Daily Waiver Report — Tuesday, July 28, 2026

Christian Encarnacion-Strand is mashing at a .542 wOBA over the past seven days and sits at just 15% ownership — if you need corner infield help, stop reading and go add him right now before we get into the rest.

Today's Top Adds

Christian Encarnacion-Strand (1B/3B, BAL) — 15% owned

CES has been one of the hottest hitters in baseball over the past week: a .409 average, 3 home runs, and that absurd .542 wOBA across 25 plate appearances. That wOBA is up from an already-strong .479 over 30 days, and his walk rate has ticked up to 8.0% from 6.7%, suggesting improved plate discipline rather than just BABIP luck. Ownership has surged 15 percentage points in the last seven days, which tells you sharper leagues are already moving. In shallower formats, he's still sitting there. The dual eligibility at first and third adds roster flexibility. This is a priority add.

Chase Meidroth (2B/3B/SS, CWS) — 27% owned

Meidroth's .423 wOBA over the past week represents a significant jump from his .345 mark over 30 days, powered by a .350 average and a homer across 23 plate appearances. The triple positional eligibility at second, third, and short makes him an extremely flexible roster piece. At 27% owned, he's more widely available than he should be given the production. Five games is a solid enough sample to act on, especially when the underlying contact quality aligns with the surface stats.

Watch List

Austin Wells (C, NYY) — 5% owned

The signal that jumped off the screen: a .613 wOBA over the past week, up from .275 over 30 days. Wells is hitting .500 with a homer, his strikeout rate has plummeted from 24.1% to 9.1%, and his walk rate has nearly doubled to 18.2%. This is early — only 5 games — but a catcher showing elite plate discipline at 5% ownership deserves your attention. If he's still doing this in three days, he becomes an immediate add in all formats.

Hao-Yu Lee (2B/3B, DET) — 3% owned

Lee put up a .526 wOBA with a .409 average and 2 homers across 24 plate appearances. His strikeout rate dropped to 12.5% from 17.6% while his walk rate rose to 8.3% from 5.9%. That's the profile change you want to see — more contact, more patience, and the power is showing up. This is a solid sample with consistent playing time. He's creeping toward add territory.

Cooper Pratt (SS, MIL) — 6% owned

A .554 wOBA over the past week is eye-popping, driven by a .500 average and 2 homers. His strikeout rate dipped to 15.8% from 17.3% over 30 days. The 30-day wOBA of .346 suggests he was already producing at a league-average clip before this breakout. Ownership has ticked up 2% — still very early. The sample is small, so this stays on the watch list for now, but the underlying trend in his K-rate gives the hot streak some credibility.

Jeff McNeil (1B/2B/OF, ATH) — 4% owned

McNeil's .483 wOBA over the past week is a massive leap from his .294 over 30 days. He's hitting .412 with a homer, and his walk rate has improved from 3.7% to 5.6%. The veteran knows how to hit — the question is always health and playing time. At 4% ownership, he's essentially free. Worth monitoring for another few days.

Jacob Young (OF, WSH) — 2% owned

Young is riding a .424 wOBA (up from .336 over 30 days) with a .389 average and a homer. At 2% owned, he's a deep-league flier if the production sustains. Still an early signal.

Tyler Locklear (1B, AZ) — 1% owned

A .399 wOBA over both 7 and 30 days with consistent playing time (20 PA in 7 days) makes Locklear interesting. He's hitting .312 with a homer. The stability of that wOBA — .399 vs .398 — actually signals sustainability rather than a hot streak. Deep-league add if you need first base help.

Garrett Cleavinger (RP, TB) — 10% owned

A 0.00 ERA with a 40.0% strikeout rate and a 1.43 FIP over the past week. That K-rate is up from 34.1% over 30 days. If you're chasing ratios and strikeouts from your bullpen spots, Cleavinger is doing exactly what you need. Still an early signal, but the underlying stuff — reflected in that FIP — is legitimate.

Nick Loftin (2B/3B/OF, KC) — 1% owned

Loftin has posted a .420 wOBA with a .391 average and a homer across 25 plate appearances, up from .318 over 30 days. The multi-position eligibility and consistent playing time make him a sneaky deep-league option.

Stream of the Day

No streaming-specific signals emerged from today's data — no pitching matchup plays or one-week rentals triggered our thresholds. Check back tomorrow for Wednesday streaming options. In the meantime, if you need bullpen help, Garrett Cleavinger's 40.0% K-rate and 1.43 FIP make him the closest thing to a streaming play on today's board.

Ownership Movers

  • Christian Encarnacion-Strand (BAL): 15% owned, up 15 points in 7 days. Entirely justified. A .542 wOBA with 3 homers and improved walk rate — this ownership spike is catching up to the production, not getting ahead of it.
  • Cooper Pratt (MIL): 6% owned, up 2 points. The early movers are nibbling. A .554 wOBA will accelerate that trend quickly if it holds through the week.
  • Tyler Locklear (AZ): 1% owned, up 1 point. Barely registering, but the stable .399 wOBA over both 7 and 30 days suggests this could quietly build.
  • Jacob Young (WSH): 2% owned, no significant movement yet. The .424 wOBA hasn't caught the public's eye. Could be your window.
  • Jeff McNeil (ATH): 4% owned, stable. His .483 wOBA over the past week hasn't moved the needle on ownership yet — the .294 over 30 days is probably scaring people off. That's the opportunity.

Quick Hits

  • Austin Wells's strikeout rate collapse — from 24.1% over 30 days to 9.1% over the past week — is the single most dramatic plate discipline shift in today's data. Paired with a walk rate jump from 9.3% to 18.2%, this looks like a mechanical or approach adjustment, not noise. Catcher is always shallow. Pay attention.
  • Hao-Yu Lee is the only Watch List player showing improvement across all three key indicators: wOBA up, strikeout rate down, walk rate up — and he has 24 PA of playing time to back it up. At 3% owned, he's the watch-lister closest to an upgrade to "add."
  • Garrett Cleavinger's 1.43 FIP stands out as the best reliever mark on today's board. Combined with a 40.0% K-rate and a clean 0.00 ERA over the past week, he's a strong holds/ratios play that 90% of leagues are ignoring.
  • Today's data features zero pitcher streaming signals — a rarity that suggests either a light schedule or a lack of exploitable matchups on the mound. Lean into hitting adds today and revisit pitching tomorrow.
  • Chase Meidroth's 2B/3B/SS eligibility makes him one of the most flexible adds available. In formats where positional scarcity matters, that alone moves him up draft boards even before you factor in the .423 wOBA.