a sparkling 0.76 WHIP.

During this four-start stretch, Sproat has struck out 26 hitters while serving up just five free passes. While the sample of success in the majors is short, the young right-hander is worth a closer look.

Since the start of June, Sproat has begun tweaking his pitch mix, which has helped drive his recent surge in production. As shown in the visual below, Sproat has dropped the usage of his sinker and instead leaned more on his four-seamer and continued to mix in his curveball, sweeper, and changeup at a slightly higher rate.

In relation to his three fastballs, his four-seamer has been the most productive on the season, posting a .203 BA with a solid .300 wOBA, which is much lower than the .356 and .434 wOBA his sinker and cutter have generated, respectively.

There is risk in his profile, but recent improvements make him a worthy target for those looking for an upside starting pitcher.

-Andy Smith

Kade Anderson, SP, Seattle Mariners

Anderson continues to dominate in the minor leagues, and despite not having the clearest path to the majors, his upside is on another level compared to the names below him on this list.

Anderson joined the Mariners with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft out of LSU. The former College World Series MVP was not sent to a minor league affiliate following the draft, but would be given the green light to make his professional debut at the Double-A level to begin the 2026 campaign.

With Arkansas, the southpaw has looked more than comfortable and is not only on the verge of joining Triple-A but also potentially moving up to the big leagues.

Through his first 66 2/3 innings of work at the professional level, Anderson has posted a 1.22 ERA with a sparkling 0.71 WHIP. Across this stint, Anderson has racked up 99 strikeouts while showing near-perfect command, walking only 10 batters.

Over his 13 starts, Anderson has only allowed two or more runs in two games. Removing these two outings from his box score, Anderson would hold a 0.57 ERA across 62 2/3 innings with a 95:10 K:BB.

However, given Seattle's depth at the starting pitcher position, Anderson's debut will likely have to wait until later in the second half. Currently, the team has six capable MLB starters on the depth chart. This has prompted them to shift to a "piggyback" schedule to ensure that all six starters remain key pieces of the team's game plan and stay fresh for the remainder of their playoff push.

Even though the team has six starters, some of them have not had much success lately. Since June 1, Emerson Hancock has posted a 5.19 ERA over his last 26 innings while veteran Luis Castillo has held a 4.10 ERA over his last 48 1/3 innings of work.

While a debut is not imminent, if either Hancock or Castillo continues to struggle in relief, Anderson should be in strong contention to join the MLB bullpen as a long reliever. His innings will be capped, but when he does earn the call, he will hold value as an SP4/SP5 simply due to his elite strikeout upside and potential to boost your pitching ratios.

If your league has N/A spots, Anderson remains a priority stash.

Kade Anderson moves into 2nd place on the @MiLB strikeout leaderboard (99) following a 9-K outing for the Double-A @ARTravs 💎

The @Mariners' No. 2 prospect leads the Minors with a 1.22 ERA this season: pic.twitter.com/OVZ2ZptSgH

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) June 27, 2026

- Andy Smith

Caleb Kilian, RP, San Francisco Giants

Kilian has a trio of saves in the last 10 days, which comes with the territory. It’s a healthy reminder that he’s actually a full-fledged closer after that month-long stretch with as many saves as five-run Coors implosions (it was one). And judging his seasonal line misses a very odd first/second half split.

3/25-5/10: 18 IP, 9 H, 3 ER, 18:12 K:BB, .167 BABIP, 3.65 xERA, 4.72 FIP, 4.95 xFIP, 4.64 SIERA

5/10-7/2: 18 IP, 19 H, 13 ER, 25:5 K:BB, .356 BABIP, 3.88 xERA, 3.33 FIP, 2.76 xFIP, 2.50 SIERA

Do you want the early Kilian with good fortune and a load of walks, or the recent one getting harangued by the BABIP gods with a far superior K:BB profile? Ryan Walker got smacked for four runs without recording an out, and there isn’t a serious threat other than Walker’s previous experience at this time.

Starting the new month with a win, thanks to the clean 9th inning from Caleb Kilian!

(#SFGiants x @NationalPro) pic.twitter.com/5vBLXvx5X5

— SFGiants (@SFGiants) July 2, 2026

- Nick Mariano

Mason Montgomery, RP, Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pirates bullpen appeared to be settled as Gregory Soto took over the ninth-inning role from Dennis Santana. However, since posting a 2.25 ERA over his first 24 innings (with eight saves), Soto has taken a massive step back, carrying a hefty 12.91 ERA (11 earned runs) over his last 7 2/3 innings, which has opened the door for Mason Montgomery.

While Montgomery has had his fair share of recent struggles, he has flashed high upside throughout the first half, which has put him on the waiver wire watch list. Since Jun 13 (his last eight innings), Montgomery has blown both of his save opportunities but struck out an eye-catching 15 hitters over just eight frames.

Prior to this recent skid, Montgomery racked up 34 punchouts over his first 25 2/3 innings with a 4.56 ERA.

His strikeout upside is apparent when looking at his box scores, but his ratios could take a step forward in the second half. Per Baseball Savant, the 26-year-old flamethrower has generated a 3.45 xERA (more than a point lower than his surface-level ERA) and a stellar .215 xBA. He has also generated a high 54.3% ground-ball rate while holding a 90th and 97th percentile whiff and strikeout rate.

This bullpen is still in flux, but there could be a changing of the guard in the second half. Those in 12+ team leagues in desperate need of saves should consider taking a lifter on Montgomery before he takes over this job.

- Andy Smith

Andrew Kittredge & Rico Garcia & Tyler Wells, RP, Baltimore Orioles

Ryan Helsley reinjured his right elbow while warming up, holding and flexing his arm after missing extended time due to inflammation there earlier in the year. We’re likely to see a committee of sorts in the meantime with Helsley now on the 15-day IL, and Kittredge has 22 career saves with a 2.55 ERA (3.72 xERA) since allowing seven runs as the rust was coming off in early May.

But Garcia has been hit for eight earned runs in his last 12 games, allowing four homers in that stretch, which mitigates the advantage he owns from closing earlier in the year during his hot streak. And then Wells is cruising with a 16:2 K:BB over 12 ⅓ IP of one-run ball since June began, but would they give him closing frames?

Orioles closer Ryan Helsley was dealing with some right elbow discomfort. He’s getting checked over now, and more info will come in next few days, manager Craig Albernaz said.

— Jake Rill (@JakeDRill) July 1, 2026

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