Waiver Wire Targets: Week 10
A look ahead at some waiver wire targets for the upcoming week
No podcast this week as the other Jon getting on the road for some vacation time. But waiver wires never go on vacation, so here are some interesting choices for the week ahead.
Plus, the next two weeks will have a couple tweaks. With the season now a third of the way done, it’s time to focus on some buy low/sell high opportunities as the trade season picks back up for the “going for it” and “building for the future” dynasty baseball owners.
Shallow League Pitcher Targets
Jared Jones, Pirates - Back from Tommy John internal brace surgery, Jones brings a nasty fastball-slider-changeup combination that allowed him to post loud strikeout rates in the minors and his one MLB season in 2024. He may need a month to get back into the swing of things in the majors, but he should be the Pirates No. 3 starter soon in 2026.
Gage Jump, Athletics - Hard-throwing lefty prospect made his MLB debut this week and it went .. well, not so great. Nine hits and a walk with four earned runs over five innings. There were five strikeouts. And that is likely to be Jump’s strength in 2026. The showing also might drive his price back down to an accessible level.
Stephen Kolek, Royals: Yeah, we all knew he was going to throw his first MLB shutout against the Mariners over the weekend. The 29-year-old could be the next late pitcher breakout? His 14.3% K-rate this season says that outcome is highly unlikely. But he probably is a streaming option with good matchups for the rest of 2026 (or until Kris Bubic returns from injury).