Working the Waiver Wire: April 22

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  • By Anthony Kates

    Last Updated on April 22, 2026 2:11 am by Anthony Kates | Published: April 22, 2026

    *Note that all listed roster %’s are from Yahoo, at the time of the writing of this article. Almost all of our waiver wire recommendations are widely available across all major platforms, however.*

    Moises Ballesteros – C – CHC – 16%

    The Cubs need to find a way to get Ballesteros full time at-bats. He is already outperforming his small sample from 2025 in 17 fewer plate appearances this season. In 51 plate appearances this season, he has three home runs, eight runs, 10 RBI, a 10:5 K:BB, 1.031 OPS and 188 wRC+.

    I mean, just look at this chart:

    The chase, whiff and walk rates aren’t phenomenal, but everything else? Cake. He hits the ball hard, makes tons of quality contact, squares it up well, plenty of bat speed, elevates the ball, he makes plenty of contact (not shown: 77.6% contact rate/88.9% zone rate – a 9.2 point increase from last year) and has found that kind of success even though he sees a first pitch strike nearly three-quarters of the time (74%).

    He’s only made one appearance behind the plate and is only C-eligible in Yahoo leagues, but he would be a locked in fantasy regular if the Cubs committed to him full time. He has been far more productive than some of their other regular players and has the kind of offensive upside to produce top-50 seasons. In deeper leagues especially, he needs to be picked up immediately. If you play in shallower leagues, but maybe have a deeper bench (like 10 spots instead of 7), I would consider scooping him up and holding him. If the Cubs suffer any kind of injury to a corner outfielder or any of their around-the-horn infielders, then the door will open for Ballesteros to become a regular in the Cubs’ lineup.

    You will want him on your fantasy team when that happens. I’d rather you have him on your team sooner, rather than later.

    Josh Jung – 3B – TEX – 17%

    When we said during spring and draft season that third base was a waste land, we weren’t lying. Through the first four-ish weeks of the season, only two of the first fifteen drafted third basemen have generated top-100 value and only four have produced top-100 value overall.

    So any time a former top prospect who has actually produced at the big league level is healthy and producing like a top option again, we have to take notice.

    Well, Jung is a former top prospect who is currently producing very well and has been the second most offensively productive third baseman in the month of April (behind only the scorching hot Jose Ramirez). Since April 1st, he has eight double, two home runs, eight runs, nine RBI, a .375 batting average and a 7:7 K:BB. Though he has hit more ground ball than fly balls, he has a 61% hard hit rate, 93.6 MPH average exit velocity, but just a 2.2% barrel rate. He has an 83.5% contact rate (93.3% zone) and just a 7.6% swinging strike rate. He has made up for a poor fly ball rate with an elite 32.1% line drive rate, which has resulted in more hits and doubles (and has him on a career best doubles rate), but he has always had plus-power, he just has struggled to lift the ball throughout his career.

    Projections were not very flowery for Jung coming into the season, but if he can maintain the improvements while also returning to his normal barrel rate (9.5% for his career) and just raise the fly ball rate into the mid-30% range, then he could easily put up a top-10 season and produce the second best fantasy season of his career. And he’s available in 83% of Yahoo leagues as of this moment. Go out and grab him, especially if you corner infield or third base spot are underwhelming at the moment and you could use some help.

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    April 22, 2026, 2:11 am