Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: Here are the batters you should be adding in Week 18 based on advanced metrics

There are 10 teams with seven games in Week 18. In the hitter-friendly environments, the Athletics and Reds have all six games on the road. The Rockies have three games at home to start the week, with three more in Milwaukee. With the weather heating up and potentially less drag on the ball, it might be easier to find hitters to pick up and stream, especially considering most teams have shown below-average skills and underlying metrics across the board.

We’ll cover several teams playing seven games with hitters to add and stream in shallow, medium and deeper leagues.

Teams With Seven Games:

• Diamondbacks: 3 vs. ATH, 1 at STL, 3 at WSH

  • The Diamondbacks face the five worst teams in adjusted scores, meaning their hitters will face favorable matchups. The best starting pitcher they project to face is Cade Cavalli. It’s worth noting that the Diamondbacks will face five left-handed starting pitchers in Week 18. Their lineup is fairly stable, so that means Max Kepler losing playing time with Tim Tawa potentially being a weak-side platoon option at first base.

• Braves: 4 vs. SD, 3 at BAL

  • The Braves project to face six right-handed starting pitchers in Week 18, with the only left-handed starter being Trevor Rogers in the latter half of the week. Dominic Smith and Jim Jarvis could be deep-league, waiver-wire options as strong-side platoon options in Week 18. Smith and Jarvis can provide batting average.

• Guardians: 4 vs. MIN, 3 at TB

  • The Guardians have six right-handed starters on the schedule for Week 18. Ian Seymour is the only left-handed starter who should face the Guardians. Since July 1, Steven Kwan sat against two out of four left-handed starters. He has been batted toward the bottom of the lineup, so there is little fantasy value.

• Tigers: 3 at CHC, 4 vs. KC

  • There are five right-handed starting pitchers on the schedule for the Cardinals in Week 18. Colt Keith and Kerry Carpenter could be streamed this week, with on lefty in each series.

• Royals: 3 vs. SF, 4 at DET

  • The Royals will face five right-handed starters this week. Both lefties come in their series against the Tigers, including Tarik Skubal and Framber Valdez. In deeper leagues, look at Michael Massey and Isaac Collins. They both bat toward the bottom of the Royals’ lineup, but don’t sit against all left-handed starters. Since June 15, both Massey and Collins sat against lefties in four out of 11 games.

• Twins: 4 at CLE, 3 vs. ATH

  • The Twins have four left-handed starters on the schedule in Week 18, with two in both series. Trevor Larnach’s playing time takes the biggest hit unless he plays in a couple of those games against lefties this week.

• Padres: 4 at ATL, 3 at MIA

  • The Padres will face five right-handed starters in Week 18. Both left-handed starters are on the schedule in their first series, including Martin Perez and Chris Sale. The Padres had this wild stretch of all righties on the schedule since July 1 through the All-Star Break. Before July 1, Gavin Sheets and Jake Cronenworth were sometimes sitting against lefties.

• Cardinals: 3 at LAA, 1 vs. ARI, 3 vs. CIN

  • The Cardinals project to face four right-handed starters in Week 18. The three lefties on the schedule include Reid Detmers, Mitch Bratt and Andrew Abbott. That’s notable because they aren’t scary lefties to stay away from. Though Laars Nootbar and Nathan Church project as a strong-side platoon option, they haven’t been sat against all lefties. Since July 1, Nootbar sat against four lefties with Church on the bench against two out of seven games against a left-handed starter. That said, I probably wouldn’t auto-bench Nootbaar or Church because of the friendly pitching matchups.

• Rays: 4 at TOR, 3 vs. CLE

• Blue Jays: 4 vs. TB, 3 at BOS

  • The Blue Jays project to face four left-handed starters in Week 18. They’ll face all lefties in their series against the Red Sox, including Jake Bennett, Connelly Early and Payton Tolle. Nathan Lukes sat against two out of five left-handed starters since June 15. Meanwhile, Andrés Giménez sat against three of last five lefties since June 15. Giménez is most at risk for lost playing time in Week 18, with Lukes possibly playing one game or two against a lefty this week.

Shallow- and Medium-League Hitters to Add and Stream (Under 50% Rostered)

Kody Clemens, 1B/2B/OF, Twins (44% Rostered)

The Twins have seven games on the schedule in Week 18. We’ve touched on Clemens in a previous article because he has been playing more often in the heart of the Twins’ lineup. He has been consistently barreling the ball, with an 9.1% barrel rate per plate appearance this season, better than 8% in 2025. Clemens tends to be a batting asset in batting average instead of OBP or points leagues because he doesn’t run high BABIPs and tends to whiff.

Clemens should be a regular option in most shallow- and medium-sized leagues for power in Week 18.

Curtis Mead, 1B/2B/3B, Nationals (46% Rostered)

If you’re looking for power, Mead is your guy. Mead is pulling the ball into the air 23.1% of the time while rocking a career-high 7.8% barrel rate per plate appearance. He has shown improvements in his plate discipline, with an 84.6% contact rate and 6.3% swinging-strike rate. Both metrics are two points better than his career averages, helping Mead reach a 11.3% walk rate and 18.8% strikeout rate. That helps raise his floor, especially in leagues with OBP and points.

Mead hits toward the top third of the Nationals’ lineup. He is hitting for more power than expected with the barrel rates to support the success.

Jake Mangum, OF, Pirates (14% Rostered)

Look toward Mangum for speed and batting average, as he currently sits as the Pirates’ leadoff hitter. His .365 BABIP is boosting his .303 batting average, slightly above his career averages. He has been running more often, with a 32% stolen base opportunity rate, five points higher than in 2025 (28%). If your team needs speed and batting average, Mangum is your guy.

Garrett Mitchell, OF, Brewers (23% Rostered)

With the Brewers going against the Mets and Rockies in Week 18, Freddy Peralta might be the best starting pitcher they’ll project to face. Peralta has been struggling, so this could be a hitter-friendly week for the Brewers’ hitters. We’ve recommended Mitchell in the past, with his power and speed, as we dream of the tools with more playing time.

Mitchell boasts a career-best 7.7% barrel rate per plate appearance with 25 barrels and eight home runs. That suggests Mitchell’s home run total should be higher based on the number of barrels and how often he hits them. Unfortunately, his 14% stolen base opportunity rate fell from 18% (2025) and 28% (2024). However, Mitchell is only converting 58% of his chances into steals this season, making us question the sustainability of his stolen base upside. He rocks a 97th percentile Sprint Speed and an 86th percentile Outs Above Average, so we know there’s athleticism and speed.

Stream Mitchell in shallow and medium-sized formats.

Deep-League Hitters

Michael Massey, 2B/OF, Royals (2% Rostered)

Isaac Collins, OF, Royals (1% Rostered)

Since July 1, Collins has a 150 wRC+, .293 batting average, two home runs and one steal. Massey has a .300 batting average with zero homers and zero steals since July 1. Both have been part-time players in their careers, making them deep-league options. They have similar profiles with above-average contact rates and decent bat speed, though Collins has more speed.

Massey consistently uses a pull-heavy approach, with a 24.1% pulled air rate, similar to his career averages. Meanwhile, Collins sneakily has a 73.6 mph bat speed, yet a below-average 3.7% barrel rate per plate appearance.

Target Collins for speed and batting average. Massey has a similar profile with a bit more power in the bat.

Cedric Mullins, OF, Rays (5% Rostered)

Mullins faces six righties this week, so it’s a bet on volume. He hasn’t been great over the past month, with a .195 batting average, five home runs and three steals since June 15. Mullins has been running more often this season, with a 30% stolen base opportunity rate. That’s up four points from his career average. However, he is only converting 71% of his stolen base chances this season.

In deeper leagues, Mullins can be streamed for volume, particularly in stolen bases, though he fares better in rotisserie leagues than head-to-head formats.

Tim Tawa, 1B/2B/OF, Diamondbacks (4% Rostered)

After Tawa was recalled before the All-Star break, he was crushing it. Since July 5, Tawa has three home runs, two steals and a .321 batting average. Three of Tawa’s four barrels this season came since July 5. Groundballs (career 50.5% groundball rate) tend to be an issue, but good outcomes happen when Tawa elevates the ball and hits it hard.

The Diamondbacks have favorable pitching matchups this week against the Athletics and Nationals. Ride Tawa’s hot bat into the second half for Week 18, as he may become a regular in the bottom third of their lineup, which makes him a deep-league streaming hitter.

Jake Cronenworth, 1B/2B/SS, Padres (6% Rostered)

We’ve been on this Cronenworth roller coaster before. Since he came back from the injured list on June 29, he has two home runs, two steals and a .296 batting average. Cronenworth’s high batting average has been fueled by a .368 BABIP and three of his seven barrels coming since June 29. He should be a sneaky source of power and batting if he can continue running a higher BABIP in recent weeks, especially with some favorable matchups ahead.