Weekend Waiver Wire Rankings: Fantasy Baseball Pickups for Week 8

May 22, 2026

Weekend fantasy baseball waiver wire rankings for Week 8 (2026). Free-agent hitters and pitchers to add include Casey Schmitt, Esmerlyn Valdez, Jared Jones, Colt Emerson, and Noelvi Marte.

Week 8 is ending soon, and at RotoBaller HQ, we are back with more waiver wire advice for the weekend. Today, we navigate through the waiver wire with our weekend fantasy baseball waiver rankings for Week 8 -- May 18  through May 24.  The list ranks the top 100 hitters and pitchers. In this article, you will find where key players such as Travis Bazzana, JJ Bleday, Colt Emerson, Casey Schmitt, Grant Taylor, Ryan River, and Jhostynxon Garcia are listed below. 

There are key performances, prospect promotions, and injuries to watch for this week. The youth movement continues in MLB, as we recently saw the Pirates call up top prospect Esmerlyn Valdez. Another promotion to keep an eye on is the Nationals calling up outfielder Dylan Crews to the big leagues. Injuries continue to pile up as Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. was removed early from Thursday's game against the Marlins with a bone bruise in his left thumb. 

Stay on top of our weekly waiver wire rankings and turn on MLB news alerts in our free mobile app to stay ahead of the curve. Once you're done here, check out our fantasy baseball prospects articles for the latest names to stash and pick up.

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups List

Since many fantasy baseball leagues have daily waiver-wire moves or multiple waiver-wire runs per week for adding players, this later-week rankings list should help you keep track of players emerging in the weekend before we reach Sunday night waivers. This article will guide you through our weekly ranking of the relevant waiver-wire pickup options, including how to prioritize them for your league (depending on the league size).

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 waiver wire names include Esmerlyn Valdez, Jared Jones, Casey Schmitt, Colt Emerson, Noelvi Marte, and more. Read some of the waiver wire outlooks below:

Esmerlyn Valdez, 1B/OF, Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pittsburgh Pirates are promoting outfielder/first baseman Esmerlyn Valdez from Triple-A Indianapolis on Thursday, a source told Pirates insider Jason Mackey. In a corresponding move, the team optioned outfielder Billy Cook to Indy.

The 22-year-old is considered Pittsburgh's No. 9 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, and the Dominican should have an opportunity to play alongside fellow outfield prospect Jhostynxon Garcia in right field with Ryan O'Hearn (quadriceps) currently on the injured list.

Valdez will receive his first major-league call-up after hitting .253/.381/.506 with an .888 OPS, 10 home runs, 29 RBI, and 25 runs scored in 46 games across 194 plate appearances at Triple-A. The 6-foot-2, 234-pound right-handed hitter has intriguing raw power and has matured as a hitter this year on the farm to lower his swing-and-miss and chase rate.

Valdez will most likely be in a platoon against left-handed pitchers. Fantasy managers shouldn't overspend to roster him in mixed leagues in his first taste of the major leagues.

Colt Emerson, SS, Seattle Mariners

Seattle Mariners shortstop/third baseman Colt Emerson only needed two career games to make an impact as he hit his first MLB homer on Monday night in his team's 6-1 win over the White Sox. Emerson went 1-for-4 with the eighth-inning three-run blast. He started each of the last two games at the hot corner for the Mariners, who are set to give him a long look at that spot with Brendan Donovan (groin) on the injured list.

Emerson is just 20 years old but hit .255 with seven homers and 10 stolen bases in his 38 games in Triple-A before his promotion. He is a top-10 prospect in all of baseball (according to MLB.com) and looks ready to make an immediate impact. In mixed leagues, he's a nice grab if still available, although there isn't a clear spot for him when Donovan returns.

Emerson has a solid plate approach, but he did have a 27.2% K% in Triple-A. He has the tools to be a great fantasy contributor if he keeps his strikeouts under control and climbs to a more prominent spot in Seattle's batting order.

Jared Jones, SP, Pittsburgh Pirates

Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Jared Jones (elbow) will make his next minor-league rehab start on Saturday for Triple-A Indianapolis, according to Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. General manager Ben Cherington said on Sunday that Jones would make "at least one" more rehab start, so Saturday could be his last rehab outing before rejoining the Pirates' major-league starting rotation.

He will be eligible to come off the 60-day injured list after that. Despite missing all of the 2025 season due to elbow surgery, Jones is one of the best arms to stash in fantasy baseball leagues, and he's only rostered in 37% of Yahoo leagues right now.

He got up to 52 pitches and 4 1/3 innings in his last rehab start, and he's looked solid in his four starts with Indy, Single-A Bradenton, and Double-A Altoona, posting a 1.88 ERA and 0.98 WHIP with 18 K's and only three walks in 14 1/3 frames. Jones was a second-round pick in 2020 and impressed in his first 22 major-league starts as a rookie in 2024 with 132 punchouts and 39 walks in 121 2/3 innings pitched.

Noelvi Marte, 3B/OF, Cincinnati Reds

Even though Cincinnati Reds third baseman/outfielder Noelvi Marte is still in the minors, he should be attracting some interest off the waiver wire due to a recent hot stretch at Triple-A Louisville. In his last 25 games with the Bats, Marte has gone 41-for-103 (.398) with six home runs, 22 RBI, and eight stolen bases.

The 24-year-old Dominican is hitting .383/.436/.583 overall at Louisville with a 1.019 OPS, six home runs, 22 RBI, eight steals, and 24 runs scored in 30 games across 133 plate appearances. The Reds sent Marte down to the minors in the middle of April after he went 4-for-29 (.138) with two walks and 10 strikeouts in his first 11 games in Cincy.

Based on how he's hitting currently on the farm, the Reds are probably considering calling Marte back up to the big-league club. In a career-high 90 games in Cincy last year, Marte hit .263 (89-for-339) with 14 homers, 51 RBI, and 10 steals.

Fantasy managers in need of some power and speed in deeper leagues should consider adding Marte, who is only rostered in 28% of Yahoo leagues at the moment.

Casey Schmitt, 1B/2B/3B, San Francisco Giants

San Francisco Giants infielder Casey Schmitt has been carrying the Giants' offense this year, and he did it again in the team's 6-3 victory over the Diamondbacks. Schmitt went 1-for-4 at the plate with a solo home run to raise his season average to .293 and his OPS to .866.

Right now, the 27-year-old former second-rounder in 2020 out of San Diego State is splitting time at DH with rookie first baseman Bryce Eldridge, but he can also play pretty much anywhere on the infield, and he has eligibility in Yahoo leagues at first base, second, and third.

Schmitt is versatile on defense and has been productive with the bat so far in 2026, totaling nine home runs, 22 RBI, 21 runs scored, and three stolen bases. He's currently rostered in 44% of Yahoo leagues.

First Base Waiver Wire Rankings

Pickups are in priority order:

Second Base Waiver Wire Rankings

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Third Base Waiver Wire Rankings

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Shortstop Waiver Wire Rankings

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Outfield Waiver Wire Rankings

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Catcher Waiver Wire Rankings

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Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire Rankings

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Closer/Reliever Waiver Wire Rankings

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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:

Who Should I Pickup?

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2026 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players such as Colt Emerson, Casey Schmitt, Jared Jones, Esmeryln Valdez, Noelvi Marte, A.J. Ewing, JJ Bleday, Gregory Soto, Zebby Matthews, Dylan Crews, Ryan Waldschmidt, Grant Taylor, River Ryan, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Anthony Volpe, and Jonah Tong. 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 Colt Emerson, Casey Schmitt, Jared Jones, Esmeryln Valdez, Noelvi Marte, A.J. Ewing, JJ Bleday, Gregory Soto, Zebby Matthews, Dylan Crews, Ryan Waldschmidt, Grant Taylor, River Ryan, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Anthony Volpe, and Jonah Tong: