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Joshua Baez
STL St. Louis • #22 • Age: 23
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We knew Joshua Baez was putting up massive power numbers at Triple-A, and we knew he’d be arriving soon.
Nothing could have prepared us for how that debut would go, though. It was unlike any to ever come before it.
Just in case you were completely tuned out of baseball this weekend and missed the seismic news, the 23-year-old outfielder homered not just in his first at-bat, not just in his second at-bat, but in each of his first three at-bats Saturday at Cubs. It was the first three-homer debut in history, and here’s what it looked like:
3 home runs in his first 3 Major League at-bats 😤
Did Joshua Báez put on the best MLB debut EVER?! pic.twitter.com/P43Qi4d4cn
— MLB (@MLB) August 15, 2026
Now for the bad news: Baez’s performance sent such shockwaves through the Fantasy Baseball world that he’s already out of reach in typical CBS Sports leagues, his roster rate jumping from 45 percent to 81 percent — i.e., too high for me to feature him in a Waiver Wire article. Maybe if you play on one of those lesser platforms, you still have a shot at him, but, well … I write for CBS.
Ah, but should all these people be adding him when he had such pronounced swing-and-miss issues at Triple-A? Not only was he striking out at a 30 percent rate there, but his zone contact rate was just 78 percent, which would rank fourth-to-last among major league qualifiers. Word is that he’s struggled to catch up to high heat, and he’s still untested as far as that goes. After all, his three home runs all came off soft-tossing Matthew Boyd.
Oh, shut up, nerd! Who are you to argue with history? Baez’s three home runs Saturday give him a total of 37 in just 105 games this year. Prorated over 162 games, that’s 57 home runs. After a debut that loud by a player this talented, there isn’t anything to think about. You take the shot and see what happens next. Breaking down the data at a time like this is the height of hubris. Not a one of us could possibly know what Baez will do next.
But since in all likelihood, he’s already someone else’s for better or worse, perhaps you should turn your attention to some of the other prospects who might be up soon now that we’re inside of 45 days to go. I’ve compiled a list of those already, for those who haven’t seen it, but in particular, I’d like to highlight one name here: Nationals shortstop Seaver King.
Word came out this weekend that offensive standout but defensive liability CJ Abrams is shifting to second base, and while the presumption is that current second baseman Nasim Nunez will simply trade places with him, it seems just as plausible this time of year that King — who’s surging at Triple-A with a .469 (15 for 32) batting average, four home runs and two stolen bases in his past eight games — will get a look instead. He’s a bit of a free swinger, but he has a penchant for line drives and power that plays to all fields. He’s no Baez, in all likelihood, but I’d give him a look if I needed help up the middle.
That’s enough about tomorrow’s standouts, though. What about the ones from this weekend?
Potential waiver wire pickups
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Brandon Pfaadt
ARI Arizona • #32 • Age: 27
The nine starts depicted here encapsulate Brandon Pfaadt’s return to the majors with improved mechanics that have made his changeup in particular much more effective. It’s led to weaker contact (by 2 mph on average) and pinpoint control, so it’s not like there’s no basis for what he’s doing now. I question how sustainable it is given that he’s averaging just 4.9 K/9 during those nine starts. A control artist with a penchant for weak grounders might be able to get away with 6.9 K/9, but a 4.9 rate is from a different era and likely untenable in this one. Fortunately, Pfaadt’s latest triumph at the Braves on Friday saw him strike out seven (while allowing just two hits and no walks) in seven innings, so he’s at least trending up in that regard. In any case, this dominant run has persisted too long for us to continue to ignore it.
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Zack Gelof
ATH Athletics • #20 • Age: 26
With another home run Sunday, Zack Gelof is now 7 for 23 (.304) with three home runs in six games since returning from a knee laceration, picking up where he left off during a breakout season. His Baseball Savant page still shows a lot of blue, but he’s made meaningful gains in bat speed and strikeout rate and has taken advantage of a favorable home venue, batting .311 (47 for 151) with 11 homers and a .945 OPS there. Unfortunately, the Athletics are headed out on the road this week, but you may not have another chance at Gelof if you pass him up now. Even if you don’t need him for this week, his triple eligibility (second base, third base and outfield) could make him an invaluable bench piece.
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Sean Manaea
NYM N.Y. Mets • #59 • Age: 34
Sean Manaea’s best outing came two turns ago, when he struck out 11 over seven one-run innings at the Pirates, but his latest effort Saturday against the Nationals was a worthy follow-up. Sure, he gave up four earned runs in 6 1/3 innings, but he struck out seven and registered 17 swinging strikes, which was just one off the 18 he had in the 11-strikeout effort. Overall, I’d say the outing continued a positive trend that’s depicted in the numbers above, though I’ll admit to feeling some disappointment over it. His sinker does him no favors at the lower arm angle he uses now, yielding a .330 batting average on the year. He discarded it in the dominant outing at the Pirates but then brought it back for this latest one against the Nationals, throwing it 16 percent of the time. When he first adopted the lower arm angle late in 2024, he did so without a sinker and compiled a 3.09 ERA, 0.85 WHIP and 9.9 K/9 in 12 starts.
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Jacob Lopez
ATH Athletics • #57 • Age: 28
Sadly, if you’ve delayed picking up Jacob Lopez until now, you missed out on a terrific two-start week in which he registered two quality starts and notched 33.5 Head-to-Head points in standard CBS scoring. He’s rolling now — putting together a 2.36 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 10.2 K/9 in seven starts since rejoining the Athletics rotation — and while his full-season stats are still lacking because of a miserable stretch earlier this year in which he struggled with command, he has enough success in his past for you to take this latest run seriously. Because the soft-tossing lefty doesn’t dominate by conventional means, instead relying on his deceptive delivery and unusual fastball shape, he’ll always be a bit combustible, but in seven minor league seasons, he had a 3.11 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 11.4 K/9, and in his final 14 starts for the big club last year, he had a 3.22 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 10.8 K/9.
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Abimelec Ortiz
WAS Washington • #81 • Age: 24
For all the hoopla surrounding Joshua Baez’s debut, Abimelec Ortiz has been nearly as impactful in his short stay in the majors. His exit velocity readings at Triple-A were about the same as Baez’s, and he had more walks and fewer strikeouts. The big knock on Ortiz is that he can’t hit left-handers, and it doesn’t seem like the Nationals are willing to let him try, giving him just three at-bats against them so far. If there was ever a week to try him out in Fantasy, though, this is it. The Nationals are scheduled to face precisely zero left-handers in their six games.
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Kodai Senga
NYM N.Y. Mets • #34 • Age: 33
The calendar will run out before Kodai Senga has a chance to salvage his 7.79 ERA, but all of that damage came when he was a multi-inning pitcher, first as a starter and more recently as a long reliever. He only started working an inning at a time in August, and as you can see from the numbers above, he’s thrived in that capacity. It wouldn’t be the first time that a hard-thrower with pronounced control issues but a killer secondary offering took to a high-leverage bullpen role, and while the sample is tiny, the Mets were emboldened enough to install him as the closer with Devin Williams on the IL. Senga’s past three outings have all been for saves, and he may just finish out the year in the role if he continues to make good on those opportunities.
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Ben Joyce
LAA L.A. Angels • #44 • Age: 25
The Angels haven’t had a dedicated closer all year, but then, they haven’t had Ben Joyce all year either. The hard-throwing right-hander, who was recovering from surgery to repair a torn labrum in his shoulder, only returned Aug. 5, but he already seems to have won over manager Kurt Suzuki, recording back-to-back saves for the Angels. With a fastball that peaks at 104 mph, Joyce has long been touted as a closer in waiting, and the wait may finally be over now that he’s healthy and has a clear path to the role. He may have refined his approach while he was out, too, finally collecting whiffs at a rate befitting of his stuff.
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Originally published on www.cbssports.com — View original