Week 23 Waiver-Wire Targets: Nolan McLean has the look of a difference maker for the playoffs

Before we get to anything else for the Week 23 Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire, one quick note: Shane Bieber returned from Tommy John surgery this week and looked just about as good as ever. Over six one-run innings against the Marlins, he struck out nine and walked none, sitting 0.7 mph up with his four-seamer and generating 15 swinging strikes on 87 pitches. He might pitch like an ace the rest of the way and should be rostered and started in all Fantasy leagues. 

Of course, he's already 87% rostered, so that isn't very helpful to too many of you, so here's another must-add pitcher who, at 64% rostered, could be available in your league: Mets starter Nolan McLean.

McLean is kind of a late bloomer, a former two-way player who didn't even become a full-time pitcher until last season. He was a fringe top-100 prospect who pitched his way into the top-50 discussion in various mid-season list updates thanks to a true breakout season that saw him post a 2.45 ERA and 10.1 K/9 across Double-A and Triple-A this season. And he's absolutely looked the part in his first two major-league starts. 

McLean doesn't have elite velocity, but he's got enough, with a sinker that sits at 94.8 mph and generates a ton of ground balls so far plus a four-seamer at 95.9 he can throw up in the zone for whiffs. But the fastballs have never been the story for McLean: It's those crazy, high-spin breaking balls that have always caught the scouts' attention.

And so far, the curveball is playing to expectations, with a 44% whiff rate and a bunch of weak contact. What's interesting about McLean is that his sweeper – which was supposed to be his best pitch – actually hasn't worked for him. He has a 26% whiff rate and really poor results on the few batted balls allowed, and just one strikeout to date. Despite that, McLean has opened his MLB career with eight strikeouts in his debut and then seven more in his next outing, giving him 15 to four walks in his first 12.1 innings. He absolutely dominated a hot Braves lineup Friday for his second career win, and looks like he has the goods to be a legitimate must-start pitcher moving forward. He's generating a ton of grounders and missing plenty of bats, which should be enough to overcome what might continue to be somewhat shaky control. And if he manages to repeat Friday's zero-walk effort? Well, he could be a difference maker in all Fantasy formats down the stretch.

There will be tougher times ahead at some point, but you can't ask for more than what we've gotten from McLean so far. He's a decent start this week against the Phillies, and then looks like a two-start pitcher for Week 24, against the Tigers and Reds, and that could be a hugely impactful stretch for Fantasy. 

Here's who else we're looking to add for Week 23: 

Week 23 Waiver Targets

Catcher

Samuel Basallo, Orioles (58%) – First, one for the one-catcher leagues. With Adley Rutschman on the IL with an oblique strain, any playing time concerns that might have existed for Basallo are out of the window. He hasn't looked overwhelmed at all despite iffy production to date, and he's already flashing the combination of raw power and contact skills that made Basallo such a prized prospect. He could be a good enough hitter to be a DH or 1B, and you get to put him in your catcher spot? Even at a suddenly deep positon, Basallo is someone worth getting very excited about.

(Bonus thing to get excited for: Basallo has already received five appearances at catcher, putting him 15 away from maintaining eligibility for 2026. That would be a huge deal, and it looks like he's a good bet to get it.) 

Kyle Teel, White Sox (27%) – In two-catcher leagues, you should be looking for Teel – though I do want to point out that Teel being a fringe option at best in a one-catcher league right now really highlights how good the catcher position is right now relative to year's past. Teel was a top prospect hitting .283/.375/.409 through his first 51 MLB games after a three-hit game Sunday, and between catcher and DH, he's playing pretty close to everyday. We haven't seen much power from him, but even that could come – his expected slugging percentage is 62 points higher than his actual mark. Teel has top-five upside at the position if it all comes together, but at the very least he needs to be rostered in all two-catcher leagues. 

First Base

Lenyn Sosa, White Sox (58%) – Sosa's power is legit, and he's showing no signs of slowing down. He's up to a .345 expected wOBA for the season, driven largely by excellent results on balls in play, and he's been even better lately: His xwOBA over the past 100 plate appearances is .416. It's going to be really hard to keep this up with how poor Sosa's plate discipline is, but opposing pitchers haven't been able to find the holes in his swing yet, and Sosa continues to make both a lot of contact and hard contact despite his poor swing decisions. Sosa is eligible at three different infield spots, so you've probably got somewhere to slot him in. 

Second base

Brooks Lee, Twins (33%) – Lee's improved play lately may not be a fluke. While he still doesn't hit the ball especially hard, Lee makes a lot of contact (14% strikeout rate in August), and we're starting to see him drive the ball a bit more frequently with an 89.5 mph average exit velocity and .335 expected wOBA in August. He's one of those players whose whole profile would look a lot better if he was a 15-steal guy, but as a hot hand play, you could get some helpful batting average from him, at least. 

Third base

Colson Montgomery, White Sox (59%) – The all-or-nothing approach Montgomery is taking is hard to sustain, and I actually have even less faith in him keeping this up than his teammate, Sosa. We're already seeing signs of it, with Montgomery's 31% strikeout rate in August dropping his average to .203. But he's still making it work, with homers in three straight games this weekend to give him eight in the month. Look to Montgomery for some cheap power. 

Shortstop

Carson Williams, Rays (30%) – I went through my thoughts on Williams when he was promoted Friday, and the two games he played over the weekend obviously weren't enough to change my opinion about him. But if you're looking for upside at shortstop or the middle infield, especially in a Roto league, Williams is still worth a look, despite my misgivings. He homered in his first MLB game and attempted a steal, and I think there could be some Trevor Story/Oneil Cruz upside here if he can keep the strikeout rate below 30%. 

Middle infield

Casey Schmitt, Giants (6%) – Not much has gone right for the Giants this season, but Schmitt's emergence as a true super utility player for them is one thing they've got going for them. He struggled mightily after coming back from a wrist injury in early July, but he's hitting .250/.329/.500 in August and is another guy with eligibility all over the field, which makes him a nice player to have around, if not a building block. 

Corner infield

Miguel Andujar, Reds (46%) – Andujar makes a lot of contact, and he really doesn't do much more than that, to be honest. Despite a very strong 17.7% strikeout rate (80th percentile), his .260 expected batting average is just a 51st percentile mark, mostly because he makes a lot of weak contact. But he's hitting .310 for the season after hitting .285 last season, and playing in a hitter's park seems to be helping him overcome his middling power. Andujar probably won't keep this up for long, but he's playing pretty much everyday for the Reds and looks very useful in his new home. 

One bonus name to consider stashing: Bryce Eldridge, Giants (24%) – This is purely a stash candidate in case the Giants want to bring their top prospect up for a cup of coffee before he joins their lineup for good on Opening Day, 2026. Eldridge is your classic slugger, with huge power and enough swing-and-miss to raise some questions about how much of his considerable ceiling he'll reach in the long run. But he's hitting .253/.337/.573 since the start of August and could provide a power boost to a lineup that desperately needs something positive for the stretch run.

Outfield

Daulton Varsho, Blue Jays (46%) – Despite dealing with multiple injuries, there's been no slowing Varsho down. He's hitting .274/.357/.661 since returning at the beginning of August with seven homers, two of which came in this weekend's series with the Marlins. Varsho continues to hit the ball harder than we've ever seen while maintaining his pull-heavy approach to hitting the ball in the air, and that combination is leading to the best underlying numbers of his career – including a massive .408 xwOBA in August. I think we've just gotta ride Varsho until this runs out, if it ever does. 

Brenton Doyle, Rockies (60%) – Doyle's turnaround continues. After hitting just .202/.254/.322 in the first half and losing playing time as a result, Doyle has more or less played his way back into an everyday role with a .394/.414/.670 line in the second half of the season. That includes seven homers and three steals in August, as he's looked a lot more like the guy who was a standout last season. Doyle is still mostly pretty fringey in points leagues due to his poor plate discipline, though even that has become less of an issue lately, as he has just 12 strikeouts in 77 plate appearances in August. At the very least, Doyle deserves to be rostered in all categories leagues. 

Dylan Beavers, Orioles (35%) – Beavers definitely hasn't been overwhelmed by his time in the majors. He isn't showing much power yet – two doubles and one homer with middling quality of contact metrics through his first eight games – but his plate discipline has been excellent, with seven walks to 10 strikeouts in 34 trips to the plate. Beavers hit for power and stole a bunch of bases in Triple-A, so I think that will come soon, and the baseline he's set so far suggests he should find success. 

Jhostynxon Garcia, Red Sox (14%) – Playing time is going to be a problem for Garcia in a deep Red Sox lineup, which is the biggest reason I wasn't excited for his promotion. But he did start two of the first three games after his promotion this weekend, so maybe he has a chance – or maybe the Red Sox just happened to face two lefty starters this weekend. I suspect the latter explanation is what's going on here, but if the Red Sox do view Garcia as more than just a small-side platoon bat, his pull-heavy approach could mesh really well with the Green Monster, so that's one to keep an eye on for deeper leagues. 

Starting pitcher

Parker Messick, Guardians (17%) – As The Athletic noted last week, this is "The Year of the Southpaw," and Messick could be next in line. I've noted a few times in the Fantasy Baseball Today podcast that there seem to be an abundance of what I will call, for lack of a better term, "weird" lefties; guys without premium velocity who are dominating with funky deliveries that hitters can't quite pick up (think Matthew Boyd or Jacob Lopez on his better days), and I think Messick absolutely fits into this archetype. He's a smaller lefty with a low arm slot and a fastball he commands well up in the zone, plus a changeup that could comfortably be called a plus pitch. He'll make at least one more start this week after he limited the Diamondbacks to one run in 6.2 innings with six strikeouts, and I think he could be very useful for Fantasy down the stretch. 

Kyle Bradish, Orioles (52%) – Bradish is expected to make his return from Tommy John surgery Tuesday against the Red Sox, and it's worth remembering how exciting Bradish was the last time we saw him. He had a 2.83 ERA and 1.04 WHIP in a breakout 2023 season and then looked like he was taking an even bigger step forward in 2024, with a 2.75 ERA and 32.5% strikeout rate in eight starts before needing elbow surgery. His stuff looks to be back to pre-injury form even if the results weren't great on his rehab assignment. Betting on players coming back from a big injury isn't always a great idea, but Bradish's demonstrated upside is significant enough to be worth the bet. 

Yu Darvish, Padres (65%) – It took Darvish a few starts to settle in, but he looks locked in right now. He limited the Dodgers to just one run over six innings Friday and is now up to 28 strikeouts in 27 innings with a 3.00 ERA over his past five starts. He's struggled with home runs a bit, but his underlying data suggests that's mostly bad luck – 5.36 ERA compared to a 3.74 xERA – and he still has several swing and miss pitches he can lean on. Darvish has more left in the tank than you might think. 

Jack Leiter, Rangers (66%) – We've been fooled by Leiter often enough that I'm going to approach this with caution. He struck out 10 without walking anyone in what might have been the best start of his career Saturday against the Guardians, and while he did change up his pitch mix a bit (fewer sliders, more changeups), I'm not exactly ready to declare this a brand new Leiter – he had just one whiff on his changeup in this one and gave up a bunch of hard contact, so he was probably lucky to not get hit harder. There's obviously talent here, and if you want to buy into that for a matchup with the whiff-happy A's next weekend, he's an interesting streamer, at least. 

Cade Cavalli, Nationals (31%) – That's two quality starts in a row for Cavalli, whose command has looked a lot better than I expected in his first four starts; he has walked just six overall in his first 22.1 innings of work. You'd like to see more than 18 strikeouts to along with it, but the thing here is that there's really no question about the quality of the stuff, as Cavalli's fastball is one of the hardest of a starter at 97.3 mph, while his curveball and changeup both have very strong whiff rates. Which is to say, if the control can be playable, I do think the stuff is going to lead to more strikeouts moving forward. I've been impressed with Cavalli's command, and while I don't love him against the Yankees this week, he could be a two-start pitcher the following week, which would include a start against the Marlins. He could be pretty useful down the stretch. 

Relief pitcher

Jose Ferrer, Nationals (25%) – The Nationals aren't a good team. They're on pace for their fifth straight 90-plus loss season, after all. But this has been a pretty good spot for closers the past few seasons in spite of that, and Ferrer is the latest to take advantage of that, with four saves in the past 15 days. He's the unquestioned closer here and has been good enough to get the job done so far.