Playoff pickups: Work the waiver wire to win

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  Tristan H. CockcroftAug 31, 2026, 12:00 PM ET

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  Tristan H. Cockcroft is senior writer for fantasy baseball and football at ESPN. Tristan is a member of the FSWA Hall of Fame. He is also two-time LABR and four-time Tout Wars champion.

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The fantasy baseball playoffs are here, and with them comes the mad, four-week dash to the finish line. Good luck to everyone who qualified! In addition to my general strategic outline from Wednesday of what lies ahead, you should take a "today and what lies immediately ahead" viewpoint to how you view free-agent pickups.

Production in the short term is now the most important thing!

Today's column takes two different approaches to September pickups: Players who should help you over the entirety of September's schedule and then players to get you through this first playoff week.

Go-get-'em guys for the duration

Roman Anthony, OF, Boston Red Sox (61.0% rostered in ESPN leagues): At only 39% available, Anthony typically wouldn't make the cut for this column, but I'm making the exception due to his having just returned from a 117-day IL absence due to a torn tendon in his right hand, not to mention the fact that he should not be left out there in any leagues.

Yes, Anthony has now spent 53% of his big-league time on the IL since his June 9, 2025, debut, but he's still only 22 years old and this most recent issue could be classified as the "fluky" variety. Certainly it's too soon to give up on his massive potential, which to this point has seen him hit .276/.384/.424 in 102 games as a big-leaguer, while posting the third-highest hard hit rate (56.7%) among hitters with at least as many as his 437 trips to the plate. Anthony should regularly bat in the upper third of what's an underrated, potentially top 10 Red Sox lineup.

Mickey Moniak, OF, Colorado Rockies (28.3% rostered): Trivia time. Which regular Rockies hitter has the widest OPS split between home and road games? Oh, right, I've given you the answer first. It's Moniak, whose .997 OPS at Coors Field is 410 points higher than his rate on the road -- and it's not the first season in which he has done that, as his split was 266 points last season. He simply loves hitting in the thinner air in Denver. The good news is that the Rockies have the most remaining home games (16) in the league.

This week, the Rockies are scheduled to face four right-handers over their six games and the team's other three home series are against teams with predominantly right-handed rotations: the San Diego Padres (Sept. 14-17), Seattle Mariners (Sept. 18-20) and Arizona Diamondbacks (Sept. 22-24).

Cal Quantrill, SP/RP, Texas Rangers (18.6% rostered): How about some more trivia -- or reverse trivia? Over the past five weeks, which pitcher is the MLB leader in ERA? It's Quantrill, whose 1.49 mark bests the numbers posted by other greats Chris Sale (1.64), Cristopher Sanchez (1.72) and Dylan Cease (1.95). To think, Quantrill was inserted into the Rangers rotation only due to injuries to their more proven starters, but over the season's second half he has transformed into one of their most reliable hurlers, thanks in large part to near-perfect command of both his sinker and splitter.

He's someone the Rangers cannot bump from their starting five (or is it six?) even when Nathan Eovaldi returns from his elbow injury -- certainly not with an AL West title still within their sights. Plus, he's going to face one of the most favorable pitching schedules in the league the rest of the way.

Potential pickups just for the week ahead

Elmer Rodriguez, SP, New York Yankees (2.5% rostered): He could fit into either group and lands on this side only because of the Yankees' rotational depth. Max Fried's return to action on Saturday restored the team's original five-man arrangement, meaning Rodriguez isn't guaranteed starts beyond Monday. That said, the right-hander could prove useful -- perhaps even essential -- lightening young ace Cam Schlittler's workload should the team settle its playoff positioning early, while serving as a fallback to Fried, Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon, all of whom have missed time due to injury this season.

The Yankees have one of the most favorable remaining schedules for pitchers and Rodriguez, who pitched his first career quality start on that same day, is one of their more talented young pitching prospects. He'll get another turn on Monday in a brilliant, must-have matchup against the Los Angeles Angels, and we'll see where he's used from there.

Willi Castro, OF/1B/2B/3B/SS, Rockies (23.0% rostered): Another player who could safely settle into either of these groups, Castro fits more of the "handy plug-in" description and therefore is a player I'd much rather grab for his Coors games, free up for Week 23's road trip and scoop back up for that 11-day final home stand Sept. 14-24.

That he qualifies just about everywhere (OK, sorry, you'll simply have to find yourself a catcher elsewhere) is especially helpful, because at this advanced stage of the season, you've probably got an injury or roster opening to fill at one of those five eligible spots. Castro has also been excellent in his Coors Field games, batting .310/.362/.480 in 55 games there, representing a 173 point home/road OPS split.

Daulton Varsho, OF, Houston Astros (8.5% rostered): Here's a "hunch" pick based upon the schedule. Varsho hasn't done much to this point since his trade to the Astros, hitting only .180/.247/.315 over 24 games. He continues to provide excellent defense in center field, however, which continues to keep him in the lineup regularly, batting fifth against right-handed and sixth against left-handed starters.

This week, the Astros are projected to face nothing but righty starters, which is great news for a hitter whose OPS is 72 points higher against righties than lefties since the beginning of last season. With the three hitters slotted ahead of him in the order boasting .432, .356 and .311 on-base percentages -- OK, the latter number, Jose Altuve's, is a bit disappointing -- Varsho could be due for a big week in terms of run production.