Eric Cross' Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups: Hitters and Pitchers (Week 14)

June 26, 2026

Eric Cross' top fantasy baseball waiver wire adds for Week 14 of 2026 (June 29 - July 5). His favorite free agent hitters and pitchers under 40% rostered.

We're officially into the second half of the season and the dog days of summer. While you might be hitting a wall right now, staying active in your leagues is key. There's still plenty of time to improve your teams and make up ground on the teams ahead of you. And if you're one of the top teams in your league, you have to keep your foot on the gas pedal so those teams behind you don't leapfrog you in the standings. Being active on the waiver wire is a great place to start.

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: Dominic Canzone (SEA), Paul Goldschmidt (NYY), Kody Clemens (MIN), Henry Bolte (ATH), Gage Jump (ATH), Elvis Alvarado (ATH).

Nasim Nunez (2B/SS - WAS)

32% Rostered on Yahoo

Sometimes, a free agent in fantasy baseball is targeted due to their ability to make an impact in a specific category. That's exactly the case here with Nasim Nuñez, who currently leads the Major Leagues with 31 stolen bases. Nuñez had 14 steals in March/April, eight in May, and nine so far in June. But the reason why he's still available in so many leagues is that he was hitting below the Mendoza Line in both April and May. Who cares about the steals if it kills your team's batting average, right?

Well, June has been a different story. In 67 plate appearances this month, Nuñez is hitting .383 with a .439 OBP to go with those nine steals. He's also scored nine runs and driven in 11. When rostering Nuñez, no matter how well he's hitting, you should never expect any power output from him. However, I do believe he can maintain at least a decent average moving forward due to his 84.5% zone contact rate, 77.6% overall contact rate, and elite speed. He's also eligible at both second base and shortstop.

Samad Taylor (2B/OF - SDP)

20% Rostered on Yahoo

Another speedy player worth targeting this week is Samad Taylor of the San Diego Padres. After receiving very little playing time in the Majors over the last three seasons, Taylor is finally getting a chance to play regularly with the Padres this month, and he's certainly doing his best to take advantage of the opportunity. In 66 plate appearances, Taylor is slashing .379/.438/.448 with 11 runs, 11 RBI, one home run, and six stolen bases.

As was the case with Nuñez, you shouldn't expect much in the way of power with Taylor. He's currently running a 2.4% barrel rate, 85.4 mph AVG EV, and a 28.6% hard-hit rate with the Padres, but that's not why you'll be targeting him. No, you'll be targeting him for his elite speed (95th percentile sprint speed) and above-average contact rates, currently sitting at 87.3% in zone and 78.8% overall.

While he might be able to provide a few more home runs than Nuñez, the impact Taylor can make for your fantasy teams is fairly similar.

Dylan Crews (OF - WAS)

33% Rostered on Yahoo

Alright, how about we shift to a player who can actually provide some power? Who doesn't love the long ball, right? While the career of Dylan Crews hasn't gone according to plan so far, the former second overall pick has seemed to find his footing of late. Over the last 14 days, Crews has racked up three home runs, 10 RBI, and 12 runs scored with a .294/.308/.529 slash line in 52 plate appearances. He's also added a steal and struck out in just 21.2% of his plate appearances during this stretch.

dylan. crews. 442 ft. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/JFxZzF3rvY

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) June 20, 2026

When you look at Crews' surface stats for the season, they won't give you that warm and fuzzy feeling, but there are some metrics under the hood that have me intrigued right now. Crews has been hitting the ball hard this season with a 9.4% barrel rate, 91.1 mph AVG EV, and a 44.8% hard-hit rate. He's also done a good job of keeping the strikeout rate in check at 20.3%, although I'd love to see his tiny 1.6% walk rate jump up a bit.

Outside of the power, Crews is also making contact at an above-average 84.8% in zone with a solid 74.4% overall contact rate. Add in a 94th percentile sprint speed, and you have enough positive metrics to intrigue me to the point of adding him in leagues where I could use an outfielder.

Cole Carrigg (OF - COL)

15% Rostered on Yahoo

Speaking of intriguing young outfielders, Cole Carrigg is still sitting on the waiver wire in far too many leagues. The 24-year-old rookie has slashed an impressive .271/.379/.542 with three home runs, 11 RBI, nine runs scored, and a steal in his first 58 Major League plate appearances. For a rookie hitting this well who also put up some fun numbers in Triple-A, it's a bit surprising to see Carrigg still available in over 80% of Yahoo Leagues as of the time I'm writing this. But if he continues hitting like this, that roster rate will surely rise much higher.

Outside of an underwhelming 84.9 mph AVG EV, many of Carrigg's metrics under the hood have been solid so far. His 8.1% barrel rate and 37.8% hard-hit rate are both a hair above the MLB-average, and he's making contact at an 86.7% clip in the zone and 76.8% overall. Carrigg has shown a good approach so far as well, walking at a 13.8% clip and striking out just 20.7% of the time.

Even with the middling quality of contact metrics, Carrigg's batted ball angles (64.9% air, 48.6% pull, 27% pull-air), along with his hitter-friendly home ballpark, should help his power output. I'd expect more speed impact moving forward as well, as Carrigg is a 94th percentile runner who stole a ton of bags in the minors. You're not going to find this much upside available in 85% of leagues too often.

Joey Cantillo (SP - CLE)

35% Rostered on Yahoo

It's been an up-and-down season for Joey Cantillo so far, who sports a 4.05 ERA and 1.40 WHIP through his first 16 starts. However, he's looked really good over his last two outings, combining for 10 hits, one walk, and two earned runs allowed with 13 strikeouts in 13 innings.

Cleveland #Guardians LHP Joey Cantillo was electric tonight picking up the win striking out nine Astros batters allowing one run in eight innings of work!

Line - 8.0(IP) 4H 1R 1ER 1BB 9SO

(98 Pitches 71 Strikes)

Last two starts:

- 13.0(IP) 10H 2ER 1BB 13SO 1.38 ERA… pic.twitter.com/ldba1o2sX9

— Guardians Prospective (@CleGuardPro) June 21, 2026

Cantillo made some noise last year with how he ended the season in Cleveland's rotation, making him a trendy late-round sleeper pick in 2026 drafts. And while the ratios aren't quite what we were hoping for, I still believe Cantillo can be relied upon as a solid back-end starting pitcher for your fantasy teams.

One area where Cantillo has done well in this season is limiting hard contact. Cantillo has allowed just an 87.7 mph AVG EV and 36.7% hard-hit rate, the latter of which ranks in the 71st percentile. He's also gotten hitters to chase at a 28.8% clip and whiff at a decent 27.5% clip, largely due to his changeup and curveball. The walk rate has been a bit high this season, but I'm encouraged by Cantillo walking just one over his last two outings.

Jake Bennett (SP - BOS)

6% Rostered on Yahoo

Another young, American League southpaw worth targeting right now is Boston's Jake Bennett. After opening the season with Triple-A Worcester, Bennett had a chance to step into Boston's rotation when Brayan Bello was demoted, and he's really impressed so far. Bennett has recorded a 3.71 ERA and 1.13 WHIP over his first five starts with Boston, and is coming off the best start of his career so far this past Monday, firing six shutout innings with nine strikeouts in Coors Field against the Rockies.

While the surface stats have been nice, Bennett's underlying metrics have been even nicer. Bennett has generated an elite 56.4% groundball rate and 40.3% chase rate so far, while also limiting hard contact (34.6% HH) and walks (4.7%) very well. And while Bennett's 20.8% strikeout rate doesn't stand out, I believe we could see that tick up a bit as three of his four most-used offerings have a whiff rate above 29%.

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