Each week during the season, the waiver wire presents new opportunities to improve your roster—and how you manage your FAAB budget can be just as important as who you add. In this weekly FAAB Report, we’ll break down the top waiver wire targets along with recommended bid ranges to help you stay aggressive where it matters while still managing your budget for the long haul.
Your first step… Well, okay, your second step, right after reading this article, is to head over and devour our updated Top 500 Dynasty Baseball Rankings for 2026.
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Week 4 MLB FAAB Report
Luke Raley (1B/OF – Seattle Mariners) – 48% Rostered
The Mariners offense has really flipped the switch lately, and unexpectedly leading the way has been Luke Raley, who checks a ton of boxes. He has been red hot lately, going 11 for his last 18 with two doubles, a triple, and a home run. He also has one of the prettiest early-season Baseball Savant percentile graphics, ranking 90th percentile or higher in almost every stat category.
His flaw is the swing and miss with a horrid 36% K rate, but with his slugging and multi-position eligibility, I think we can overlook it. His best value is in points leagues, but he is also viable in roto/category leagues, as well.
FAAB Suggestion: 5-8%
Jeremiah Jackson (2B/OF – Baltimore Orioles) – 46% Rostered
Jackson has seemingly come out of nowhere early in the 2026 season. After seven years in the minors with three different teams, he finally impressed the Orioles in AAA (.313/.343/.537 slash line) last year, earning himself a late-season call-up. Over 48 games, he was good, not great, with a .276/.328/.447 slash line and 116 wRC+. That, along with some early injuries, had him make the opening day roster.
He got off to a slow start but has heated up in a big way with hits in six straight, including four multi-hit efforts, two doubles, and four home runs. While he still strikes out just over 20% of the time and lacks patience at the plate, the advanced stats back up the strong start. Most notably, he is 80th percentile or better in xBA and xSLG and 70th percentile or better when looking at Barrel rate and Squared-up %. While he does hit down in the lineup, he comes with multi-position eligibility and should continue to remain in the lineup for the foreseeable future.
FAAB Suggestion: 3-5% in all formats
Ildemaro Vargas (2B – Arizona Diamondbacks) – 27% Rostered
He made the FAAB report last week and all he has done since is extend his hitting streak to 12 games to start the season. He has been a welcome addition to a team dealing with injuries as he has filled in for Ketel Marte at second and Pavin Smith at first base.
While he does sit with a very unsustainable .421 BABIP, Vargas has a lot going for him, including a .372 xBA, which leads the league (min 40 PA). He is a very tough out, sitting 80th percentile in both whiff rate (19.2%) and K rate (14.3%), which has seen him hit top-two in the lineup in four of his last six games. When Marte gets back in the field, Vargas will slide over to first again and will be multi-position eligible very soon. The opportunity was there, and he took advantage of it and is an excellent pickup in all formats.
FAAB Suggestion: 3-5% in all formats
Jack Kochanowicz (SP – Los Angeles Angels) – 33% Rostered
After a tough start against the Astros to start the season, Kochanowicz has been very serviceable and should be on our waiver radar this week for multiple reasons. I was going to include him last, but ended up in “wait and see” mode as he faced a strong Yankees lineup on Wednesday. While it wasn’t pretty, walking four and giving up three earned runs, he did add six strikeouts and a quality start for 12.7 fantasy points.
The Savant profile doesn’t scream upside, but he throws two fastballs, both north of 96 mph, and is 92nd percentile in fastball run. Both his four-seam fastball and changeup have also created a 26%+ K rate so there is hope he can get that overall K rate up in the mid 20’s.
He is very risky in roto leagues, but in points leagues, he brings a lot of value in the coming week as he gets two starts this upcoming week. He will face the Blue Jays and Royals at the right time, as they are both struggling and rank 25th/26th in runs scored so far in 2026.
FAAB Suggestion: In points leagues, I will spend up to 5%
Louis Varland (RP – Toronto Blue Jays) – 38% Rostered
Saves are hard to come by on the waiver, which forces us, at times, to make some speculative pickups based on performance or lack thereof. In this case, the Blue Jays closer Jeff Hoffman has struggled in the closer role, blowing three of five saves, and has an ugly 1.80 WHIP on the season. Varland, on the other hand, has been lights out, allowing no earned runs in his first 10 appearances with 16 strikeouts (39% rate) and just three walks. He has been getting more and more high-leverage innings, and if Hoffman keeps struggling, Varland is likely to be the first to get steady save opportunities.
Even if not closing, Varland brings value in multiple categories for roto/category leagues and consistently gets three to four appearances per week.
FAAB Suggestion: 1-2% in all formats
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