It's the final week of the Fantasy season, and there's very little chance you're going to win or lose your season based on who you add on the waiver wire this week. But you might have some holes to fill in your lineup, and we're here to help you find the best options.
There is going to be a lot of overlap here in this final week waiver-wire column with Scott White's Week 27 sleeper hitters and sleeper pitchers, because all that matters is the impact a player can make this week. At least, that's the case for those of you in redraft leagues.
For those of you in keeper or Dynasty leagues, it's worth scouring your waiver-wire for some forgotten players who might be worth keeping around with an eye on 2025. Depth isn't going to matter after this week, so if you have a few players you know you won't want to hang on to for 2025 sitting around on the bench, you should be putting in some last-week bids on players you might want to keep around for 2025, so in addition to a target for every position for the final week, I've included a stash candidate to consider at every position with an eye on 2025 who might be available in some of your leagues.
Here's we're looking to add ahead of Week 27:
Catchers
Hunter Goodman, Rockies (14%) – The Rockies play every game at home this week, so you're going to see a few Rockies here. Goodman has been playing decently lately, so the hope is he'll start at least four games this week, and his two homers last week show you the upside here.
Stash? Edgar Quero, White Sox – Any young player with any interesting skills is going to have a chance to play for the White Sox next season, and Quero is a 21-year-old catching prospect hitting .281/.368/.467 across Double-A and Triple-A this season. He hasn't shown any elite tools necessarily, but it's a very strong overall skill set, and Guero should have a chance to make the Opening Day roster.
First Base
Andrew Vaughn, White Sox (41%) – Vaugh is closing the season on a relative high note, hitting .323/.373/.581 in September entering Sunday, and he's got four lefties projected to start against him this week, which should bode well.
Stash? Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Reds – Encarnacion-Strand never really got going before having wrist surgery, but he should still have an everyday job in 2025 and hit 33 homered between Triple-A and the Majors last season. He'll be a late-round sleeper for 2025, for sure.
Second base
Brendan Rodgers, Rockies (36%) – Again, the Rockies play every game at home this week, and Rodgers is hitting .328/.384/.500 there, so this one feels pretty obvious.
Stash? Luis Rengifo, Angels – Rengifo's wrist injury ended his season after just 78 games, but he was hitting .300/.347/.417 with a 12-homer, 48-steal pace. He sure looked like a must-start Roto option, at least.
Third base
Paul DeJong, Royals (24%) – It looks like the Royals may face four left-handed pitchers this week, which should hopefully give DeJong a few more opportunities if you need some cheap power this week.
Stash? Austin Riley, Braves – Riley had a disappointing season even before the hand injury that ended his regular season, but he also had an .870 OPS and 38-homer pace from June 1 on before the injury, so I don't really worry about that. He should be a third-rounder at worst next season.
Shortstop
Jacob Wilson, Athletics (20%) – The hope here is just that Wilson can get hot over the final week thanks to his contact-heavy approach – despite struggling overall, he has struck out just nine times in 22 games, so that talent has translated, at least.
Stash? Jordan Lawlar, Diamondbacks – Injuries have remained an issue for Lawlar, who has played just 141 games over the past two seasons. But he'll still be just 22 with a very strong track record in the high minors, and that's a profile worth betting on.
Outfield
Parker Meadows, Tigers (35%) – Meadows had a couple more multi-hit games last week and is hitting .294/.337/.506 since coming back from the IL in early August for the streaking Tigers. He's a must-start player at least in every category-based league.
Michael Toglia, Rockies (50%) – You heard me the first couple of times, right? The Rockies are playing all of their games at home, and while Toglia has actually been slightly better away from Coors, he's still worth using there.
Victor Robles, Mariners (38%) – Robles now has 12 multi-hit games in his last 20 starts, with 13 steals in that span. He's been fighting through a hand injury lately, but was in the lineup Sunday and should be good for this week.
Stash? Roman Anthony, Red Sox – Anthony has emerged as arguably the top prospect in baseball, hitting .352/.469/.531 in 34 games as a 20-year-old in Triple-A this season. We talked about his Fantasy upside on Friday's Fantasy Baseball Today podcast, and he should have a chance to break into the Red Sox Opening Day lineup next week.
Starting pitcher
Cody Bradford, Rangers (59%) – Bradford bounced back from one of his few subpar outings in his last start, and as long as he keeps the ball in the yard, he has shown he can be very effective. And that's just what he did in his previous outing against the A's back in August. Expect more of the same.
Tobias Myers, Brewers (71%) – I haven't really believed in Myers' breakout season, but he's one of the few viable streamers with two-starts this week, which kicks off with a nice matchup against the Pirates, so he's a fine option here.
Zack Littell, Rays (46%) – Littell is pretty close to a must-start option in points leagues with his SPaRP eligibility, but even in Roto leagues, I don't mind him against the Tigers – he hasn't allowed a run in his past 18 innings of work.
Eduardo Rodriguez, Diamondbacks (61%) – Rodriguez is coming off his best start of the season, and his second-best start might have been the one just before that. His matchups this week are middling (vs. SF, vs. SD), but in a week with few great options, he's a decent one.
Stash? Sandy Alcantara, SP, Marlins – Alcantara recently threw off a mound for the first time in his recovery from Tommy John surgery, and should have no problem being ready for Opening Day at this point. He regressed from his Cy Young campaign, but was still an above-average pitcher with volume few pitchers can match, and I do expect a bounce back in 2025.
Relief pitcher
Luke Weaver, Yankees (30%) – The Yankees haven't officially declared Weaver their closer, but he is the only player with multiple saves since Clay Holmes was removed from the job and could get a couple more this week if you're chasing the category.
Stash? Ben Joyce, Angels – Joyce's season ended with a shoulder impingement in mid-September, but he emerged as the team's closer after the trade deadline, putting up a 2.08 ERA with 33 strikeouts in 34.2 innings of work on the season. He's not quite as dominant as you would expect, given his nearly unparalleled velocity, but he should enter 2025 as the team's top option in the back end of the bullpen and is certainly a closer breakout candidate.
