Weekly Waiver Wire Roundup — Monday, August 31, 2026

Eighty rising signals lit up the board this past week, and the single most actionable takeaway is this: Connor Norby is the best add in fantasy baseball right now, pairing a .459 wOBA with 95.2 mph exit velocity and multi-position eligibility in a Coors Field lineup. If you're reading this and he's still available, stop reading and go get him. For everyone else, this week's roundup is loaded with high-upside bats flashing real signals — the kind backed by hard-hit data, plate discipline improvements, and consistent playing time that separates sustainable breakouts from noise.

Top 5 Adds of the Week

Connor Norby (1B/2B/3B, COL) — 12% Owned (+11% 7d)

Norby is the week's top signal and it's not particularly close. His .459 wOBA over the past seven days represents a jump from an already-strong .405 over 30 days, suggesting this isn't a flash — it's acceleration. The underlying quality metrics confirm it: 62.5% hard-hit rate and 95.2 mph average exit velocity across 27 plate appearances. He slashed .348 with 2 home runs in 5 games, and the triple positional eligibility at 1B/2B/3B gives him immense lineup flexibility. Ownership surged 11 points this week but at just 12%, there's still a window. Playing half his games at Coors Field sweetens everything.

Tim Tawa (1B/2B/3B/OF, AZ) — 17% Owned (+7% 7d)

Tawa's profile this week is all about the plate discipline transformation. His strikeout rate cratered from 22.2% over 30 days to just 8.0% over the past seven, while his walk rate climbed from 5.6% to 8.0%. That discipline overhaul is driving real results — a .396 wOBA, .348 average, and a home run across 25 plate appearances. The four-position eligibility across both infield corners and the outfield makes him a plug-and-play asset in deeper leagues, and the Arizona lineup provides a favorable offensive context.

Spencer Jones (OF, NYY) — 18% Owned (+7% 7d)

The Yankees' toolsy outfielder is making the loudest noise of any outfield add this week. Jones posted a scorching .479 wOBA — a massive spike from his .343 mark over 30 days — hitting .381 with 2 home runs across 23 plate appearances in 5 games. The 7-point ownership jump reflects growing awareness, but at 18% he remains widely available. Jones' profile has always been about raw power and projection; the question was when it would click. This week's data suggests the answer may be now.

Javier Sanoja (2B/3B/SS/OF, MIA) — 13% Owned (+7% 7d)

Sanoja leads the entire top-5 in both batting average (.409) and wOBA (.487) over the past seven days, mashing 2 home runs in 23 plate appearances. The jump from a .346 30-day wOBA to .487 is dramatic, and the four-position eligibility — including shortstop — is a roster construction dream. At 13% ownership in a Miami lineup that doesn't generate much buzz, Sanoja is being overlooked by the masses. The signal quality here is strong; don't wait for the ownership to catch up.

Kaelen Culpepper (SS, MIN) — 12% Owned (+6% 7d)

Culpepper rounds out the top 5 with arguably the most well-rounded signal profile of the group. His .449 wOBA (up from .386 over 30 days) is backed by a declining strikeout rate — 17.4% versus 23.8% — and 91.9 mph exit velocity. He hit .364 with 2 home runs in 23 plate appearances, providing legitimate power from the shortstop position, which remains one of fantasy's thinnest spots. Minnesota's lineup has been productive, and Culpepper's everyday role (23 PA in 5 games) looks secure.

Biggest Risers in Ownership

Connor Norby led all players with an 11-point ownership surge to 12%, the largest jump of the week. As detailed above, every metric justifies the rush — this is real.

Tim Tawa (+7% to 17%), Spencer Jones (+7% to 18%), and Javier Sanoja (+7% to 13%) all posted identical 7-point gains but remain under 20% owned. All three are backed by strong wOBA signals north of .396 and consistent playing time of 23+ plate appearances. The pickups are justified by the data — these aren't empty batting average spikes.

Kaelen Culpepper rose 6 points to 12%, the smallest gain among the top risers but arguably the most sustainable profile given his strikeout rate improvement and positional scarcity at shortstop. If you're in a league where these players are still sitting on waivers, you're in a league where you should be winning.

Buy Low Candidates

This is where the next wave lives — players whose ownership hasn't moved but whose underlying data is screaming. The buy-low tier this week is unusually deep.

Christian Encarnacion-Strand (1B/3B, BAL) — 12% Owned

CES might be the most compelling buy-low on this entire list. His 83.3% hard-hit rate and 99.5 mph exit velocity are elite-tier Statcast numbers, and his .440 wOBA over the past week (up from .307 over 30 days) suggests the results are starting to match the quality of contact. He hit .381 with a home run in 21 plate appearances. At 12% ownership with just a 2-point rise, the market is sleeping on a player hitting the ball as hard as almost anyone on this list.

Héctor Rodríguez (OF, CIN) — 2% Owned

Rodríguez posted a .580 wOBA with 3 home runs, an 80% hard-hit rate, and 100.6 mph exit velocity in 21 plate appearances this week. Those are video-game numbers sitting at 2% ownership. The wOBA jumped from .313 over 30 days, and his strikeout rate also ticked down from 21.8% to 19.0%. This is a must-watch who could be a must-add by next Monday.

Brady House (3B, WSH) — 2% Owned

House's surface stats (.263 AVG) don't pop, but underneath the hood this is one of the cleanest skill profiles in the buy-low tier. His strikeout rate dropped from 28.3% to 18.2%, his walk rate rose from 7.6% to 9.1%, and he's hitting the ball at 96.1 mph with a 58.3% hard-hit rate. The .346 wOBA across 22 plate appearances is solid, and the plate discipline gains are the kind of leading indicator that precedes a real breakout.

Angel Martínez (2B/OF, CLE) — 9% Owned

Martínez flashed a .403 wOBA with a strikeout rate decline from 20.5% to 13.6% and a walk rate jump from 3.6% to 9.1%. That discipline transformation across 22 plate appearances, paired with a home run and .316 average, makes him a sneaky addition in leagues that value on-base skills. Cleveland lineups have a way of quietly producing fantasy value.

Andrés Chaparro (1B, WSH) — 2% Owned

Chaparro's strikeout rate was nearly halved — from 19.2% to 10.5% — while his walk rate climbed to 15.8%. A 71.7% hard-hit rate and 95.1 mph exit velocity back a .410 wOBA, even though his .267 average doesn't grab headlines. He's a patient hitter making hard contact at a ghost-town 2% ownership. The power output (1 HR in limited PA) may understate what the quality-of-contact data is forecasting.

Edmundo Sosa (2B/3B/SS/OF, PHI) — 1% Owned

The small-sample caveats apply here, but Sosa's numbers this week are almost absurd: a .693 wOBA, .556 average, 100% hard-hit rate, and 108.5 mph exit velocity. Those are early-signal numbers across 5 games, so treat this as a speculative stash rather than a confident add. But hitting the ball that hard in the Philadelphia lineup deserves a roster spot in deeper formats while you monitor whether this sustains.

Drew Gilbert (OF, SF) — 1% Owned

Gilbert quietly posted a .443 wOBA with 2 home runs, a 62.5% hard-hit rate, and 98.6 mph exit velocity across 23 plate appearances. The playing time is there and the contact quality is legit. At 1% ownership, he's essentially free.

Ezequiel Tovar (SS, COL) — 33% Owned

Tovar is the highest-owned player in the buy-low tier and for good reason — his .605 wOBA this week is the highest among all players flagged, driven by an 8.3% strikeout rate (down from 22.5%), a 16.7% walk rate, and 97.7 mph exit velocity. At 33% ownership with no movement, he may have been dropped during a cold stretch. If he's on your league's wire, this is a premium add masquerading as a buy-low. The early-signal tag (small sample within the week) is the only caution flag.

Colton Cowser (OF, BAL) — 4% Owned

Cowser's .532 wOBA is paired with a strikeout rate that dropped from 31.7% to 21.4% and a 75% hard-hit rate at 94.4 mph. He hit .462 with a home run in the Baltimore lineup. At 4% ownership, the market is treating him as an afterthought — the data says otherwise.

Other names worth monitoring:

  • Sean Murphy (C, ATL): .521 wOBA, .429 AVG, 66.7% hard-hit rate — a catcher producing these numbers at 1% ownership is a league-winning pickup if the playing time holds.
  • Blaze Jordan (3B, STL): .440 wOBA with a 100% hard-hit rate and 99.4 mph EV. The contact quality is premium.
  • Nick Loftin (2B/3B/OF, KC): .426 wOBA with a 15.4% walk rate and 26 PA of consistent playing time.
  • Tommy White (1B/3B, ATH): Modest .298 wOBA but a 66.7% hard-hit rate, 92.4 mph EV, and declining strikeout rate across a solid 26 PA. A patience play.
  • Zac Veen (OF, COL): Walk rate surged from 9.1% to 20.0% while strikeouts dropped from 39.4% to 30.0%. The Coors context adds upside if the approach sticks.

Position Scarcity Report

This week's 80 signals broke down heavily toward the outfield and the bullpen. Outfield (OF) led all positions with 17 signals, making it the deepest position on the wire — managers looking for OF help have plenty of options, from Spencer Jones to Drew Gilbert to Héctor Rodríguez. If you need an outfielder, this is the week to be aggressive.

Relief pitching (RP) generated 14 signals — the second-highest total — with names like Ryne Stanek, Mason Miller, Cade Smith, and Josh Hader appearing across the signal landscape. The additional SP/RP (4 signals) and P (4 signals) categories add further pitching depth.

Catcher is the week's quiet winner with 7 signals, which is unusual wire depth for the position. Sean Murphy, Tyler Stephenson, and Yainer Diaz all appeared, giving managers rare flexibility at fantasy's most barren position.

First base produced 5 standalone signals plus additional multi-eligibility overlap, while shortstop was notably thin with just 2 pure SS signals — Kaelen Culpepper and Ezequiel Tovar. If either is available, the positional scarcity alone makes them priority pickups. Third base was similarly sparse with only 2 standalone signals, though multi-position players like Connor Norby and Tim Tawa fill those gaps nicely. Second base had just 1 pure signal, reinforcing that middle infield remains the tightest part of the wire heading into September.

Looking Ahead

With September callups potentially just days away, next week's wire could get chaotic fast. Keep a close eye on the buy-low candidates flagged here — players like Héctor Rodríguez, Colton Cowser, and Brady House whose underlying metrics are leading their surface stats. The contact quality and plate discipline improvements we're seeing across this week's signals are exactly the kind of leading indicators that precede September surges. Be proactive, not reactive — by the time these players hit 20% ownership, the edge is gone.