Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: Last call for Mason Montgomery

With 2.5 weeks remaining in the regular season, those in the fantasy baseball playoffs should be focused on adding players with favorable schedules in the coming days. The list this week includes hitters to stream this weekend (Henry Bolte, Jeff McNeil , Colt Keith ) as well as those who should be added by Monday ( Ty France , Mickey Moniak , Cole Carrigg).

The same can be said on the pitching side, as those who need a weekend streamer can skip to the bottom of this article.

Ty France, 1B, Padres, 31%: France has been one of baseball's best hitters in the second half, batting .324 with a .937 OPS. Unfortunately, he remains on waivers in many leagues, as managers opt to chase an influx of exciting rookies rather than adding a boring veteran. But that should change over the weekend, as France and his teammates will open next week with four games at Coors Field against a Rockies pitching staff that ranks last in baseball with a 5.50 ERA. Managers in deeper formats could also consider Jake Cronenworth (6%), who has hit second in the lineup of late, or catcher Luis Campusano (1%), who is working as a DH often enough to keep him in the regular lineup.

Mickey Moniak, OF, Rockies, 25%: Moniak has some similarities to France, as a boring veteran who is having his productive season overshadowed by a constant stream of youngsters on the waiver wire. The 28-year-old has been terrific at home (.957 OPS) and against right-handers (.835 OPS) this season, which makes him a potential league-winner next week when the Rockies play seven games at their hitter-friendly home park, including five versus right-handed starters. Those who cannot add Moniak can consider his teammate, Cole Carrigg (15%).

Henry Bolte, OF, Athletics, 33%: Bolte is the fastest runner in baseball and has a bit of pop, which has made him the Athletics' regular leadoff hitter and one of baseball's most explosive players. He is batting .320 since the beginning of August, and during September he has already accumulated four homers and five steals. Like many Athletics hitters, Bolte has fared best at his offense-inducing home park, which is where he will play this weekend. It helps that the series will come against the Mariners , who surprisingly rank 28th in baseball with a 5.39 ERA since the All-Star break.

Cal Quantrill , SP, Rangers, 52%: Although Quantrill won't blow anyone away with his skill set, he is pitching as well as any waiver wire option. Since the beginning of August, the right-hander has posted a 1.64 ERA and 0.82 WHIP, while showing outstanding control skills (1.4 BB/9 rate) and just enough swing-and-miss abilities (7.8 K/9 rate). His next two starts will come against the D-backs (29th in OPS vs. righties) and Blue Jays (29th in runs scored).

Mason Montgomery , RP, Pirates, 45%: It's becoming ridiculous that Montgomery remains available in the majority of Yahoo leagues. Even with just a few teams remaining alive in each league, surely someone can use a reliever who has posted a 0.73 ERA, 0.65 WHIP and 14.6 K/9 rate in the second half while also collecting four wins and 11 saves. Montgomery has been the eighth-most valuable player at any position over the past 30 days and can help teams in any format. All of the superlatives heaped on Montgomery also apply to White Sox fireman Grant Taylor (35%), who has logged a 1.01 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, three wins and four saves in the second half.

Tyler Wells , SP/RP, Rays , 15%: Wells is a poor man's version of Montgomery and Taylor, which makes him appealing to those in deeper leagues. The right-hander has been stellar all season and especially effective since the All-Star break (1.42 ERA, 0.67 WHIP), which has pushed him into high-leverage roles and has allowed him to pick up a pair wins and four saves in the second half. A Tampa organization that is known for doing a terrific job with their pitchers appears to have found another gem.

Colt Keith, 1B/2B/3B, Tigers, 8%: While I'll admit that Keith is underwhelming (10 HR, 5 SB), he hits leadoff against right-handers and has performed well (.799 OPS) in the second half. He could collect plenty of hits and runs this weekend, when the Tigers host the Rockies (5.50 ERA), and Colorado uses right-handed starters in each contest.

Jeff McNeil, 1B/2B/OF, Athletics, 26%: McNeil has been terrific in the second half (.711 OPS), which has made him the regular No. 2 hitter for the Athletics. And like most left-handed hitters, he fares best against right-handers. McNeil could continue to thrive this weekend, when he faces three Mariners righties at his hitter-friendly home park. After all George Kirby , Bryan Woo and Bryce Miller have posted a 5.48 ERA, 5.63 ERA and 4.69 ERA, respectively, on the road this season.

Pitchers to stream this weekend (ranked in order of preference)