Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Week of July 13

All-Star week is an interesting time in the fantasy baseball calendar, as games pause for four days to allow the season’s best players to be put on a stage. This break allows for you to take some time away from finding streamers and shift your focus to making trades or diving into the waiver wire.

Most leagues only have six more weeks of matchups before their playoffs start, making every move to your roster that much more crucial. Don’t fret, we are here today to provide you with five players who we think could boost your lineup and help get you through the rest of the season.

Ownership percentages via ESPN.

Curtis Mead – 1B/3B – Washington Nationals (10%)

2026 Stats: .247/.341/.502, 17 HR, 5 SB, 131 wRC+

After bouncing around last year, Mead has finally found a home in Washington and is showing what once made him a top prospect. The power (.255 ISO) is more than double what we saw in previous years, and he’s also posting the best walk rate and strikeout percentage of his young career. Everyday playing time certainty helps his value, too.

The Nationals have been one of the most intriguing teams, and their offense is clicking. Mead being in the three hole has helped his run production with James Wood and Luis García Jr. hitting above him. I don’t view this as simply a hot stretch but more as a talented player who is finally figuring it out since getting regular reps.

What’s more, positional flexibility only adds to the value.

Jared Jones – SP – Pittsburgh Pirates (11.5%)

2026 Stats: 35 IP, 4.37 ERA, 3.67 FIP, 10.03 K/9, 2.83 BB/9

The hype around Jones dwindled after missing 2025 due to injury and with Paul Skenes stealing the Pittsburgh headlines his name feel to the back burner. The first start was ugly upon his return, and the next few were a mixed bag.

However, his previous four starts have shown more signs of life, especially his last two where he only allowed two hits and one run at Philadelphia followed by six hitless innings with eight punchouts against the Braves.

Jones’s velocity is still there, and his 32.7% whiff rate combined with a 27% strikeout rate make him one of the highest upside arms left on the waiver wire.

The Pirates are playing pretty good baseball and will look to add at the deadline giving him more opportunities for wins. If you need a starter to go the rest of the way and not just to be used as a streamer, I’d start with Jones.

Esmerlyn Valdez – OF – Pittsburgh Pirates (28.6%)

2026 Stats: .309/.371/.713, 10 HR, 186 wRC+

The first 100 plate appearances of Valdez’s career have been electric and filled with cautious optimism. The power numbers have been so insane that keeping anything close to that pace will be impossible. A 37.9% whiff rates and 36.2% strikeout rate make for a dangerous pair that could cause for a nose dive at any moment.

Yes, this sounds like a player many will tell you to avoid, and I understand why. But Valdez is making it work and not just off punishing heaters. He has half his home runs off breaking balls. While I’m cautious, I also want to find out how long the hot streak can go and am willing to do so with him in my lineup.

Ezequiel Duran – UTL – Texas Rangers (23.8%)

2026 Stats: .270/.324/.436, 10 HR, 7 SB, 112 wRC+

Duran is looking closer to his 2023 version, where his numbers looked very similar to this year’s production. The only difference is he is now pacing for more home runs and stolen bases, helping bump his value a little more in the fantasy space.

The true value of this pick up is versatility. He’s eligible in two outfield spots, shortstop, second base, and third base, making him the perfect bench piece to fill in for a short-term injury or off day. If you missed out on Casey Schmidt as the super-utility chess piece, Duran can be the discount version of that player.

Robert Gasser – SP – Milwaukee Brewers (6%)

2026 Stats: 46.1 IP, 5.24 ERA, 5.28 FIP, 8.35 K/9, 2.72 BB/9

Fair or not, I’m going to over value Milwaukee pitchers until they prove there’s not some kind of magic going on in their pitching lab.

Gasser was a former top prospect who has landed in Milwaukee and started to find a groove. Since allowing six runs in the minor league park in Sacramento, Gasser was much better in his next four starts, pitching with an ERA in the mid-2.00s while posting strong strikeout-to-walk ratios.

While he got blitzed by the Pirates’ offense in his final start before the All-Star beak, there’s still a lot of intrigue with his profile. Likewise, he should have a solidified spot in the rotation following some injuries to Milwaukee’s pitching staff.

While the swing-and-miss numbers might not be as high as you would like, he’s generally going a good job of limiting hard contact with a 30.2% hard-hit rate and a 7.2% barrel rate. Pitching to soft contact and going deep into games is his value, which is perfectly fine this late in the fantasy season.