Eric Cross' Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups: Hitters and Pitchers (Week 18)

July 31, 2026

Eric Cross' top fantasy baseball waiver wire adds for Week 19 of 2026 (August 3 - August 9). His favorite free agent hitters and pitchers under 40% rostered.

We're officially past the two-thirds mark of the MLB season. Four months in the rear-view mirror and two months still to go. This is the time of year when certain managers will take their foot off the gas pedal. Don't be one of those managers. Keep your foot on the gas and make the necessary moves to put your fantasy teams in the best spot to succeed.

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.

Last week's waiver wire recommendations: Garrett Mitchell (MIL), Victor Mesa Jr. (TBR), Tommy Edman (LAD), Ty France (SDP), Kyle Karros (COL), and Keider Montero (DET).

Max Clark (OF - DET)

21% Rostered on Yahoo

Let's start this week's waiver wire targets with a fun one. It was announced on Thursday that the Detroit Tigers were calling up their top prospect, Max Clark, to the Major League squad for his debut on Friday. It's been a solid season in Triple-A for Clark, who has racked up 20 doubles, 11 home runs, and 21 steals in 90 games with a .276/.368/.434 slash line. That line might not jump off the page at you for a Top-10 caliber prospect, but there's a lot to like in Clark's profile.

106.9 mph roundtripper off the bat of Max Clark 🔥

MLB's No. 13 prospect (@tigers) is hitting .339 with a 1.057 OPS this month for the Triple-A @MudHens: pic.twitter.com/xUSKIQ2I1x

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) July 26, 2026

First and foremost, Clark is a double-plus runner who can make a notable impact in the stolen base column. He's always shown the willingness to run often throughout his minor league career and is an efficient basestealer. On top of that, Clark posted a 91% zone contact rate and 85% overall contact rate in Triple-A this season, along with a 12% walk rate and a 15.8% strikeout rate.

As for the power, Clark is far from a masher, but he could be a 15-20 homer bat in time. In Triple-A, Clark had an 88.3 mph AVG EV, 38.2% hard-hit rate, and a 104.5 mph 90th percentile EV this season. He should be added in all formats.

Cooper Pratt (SS - MIL)

11% Rostered on Yahoo

After slashing .182/.275/.205 in his first 15 Major League games, Cooper Pratt has found his footing over the last few weeks. In his last 20 games, Pratt has slashed a stellar .354/.429/.523 with six extra-base hits, two home runs, four steals, and nearly as many walks (9) as strikeouts (12). Both of those home runs have come over his last eight games, a stretch where he also has three multi-hit games and is hitting .408 overall.

While Pratt's power metrics are below-average at the moment, there are other ways he can provide value to your fantasy teams. Pratt's nine steals are tied for the 9th most in baseball since he debuted on 6/16, and he's also above-average with his 84.7% zone contact rate and 76% overall contact rate. So even if he doesn't provide a ton of home runs over the final two months of the season, Pratt can hit for a solid average while making an impact in the stolen base department.

Heriberto Hernandez (OF - MIA)

18% Rostered on Yahoo

As I sat here sipping my coffee and writing this article, a wave of confusion washed over me when I saw that Heriberto Hernandez is still rostered in just 18% of Yahoo leagues. Wake up, people!

Yes, the .238 AVG and .307 OBP aren't anything to write home about, but Hernandez also has a .480 SLG, 16 home runs, seven steals, 43 RBI, and 29 runs scored in 283 plate appearances this season. That's a 650 plate appearance pace of 67 runs, 37 home runs, 99 RBI, and 16 steals. Are you going to sit here and lie to me that you don't need that type of production on your team? And honestly, a .238 AVG isn't nearly as bad as it used to be.

Heriberto Hernández con su jonrón #16 de la temporada. ¡ESA SE FUE A 416 PIES! pic.twitter.com/Ps6FJzqTGk

— MLB Español (@mlbespanol) July 29, 2026

When you pop the hood on Hernandez's profile, there are plenty of exciting metrics outside of the below-average contact rates. Hernandez has stood out in all quality of contact metrics, currently running a 13.2% barrel rate, 51.1% hard-hit rate, and a 92.2 mph AVG EV. He's also an 84th percentile runner who has a better-than-league-average chase rate. As an outfielder who could make a run at a 25/10 season, Hernandez really needs to be rostered in more leagues than he currently is.

Dominic Canzone (OF - SEA)

25% Rostered on Yahoo

Another undervalued and underrostered outfielder to target this week is Seattle's Dominic Canzone. After a slow start to the month of July, Canzone has picked up the pace over the last week, reaching base in each of his last five games while also cranking three home runs. For the season, Canzone is now slashing .261/.337/.526 with 18 home runs, 49 RBI, and 38 runs scored in 306 plate appearances.

Dominic Canzone goes deep for the second time tonight 🔱 pic.twitter.com/h6XFDAZO4L

— MLB (@MLB) July 29, 2026

As was the case with Hernandez, Canzone has excelled in the quality of contact department this season, ranking in the top-16% of hitters in hard-hit rate (48.1%), AVG EV (92.3 mph), barrel rate (14.8%), and xSLG (.526). The contact rates haven't been bad either, sitting 2-3% below league average in zone and overall, and Canzone has kept his strikeout rate in check at 20.9%.

But the problem or drawback, and probably the reason why Canzone is rostered in just 25% of Yahoo leagues, is the fact that Seattle has used him sparingly against left-handed pitching this season. It's a peculiar move too, as Canzone has slashed .270/.438/.622 with four home runs and nearly as many walks (9) as strikeouts (10) in his 48 plate appearances against southpaws. This trend could be changing, though, as Seattle started Canzone in each of their last two games against a left-handed starting pitcher.

Ian Seymour (SP/RP - TBR)

34% Rostered on Yahoo

After a couple of so-so outings just before and just after the All-Star break, Seymour has pitched well in each of his last two outings on July 23 and July 29, combining to allow just seven hits, two walks, and two earned runs in 10.2 innings with 11 strikeouts.

Seymour has embraced and pitched well in his new expanded role. Since shifting into a starter's role on June 8, Seymour has posted a 3.80 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 6.9% walk rate, and a 30.2% strikeout rate. And while his batted ball angles allowed aren't ideal, Seymour has been able to make it work thanks to a 33.1% chase rate, 28.9% whiff rate, and 20.5% zone whiff rate.

However, with all of that said, Seymour has been used after an opener several times this season, which limits his value a bit in leagues that use quality starts as a category.

Erik Miller (RP - SFG)

3% Rostered on Yahoo

The San Francisco Giants closer role has been a revolving door this season, but a new name has emerged over the last week. Over the last four games, both save opportunities for the Giants went to Erik Miller, who easily converted both saves. These were Miller's 3rd and 4th saves of the 2026 season, to go along with a 2.78 ERA and 32.1% strikeout rate. However, Miller's 1.39 WHIP is a bit higher than you'd like to see, largely due to a bloated 15.7% walk rate.

Outside of the high walk rate, there are plenty of positives in Miller's profile. The 28-year-old left-hander has nearly doubled his strikeout rate from last season, and a notable shift in his pitch mix can be directly attributed to that. After using each of his four offerings between 17.4% and 34.6% of the time in 2025, Miller has been very sinker/slider heavy this season, using each offering more than 40% of the time.

Using his slider nearly twice as often has directly impacted the whiff and strikeout rate jump, as Miller's slider has an elite .128 BAA, .191 SLG allowed, and a 54.9% whiff rate. I'm not sure if Miller gets moved at the deadline since the Giants are not contending for the postseason, but if he's still in San Francisco next week, Miller could hold onto the Giants' closer role for the remainder of the season. If you're looking for saves, I'd give Miller a look.

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