AL FAAB Factor: Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups

This is our weekly look at American League free agents. We have two goals for this article:

1. Identify likely free agents and discuss their strengths and weaknesses.
2. Estimate how much of your $100 starting free-agent budget you should bid on them.

We've incorporated grids into the FAAB articles, so users can easily see at a glance how certain players stack up against others and how much they should command in a variety of formats.

The grids, which are sortable by column (click on the header), include a very basic "player grade" column. This serves as a reflection of a player's upside on an A-E scale, prioritizing skills and talent above role and playing time outlook. Wyatt Langford would have been an "A" grade player last year – that mark will be reserved for similarly high-impact prospects that could thrive in an everyday role.

If there is a player that was not discussed in the article that you would like to know about, feel free to ask about the player in the comments or on our Discord.

Starting Pitcher

Shane Bieber, Blue Jays: It's still not official, but Bieber looks set to make his Blue Jays debut this coming weekend in Miami, potentially providing a massive boost to the team with the best record in the AL as well as fantasy rosters. I've been banging the stash drum on the righty for a while now, and he's probably rostered in all the leagues where he can be rostered, but just in case he's still out there, this is your final chance to get him at any kind of discount if he pitches well in his return to a big-league mound. In his presumably final rehab start Friday, Bieber tossed seven shutout innings for Triple-A Buffalo, and reports are that his velocity is back to 2022 levels. 12-team Mixed: $5; 15-team Mixed: $11; 12-team AL: $21

Kyle Bradish, Orioles: Bradish fanned nine over five scoreless innings in his most recent rehab start Thursday, but the O's will have him make one more before activating him. That schedule could land him right into a two-start week in next week's column, so getting the jump on a stash now makes a lot of sense. Bradish isn't an established big name the way Bieber is, but he's got a 2.81 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 9.56 K/9 over the last two seasons for the O's. 12-team Mixed: $3; 15-team Mixed: $7; 12-team AL: $15

Yoendrys Gomez, White Sox: The former Yankees prospect has had a roller coaster year. Gomez got DFA'ed by New York in April and claimed by the Dodgers, then pitched well while recording a three-inning save for his new squad before two disastrous relief appearances that got him DFA'd again. He tumbled all the way down to the White Sox this time, and when they DFA'd him in late May, no one else stepped up with a waiver claim and he stuck around at Triple-A Charlotte. All that rejection may have woken something up in the 25-year-old righty. Gomez posted a 2.12 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 64:21 K:BB over 46.2 innings for Charlotte, when he returned to the majors Tuesday to fill Chicago's open rotation spot, he fanned seven over five one-run, one-hit innings against the Tigers. Control has always been Gomez's biggest area to address, and while he issued just one walk against Detroit, he did plunk two batters, so that doesn't seem to be quite solved. He's got a deep arsenal – Statcast records him using seven different pitches in Tuesday's start – but he mainly relies on a four-seamer that was sitting in the mid-90s on Tuesday, along with a curve and sweeper. Gomez lines up for an intriguing two-step this week, on the road against a wildly inconsistent Atlanta squad and at home against the gutted Twins, so as dart throws go, he's got more upside than you might think. 12-team Mixed: $1; 15-team Mixed: $2; 12-team AL: $5

Cristian Javier, Astros: The 28-year-old right-hander made his season debut Monday with a solid outing against the Red Sox, allowing two runs with a 5:2 K:BB over five innings. He'll be back on the mound Sunday, giving him a chance to juice or suppress bidding on him with some tasty recency bias. Javier doesn't have the pure ceiling that someone like Bieber does, but he delivered a nearly Cy Young-caliber 2022 campaign (2.54 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 33.2 percent K rate over 148.2 innings) not that long ago, and he should be able to supply a half-dozen or so good starts down the stretch. 12-team Mixed: $5; 15-team Mixed: $11; 12-team AL: $21

Michael Lorenzen, Royals: After missing about six weeks with an oblique strain, Lorenzen rejoined the KC rotation Saturday for a stingy, if inefficient, four innings. The Royals need him in the rotation with Cole Ragans still only throwing bullpens and Kris Bubic done for the year, but Lorezen's ceiling is decidedly limited. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $3

Victor Mederos, Angels: The Halos seem to have finally given up on Jack Kochanowicz, but that leaves a hole in the rotation. Mederos, a sixth-round pick in 2022, earned his shot at filling it the hard way, by posting good numbers in the desert at Triple-A Salt Lake, which isn't the path the organization prefers for its "real" pitching prospects. The 24-year-old righty looks like a legit big-league arm, at least – over his last eight starts for Salt Lake he produced a 2.60 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and 39:16 over 45 innings, and he's been clocked as high as 99 mph with his two-seamer. There's significant bullpen risk if he can't find a reliable third pitch to add to his sinker/slider arsenal though, and in general he's had trouble with consistency dating back to college. Mederos is the kind of guy who could show up next spring with a workable changeup and everything suddenly falling into place, but he's more likely to keep bouncing between the minors and majors until eventually settling into a middle relief job somewhere. He gets a two-step this week – at home against the Reds and Cubs – but he's a very risky fantasy asset at this stage of his career. 12-team Mixed: $1; 15-team Mixed: $1; 12-team AL: $2

Luis Morales, Athletics: Speaking of risky and volatile, Morales has a 1.86 ERA and a 9:8 K:BB through his first 9.2 big-league innings. The 22-year-old right-hander has top-shelf stuff, combining a high-90s fastball with a slider, sweeper and changeup, and how well those secondary pitches come along will determine whether he has a future as a starter or a high-leverage reliever. I am a little concerned about his mechanics – he separates his hands early and gives hitters a looong look at the ball, but if his stuff is good enough, that won't matter too much. The A's have little reason not to audition him in the rotation the rest of the season, even once Luis Severino is healthy, but if he struggles over his next start or two, J.T. Ginn might get that spot in September instead while Morales heads back to the bullpen. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $2; 12-team AL: $5

Other two-start options, Mon-Sun (12-team Mixed: $1; 15-team Mixed: $1; 12-team AL: $1)

Via RotoWire's Probable Pitchers grid

Spencer Arrighetti, Astros (at DET, at BAL)
Jack Leiter, Rangers (at KC, vs. CLE)
Dustin May, Red Sox (vs. BAL, at NYY)

Relief Pitcher

Bryan Abreu, Astros: With Josh Hader not likely to pitch again until the playoffs, the closer job in Houston falls to Abreu. The right-hander has been lights out once again in a setup role – he's on pace to post a sub-2.00 ERA and strikeout rate north of 34 percent for the third time in the last four years – so his stuff won't be an issue. On Wednesday, Abreu picked up his first save since Hader went down, and there should be plenty more coming. 12-team Mixed: $15; 15-team Mixed: $25; 12-team AL: Rostered

Shawn Armstrong / Cole Winn, Rangers: The back of Texas' bullpen remains a mess. Robert Garcia has two losses and three blown saves (against zero successful conversions) in August with a 12.60 ERA. Phil Maton is turning back into a pumpkin, blowing two straight save chances and stumbling to a 7.36 ERA in 7.1 innings with the Rangers. In fact, there's only two relievers pitching well for the team right now, and simply by default, they'll probably get auditions as the closer soon enough. Armstrong had two saves back in May when Luke Jackson (remember him?) was struggling, and since the All-Star break the veteran righty has a 0.75 ERA and 15:2 K:BB in 12 innings. Winn is the younger, more exciting option, and the former starting prospect hasn't allowed a run since returning to the majors after the ASB, posting a 0.57 WHIP and 12:4 K:BB in 12.1 innings to go along with his pristine ERA during that span. Armstrong's probably the next man up in the ninth if manager Bruce Bochy pulls the plug on Garcia and Maton, but Winn might be the choice if Texas continues to fade out of the playoff race and looks for a potential long-term answer at closer. Armstrong – 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $1; 12-team AL: $3 / Winn – 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1

Dietrich Enns, Orioles: Apparently the O's see a market inefficiency in uninspiring lefties. While Keegan Akin remains the apparent top choice to close – completely understandable given his career 4.53 ERA and 1.31 WHIP in the majors – Enns got a save Thursday, because why not. To be fair, the 34-year-old does have a 2.16 ERA and 15:4 K:BB in 8.1 innings since coming over to Baltimore after being DFA'd by Detroit, and while he's been used more like a long man than a typical high-leverage reliever, his role could be changing. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $2

Sean Newcomb, Athletics: The A's closing situation also remains unsettled at best, and Newcomb got the team's first save in August on Saturday. It comes with a big asterisk though – he finished off the eighth inning protecting a 5-2 lead, and the save situation disappeared when the A's tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the frame, so Newcomb just stayed in for the ninth. Whether he would have worked the ninth in a closer contest is a valid question. Newcomb has been pitching well – he's got a 0.63 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and 18:3 K:BB over 14.1 innings since the All-Star break – and the 32-year-old has long had an arm that seemed destined for great things, if only he could find the plate with any consistency. He may have backed into Thursday's save, but there are no clearly better closing options in this 'pen right now. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $2; 12-team AL: $5

Catcher

Samuel Basallo, Orioles: Baltimore called up Dylan Beavers on Saturday, and Basallo was only one day behind him in getting promoted. The 21-year-old was slashing .283/.350/.609 since the beginning of July at Triple-A Norfolk with nine doubles and seven homers in 22 games, and while he won't steal much playing time away from Adley Rutschman behind the plate, there should be at-bats available for Basallo at first base and DH, especially with Coby Mayo sporting a .206/.308/.426 line since the All-Star break. Of all the top AL prospects expected to be called up over the next couple weeks, Basallo has by far the highest upside, even before his catcher eligibility gets factored in. 12-team Mixed: $11; 15-team Mixed: $21; 12-team AL: $35

Carter Jensen, Royals: A minor wrist injury this week may have slowed down any plans the Royals had to call Jensen up, but he went 3-for-4 with a homer in his return to the lineup at Triple-A Omaha on Saturday, so it seems fair to say the 22-year-old is just fine. He's not the prospect Basallo is (nobody is, really), but Jensen's situation is similar in that he's got a tenured veteran in Salvador Perez ahead of him on the depth chart, although Perez is the one more likely to shift to 1B or DH in any particular game. Jensen's still just a stash, and with Jac Caglianone closing in on a return there might be more competition for playing time by the time he's in the majors, but there's still a clear path to a regular spot for him. 12-team Mixed: $1; 15-team Mixed: $2; 12-team AL: $3

First Base

Jac Caglianone, Royals: Speaking of Cags, he kicked off a rehab stint with Triple-A Omaha on Tuesday and has gone 8-for-16 with two doubles and a homer. I think his hamstring's OK. Hits weren't falling in for him in his first look at big-league pitching, but that mostly seems like a whole lot of bad luck – his .153 BABIP in 161 plate appearances is countered by a max EV in the 91st percentile, a 42.2 percent hard-hit rate nestled between Pete Crow-Armstrong and Jackson Holliday on the young guns leaderboard, and a triple-digit gap between his wOBA (.216) and his xwOBA (.332). A monster finish to the season once he's activated wouldn't be a big surprise, and his current numbers should keep his price tag lower than it was when he first got called up. 12-team Mixed: $3; 15-team Mixed: $7; 12-team AL: $15

Luke Raley, Mariners: Raley came off the IL on Friday, but the Mariners' trade-deadline acquisitions don't leave an obvious path to playing time for him. He's likely to just be a bench bat the rest of the way in 2025 unless injuries hit guys like Josh Naylor or Jorge Polanco. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $2

Ben Rice, Yankees: Rice has been a regular in the lineup most of August, as Paul Goldschmidt hasn't done much to defend his spot at first base when the younger slugger hasn't been needed at catcher. Rice now has 21 games behind the plate, locking in his 2026 eligibility in most formats, but his bat offers plenty of redraft value as he's slashing .311/.373/.533 over 13 games this month with four doubles, two homers and 10 RBI – seven of them coming Saturday in a monster performance. If Goldy's knee ends up landing him on the IL, Rice's role just becomes that much more secure. There's little excuse for him to still be on the waiver wire at this point. 12-team Mixed: $5; 15-team Mixed: $11; 12-team AL: Rostered

Bob Seymour, Rays: Something of a late bloomer, Seymour slugged 30 homers in 105 games for Triple-A Durham this year to earn his first promotion to the majors Friday. The 26-year-old has gone 0-for-6 with four strikeouts in two games though, and he may not be the solution at 1B/DH while Jonathan Aranda remains sidelined. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1

Second Base

Andres Gimenez, Blue Jays: Gimenez came off the IL on Tuesday and has started four of five games since, collecting a hit in each game, but just one per day. The 26-year-old's primary value to the Blue Jays comes from his glove, and Ernie Clement gives the team a strong platoon partner for him, but Gimenez's occasional steals give him some deep-league value. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $3

Luis Rengifo, Angels: Rengifo's having his worst season since he became a lineup regular in 2022 and is likely headed elsewhere this winter as a free agent, so it's the most Angels thing ever that he's taking playing time away from one of the team's actual prospects in Christian Moore. Hey, they're only seven games out of the final wild-card spot with four teams to leapfrog, so you gotta play for the present, right? To Rengifo's credit, he has found his batting stroke since the All-Star break, slashing .294/.358/.447 over his last 24 games with three homers, three steals, eight RBI and 17 runs, so the Halos' organizational ineptitude could pay dividends for fantasy GMs in league where the 28-year-old utility player got cut loose. 12-team Mixed: $2; 15-team Mixed: $5; 12-team AL: Rostered

Third Base

Brett Harris, Athletics: The Sacramento Exiles, on the other hand, recognized that Gio Urshela was not part of the team's future, and after failing to find a taker for him at the trade deadline, the A's simply DFA'd him and opened up the third base job for Harris. (To be clear, I'm not suggesting the Angels kick Rengifo to the curb, because he might bring some draft pick compensation as a free agent, but nothing he does over the next six weeks is going to change his market this winter.) Harris wasn't exactly lighting it up at Triple-A Las Vegas, slashing .263/.300/.553 with three homers in 10 August contests, but the team has little to lose by giving him a look. Max Muncy the Younger still isn't hitting, but Jacob Wilson's return could bump Darell Hernaiz into the mix at the hot corner, so Harris will need to make an impact quickly to keep the job. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $2

Shortstop

Trey Sweeney, Tigers: With Matt Vierling back on the shelf and Parker Meadows not back yet, Javier Baez is needed in center field once again, pushing Sweeney back onto the big-league roster as shortstop depth. He's started five of seven games since his latest promotion, going3-for-16 with a double and four runs. Sweeney has shown some modest power-speed potential in the minors, but the main selling point here is regular playing time in a good offense. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $2

Tyler Tolbert, Royals: Kansas City's latest speed specialist has as many steals in August (six) as he does plate appearances. Tolbert won't fit on most rosters due to that lack of consistent playing time, but if you specifically need stolen bases and can afford to take zeros in the other counting categories from that lineup spot to get them, the 27-year-old offers a sneaky path to climbing the standings. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1

Cole Young, Mariners: The 22-year-old appears to have gotten his feet under him in the majors. Over his last 27 games dating back to July 8 – the most arbitrary of endpoints to be sure, but it is exactly one-sixth of a full 162-game season for what that's worth – Young has a .284/.424/.473 slash line with three homers, three steals, 12 runs and 12 RBI. Seattle's overall lineup improvement at the trade deadline is trickling down to the rookie who mainly hits ninth, and his recent numbers are worthy of a spot on most fantasy rosters. 12-team Mixed: $1; 15-team Mixed: $4; 12-team AL: Rostered

Outfield

Dylan Beavers, Orioles: Called up Saturday – the first day Baltimore could do so while still keeping his rookie eligibility for 2026 intact – Beavers got the start in right field and went 1-for-5 wit ha double and two strikeouts. The 24-year-old has top-of-the-order skills, slashing .304/.420/.515 over 94 games for Triple-A Norfolk with 18 homers and 23 steals, but he hit sixth Saturday and the O's won't immediately put that kind of pressure on him. Colton Cowser also returned from a concussion this weekend but Tyler O'Neill might not be back until September, giving Beavers a runway to establish himself before the competition for playing time becomes tougher. 12-team Mixed: $3; 15-team Mixed: $7; 12-team AL: $15

Evan Carter, Rangers: Out since Aug. 1 due to back trouble, Carter was activated from the IL on Wednesday and has looked 100 percent healthy, going 4-for-8 with a double, a walk and zero Ks in three games. He's another player whose poor early numbers still drag down his line to some extent, but since the beginning of June, Carter's slashing .266/.352/.420 over 162 MLB plate appearances with three homers, 10 steals, 19 RBI and 24 runs. If he can stay on the field, he could move the needle for you in stolen bases down the stretch. 12-team Mixed: $2; 15-team Mixed: $5; 12-team AL: Rostered

Jacob Melton, Astros: Melton returned to the majors at the beginning of the week but hasn't had any more success than he did in his first stint with Houston, starting three of the last four games in center field and going 2-for-11 with five strikeouts. The 24-year-old offers more upside than Chas McCormick or Taylor Trammell based on his minor-league numbers, but that hasn't translated to the top level yet. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $1; 12-team AL: $4

James Outman, Twins: With Alan Roden on the shelf, Outman will get a look on the strong side of a left-field platoon with Austin Martin. The former Dodger prospect has seen his career crater since a splashy first full big-league campaign in 2023 due to massive contact issues, and 19 Ks in 57 plate appearances for Triple-A St. Paul since coming the other way in the Brock Stewart trade doesn't offer much optimism that Outman has figured anything out. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1

Everson Pereira, Rays: Tampa's outfield is once again shorthanded, with Jonny DeLuca back on the IL and Josh Lowe now dealing with an oblique issue that the team is really, really hoping is only minor. Pereira was called up Monday and has started three of the last five games in center field, going 2-for-13 with eight Ks. The former Yankee prospect did have a career-high 19 homers in only 70 games this season for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, but he's posted contact rates consistently under 70 percent throughout his minor-league career, which ain't great. The most optimistic scenario is that the 24-year-old's bat speed and hard-hit rate carries him to an Adolis Garcia-like breakout at some point, but Garcia didn't get going with Texas until his age-28 season. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1

Bryce Teodosio, Angels: The 26-year-old's glove has earned him the starting spot in center field (although it might be more accurate to say that Jo Adell's defensive misadventures once again cost him that job), but Teodosio has contributed at the plate as well since his promotion, batting .294 (10-for-24) in his first 12 MLB games this season with four doubles, three steals and six runs. Those numbers come with a 1:13 BB:K though, so the bottom could fall out at any time, but as long as he's playing consistently, Teodosio should at least be able to chip in with some steals. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $1; 12-team AL: $4

Colby Thomas, Athletics: After an ice-cold start to his big-league career, Thomas might be thawing out. The 24-year-old is batting .345 (10-for-29) in August with three homers, two steals, seven runs and 11 RBI over 11 games, moving out of a short-side platoon role to see more consistent playing time between right field and center field. Denzel Clarke had a setback this week in his recovery from a hip injury and JJ Bleday has faded back into the woodwork after his six-RBI performance against the Nats on Aug. 5, so the path appears to be clear for Thomas to claim a full-time job if he keeps raking. 12-team Mixed: $1; 15-team Mixed: $4; 12-team AL: $9