Updated Waiver Wire Rankings - Fantasy Baseball Pickups Include Chase DeLauter, Carson Benge, Sal Frelick, Jordan Romano, Cody Ponce, Jordan Lawlar, Marcell Ozuna, Lucas Erceg, more

March 29, 2026

Updated fantasy baseball waiver wire rankings for the 2026 MLB season. These are free agent options to add off waivers, and our rankings will help you prioritize.

Opening Day is officially in the books, and the first few days of the MLB season have been action packed. Don't panic if your team underperformed the first week; there is still plenty of baseball to be played. There were some key injuries that popped up, such as Jackson Chourio landing on the injured list with a hand fracture. At RotoBaller HQ, we are back with more waiver wire advice to help with injury replacements with our fantasy baseball waiver wire rankings (March 30 - April 5) of the 2026 MLB season. 

It is essential to stay on top of the player news as we guide you through the injuries, prospect call-ups, and closer role changes. For those searching for injury replacements or whose teams need a boost, we have you covered with our latest fantasy baseball waiver wire rankings. We've been working hard to put together a list of 100 players to consider for various league sizes to help you prioritize your waiver wire decisions.   

As always, we are here to help you prioritize which player to add using our waiver wire rankings article. This edition features players such as Chase DeLauter, Sal Stewart, Carson Benge, Jordan Lawlar, Kyle Harrison, Cody Ponce, Jordan Romano, and more, who are listed in our initial waiver wire rankings. Read more to see where these players rank in our waiver wire rankings for the week ahead.

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Updated Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Rankings

Waiver wire pickup options, including how to prioritize them for your league - depending on the league size:

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Outlooks

Some of the top names include Sal Stewart, Jordan Romano, Carson Benge, Jordan Lawlar, Chase DeLauter, and more.  We recap why these players rostered under 70% in Yahoo! leagues should be on your waiver wire radar:

Sal Stewart, Cincinnati Reds

Cincinnati Reds infield prospect Sal Stewart (forearm, wrist) is in the team's starting lineup on Saturday against the visiting Boston Red Sox and right-hander Sonny Gray despite dealing with a sore forearm from being hit by a line drive on Opening Day on Thursday, according to Gordon Wittenmyer of The Cincinnati Enquirer. He's starting at first base and batting in the cleanup spot.

The 22-year-old came out of the gates strong on the plate on Thursday, going 3-for-4 with two doubles in the Opening Day loss to Boston. Between first base and designated hitter, Stewart should be a lineup regular for the Reds in his first full year in the majors in 2026, and he has plenty of slugging upside that will play in all fantasy formats, especially if he continues to hit in the heart of the batting order.

The former first-rounder in 2022 went 14-for-55 (.255) with five home runs, eight RBI, and 11 runs scored in just 18 games last year in his big-league debut. Stewart is a big part of the Reds' future.

Carson Benge, New York Mets

Jordan Romano, Los Angeles Angels

Los Angeles Angels right-handed reliever Jordan Romano is emerging as the team's primary closer with all of Kirby Yates (knee), Ben Joyce (shoulder), and Robert Stephenson (elbow) on the injured list to begin the 2026 season. Romano picked up his first save of the year in Thursday's 3-0 Opening Day win over the Houston Astros, and although it wasn't a save situation, he pitched in the ninth inning for a second straight day in Friday's 6-2 victory.

He had a clean inning of work to finish off the victory, striking out two batters. Romano had a rough couple of seasons the last few years, but he topped out at 95.7 mph on Friday and is looking more like the version of himself that had 36 saves in back-to-back years with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2022 and 2023.

Veteran left-hander Drew Pomeranz could also see some save chances for the Halos early in the year with the back end of the bullpen banged up, but for now, Romano is the arm to roster for fantasy managers in need of saves.

Jordan Lawlar, Arizona Diamondbacks

Arizona Diamondbacks infield/outfield prospect Jordan Lawlar is officially an Opening Day starter in 2026, batting ninth and playing left field for his team's first game of the season against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Lawlar has long been considered one of the Diamondbacks' top prospects, but he's struggled with injuries and hit just .182/.257/.288 with a 35.8% strikeout rate across 74 plate appearances after making his MLB debut in 2025. Lawlar also had some defensive issues while spending time at every infield position other than first base, leading the Diamondbacks to shift him to the outfield this spring.

Still, Lawlar will not turn 24 years old until July and posted a .967 OPS across 300 Triple-A plate appearances in 2025. With Diamondbacks outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (knee) currently working his way back from a torn ACL, Lawlar could have an extended run of everyday playing time to open 2026.

Chase DeLauter, Cleveland Guardians

Cleveland Guardians outfield prospect Chase DeLauter is now up to three home runs on the year after just the first two games of the season, after he homered again in the team's 5-1 loss to the Seattle Mariners on Friday night. DeLauter, batting in the two-hole for Cleveland, went 1-for-4 on the night with a solo home run and a strikeout.

In his first two games of the 2026 season, the 24-year-old left-handed slugger has gone 4-for-9 with three home runs (all solo jobs). It's been nice to see the former 16th overall pick in 2022 out of James Madison University in his first taste of major-league pitching. He also looked good at the plate this spring, batting .459/.535/.838 with a 1.373 OPS, three homers, five doubles, 10 RBI, 10 runs scored, six walks, and four strikeouts in 14 Cactus League games.

Durability has been an issue for DeLauter in the minors, but for now, fantasy managers need to swoop him up where he's available, as he's looking like a potential early favorite for American League Rookie of the Year if he can stay on the field for Cleveland.

First Base Waiver Wire Rankings

Pickups are in priority order:

Second Base Waiver Wire Rankings

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Third Base Waiver Wire Rankings

Pickups are in priority order:

Shortstop Waiver Wire Rankings

Pickups are in priority order:

Outfield Waiver Wire Rankings

Pickups are in priority order:

Catcher Waiver Wire Rankings

Pickups are in priority order:

Starting Pitchers Waiver Wire Rankings

Pickups are in priority order:

Relief Pitchers Waiver Wire Rankings

Who Should I Pickup Fantasy Baseball Tool

Trying to decide who to pick up off the waiver wire? Check the Who Should I Pickup tool:

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2026 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players like Chase DeLauter, Carson Benge, Jordan Romano, Cody Ponce, Jordan Lawlar, Daylen Lile, Braxton Ashcraft, Jose Soriano, Cody Ponce, Otto Lopez, Jack Leiter, Marcell Ozuna. These are some common searches for 2026 fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups.

Using The Tool. This is a simple tool but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player's name. In the second box, search for the second player's name. Compare up to four MLB players at once, and then click the Who To Pickup? button to see who the recommended waiver wire pickups are based on fantasy baseball rankings, projections, and more.

Improvements For Who Should I Pickup? You may have noticed, our Who Should I Pickup? tool has gotten an overhaul. We've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win on the waiver wire in 2026. You'll see MLB player tiles with stats, projections, and a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!

How It Works. Our RotoBaller staff puts together their weekly fantasy baseball waiver wire rankings and projections based on their research, and updates them constantly throughout the week. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players who are ranked.

Popular Player Comparison Searches - Who To Pickup

Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Pickup tool for 2026 for players like Chase DeLauter, Carson Benge, Jordan Romano, Cody Ponce, Jordan Lawlar, Daylen Lile, Braxton Ashcraft, Jose Soriano, Cody Ponce, Otto Lopez, Jack Leiter, Marcell Ozuna:

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