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Five hot fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups, streamers, and sleepers for Week 23 (2026). Undervalued hitters outperforming their ownership percentage and should be more widely owned.
Welcome, RotoBallers, to another edition of our Bargain Basement Hitters for Week 23 of the fantasy baseball season. It's time for the fantasy baseball playoffs, so all that matters is the schedule. We're not only looking for players on a hot streak, but also those with good matchups.
As usual, we will look at five hitters who are in good matchups and are widely available across all Yahoo! leagues. Each of these players is rostered in fewer than 20% of leagues. Last week, we nailed Heriberto Hernandez, who was 9% rostered at the time of recommendation. Let's try to build on that this week.
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Henry Bolte, OF, Athletics
11% rostered (Yahoo)
Henry Bolte is currently slashing .274/.350/.389 with eight home runs and 15 stolen bases in 376 plate appearances. This comes after the 23-year-old outfielder had a .348/.418/.658 with 12 homers and 17 steals in 177 plate appearances at Triple-A. Needless to say, this is an outfielder with a fantasy-friendly profile, capable of contributing with both power and speed.
Since August 1, Bolte is slashing .320/.385/.500 with five homers and three steals in 135 plate appearances. We just saw him homer twice against the Rangers on September 2, so he's clearly in top form right now. Still widely available in Yahoo! leagues, Bolte is worth picking up immediately.
Players in the 80th percentile or better in hard-hit rate, sprint speed, and bat speed.
Corbin Carroll
Jordan Walker
Fernando Tatís Jr.
Elly De La Cruz
Pete Crow-Armstrong
Garrett Mitchell
Henry Bolte 👀The problem is that Bolte has a 64.4% groundball rate...…
— Eric Cross (@EricCrossMLB) August 24, 2026
Not only has he been entrenched in the leadoff spot for the A's, putting him in a great position to rack up runs, but he also has a favorable schedule on tap for this upcoming week. The A's play six games: three versus the Blue Jays and three versus the Mariners. What's great about this is that each game is at home.
That means that you'll be getting six games of Bolte at Sutter Health Park, which is one of the most hitter-friendly environments in MLB. With that in mind, there's a good chance that he can keep the good times rolling.
No matter what category you're looking for, Bolte is a great pickup because he's such a well-rounded contributor. This makes him my favorite bargain hitter for this week. Don't be surprised if he ends up making a major difference in your matchup.
Jonah Cox, OF, San Francisco Giants
6% rostered (Yahoo)
Jonah Cox is a 25-year-old outfielder who has seen an uptick in playing time lately. He's currently slashing .290/.329/.551 with four home runs and eight stolen bases in 76 plate appearances. While he's striking out at an absurd clip (43.4%), he's still hitting the ball relatively hard (12.8%).
On top of that, there's a good chance that the strikeout rate will normalize, since this is a hitter who had a sub-20% strikeout rate throughout the minors. Speaking of his minor league numbers, you have to be impressed by a .415/.468/.647 slash at all levels, with 34 stolen bases in only 235 plate appearances.
A bunt single in the 5th and a homer in the 9th? Jonah Cox can do it all. pic.twitter.com/4ewQUuq0nC
— SFGiants (@SFGiants) September 1, 2026
That's the kind of speed upside that you want to add to your team during the fantasy playoffs. Cox is coming in hot, with a couple of two-hit games in his last three. We've seen him mostly bat in the leadoff or cleanup spot for the Giants recently, putting him in a great position to rack up counting stats.
The Giants have six games this upcoming week, with three versus the Cardinals and three versus the Padres. Each of them is at home in a pitcher-friendly environment, but Cox's speed makes him worth an immediate add.
Cooper Pratt, SS, Milwaukee Brewers
6% rostered (Yahoo)
Cooper Pratt is a 22-year-old shortstop who has performed pretty well for the Brewers in his first stint in the big leagues, slashing .275/.344/.371 with three home runs and 12 stolen bases in 196 plate appearances. You have to like the way he's kept the strikeouts in check at 19.4%.
Pratt is starting to heat up at the plate, including a couple of two-hit games in his last three. This is a hitter who put up six homers and 17 steals in 264 plate appearances in the minors this year, so it's a fantasy-friendly profile who can help contribute in several categories.
Cooper Pratt comes through and extends the @Brewers lead in the 7th!
📺 #MLBNShowcase presented by @CarShield pic.twitter.com/5Cr9VmQKBj
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) September 3, 2026
The Brewers have six games this upcoming week, each at home: three versus the Cubs and three versus the Reds. Pratt will have a chance to feast on the Reds' pitching.
Even though he hits at the bottom of the order, the Brewers have a good enough lineup to allow Pratt to make an impact for you. I'd make the move if I needed some speed.
Thomas Saggese, 2B/3B/SS/OF, St. Louis Cardinals
5% rostered (Yahoo)
Thomas Saggese is currently slashing .239/.292/.420 with four home runs in 96 plate appearances. This is an underwhelming slash line, but when you look at what he's done lately, you can see why he's an appealing streamer for the fantasy playoffs.
In his last three games, Saggese has gone 7-for-13 (.538 BA) with three home runs. This has come against the Dodgers, so it's not like it was against some weak competition.
🗣️ THE THOMAS SAGGESE SERIES 😤👏 pic.twitter.com/VajR7vnzmk
— Cardinals Talk (@theredbird_way) September 3, 2026
What's intriguing here is that Saggese is hitting the ball harder than ever before, bumping up his barrel rate from 5.6% to 13.1%. Whether this can be a sustained hot streak or more of a flash in the pan remains to be seen, but at a time like this, when we're trying to advance in the fantasy playoffs, you have to make the move and see if you can capture lightning in a bottle.
The Cardinals have six games this week: three at the Giants and three versus the White Sox. Pick up Saggese for the short-term boost.
Brett Bateman, OF, Toronto Blue Jays
4% rostered (Yahoo)
Brett Bateman was one of the key pieces of the Kevin Gausman trade. I didn't like the move at first, but Bateman has quickly made me regret that take. He's been rock-solid for the resurgent Blue Jays, slashing .314/.368/.384 with three steals in 97 plate appearances.
While the power is non-existent, you have to like the boost in batting average and the stolen bases.
The Blue Jays score TWO as the Mariners walk in a run and Brett Bateman hustles home for another 😤 pic.twitter.com/MnU2ikeEHJ
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) August 29, 2026
What's good about Bateman is that he's been a fixture in the leadoff spot for Toronto, putting him in a position to rack up runs.
On top of that, the Blue Jays have six games this week: three at the A's and three at the Orioles. Those games at Sutter Health Park are likely to be helpful in what should be a high-scoring series in that bandbox.
