Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pitching Targets: Kade Anderson Is a Must-Add

Let's open Friday up by going over some fantasy baseball waiver wire/streaming options! We'll look at pitchers first.

Check back in a bit for the waiver wire/streaming article on hitters.

Fantasy baseball waiver wire options can be found all season on FantasySP! The Fantasy Sports Assistant now can answer questions you have after doing team breakdowns or waiver wire analysis!

Kade Anderson - Seattle Mariners

Anderson is up 18.08% today, and is now at 59.36% overall. He's a big-time prospect and is getting the call to join the MLB team and make a start on Saturday.

He's the No. 5 prospect in baseball, and is just 22 years old. The left-handed pitcher was the third overall pick last summer, and is making his MLB debut just over a year after being drafted.

Anderson is 6-foot-2 and weighs about 180 pounds. He has a 60 overall grade as a pitching prospect, with 60 grades for his fastball, changeup and control as well. Anderson has 55 marks for his curveball and slider.

He has only pitched at the Double-A level in his minor league career, and all 93 1/3 innings he's worked have come this year. Anderson is 10-1 with a ridiculous 1.06 earned run average. He's allowed just 47 hits and 13 walks, while giving up four home runs. Anderson has 135 strikeouts to his name, and opponents are hitting just .147 against him.

Those are incredible numbers, so it's kind of surprising it's taken this long for him to get called up. Anderson will get a start against the Cubs on Saturday. Chicago isn't a great streaming target, so it's a good test for Anderson right away.

The team might limit his innings/pitch count a bit, but if he limits baserunners and has a high strikeout total, Anderson could still be a monster fantasy asset. 

He should be added in most fantasy leagues with his high-end status as a prospect. Add and utilize him as long as he's performing well, which could last the rest of the season. We'll see how high Anderson can place himself amongst the league's best pitchers going into next year with how he fares the rest of this year in the big leagues.

Hayden Wesneski - Houston Astros

Wesneski is owned in 21% of fantasy leagues as he gets ready for a Friday start. 

He will be getting the starting nod against the Athletics. That's a pretty good matchup on paper, so there's a chance Wesneski delivers for fantasy owners.

I wouldn't bank on it though, as he's allowed 13 runs over his first four starts of 2026. Wesneski allowed five runs his last time out, and three runs in two other outings. He has 18 strikeouts over 22 2/3 innings, while having a 2-1 record.

Wesneski is an OK streaming option in deeper leagues, but I wouldn't trust him for a standard league start tonight. He just hasn't pitched well enough this season so far, so look elsewhere for help in those leagues.

Dylan Smith - San Francisco Giants

Smith is at just 2.74% rostered at the moment, but should start rising a bit because of what he's doing of late.

He earned a two-inning save a couple days ago. That was his third save of the year, and now he's down to a 2.73 ERA over 28 1/3 innings.

Smith has an 0-4 record, two blown saves and six holds as well. He's registered 33 strikeouts over his time on the bump. Smith has allowed nine runs (eight earned) this season, but just three of those runs have come in August, and that's over 8 1/3 innings.

He's a deep-league fantasy asset as a closer. San Francisco doesn't win a ton, but when they win, they earn a lot of closer wins, which ups Smith's fantasy value. He's worth adding in deeper setups, especially if you need a little closer help. Be watching his numbers closely though, and don't be afraid to move off him if his numbers fade.

Sean Manaea - New York Mets

Manaea is up 3.69% today as he prepares to make a start. He's rostered in 41.59% of leagues overall.

He gets a start against the White Sox today. Chicago has been a good streaming target over the years, but it's a bit tougher challenge in 2026.

Manaea has been chewing up innings of late for New York, working at least six frames in five straight appearances. He's 2-0 with a 2.87 ERA over 31 1/3 innings in that stretch, with 32 strikeouts to his name as well. For the season, Manaea is 4-5 with a 4.22 ERA and 113 strikeouts over 111 innings.

He's a decent fantasy option of late, and it makes him a good option for the day in a solid matchup. Manaea is worth deep-league adds/streams today, and he's a standard league streaming option as well on a day a lot of team's aces are throwing.