FAAB Waiver Wire Bidding - Fantasy Baseball Pickups to Target for Week 22 (August 24 - August 30)

August 22, 2026

Kevin's FAAB fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups and bidding guide for Week 22 (August 24 - August 30). His recommended FAAB dollars to spend on waiver wire adds.

Welcome back, RotoBallers, to our Week 22 fantasy baseball FAAB waiver wire pickups for August 24 - August 30. I'm covering for Joey this week and had fun writing this last week, so let's find some more solid players on the waiver wire that are worth your bid, 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, I will look at the 10 best waiver wire pickups for Week 22. I'll include six hitters and four pitchers that fantasy managers should be bidding on this weekend. As a reminder, we only look at players rostered in under 40% of Yahoo! leagues.

Now let's dive in to find out the best players to target for Week 22 of the fantasy baseball season.

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Hitters to Target

Matt McLain, 2B/SS, Cincinnati Reds

32% rostered
FAAB Bid: 4-5% 

Let's start out in Cincinnati. McLain has been one of the Reds' best hitters over the last 14 days, hitting for a 138 wRC+. That's driven by three homers and an 11.8% walk rate. The hard-hit rate's solid at 50.0% while his barrel rate is clocking in at 18.8%.

Those are really solid numbers for the Reds' second baseman. He's even got a slight touch of positive regression expected during this streak! You can do worse out there. He's worth a small bid to help you with your bench depth.

Rafael Flores Jr., C/1B, Pittsburgh Pirates

15% rostered
FAAB Bid: 3-4% 

The 25-year-old has been getting a bit more playing time with the recent injury to Endy Rodriguez. He's played a mix of catcher and first base, providing some valuable versatility for fantasy managers. For the 15% that have already rostered him, they'll be able to tell you about how sweet his multi-homer games are.

Rafael Flores Jr. ties the game with his second homer of the day! pic.twitter.com/YOL71hAMDo

— MLB (@MLB) August 19, 2026

Over the last 14 days, everything's been coming off his bat hot. A 70.6% hard-hit rate and a 29.4% barrel rate are absolutely smoking numbers. That bat's absolutely cooking. While his streak may be limited thanks to a high strikeout rate and a high ground-ball rate, I'm always a fan of riding the hot streak while you can.

Spencer Jones, OF, New York Yankees

11% rostered
FAAB Bid: 3-4% 

The arrival is here. Jones has finally acclimated to MLB pitching and has been on a roll since mid-August. He's put up a 130 wRC+ since August 12th, adding up to a .300 BA and a .355 wOBA. The bat is clearly looking better as he's taking more chances at the plate.

There could be a bit of worry with his plate approach, though, as he's striking out at a 41.9% rate without having drawn a walk in these eight games. As long as he hits .300 or better, then that's less of a worry, but keep that in mind before going crazy with your bid.

Jeff McNeil, 1B/2B/OF, Athletics

19% rostered
FAAB Bid: 3-4% 

There hasn't been a whole lot of good for the A's lately, but McNeil has been turning it up in the second half. He's posting a 153 wRC+ since the break, driven by a ton of balls in play. He's got just an 8.5% strikeout rate and a 4.3% walk rate in the second half.

I'd love to see the walk rate higher, but he's at least hitting quite a few line drives that are turning into hits. That's solid enough for a small bid on the 34-year-old as he looks to give A's fans something positive to watch for the rest of the year.

Nick Sogard, 1B/2B/3B, Boston Red Sox

1% rostered
FAAB Bid: 2-3%

Give me a guy with a low strikeout rate and a high walk rate any day of the week. Sogard fits that bill, posting up a 15.0% strikeout rate and almost equal 13.3% walk rate over the last 14 days. That's helping to influence his 132 wRC+ in that span.

NICK SOGARD WITH THE FIRST HOMER OF HIS CAREER!

ACKNOWLEDGE THE MAN!!!! pic.twitter.com/8I1rmDCfMe

— Tyler Milliken (@tylermilliken_) August 19, 2026

He's been getting regular playing time in August, giving him quite a bit of stability going forward. At 1% rostered, you won't have much competition for this bid, so don't overspend if you don't need to.

Abimelec Ortiz, 1B/OF, Washington Nationals

19% rostered
FAAB Bid: 4-5% 

I wrote about Ortiz earlier this week in my Breakouts vs Fake Outs article and was pretty impressed with what I saw. The Nationals' rookie has been doing well in a platoon split, hitting for a 138 wRC+ this season as they're go-to first baseman against righties.

With a 51.4% hard-hit rate to go along with his 16.2% barrel rate, Ortiz is bringing the power from the left-hand side of the plate. It's practically customary in Washington these days. Snag Ortiz for additional depth and ride the hot streak.

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pitchers to Target

Jacob Lopez, SP, Athletics

21% rostered
FAAB Bid: 4-5% 

From a season-long perspective, you're not going to be blown away by Lopez's stats. But since the break, he's been a much different pitcher. He has had seven straight starts allowing two earned runs or fewer. Every kind of pitcher strives for that string of production.

Jacob Lopez's last 7 starts:

34.1 IP | 2.36 ERA | 1.05 WHIP
39 K | 12 BB

Season Stats:

88.0 IP
81 K
5.22 ERA | 1.53 WHIP | 8.28 K/9#Athletics pic.twitter.com/JeLqo7t6Oa

— PaceBall (@paceball__) August 17, 2026

The strikeouts are starting to pile up also, which wasn't an aspect of his game early in the season. His strikeout rate is up to 28.4% in August. That kind of rate is easily worth a bid. Keep riding that hot streak!

Grayson Rodriguez, SP, Los Angeles Angels

6% rostered
FAAB Bid: 2-4% 

Let's focus on another pitcher whose season-long stats aren't pretty but is doing much better lately. Rodriguez, like Lopez, has been getting much better from a strikeout perspective since the break. Four of his last five starts have featured at least six punchouts, giving him some solid fantasy appeal.

There's a worry with him not being as efficient when it comes to pitch count, which has limited his IP. But if the strikeouts stay high, then he'll continue to bring fantasy value. You won't have much competition to bid against, so don't go crazy. But if you snag him, then keep on rooting for the Ks.

Didier Fuentes, SP/RP, Atlanta Braves

11% rostered
FAAB Bid: 2-4% 

I'm going to keep focusing on the theme of strikeout potential here because Fuentes has been lighting it up. He's had his struggles in the past as a starter, but he's seemingly found his role as a reliever and is thriving. He's posting a ridiculous 41.4% strikeout rate in the second half.

What an absolute disgusting fastball from Didier Fuentes pic.twitter.com/gMhpjLnmZ3

— Braves Worldwide 🌎 (@BravesWorldwide) August 20, 2026

That brings him value from a fantasy perspective, even though he's not getting the save opportunities in Atlanta. The Braves will turn to him whenever Raisel Iglesias needs a break, but fantasy managers can still capitalize on Fuentes' strikeout potential.

Mason Montgomery, RP, Pittsburgh Pirates

18% rostered
FAAB Bid: ~2-5% if you need saves

Again, we're focused on strikeout potential here. But Montgomery also brings something that the other pitchers here don't, which is the opportunity for saves. In the second half, Montgomery has four saves while posting a 51.9% strikeout rate. That's not a typo.

He's mowing down everyone he's facing. If Pittsburgh's offense can start to pick it up a notch, then that will create more opportunities for Montgomery. Bid on the southpaw and ride that hot streak.

More Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire 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!