Last Updated on July 15, 2026 5:55 am by André Lemos | Published: July 6, 2026

Our quartet of pickups today are on the sneaky side, with three of the four additions not trending upwards, taking advantage of a couple of injury returns and a bulk reliever for those leagues with start limits.

Kody Clemens – 1B/2B/OF – Twins – 38% Rostered

It’s not unfamiliar for the Twins best players to be overlooked, but it’s surprising how a little attention Kody Clemens has garnered for his latest hot streak. Since I recommended adding him a few weeks ago, he’s been on an absolute tear, slugging seven home runs in June and already another three in July so far, with 25 RBI in that span.

Another example of a late bloomer focusing on his strengths, Clemens has become a barrel machine, and is producing incredible exit velocities against right handed pitching. The numbers against lefties still aren’t great, but his improved defense should keep his bat in the lineup with regularity. If you have the flexibility to start him only against right handers, do so, otherwise it’s still worth adding him just about everywhere to take advantage of this power surge, especially if he ends up traded to a more hitter friendly home ballpark.

Hurston Waldrep – SP – Braves – 8% Rostered

Development for young players is often not linear, and there’s no better example for that than the up-and-down college and professional career of Hurston Waldrep. After a very difficult 2024 season, he got his chance in 2025 and took it, heavily diversifying his pitch mix to get hitters off of his devastating splitter, which he now uses as a put away pitch.

Over his nine starts, he boasted very impressive whiff and strikeout numbers, but also held hitters to a minuscule 4.2% barrel rate, compensating for his continued walk problems. He’s only made two appearances this season after returning from elbow surgery, and once he’s back up to full strength, he should be a very effective starter in 10 team leagues, even if his poor command hurts his volume numbers.

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Nathan Baker

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