Eric Cross' Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups: Hitters and Pitchers (Week 23)

August 28, 2026

Eric Cross' top fantasy baseball waiver wire adds for Week 23 of 2026 (August 31 - September 6). His favorite free-agent hitters and pitchers under 40% rostered.

If you're still tuning into this waiver wire article and all the other great content we have here at RotoBaller, let me applaud you. This either means that you're still in contention in your fantasy leagues, or you simply love fantasy baseball and fantasy baseball content. All of those are good things.

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: Kade Anderson (SEA), Matt McLain (CIN), Josh Bell (MIN), Griffin Conine (MIA), Mason Montgomery (PIT), Ben Joyce (LAA)

Walker Jenkins (OF - MIN)

15% Rostered on Yahoo

When one of my Top-10 prospects gets called up to the Major Leagues, you bet your bottom he's going to be included in my waiver wire article. Assuming he's under 40% rostered at the time, that is.

Jenkins ascended to elite prospect status during the 2024 and 2025 seasons, but his inability to avoid the Injured List has caused many to be cautious when targeting him in fantasy, despite having an exciting offensive profile. Sound familiar? Cough, Chase DeLauter, cough.

Walker Jenkins homers for the third time in his past three games.

The @Twins' top prospect skies his 14th of the year -- his 12th for the Triple-A @StPaulSaints: pic.twitter.com/lCyVrHbv0Z

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) August 27, 2026

In 69 games for Triple-A St. Paul this season, Jenkins slashed a stellar .308/.407/.532 with 17 doubles, 12 home runs, and 17 steals. There are plenty of exciting metrics under the hood as well. Jenkins was running an elite 92.6% zone contact rate in Triple-A, along with an 82.7% overall contact rate, 91 mph AVG EV, 106.4 mph 90th percentile EV, and a 44.2% hard-hit rate. Oh yeah, Jenkins also had nearly as many walks (13.7%) as strikeouts (15.6%).

As long as he can stay healthy, Jenkins possesses all-star outfielder upside due to his all-around blend of offensive skills. And guess what? He's healthy right now, and was absolutely raking in August to the tune of a .411/.488/.795 slash line in 18 games, with eight dingers and seven steals.

Tristan Peters (OF - CHW)

29% Rostered on Yahoo

In a year full of exciting rookies, Tristan Peters has flown a bit under the radar, both in fantasy and in regular baseball discussion. In 400 plate appearances this season, Peters is slashing a solid .282/.346/.475 with 12 home runs, seven steals, 52 RBI, and 53 runs scored. And after a cold July, Peters has cranked up the heat here in August, slashing .349/.438/.730 in 73 plate appearances with six doubles, six home runs, and nearly as many walks (9) as strikeouts (12).

Peters' profile doesn't exactly jump off the page at you, but he's managed to post an above-average 83.2% zone and 76.2% overall contact rate this season, while keeping his strikeout rate in check at 18%. And while he's a tick below league-average in barrel rate (5.8%), AVG EV (87.2 mph), and hard-hit rate (32%), Peters has been able to maximize his power with a 58.6% air rate, 52.1% pull rate, and a 27.4% pull-air rate.

If you need an outfielder and missed out on Jenkins, I'd check to see if Peters is sitting on your league's waiver wire. He's certainly not flashy, but Peters has hit .280 or above in three of the last four months.

Connor Norby (1B/2B/3B - COL)

11% Rostered on Yahoo

Honestly, I had almost lost hope entirely when it came to Connor Norby being a useable fantasy bat. But since getting to Colorado, Norby has gone from off the radar to a waiver wire target in just two weeks. Why? Well, during Norby's current 12-game hitting streak, he's slashed .359/.419/.641 with five doubles, two home runs, and a steal. It looks like his stance has changed slightly as well, with his front foot starting further toward the third-base dugout and the stance becoming more closed when starting his swing.

Connor Norby hits a GRAND SLAM! pic.twitter.com/34iwWIm77m

— MLB (@MLB) August 27, 2026

Whether that was a Norby thing or a Rockies thing, it definitely seems to be working for him. Norby is hitting the ball harder with the Rockies than he did with the Marlins, recording a 91.1 mph AVG EV and a 46.7% hard-hit rate since joining Colorado. With Norby settling in as the Rockies' regular second baseman, he's becoming rather intriguing in 12-team leagues or deeper, due to all that I mentioned above.

Kaelen Culpepper (SS - MIN)

12% Rostered on Yahoo

I don't believe enough is being said about how Kaelen Culpepper has begun his Major League career. In his first 63 plate appearances with the Twins, Culpepper has slashed .333/.381/.526 with two doubles, three home runs, six RBI, and eight runs scored. He's yet to steal any bases, but it should only be a matter of time before those start flowing as well.

Under the hood, Culpepper has continued showcasing the skills that made him one of the top prospects in baseball over the last year or two. He's currently running an 85.1% zone contact rate with an 89.6 mph AVG EV. That AVG EV doesn't really pop out at you, but Culpepper maximizes his power with a 62.8% air rate, 41.9% pull rate, and 20.9% pull-air rate.

I will say, I'm a bit concerned about how aggressive Culpepper has been so far, but this is still a name to target in 12-team redraft leagues or deeper right now if you need a middle infielder.

Jacob Lopez (SP - ATH)

35% Rostered on Yahoo

After starting the season with a 7.04 EA in his first 13 outings, causing the Athletics to take him out of the rotation for a few outings, Lopez has been a completely different pitcher over the last five weeks. In his last seven starts, Lopez has recorded a 2.33 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 8.3 walk rate, and a 29.9% strikeout rate across 38.2 innings.

Jacob Lopez's 2Ks in the 3rd.

5Ks thru 3. pic.twitter.com/bBXKeFNyuW

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 13, 2025

What has changed to cause this turnaround? Well, Lopez has been going to his slider more recently, using it 35.4% of the time in July and 40.4% of the time in August. This is up considerably from his 26.9% usage rate in April. Lopez has also been going to his cutter more and changeup less often here in August, which has seemed to be working.

Lopez's three most used offerings this month have been his slider (40.4%), 4-seamer (29.7%), and cutter (23.4%), all three of which have a BAA under .200 and a SLG allowed of .300 or less. Limiting hard contact continues to be an area where Lopez stands out as well, allowing just an 84.4 mph AVG EV, 29.4% hard-hit rate, and a 5.7% barrel rate this season.

Grant Taylor (RP - CHW)

33% Rostered on Yahoo

I'm not entirely sure why Grant Taylor is still available in two-thirds of Yahoo leagues. Do y'all just not want to roster one of the best relievers in baseball who has notched six saves since the 4th of July and three saves in the last three weeks? If that doesn't tickle your fancy, I'm not sure what will.

In 51 appearances and 68.1 innings this season, Taylor has dominated to the tune of a 2.11 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 8.7% walk rate, and a 32.4% strikeout rate. He's been working with a four-pitch mix, attacking hitters with a 98.1 mph 4-seamer and 98.8 mph sinker, while mixing in a low-to-mid-80s curveball and an upper-80s slider. All four offerings currently have a .220 BAA or lower, and all but the sinker have a whiff rate north of 28%.

With Taylor now closing out games for the division-leading White Sox, there's no reason why his roster rate on Yahoo should be 30-40% higher than what it currently sits at. If you need saves, go out and get Taylor on your teams immediately.

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