MLB FAAB Factor: Top Fantasy Baseball Waiver Targets

This FAAB article is in addition to the AL and NL FAAB articles that run Sunday. Bids are based on a $100 FAAB budget. Throughout the season, this column will have two goals:

1. Identify FAAB targets for fantasy managers in leagues with Thursday FAAB.

2. Offer a preview of FAAB targets ahead of Sunday's columns.

We're starting to enter one of my favorite periods of any MLB season – the time where organizations begin to lean away from their struggling veterans and give some of their top prospects their first looks in The Show. The promotions were flying in last week, as Ryan Waldschmidt, Spencer Jones, Joe Mack and Robby Snelling all made their first appearances with their respective big-league clubs. The fun has continued over the past couple of days, so it only feels right to make sure that a couple more promising youngsters crack the list this week. With any luck, this time I'll pick out some rookies who will go more than a week before potentially facing season-ending surgery. (Sorry for the jinx last week, Robby.)

The number in parentheses represents the player's rostership rate in Yahoo leagues.

Starting Pitcher

 Michael McGreevy, St. Louis Cardinals (39%)

McGreevy has begun to impress on the mound over the past few weeks, logging a quality start in each of his last three outings and coming away with a win without allowing a run in each of his last two. He allowed just three men to reach base in six innings during his most recent body of work against the Padres and set a new career high by striking out nine batters. The 25-year-old still has just a 6.6 K/9 for the season, so you shouldn't expect strikeout totals that high to come consistently, but by simply locating his pitches and limiting mistakes, he's given himself a 2.18 ERA and 0.86 WHIP through eight starts. FAAB: $3

 J.T. Ginn, Athletics (13%)

Ginn was blown up for five runs in just 4.1 innings during his first start of the month, but you can put an asterisk on his poor performance since he had been dealing with shoulder trouble just a few days beforehand. He's made two starts since then and came away with the win both times, while allowing just one run and posting an 11:2 K:BB over 14 innings. The 26-year-old righty now owns a 3.12 ERA and 1.20 WHIP on the season, and is set up for a two-start week that will begin with a favorable matchup Monday against the Angels, who have posted just a .650 OPS over their last 10 games. His play style is tailored more toward inducing soft grounders rather than collecting Ks, though there's still some swing-and-miss upside here, which can be seen in his 9.9 K/9 from 2025. FAAB: $2

 Bryce Miller, Seattle Mariners (37%)

Miller showed a lot of promise in 2024, only to put together a disastrous 2025 campaign that saw him battle elbow trouble and finish with a 5.68 ERA and 1.41 WHIP over 90.1 innings. He was sidelined again by an oblique strain to begin 2026, but returned to make his season debut Wednesday and gave up two earned runs on eight hits and a walk while logging three strikeouts in 5.1 frames against the Astros. That's not a stellar line, but it definitely is a considerable improvement over what he was turning in last year. The 27-year-old may need some time to settle back into the majors, and the Mariners will give it to him by having him work in tandem with Luis Castillo while the team decides whom to remove from its current six-man rotation. There are a few "ifs" surrounding Miller's situation, but if he makes the cut and if he continues to pitch well now that he's fully healthy for the first time in two years, he could quickly provide a positive return on a cheap investment. FAAB: $1

Relief Pitcher

 Gregory Soto, Pittsburgh Pirates (41%)

Dennis Santana has posted a 5.79 ERA and 1.82 WHIP over the last month, so the Pirates have begun entertaining Soto in save situations, and the latter has been much more effective thus far. Soto finished last year with a 4.18 ERA across 60.1 innings between the Orioles and Mets but seems to have settled in nicely with Pittsburgh, turning in a minuscule 1.69 ERA and 0.70 WHIP to go with a strong 26:7 K:BB through 21.1 frames. Now with three saves in his last four appearances, the 31-year-old southpaw appears to have surpassed Santana as the Buccos' go-to ninth-inning option. FAAB: $5

 Caleb Kilian, San Francisco Giants (8%)

The Giants optioned Ryan Walker to Triple-A over the weekend, which only further opened the door for other members of San Francisco's bullpen to begin collecting saves. The two top candidates right now seem to be Kilian and Erik Miller (Miller has been on the injured list since May 4 with a back strain but will be eligible to return Thursday). Kilian has emerged as the more productive of the two, logging a 1.40 ERA and 1.09 WHIP while punching out 19 batters through 19.1 innings on the year and picking up two saves over his last four appearances. He's not without his red flags, however, as his elevated walk rate (15.2 percent) makes him more vulnerable to blow-up outings. That being said, he's not a bad add for fantasy managers chasing saves. FAAB: $1

 Aaron Ashby, Milwaukee Brewers (34%)

If you were to look at the MLB wins leaderboard, you'd find Chris Sale, Paul Skenes and Jose Soriano – all highly valuable fantasy assets – tied with six. You would also find Ashby edging out all of them with his seven wins. A lot of that has to do with the fact that manager Pat Murphy seems to like using him as his fireman to keep the game close in tie-game scenarios that have been followed up by late rallies from the Brewers' offense more often than not. The left-hander probably won't finish the season with the 28 wins he's on pace for, and his lack of save/hold opportunities up to this point hurts his value as a traditional reliever, but his ratios (2.00 ERA, 14.2 K/9) tip the scales to make him a worthwhile pickup. FAAB: $1

Catcher

 Samuel Basallo, Baltimore Orioles (36%)

Manager Craig Albernaz said Monday that Basallo has earned the right to begin facing left-handed batters, so if anybody was waiting for the 21-year-old backstop to move into a true everyday role, now is your time to take action. Demand will likely be high, though, since he's spent his last 19 games slashing .403/.439/.645 while logging a pair of homers, 12 RBI and nine runs scored. That efficiency may begin to drop as he begins to face same-handed pitching, but he's still held his own while posting a .737 OPS through 26 plate appearances against southpaws so far this season. FAAB: $6

First Baseman

 Luis Garcia, Washington Nationals (42%)

Garcia recently missed a handful of games due to a wrist injury, but that time off seems to have done him some good since he's gone 9-for-17 with six RBI and four runs scored in four games since returning to the starting lineup Saturday. One of those games saw him smack a pair of home runs into the outfield bleachers – a sign that his power stroke is beginning to return after managing to slug just one long ball through his first 36 contests. Now that the 25-year-old has seemingly broken out of his slump, he can be relied on as a modest contributor in all five major categories with eligibility at both first and second base, though his extremely low walk rate (3.1 percent) will make him a less desirable target in leagues that prioritize OBP over batting average. FAAB: $3

Second Baseman

 Ezequiel Duran, Texas Rangers (28%)

Duran has recorded a base hit in 10 of the Rangers' 12 games since the beginning of May and slashed .302/.380/.558 with two home runs, eight RBI and eight runs scored in that span. His opportunity to start regularly for Texas came because of glute and wrist injuries to Josh Smith, and Duran's hot hitting (paired with Smith's poor offensive output) could allow him to remain in place as the Rangers' primary second baseman after Smith is activated. In addition to his hitting, Duran's blazing speed works to make him a capable base stealer, and his expansive defensive versatility will allow you to place him anywhere in your lineup that you might need him – a blessing especially for those who have struggled with bad injury luck this season. FAAB: $2

 Bryson Stott, Philadelphia Phillies (36%)

Stott got off to a painfully slow start this season, but his bat is beginning to show signs of life as of late. Since the start of May, the 28-year-old is slashing .238/.273/.548 with three homers, 11 RBI, seven runs and three steals across 12 games. Those three home runs are his first of the 2026 season and put him back on pace to reach a double-digit HR total for a fifth consecutive year. He is also on pace for another 30-steal campaign, which would mark his third such season in the last four years. His opportunities are often limited by the fact that the Phillies tend to sit him down against southpaws, though they almost always bring him in off the bench once they're able to chase the starter out of the game. FAAB: $2

Third Baseman

 Zack Gelof, Athletics (12%)

After opening the season at Triple-A Las Vegas, Gelof hit his way back into the majors by posting a 1.251 OPS through 54 plate appearances in the minors. He began starting regularly for the A's in place of the injured Denzel Clarke (foot) and Max Muncy (hand), and has now hit his way into this article after hitting safely in 10 of his last 11 games, slashing .282/.349/.590 with three homers, eight RBI and seven runs in that span. Muncy's return timeline remains foggy, as he has yet to start a rehab assignment, so it doesn't seem like Gelof will lose his place in the starting nine anytime soon. He picked up eligibility in the outfield while the A's were using him as a fill-in for Clarke, and it won't be long before Gelof starts to become eligible at the hot corner in most leagues as well. FAAB: $3

Shortstop

 Brayan Rocchio, Cleveland Guardians (23%)

Rocchio has begun seeing the ball well yet again over the past week, going 9-for-24 with three RBI, three runs and four stolen bases over the Guardians' last seven games. With a .275 batting average and .723 OPS through 43 games, the 25-year-old is on track for what would easily be the best season of his four-year MLB career. But with Travis Bazzana now up from the minors and occupying a permanent middle-infield spot, it's unclear what Cleveland's plan will be at shortstop after Gabriel Arias (hamstring) returns from the IL. Arias wasn't performing well offensively before going down, so Rocchio's recent performance with a greatly improved contact rate and his ability to hit from both sides of the plate could keep him on top of the depth chart. FAAB: $1

Find out who to target the rest of the way with RotoWire's MLB Rest of Season Projections!

Outfielder

 Henry Bolte, Athletics (16%)

After slashing a cool .415/.461/.783 with a modest 10 homers, 21 RBI, 30 runs scored and 11 steals over his last 24 games at Triple-A Las Vegas, Bolte received the call to join the big-league roster Tuesday. His MLB debut didn't come until Wednesday, but he proved to be worth the wait by going 2-for-2 with a walk and a sac fly against the Cardinals. With plus raw power and burning speed to complement his last name, the 22-year-old Bolte has the tools necessary to become a special fantasy asset. The biggest challenge for him will be to make sure he continues to make contact, as high strikeout rates have followed him throughout his minor-league career. With Denzel Clarke (foot) hurt and Lawrence Butler struggling, Bolte likely will have quite a bit of runway to prove he can stick around in the Athletics' lineup. FAAB: $7

A.J. Ewing, New York Mets (34%)

The last-place Mets are desperate to find ways to turn things around, and their latest attempt at doing so was to call up one of the organization's top prospects in Ewing. The 21-year-old was certainly deserving of the promotion, as he slashed .339/.447/.514 with two homers, 11 RBI, 25 runs scored and 17 steals through 30 games split between Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Syracuse. He's mostly known for his ability to get on base and collect a steal shortly afterward, which he displayed during his MLB debut Tuesday by going 1-for-2 with a triple, three walks, two RBI, two runs and a steal. The one thing you're not likely to get out of him is power – you'd be lucky to get 10 homers out of him over the course of a full season. With Luis Robert's (back) recovery progressing slowly, Ewing should receive ample opportunities to secure the starting job in center field. FAAB: $6

 Brandon Marsh, Philadelphia Phillies (44%)

Making the list for a second consecutive week, Marsh went 0-for-3 on Wednesday to break a 13-game hitting streak that had seen him slash .457/.481/.565 with five RBI and 12 runs scored while adding a steal – his third of the season. An improved approach at the plate has allowed him to bring down his strikeout rate considerably (18.9 percent) compared to past seasons (31.4 percent from 2021 to 2025), though it's also resulted in a significantly lower walk rate. The 28-year-old's incredible stretch of hitting has kept his OBP near career-high levels despite a lack of free passes, though that could be something to watch out for whenever he inevitably comes back down to Earth. Until then, he should act as a ratio booster while providing modest contributions toward counting stats. FAAB: $3