Waiver Wire Rankings - Fantasy Baseball Pickups for Week 2 (Hitters and Pitchers)

April 5, 2026

Updated fantasy baseball waiver wire rankings for Week 2 of the 2026 MLB season. These are free agent options to add off waivers, and our rankings will help you prioritize.

We are about a week and a half into the 2026 MLB regular season, and there has already been a lot of injury news, prospects called up, and role changes. Juan Soto is day-to-day with a minor groin strain. It didn't take long, but the Pirates promoted top prospect Konnor Griffin on Friday after he spent less than a week at Triple-A Indianapolis. Griffin is already rostered in 86% of Yahoo Fantasy leagues. However, we have more prospects and names to be on the lookout for on the waiver wire with our fantasy baseball waiver wire rankings for Week 2 (April 6 - April 12) 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 Lucas Erceg, Carson Benge, Paul Sewald, Kyle Harrison, Max Muncy, Brian Baker, Colt Keith, Cole Sands, Taj Bradley, Brandon Marsh, Cole Young, Garrett Mitchell, 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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Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Rankings

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

The roster percentage is from Yahoo! leagues.

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Outlooks

Some of the top names include Lucas Ecerg, Garrett Mitchell, Cole Sands, Colt Keith, Taj Bradley and more.  We recap why these players rostered under 70% in Yahoo! leagues should be on your waiver wire radar:

Lucas Ecerg, Kansas City Royals

Kansas City Royals reliever Lucas Erceg has converted both save opportunities while posting a 1.13 WHIP and one strikeout across 2 2/3 scoreless innings in 2026. The Royals placed closer Carlos Estevez (foot) on the 15-day injured list with a foot contusion.

Estevez had velocity concerns heading into the year and was lit up for six earned runs in only one appearance this season. With Estevez on the injured list, Erceg has locked down Kansas City's closer role and becomes a must-add off the waiver wire for fantasy managers searching for saves.

The 30-year-old was terrific last season, owning a 2.64 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, and 48:18 K :BB with two saves and 23 holds over 61 1/3 innings for the Royals last season. Erceg is rostered in 51% of Yahoo Fantasy leagues and is currently second on RotoBaller's waiver wire rankings.

Garrett Mitchell, Milwaukee Brewers

Colt Keith, Detroit Tigers

Detroit Tigers infielder Colt Keith is back in the starting lineup on Saturday, starting at third base and batting leadoff against the St. Louis Cardinals and right-hander Dustin May, according to MLB.com. Keith was given a rest day on Friday against St. Louis, but he'll be back in the leadoff spot for Detroit for the third time in the last four games.

The 24-year-old former fifth-round pick in 2020 has been setting the table nicely for the Tigers early on in 2026, going 10-for-24 (.417) with four doubles, two RBI, five runs scored, two walks, and six strikeouts. With Keith back in the lineup, rookie infielder Kevin McGonigle will slide from leadoff to the two-hole on Saturday.

Keith's fantasy stock is up after the strong start, especially with outfielder Kerry Carpenter off to a slow start at the plate, making it unlikely that Carpenter takes the leadoff spot from Keith anytime soon. Keith has reached base safely in all six of his games so far this year.

Cole Sands, Minnesota Twins

Minnesota Twins' right-handed reliever, Cole Sands, appeared in his second game of the 2026 season on Thursday against the Kansas City Royals and allowed his first run of the season, and more concerningly from a fantasy standpoint, was deployed in a non-save situation. He was brought in to start the eighth inning with the Twins up 2-0 in that contest.

Justin Topa ended up getting the save for the Twins in the ninth, while Taylor Rogers came in to record the last out of the eighth inning, as Sands was only able to record the first two outs of the inning after allowing two hits and the earned run on 11 pitches, nine of which were strikes.

From a fantasy standpoint, this opens up the possibility that the Twins will not deploy this bullpen conventionally, where Sands will be guaranteed to pick up most, if not all, ninth-inning opportunities after recording a save in the Twins' first win in Baltimore, and they will be deployed depending on matchup and where the opponents are in their lineup, which hinders Sands' fantasy value as a true closer. Sands' fantasy managers will want to keep an eye on this situation as the season progresses.

Taj Bradley, Minnesota Twins

Minnesota Twins' right-handed pitcher Taj Bradley has performed well through two starts this season, throwing 10 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing eight hits, one earned run, four walks, 12 strikeouts, and posting a 0.87 ERA and 1.16 WHIP.

Bradley has shown flashes in the pan throughout his first couple of seasons at the big league level with the Tampa Bay Rays before being dealt to Minnesota this past offseason, but has not been able to consistently string starts together throughout his four-year MLB career. So much so that it resulted in a trip to Triple-A last season with the Rays organization.

Pitching for the Twins, who are currently 2-4 to start the season, likely aren't going to be serious contenders in 2026, which will likely give Bradley a longer leash to see what he can really do, considering he's 25-years young, making him worth a waiver-wire add because of his potential strikeout upside.

In his first season in MLB back in 2023, Bradley posted a 28.3 percent strike rate. Bradley's next turn in the rotation is lining up to be a much tougher matchup against their other AL Central opponent, the Detroit Tigers, early next week.

First Base Waiver Wire Rankings

Pickups are in priority order:

Second Base Waiver Wire Rankings

Pickups are in priority order:

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:

Closer/Relievers Waiver Wire Rankings

Pickups are in priority order:

Week 2 Waiver Wire Roundup for Fantasy Baseball

In addition to these waiver wire rankings, we have also put together an assortment of fantasy baseball waiver wire articles. You can see that full roundup below to help prepare you for waiver wire runs:

• Nick Mariano's waiver wire pickups (Premium)
• Staff roundtable: waiver wire picks for Week 2
• FAAB fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups for Week 2
• Starting pitcher fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups for Week 2
• Hitter streamers, starts and waiver wire pickups for Week 2
• H2H points leagues waiver wire pickups for Week 2
• The Cut List - Players to consider dropping for Week 2

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 Lucas Erceg, Carson Benge, Paul Sewald, Kyle Harrison, Max Muncy, Brian Baker, Colt Keith, Cole Sands, Taj Bradley, Brandon Marsh, Cole Young, and Garrett Mitchell. 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 Lucas Erceg, Carson Benge, Paul Sewald, Kyle Harrison, Max Muncy, Brian Baker, Colt Keith, Cole Sands, Taj Bradley, Brandon Marsh, Cole Young, Garrett Mitchell, Jordan Walker, Seranthony Dominguez:

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