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Joey's FAAB fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups and bidding guide for Week 18 (July 27 - August 2). His recommended FAAB dollars to spend on waiver wire adds.
Welcome back, RotoBallers, to our Week 18 fantasy baseball FAAB waiver wire pickups for July 27 - August 2. 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.
For this week, we will look at the 10 best waiver wire picks. This list will include six hitters and four pitchers fantasy managers should be looking to scoop off waivers in Week 18 of the fantasy baseball season. All 10 of these waiver wire pickups are rostered in fewer than 40% of Yahoo! leagues. This list will feature an eight-time All-Star having a bounce-back season, a catcher who recently returned from the injured list, and a pitcher breaking out.
Let's examine the best waiver wire targets for Week 18 of the fantasy baseball season. If you need some help on which players to drop in exchange for these players, be sure to check out Andy Smith's recent mid-week cut list
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Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Hitters to Target
Ryan Jeffers, C, Minnesota Twins
38% rostered
FAAB Bid: 6-8%
Minnesota Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers has been a solid fantasy option since returning from injury two weeks ago. Jeffers spent a little under two months recovering from a left hamate bone fracture. He was eventually activated from the injured list on July 10 and is slashing .231/.310/.538 with two home runs, two doubles, and six RBI over his last eight games.
Ryan Jeffers gets the @Twins started with a blast! pic.twitter.com/rb72qUzLJj
— MLB (@MLB) July 21, 2026
Jeffers has wasted no time making an impact in his return. He has a hit in seven of those eight games and a home run in two of his last six contests. The Twins catcher was also a consistent fantasy option before his injury in mid-May. The 29-year-old had a .295 batting average with seven home runs and 26 RBI in his first 37 games.
Tommy Edman, 2B/3B/OF, Los Angeles Dodgers
29% rostered
FAAB Bid: ~5-7%
Los Angeles Dodgers utility specialist Tommy Edman is one of the best waiver wire pickups of the week. After starting the season on the injured list, Edman has been on fire at the plate over the last few weeks. He is slashing .341/.417/.505 with two home runs, five doubles, two triples, 17 RBI, and two stolen bases in his first 29 games.
His underlying metrics also suggest that he could be here to stay as a reliable fanatsy option. Edman currently owns a .388 xwOBA, .330 expected batting average, .467 expected slugging, 90.5 mph average exit velocity, 42.9% hard-hit rate, 35.7% launch angle sweet-spot rate, and a 27.3% squared-up rate. That's enough reason to spend around 5-7% of your remaining FAAB to land him.
Nolan Arenado, 3B, Arizona Diamondbacks
24% rostered
FAAB Bid: ~4-5%
Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Nolan Arenado is having a strong bounce-back campaign at the plate. Arenado is batting .248 with 14 home runs, 19 doubles, 48 RBI, and three stolen bases across 98 games this year. His offensive numbers have been even better in July, as the veteran is slashing .283/.368/.600 with five home runs and 14 RBI in 18 games this month.
Nolan Arenado is the 297th member of the 2,000-hit club. pic.twitter.com/OeJNNucCKi
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) July 21, 2026
Fantasy managers should ride this hot streak from Arenado until the wheels fall off. Most of his metrics are up from last year, including his barrel rate (7.5%), launch angle sweet-spot rate (36.9%), and pull air rate (26.7%). If you are in need of some third base help, the eight-time All-Star is a cheap pickup off waivers this weekend.
Ty France, 1B, San Diego Padres
22% rostered
FAAB Bid: ~4-5%
San Diego Padres first baseman Ty France has turned back the clock. The 32-year-old veteran hasn't been a consistent fantasy option over the last few years. However, France is now someone fantasy managers should look to pick up in Week 18. He has a .279 batting average with 16 home runs this season and has been on another level at the plate recently.
France is slashing .323/.383/.720 with 10 home runs, seven doubles, and 24 RBI in his last 25 games since June 19. He is in a massive groove offensively right now, and these strong numbers should continue for the Padres first baseman. The former All-Star has a 76th percentile expected slugging (.453), 83rd percentile barrel rate (12.6%), and an 89th percentile hard-hit rate (50%).
Victor Mesa Jr., OF, Tampa Bay Rays
6% rostered
FAAB Bid: 2-3%
Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Victor Mesa Jr. is heating up. He has a .267/.328/.600 slash line with six home runs, 12 RBI, and four stolen bases over his last 20 games dating back to June 25. Mesa Jr. has shown the ability to be a productive all-around hitter during this stretch. The 24-year-old has been a nice source of both home runs and stolen bases.
Having an 11.3% barrel rate, 22.5% pull air rate, and a 27.9 ft/sec sprint speed makes him a nice waiver wire pickup in Week 18. Those in 15+ team leagues should be looking to target the young outfielder this week. Spending around 2-3% of your remaining FAAB could be enough to land him on waivers.
Joey Ortiz, 3B/SS, Milwaukee Brewers
5% rostered
FAAB Bid: <2%
Milwaukee Brewers shortstop Joey Ortiz is another player on this list who fantasy managers should ride with until the wheels fall off. Ortiz is batting .319 with four home runs, four doubles, one triple, 13 RBI, and three stolen bases over his last 22 games. He has raised his batting average by 37 points during this stretch and is emerging as a reliable fantasy option.
Ortiz won't be hitting this well forever, but he's a good short-term pickup. He has provided a little bit of everything in the last few weeks and just recently went 3-for-3 with one double, one triple, two RBI, and one stolen base in Wednesday's series finale against the Mets. His hot streak makes him a sneaky pickup in most 15+ team leagues and some 12+ team leagues.
Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pitchers to Target
Brandon Young, SP, Baltimore Orioles
32% rostered
FAAB Bid: ~5%
It's quite shocking that Baltimore Orioles pitcher Brandon Young is still available in more than 65% of Yahoo! leagues. Young has really been a consistent fantasy pitcher for most of the year. He has a 3.25 ERA, 1.314 WHIP, and 74 strikeouts across 91 1/3 innings pitched and has allowed three runs or fewer in 14 of his 16 starts.
Brandon Young’s #WorldCup-inspired back heel flick is your Play of the Week! pic.twitter.com/GJCp8LcGr4
— MLB (@MLB) July 20, 2026
While some fantasy managers might be hesitant to pick him up due to his low strikeout numbers, he's actually been striking out batters at a higher clip over his last few starts. Young has a 24.3% strikeout rate in his last four starts, up from his 19% season average. After he threw seven innings of one-run ball with seven strikeouts against the Astros in his last outing, he's a top pitcher to add this week.
Zac Thornton, SP, New York Mets
26% rostered
FAAB Bid: ~5-7%
New York Mets starting pitcher Zac Thornton is the best pitcher waiver wire pickup of the week. Thornton has thrown the ball well in each of his last two starts in the big leagues. He threw seven shutout innings with five strikeouts against the Red Sox on July 12 and threw six scoreless innings with two strikeouts against the Brewers in his most recent outing on July 21.
Given the way Thornton has thrown the ball lately, he should be added in most 12+ team leagues at this point in the year. He has a solid Pitching Run Value, strong Fastball Run Value, a 31.5% chase rate, and a 6.9% walk rate across 23 1/3 innings pitched. His spot in the rotation seems to be secured as well, especially since Freddy Peralta and Clay Holmes could be moved at the trade deadline.
Keider Montero, SP/RP, Detroit Tigers
24% rostered
FAAB Bid: ~4-5%
Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Keider Montero has bounced between the rotation and the bullpen in recent weeks. He began the year in Detroit's rotation, then was moved to the bullpen in early July before moving back to the rotation earlier this week. Montero has thrived in every role the Tigers have given him this year, as he has a 3.14 ERA, 0.962 WHIP, and 78 strikeouts across 22 appearances (16 starts).
Those numbers are good enough to add him in most 12+ team leagues. He just threw 5 1/3 innings of one-run ball with eight strikeouts against the Cubs earlier this week and has a 1.80 ERA over his last 10 appearances (four starts) since June 11. With the Tigers potentially trading away Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize at the deadline, Montero could have a spot in the rotation for the rest of the year.
Robert Gasser, SP, Milwaukee Brewers
11% rostered
FAAB Bid: ~2-4%
Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Robert Gasser has pitched much better than his season numbers. His expected ERA (3.86) is 105 points lower than his actual ERA (4.91), and his recent numbers should give fantasy managers some optimism about him moving forward. The southpaw has allowed three runs or fewer in five of his last six starts.
Outside of a seven-run clunker against the Pirates before the All-Star break, Gasser has been sharp on the mound recently. He just threw five innings of one-run ball with five strikeouts against the Marlins. The Brewers left-hander should also have a spot in this rotation moving forward, with Brandon Woodruff out for the season and Kyle Harrison currently on the IL.
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