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Joey's FAAB fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups and bidding guide for Week 17 (July 20 - July 26). His recommended FAAB dollars to spend on waiver wire adds.
Welcome back, RotoBallers, to our Week 17 fantasy baseball FAAB waiver wire pickups for July 20 - July 26. For those new to this weekly series, we dive into the best fantasy baseball waiver wire targets every week for leagues that use FAAB (free agent acquisition budget) and our recommended dollar bid amounts for waivers.
This week, we will dive into the 10 best waiver wire pickups. These 10 pickups will feature five hitters and five pitchers fantasy managers should be bidding for on waivers ahead of Week 17. As a reminder, this list only looks at players rostered in under 40% of Yahoo! leagues.
Let's examine the best waiver wire targets for Week 17 of the fantasy baseball season.
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Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Hitters to Target
Brayan Rocchio, 2B/SS, Cleveland Guardians
34% rostered
FAAB Bid: ~5%
Cleveland Guardians shortstop Brayan Rocchio is having a breakout season. He is currently hitting a career-best .276 at the plate with eight home runs, 44 RBI, 14 doubles, and 15 stolen bases across 94 games this year. Rocchio has tied his career highs in both home runs and RBI in mid-July, and his 15 stolen bases are already a personal best.
"GOODBYE! GOOD NIGHT! UNBELIEVABLE!"
Brayan Rocchio launches a #walkoff 2-run homer for the @CleGuardians! pic.twitter.com/xGkRoYmbPl
— MLB (@MLB) July 3, 2026
The 25-year-old is also in the midst of a nice offensive stretch. He's slashing .303/.333/.461 with three home runs, five doubles, 12 RBI, and three stolen bases over his last 23 games since June 18. His potential to hit for a solid average with some stolen base upside makes him a solid pickup in most leagues this weekend.
Curtis Mead, 1B/2B/3B, Washington Nationals
32% rostered
FAAB Bid: ~6-8%
Washington Nationals infielder Curtis Mead is having a great all-around season. Mead has already hit a career-high 17 home runs in his first 81 games and has been a reliable fantasy option as of late. The 25-year-old is batting .439 (18-for-41) with three home runs, five doubles, one triple, eight RBI, and one stolen base across 10 games in July.
That's enough reason to add Mead in all 12+ team leagues. With a .365 xwOBA, .266 expected batting average, .478 expected slugging percentage, 11.9% barrel rate, 17.1% whiff rate, and a 23% pull air rate, those are all encouraging signs that the Nationals utility specialist could remain a reliable fantasy option down the stretch.
JJ Bleday, OF, Cincinnati Reds
29% rostered
FAAB Bid: ~5-7%
Cincinnati Reds outfielder JJ Bleday was a hot waiver wire pickup when he hit .345 with six home runs and 19 RBI in his first 17 games this season. Then, Bleday really struggled with consistency in the middle portion of the year, as he hit .192 with seven home runs and 16 RBI over his next 35 games from May 16 to June 26.
However, Bleday is starting to heat up again at the plate. The lefty slugger is slashing .250/.361/.423 with three home runs and eight RBI in his last 15 contests. This recent stretch should put the Reds outfielder back on fantasy rosters. He has an 89th percentile xwOBA (.368), 71st percentile expected batting average (.264), 80th percentile expected slugging (.463), and 98th percentile launch angle sweet-spot rate (43%).
Heriberto Hernandez, OF, Miami Marlins
7% rostered
FAAB Bid: ~4-5%
Miami Marlins outfielder Heriberto Hernandez has hit the ball well over the last two weeks. He is slashing .324/.432/.892 with five home runs and seven RBI in his last 12 games. While Hernandez hasn't been a viable fantasy option for most of the year, his underlying metrics suggest that he's worth a look as a waiver wire pickup this week.
No-hitter gone. Shutout gone. Heriberto gone.
Hernandez launches his 13th home run of the season and Miami is on the board, it's 3-1 pic.twitter.com/Ikl9aYpYsL
— Isaac Azout (@IsaacAzout) July 11, 2026
The 26-year-old ranks in the top 25% of the league in xwOBA (.364), expected slugging percentage (.509), average exit velocity (91.9 mph), barrel rate (11.9%), hard-hit rate (49.7%), and sprint speed (28.6 ft/sec). His recent offensive stretch at the plate could be a sign of what's to come in the second half.
Tommy White, 3B, Athletics
6% rostered
FAAB Bid: 3-4%
The Athletics officially called up third baseman Tommy White ahead of Friday's series opener against the Nationals. White is the Athletics' No. 7 overall prospect, and the young 23-year-old could emerge as a dependable fantasy option at a weak position. He hit .303 with 10 home runs, 17 doubles, 64 RBI, and two stolen bases across 76 games at Double-A and Triple-A this season.
Although White won't provide much in the home run or stolen base departments, he can carry a solid batting average while not striking out a ton. The Athletics third baseman had an 89.6 mph average exit velocity, a 43% hard-hit rate, a 13.9% strikeout rate, a 51.5% swing rate, and a 88.9% zone-contact rate at Triple-A this year.
Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pitchers to Target
Christian Scott, SP, New York Mets
22% rostered
FAAB Bid: ~7-10%
Fantasy managers should be interested in picking up New York Mets starting pitcher Christian Scott in all fantasy formats. Scott has a 2.87 ERA, a 1.223 WHIP, and an 28.5% strikeout rate across 59 2/3 innings pitched this season. He has thrown the ball well across his 13 starts and has been on another level on the mound lately.
Scott hasn't allowed a run in each of his last two starts, which included throwing 5 2/3 shutout innings with seven strikeouts against the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday. Given that the Mets right-hander has a solid .230 expected batting average against, 87.7 mph average exit velocity, and an 87th percentile strikeout rate, he's the top pitcher add of the week.
Christian Scott, 98mph Paint. 🖌️🎨 pic.twitter.com/BWXwZmqIS3
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) July 16, 2026
Grant Taylor, RP/SP, Chicago White Sox
23% rostered
FAAB Bid: ~5-10% depending on how badly you need saves
There appears to be a turning of the guard with the White Sox's closer job. Seranthony Dominguez started the year as the team's closer, but all signs point to Grant Taylor now taking over that role. Taylor has pitched in the ninth inning in three of his last four appearances and has saved two games for Chicago during this stretch.
The hard-throwing right-hander is no doubt cut out for this closer role. He has a 2.41 expected ERA (98th percentile), .184 expected batting average against (97th percentile), 34.8% chase rate (89th percentile), 30.7% whiff rate (86th percentile), and a 33.8% strikeout rate (97th percentile). Make a move for Taylor now if you are in need of some saves.
Clay Holmes, SP, New York Mets
27% rostered
FAAB Bid: ~5%
It has been a while since New York Mets starting pitcher Clay Holmes has pitched. He last appeared in a Major League game on May 15 after fracturing his fibula in a start against the New York Yankees. However, Holmes' return is on the horizon. The veteran will make his first rehab assignment start on Saturday with High-A Brooklyn.
Holmes was a consistent fantasy option before fracturing his fibula. He had a 2.39 ERA, 1.101 WHIP, and a 20.9% strikeout rate in his first nine starts. The Mets right-hander likely won't be back for a few weeks as he ramps back up, but he's a nice stash candidate in Week 17 of the fantasy baseball season.
Kyle Leahy, RP/SP, St. Louis Cardinals
17% rostered
FAAB Bid: ~2-4%
St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Kyle Leahy is in a groove on the mound right now. The 29-year-old has allowed one run or fewer in four consecutive starts and has a solid 1.42 ERA across his last five outings. Some of his best starts during this stretch include throwing 6 1/3 shutout innings against the Diamondbacks on June 23 and five shutout innings against the Cubs on July 4.
Even though his underlying metrics don't offer much optimism moving forward, fantasy managers should still ride with him amid this nice stretch on the mound. His strikeout rate (23.5%) is a bit up over his last five starts, and Leahy had over a 20% whiff rate on four different pitches (four-seam fastball, slider, changeup, curveball) in the month of June.
Brandon Pfaadt, SP, Arizona Diamondbacks
10% rostered
FAAB Bid: 2-4%
Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Brandon Pfaadt was on this exact list last week. However, he deserves to be mentioned on this list for the second straight week, as he has looked solid since being recalled from Triple-A in late June. Pfaadt has given up just three earned runs in his last 15 2/3 innings pitched. In his most recent start, he threw 5 1/3 innings of two-run ball with two strikeouts against the Dodgers.
If you are in a deeper league looking for some starting pitcher help, Pfaadt is worth a look in 15+ team formats. Since being recalled, the Diamondbacks right-hander is leaning more on his changeup, more on his four-seam fastball, and less on his sweeper.
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