RADIO
Nick Mariano's fantasy baseball waiver wire targets for Week 3. Free-agent hitter pickups, emerging starting pitchers, and bullpen arms for every week of the 2026 MLB season.
All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard.
You may feel like much of the season has already passed you by, yet we're not even 10% of the way through the regular season! That's not to say we don't have plenty to learn from. This writer just wants to be sure that you are respecting the marathon pace needed to get through fantasy baseball.
It is still early enough that you want to stay active on waivers if you can help it. This column will aim to blend high-risk, high-reward plays alongside some safer volume. Let's get our foundation in a great spot to make a year-long push with my waiver wire targets for Week 3.
We'll stick to using Yahoo rostered rates up to 40%, listing players in a rough priority order (check our full waiver article for up to 70% rostered!). Please note that most statistics are gathered before Saturday's games, though I'll catch key news and happenings as I write. You can find me on X (@NMariano53) to ask anything not addressed here.
Nick's Hitter Waiver Wire Targets
Catcher: Carter Jensen (30% rostered), Francisco Alvarez (37%), Samuel Basallo (26%), Dillon Dingler (27%), Dalton Rushing (3%)
Alvarez is still only the 14th-most rostered catcher despite being worthy of one-catcher consideration. It’s difficult for me to believe that Liam Hicks could soar to 55%, but guys like Alvarez and Jensen can’t break 40%.
Basallo has slumped to open 2026, rocking a 34% K rate with five hits over 41 plate appearances, giving us worry about his low contact rates in the majors. However, Adley Rutschman’s left ankle inflammation has landed him on the IL, so it’s sink-or-swim time for the 21-year-old.
James McCann will step into more starts for Arizona with Gabriel Moreno on the IL with a back injury. Adrian Del Castillo still has a stellar minor-league track record, though it has not materialized in the bigs beyond a 2024 cup of coffee.
Rushing made a splash by slugging three homers in two games back on April 5-6. However, he sat out the four games leading up to that, as well as the next four. The talent is fascinating, but regular playing time is not coming unless Will Smith goes down.
