Daily Waiver Report — Thursday, July 16, 2026

Alejandro Kirk is posting a .401 wOBA over the last seven days after sitting at a miserable .231 for the month prior, and at 22% ownership, he's the clearest grab-and-start on today's board. But before you stop there, the catcher position is absolutely loaded with emerging signals this morning — five catchers lit up our radar in the last 24 hours, which means the wire is about to get thin at a position that's been a wasteland all season.

Today's Top Adds

Alejandro Kirk (C, TOR) — 22% Owned

Kirk's plate discipline numbers have flipped entirely. His strikeout rate has cratered from 16.4% over 30 days to just 7.1% in the last week, while his walk rate has jumped from 8.2% to 14.3%. He's hitting .333 over his last five games with that .401 wOBA. This is vintage Kirk — the contact-over-everything approach that made him a fantasy asset in the first place. At 22% ownership with stable roster trends, the window is open right now. It won't stay that way if he strings together another week like this.

Trent Grisham (OF, NYY) — 46% Owned

Grisham is the rare waiver target who's backing up his surface stats with elite underlying quality. His exit velocity sits at 100.0 mph with a 73.3% hard-hit rate over the past week — that's legitimate damage. The wOBA has climbed from .341 to .382, he's cut his strikeout rate in half (10.5% vs. 23.1% over 30 days), and he's walking at a 10.5% clip. He's hitting .294 with a homer in five games. At 46% ownership he's still available in plenty of leagues, but he's the kind of player who jumps to 60%+ after one big weekend. Act before that happens.

Watch List

Garrett Whitlock (RP, BOS) — 21% Owned, Trending Up

A 0.00 ERA and 9 K/9 over his last five appearances with a 1.10 FIP. His strikeout rate has ticked up to 27.3% from 24.3% over 30 days. Whitlock is the only player on today's report with rising ownership (+2%), and the underlying metrics justify the move. If you need ratios and strikeouts from your RP slot, he's close to an add-now.

Yainer Diaz (C, HOU) — 41% Owned

The most violent contact on today's board: 108.5 mph exit velocity with a 100% hard-hit rate and a .465 wOBA over the last week. He's hitting .333 with a homer and has slashed his K rate from 15.6% to 7.7%. At 41% ownership, he's already rostered in competitive leagues, but if he's sitting on your wire, don't wait for a second week of confirmation.

Jackson Holliday (2B/SS, BAL) — 23% Owned

A .537 wOBA with a .500 batting average and a 28.6% walk rate over the past week. Holliday is getting on base at an absurd rate, and his K rate has dropped from 20.3% to 14.3%. Still an early signal — five games, no homers — but the plate discipline spike is the kind of foundational change that precedes sustained production. The fact that his ownership is actually cooling off (-2%) makes this a contrarian opportunity.

Henry Davis (C, PIT) — 0% Owned

Zero percent owned and posting a .533 wOBA with a .375 average, a homer, and an 18.2% walk rate against a 9.1% strikeout rate. The exit velocity (86.4 mph) and hard-hit quality (66.7%) aren't elite, so this is more approach-driven than power-driven. Still, at literally zero cost, he's worth a speculative add in deeper formats.

Austin Martin (2B/OF, MIN) — 1% Owned

A 40.0% walk rate in the last week is eye-popping, even in a tiny sample. Martin is posting a .452 wOBA and hitting .333 over five games. At 1% ownership this is purely a deep-league stash — monitor the walks to see if they normalize closer to his 17.9% 30-day mark or if this represents a genuine approach change.

Austin Wells (C, NYY) — 5% Owned

Wells has doubled his wOBA from .175 over 30 days to .348 in the last week, driven by two homers in five games despite a modest .200 batting average. The exit velocity (93.9 mph) and hard-hit rate (41.6%) are middling, which suggests the homers may be doing heavy lifting here. Watch for sustained contact quality before adding.

J.T. Realmuto (C, PHI) — 15% Owned

Realmuto's wOBA has surged from .308 to .451 over the last week on a .308 average with a homer. His K rate dropped from 26.8% to 20.0%. The name alone makes him a high-upside stash at 15% ownership — if this is the start of a second-half push, you want him on your roster before the wave hits.

Blaze Alexander (2B/3B/SS/OF, BAL) — 12% Owned

Alexander is swinging with authority: 101.4 mph exit velocity, 87.5% hard-hit rate, .357 average, and a .433 wOBA over five games. His K rate has dropped from 20.8% to 12.5%. The multi-position eligibility adds value, though his ownership has dipped 2% — the market is sleeping on this one. Solid watch in all formats.

Stream of the Day

No streaming-specific signals today — no pitching matchups triggered our thresholds. Check back tomorrow for weekend streaming options.

Ownership Movers

  • Garrett Whitlock (21%, +2%) is the only player on today's report with meaningful ownership gains, and the data backs it entirely. A 1.10 FIP with a rising K rate and zeroes on the ERA line — people are catching on, and they should be.
  • Yainer Diaz (41%, stable) is oddly flat despite elite exit velocity and hard-hit numbers. The 108.5 mph EV should be turning heads. This ownership stagnation won't last.
  • Austin Martin (1%, stable) and Austin Wells (5%, stable) remain near-invisible on the wire. Both have early signals worth monitoring, but the market hasn't moved yet — giving you time.
  • Henry Davis (0%, stable) is a ghost on waiver wires despite a .533 wOBA over the past week. Deep-league managers should be first movers here.

Quick Hits

  • Catcher flood: Five of today's 10 signals are catchers (Kirk, Diaz, Wells, Davis, Realmuto). If you've been punting the position, today's the day to stop.
  • Jackson Holliday's 28.6% walk rate over the last week is the highest among position players on today's board — even higher than Austin Martin's 30-day mark of 17.9%. The kid is seeing the ball.
  • Exit velocity king: Yainer Diaz's 108.5 mph average EV towers over every other hitter on today's report. Blaze Alexander (101.4 mph) and Trent Grisham (100.0 mph) round out the top three.
  • K-rate suppressors: Alejandro Kirk (7.1%) and Yainer Diaz (7.7%) are both running sub-8% strikeout rates over the last week. That kind of contact ability is the floor that sustains batting average.
  • Ownership disconnect: Henry Davis has the highest 7-day wOBA on the entire board (.533) and is rostered in exactly 0% of leagues. That's a market failure.