Eric Cross' Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups - Hitters and Pitchers (Week 17)

Eric Cross' top fantasy baseball waiver wire adds for Week 17 of 2025 (July 21 - July 27). His favorite free agent hitters and pitchers under 40% rostered.

Welcome to the second half of the Major League season and the stretch run for Fantasy Baseball. Did you enjoy your little breather during the All-Star break? Well, now it's time to put the foot back on the gas pedal and hammer down for the final two and a half months of the season.

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 recommendations were Colt Keith (DET), Romy Gonzalez (BOS), Mickey Moniak (COL), Otto Lopez (MIA), Emmet Sheehan (LAD), Eric Lauer (TOR), and Slade Cecconi (ARI).

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Luke Keaschall (2B - MIN)

14% Rostered on Yahoo

After playing just seven games with Minnesota in April, Luke Keaschall suffered a fractured forearm, which has kept him out of action for nearly the last three months. However, Keaschall is nearing a return to the Twins and started his rehab assignment with Triple-A St. Paul on Friday. After a handful more games with St. Paul, Keaschall should be ready to rejoin Minnesota's lineup, likely playing regularly or close to it.

Keaschall is coming off an impressive 2024 season in the minors, where he slashed .303/.420/.483 in 102 games with 21 doubles, 15 home runs, and 23 steals. Keaschall is an above-average runner who has always excelled in the contact and approach departments. That was the case in 2024 with Keashcall posting an 82% contact rate to go along with a 13.4% walk rate and 17.2% strikeout rate. He also has the power to be a 15-18 homer hitter over a full season.

Caleb Durbin (3B - MIL)

15% Rostered on Yahoo

After a slow start to the season that saw him slashing .186/.270/.255 entering play on May 24, Caleb Durbin has quietly been putting together a solid season since then. In his last 42 games, Durbin is slashing .324/.409/.478 with four home runs, four steals, 19 RBI, 26 runs scored, and nearly as many walks (14) as strikeouts (15). That's just a 9.4% strikeout rate in his last 159 plate appearances.

Caleb Durbin belts a solo shot to extend the @Brewers lead! pic.twitter.com/G4w64LzHhM

— MLB (@MLB) July 19, 2025

Yes, the upside with Durbin isn't sexy as he's incredibly limited in the power department. However, Durbin can bring value to fantasy teams through his contact skills, on-base abilities, speed, and multi-positional eligibility if you play on Yahoo.

In addition to the low 9.1% strikeout rate this season, Durbin has posted an 89.4% zone contact rate, 86.1% overall contact rate, and a 25% chase rate. He's also an 80th percentile runner, and it wouldn't surprise me to see him run more in the second half, given what we've seen from him in the minors.

Austin Hays (OF - CIN)

17% Rostered on Yahoo

Austin Hays started the second half in style, cranking a pair of home runs and also drawing two walks in the Reds' 8-4 win over the New York Mets. Hays has been rolling for a few weeks now, slashing .302/.345/.604 with seven extra-base hits, eight runs scored, 14 RBI, and four home runs over his last 14 games. And for the season, Hays has slashed .295/.335/.552 with 10 home runs, 40 RBI, and 32 runs scored in 48 games.

However, the problem for Hays has been staying on the field as he's been on the IL three times this season with a calf strain, a hamstring strain, and a foot contusion. As mentioned, Hays has been pretty productive when he's been on the field, including entering the All-Star break.

Hays has barrelled up pitches at an impressive 14.3% clip this season, along with an 89.7 mph AVG EV, and a 40.6% hard-hit rate. And while his contact skills are a bit below average right now, both in zone and overall, Hays still has a solid .260 xBA and .492 xSLG. Playing half his games in the BABIP-boosting Great American Ballpark will certainly help as well. As long as Hays is healthy, he's worth a look in all fantasy leagues.

Noelvi Marte (3B - CIN)

30% Rostered on Yahoo

After a 2024 season lost due to suspension and poor performance, Noelvi Marte's value was in the gutter entering 2025, but he's starting to work his way back into the hearts of fantasy managers. In 109 plate appearances this season, Marte has racked up six home runs, five steals, and a .280/.330/.530 slash line. Three of those home runs have come in his last six games.

It might be tough to completely forget about 2024, especially if you had multiple shares like I did, but the upside and talent with Marte are still notable. This is a player who had a 46.1% hard-hit rate, 91st percentile sprint speed, and above-average contact rates as a rookie. And this season, Marte has a 93rd percentile sprint speed, 8.5% barrel rate, and an 89.7 mph AVG EV. The power/speed blend is still there, and Marte is worth a look in all 10+ team fantasy leagues right now.

Zebby Matthews (SP - MIN)

24% Rostered on Yahoo

Welcome back, Zebby Matthews. After being on the IL since early June with a right shoulder strain, Matthews is set to return to the Minnesota rotation on Saturday against the Colorado Rockies. In his one rehab outing in Triple-A on July 13, Matthews only allowed one lone hit over four innings while striking out nine of the 13 batters he faced.

Zebby Matthews, 2Ks in the 3rd.

6Ks thru 3. pic.twitter.com/sqVae8EFNI

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 25, 2024

With Matthews, I'd urge you to focus more on the 18.1% K-BB rate from his rookie season and the 20.5% mark this season, and focus less on his ERA in each season. Those ERAs are not indicative of the potential Matthews has or how well he pitched each season. Just look at this season where his 3.65 xERA is considerably lower than his 5.21 surface ERA.

While I'm slightly concerned about his 4-seamer, Matthews' slider and changeup have been missing bats at a solid clip, registering a 43.5% and 33.3% whiff rate respectively this season with a BAA of .200 or lower. The upside is absolutely worth an add in all non-shallow redraft leagues right now.

Quinn Priester (SP - PIT)

40% Rostered on Yahoo

The Milwaukee Brewers handed the ball to Quinn Priester to start their first game out of the All-Star break, and he pitched an absolute gem against the Dodgers in Los Angeles. Priester tossed six shutout innings, allowing just three hits with zero walks and 10 strikeouts. This was the second time in his last four starts that Priester has reached double-digit strikeouts and he's pitched at least six innings in three of those four outings.

Priester has really been rolling over his last 13 starts after allowing seven earned runs to the Cubs on May 2. In those last 13 outings, Priester has recorded an impressive 2.52 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, and a 16.5% K-BB rate. This stretch has lowered Priester's season ERA and WHIP to 3.33 and 1.20, respectively, in 94.2 innings.

Since getting to Milwaukee, Priester has started throwing more cutters and fewer curveballs, and both his curveball and slider effectiveness have taken a step forward. Both offerings have a BAA under .190 this season with a whiff rate above 34%. The Brewers seemed to have worked their magic with Priester.

Shane Bieber (SP - CLE)

36% Rostered on Yahoo

He's nearly back! After making only two starts in 2024 before needing Tommy John surgery last April, Shane Bieber is nearing a return to Cleveland and has restarted his rehab assignment down in the Arizona Complex League. Bieber tossed two innings on July 15, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out five of the seven batters he faced. This was Bieber's second rehab outing overall, but he was shut down after experiencing some soreness in his elbow after his first outing on May 31.

This is a waiver wire recommendation where I really don't have to do much explaining. Bieber is a former Cy Young award winner who can still miss bats at a high clip and provide a major impact to fantasy teams down the stretch run. You'll have to stash him for a few weeks as he's likely not debuting until early-August, but the potential impact makes that a stash worth investing in, especially if you're a contending team that can afford to use the bench or IL spot until Bieber returns.

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