Week 18 Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups for the Weekend

Failing to add some key players off the waiver wire earlier this week may have put you at a disadvantage, but luckily, there are still plenty of helpful options available that can give your fantasy baseball team the necessary kind of production to finish Week 18 in the win column.

With that in mind, here are five fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups that could be immediate difference-makers for your team this weekend.

1. José Osuna, 1B/3B/OF, Pittsburgh Pirates

José Osuna has been a part-time player for the Pirates this season, but it could only be a matter of time before he's a daily fixture in the club's lineup based on how well he's been hitting lately. The 26-year-old slugger has done nothing but rake since the middle of July, batting .345 with three homers, eight RBI and an excellent 1.183 OPS over his last 29 at-bats. Osuna is available in 97 percent of Yahoo! Fantasy Baseball leagues and should provide any fantasy owner in need of a versatile corner-infield bat with just the player they're looking for,

2. Jason Kipnis, 2B/OF, Cleveland Indians

It looked like Jason Kipnis' days of fantasy relevance were coming to an end at the start of the 2019 season, but his second-half production has definitely shown us that he has something left in the tank. The two-time MLB All-Star has been a huge reason why the Indians have been surging since the 2019 MLB All-Star break, batting .304 with four homers, 14 RBI and one stolen base over his last 46 at-bats. Kipnis is currently available in 70 percent of Yahoo! Fantasy Baseball leagues and could provide his owners with a good bat and outfield-infield versatility.

3. Mike Tauchman, OF, New York Yankees

Mike Tauchman was nothing but a journeyman player heading into 2019, but was pressed into action after the Yankees' outfield was bitten by the injury bug. The 28-year-old talent has taken complete advantage of his situation and vaulted himself into fantasy relevance. Tauchman has been a top-20 fantasy hitter over the past two weeks, batting .390 with three homers, 12 RBI and a stolen base over his last 41 at-bats. Tauchman is available in 70 percent of Yahoo! Fantasy Baseball leagues, but he has seen his ownership spike by 19 percent in recent days. Fantasy owners in need of outfield help might want to consider picking him up sooner rather than later.

4. Jason Vargas, SP, Philadelphia Phillies

You'd think that he may need some time to adjust to his new team, but a change of scenery hasn't seemed to slow down Jason Vargas one bit. The 36-year-old southpaw has been excellent in his last three starts split between the New York Mets (2) and Philadelphia (1), sporting a 2-0 record with two quality starts, a 2.50 ERA and 18 strikeouts across 18 total frames pitched. Vargas is available in 74 percent of Yahoo! Fantasy Baseball leagues and should be a reliable streaming option for the stretch run, at the very least.

5. Kyle Ryan, SP/RP, Chicago Cubs

Kyle Ryan has surprisingly become fantasy relevant now that Craig Kimbrel has landed on the 10-day IL. The 27-year-old southpaw was called upon for the save against the Oakland Athletics on Monday night, and while he didn't completely slam the door, he's still been in dominant form. Over his last seven appearances (seven innings pitched), Ryan sports a perfect 0.00 ERA with nine strikeouts and four holds. Chicago's closer situation is murky at the moment, but even without taking his saves' potential into account, Ryan should still be a valuable asset in leagues that use holds as a scoring metric.

Join FanDuel Sportsbook Today. New users get a risk-free bet up to $500. Join Now.

Mike Esposito is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Mike Esposito also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username espo6891. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.