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Mike's fantasy baseball waiver wire hitters to add as category boosters for Week 9 of 2026. His top hitters to pick up or stream for HR, RBI, SB, AVG, and runs.
Welcome back to our Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Hitters - Category Boosters column for Week 9 of the 2026 MLB season. At this point, we have a good idea of where our teams are and what we need to do to remake them. Can we salvage it?
Soon, we head into June. By now, we should know what we have and what we need on our fantasy teams. You have to engage in a steady analysis and never stop trying to improve your teams. We hope this article can help you find players who can assist your teams.
We will give you multiple options for each of the five offensive categories in a standard five-by-five league. All hitters will be listed by their percentage in Yahoo! leagues, with 50% being the max. Let's see who can help boost your categories.
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Runs Scored (R) - Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Boosters
Travis Bazzana, 2B, Cleveland Guardians (44% rostered)
Bazzana is finding his way in his rookie season, and he has become a useful player for many fantasy rosters. He has been as advertised, hitting .293 with three homers, 11 RBI, seven stolen bases, and 11 runs scored. His hot hitting has led to him now batting leadoff, which increases his value.
Bazzana is now rostered at 45% in Yahoo leagues, a 19% increase over the last two days. If you need help at second base, as many players do, grab Bazzana now.
Spencer Steer, 1B/OF, Cincinnati Reds (44% rostered)
Steer has been gaining in popularity as a waiver wire addition the last couple of weeks. Steer is hitting .265 with seven home runs, 21 RBI, three stolen bases, and 31 runs scored, with 17 of those runs scored over his last 15 starts.
Despite a crowded roster, Steer continues to force his way into playing time and brings value to you at both the corner infield and outfield slots.
Jackson Holliday, 2B/SS, Baltimore Orioles (42% rostered)
Holliday quietly returned from the IL and is playing second base again daily for Baltimore. He is only hitting .211 in a limited sample thus far, but has scored four runs over his seven starts, also chipping in a homer and two stolen bases. His popularity should increase this weekend.
Home Runs (HR) - Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Boosters
Jake Burger, 1B, Texas Rangers (27% rostered)
You can see from the splits below that Burger has really turned it up in May, hitting .286 with five homers, 15 RBI, 12 runs, and a steal. He consistently makes hard contact and is in the middle of the Texas batting order.
Burger has three home runs over the last 10 days and now has 10 homers on the season. He profiles well right now as a corner infielder or utility fill-in on your roster.
Colt Emerson, 3B/SS, Seattle Mariners (23% rostered)
This is a speculative pick as Emerson learns the major league level. He has struggled some so far, but has shown flashes with a home run and a four-hit game last weekend. What I like most: he will have the opportunity to play every day for the near future. Roster now.
Curtis Mead, 1B/2B/3B, Washington Nationals (2% rostered)
Mead is getting regular playing time for the Nationals and making the most of it. He has seven home runs on the season, three in May, to go with a usable .264 batting average and 10 runs scored. He had a two-homer game on Sunday.
The Statcast data below shows us some details. Mead is getting on base, takes a walk (13.7%), and limits his strikeouts (15.3%). Mead is showing that he can be a quality player in Washington while covering three different infield positions. His rostered rate will go up this weekend.
Runs Batted In (RBI) - Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Boosters
Jake Bauers, 1B/OF, Milwaukee Brewers (37% rostered)
Bauers continues to swing a hot bat in Milwaukee, and manager Pat Murphy continues to find places to have him in the daily lineup. And why not? The veteran is hitting .290 with eight homers, 30 RBI, and four stolen bases in 45 games this season.
Bauers has driven in 10 of those runs in his last nine starts, and he profiles as a usable bat either at the corner infield position or in your outfield.
Spencer Horwitz, 1B, Pittsburgh Pirates (5% rostered)
Horwitz flies under the radar due to bigger names being on the waiver wire, but he could be useful to your team if you need corner infield help. He has three home runs over the last week, and six RBI, with five runs scored, and is now hitting .289.
He will not be flying under the radar much longer. Roster him if you need that infield depth or just a hot hitter for a period of time.
Colton Cowser, OF, Baltimore Orioles (4% rostered)
Cowser looks like he may be working his way back into regular playing time in Baltimore. He has started three games in a row this week and been productive in each: three hits, two home runs, five RBI, and three runs scored.
He is still hitting only .204, but with Dylan Beavers' injury, at-bats could be more available to Cowser moving forward. The talent is there for him to make a fantasy impact.
Stolen Bases (SB) - Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Boosters
A.J. Ewing, 2B/OF, New York Mets (34% rostered)
Ewing was gobbled up quickly in deeper leagues, but he is starting to get dropped in leagues, which may be a bit short-sighted. Across three levels in the minor leagues last season, he stole 70 bases. On a bad Mets team, he should be running more soon. Keep him in mind for speed needs.
Sam Antonacci, 2B/3B/OF, Chicago White Sox (16% rostered)
Antonacci is proving each day why he is atop the lineup: he can hit, he gets on base, and when he does, he will run. He's hitting .271 with one home run, 10 RBI, seven stolen bases, and 20 runs scored for the White Sox.
Antonacci looks to be a fixture and will do whatever he can to get on base; he has been hit by pitches 11 times and has a .374 OBP. Add in that he has eligibility at second base and third base, as well as outfield, and you have a very useful player for your team.
Henry Bolte, OF, Athletics (13% rostered)
Bolte looks like he can stick with the Athletics. He's hitting .282 without a home run, but has four RBI, four stolen bases, and three runs scored in his first 13 games. Bolte is now hitting sixth and playing center field daily for the Athletics, and he is worth a flyer for your team if you need speed.
Bolte had 44 steals last year at Triple-A Las Vegas and had 17 before his promotion to the Athletics this season. A cheap source of speed for you.
Batting Average (AVG) - Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Boosters
Ryan Waldschmidt, OF, Arizona Diamondbacks (30% rostered)
Waldschmidt has looked the part in Arizona thus far. He is hitting .317, and while he has yet to hit his first home run, he has knocked in seven runs and stolen five bases in 18 games. That is a good three-category production for a rookie finding his way.
What I like most is that he has moved from ninth in the lineup to fifth or sixth. That should continue considering the Diamondbacks' offensive woes. Roster Waldschmidt before the crowd catches up here.
Brooks Lee, 2B/3B/SS, Minnesota Twins (27% rostered)
Lee cooled off the last couple of weeks, but has had three multiple-hit games in his last five starts. He has also knocked in six runs and scored another four over the last week. Given the multiple position eligibility, Lee is a useful player to many rosters, hitting .333 in the last week.
Lee is playing well for a guy who was supposed to be a utility player, hitting .259 with six homers, 30 RBI, three stolen bases, and 23 runs scored on the season.
Carlos Cortes, OF, Athletics (15% rostered)
Cortes was an afterthought in most leagues until he hit his way into the lineup, forcing manager Mark Kotsay to play him regularly. Cortes is now occupying the leadoff spot and enjoying some great success there, even against left-handed pitching.
He's hitting .336 with five home runs, 17 RBI, a stolen base, and 13 runs scored. His on-base percentage is .423. He has moved past Lawrence Butler on the depth chart for the Athletics.
Cortes is doing everything well, and the bump in playing time makes him rosterable. How many times have you seen a higher walk percentage (11.3%) than a strikeout percentage (9.9%)? His ability to make hard contact is keeping him in the lineup. Maybe he should be in yours?
Happy hunting this week! Message me directly @mdrc0508 if you have specific questions or just need to vent about your fantasy teams. I will help if I can!
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