Top fantasy baseball middle infield waiver pickups for Week 26

Congratulations: With just two weekends left in the 2023 MLB regular season, if you’re reading this post, chances are you’re either deep into your fantasy playoffs or close enough in your roto league that a key pickup or two can make all the difference. It’s officially time to quit being precious: Unless you’re in a keeper/dynasty league, loyalty and long-term outlooks mean nothing; the only thing that matters is finding who’s hot and riding them to fantasy glory. Which means smart adds have become even more important: Hit on an under-the-radar free agent, and a trophy awaits; miss, and you’ll spend the winter wondering what if.

Luckily, our weekly waiver wire recommendations are here to help, with position-by-position looks are players you should consider snagging off the waiver wire. Next up: the middle infield spots.

Fantasy baseball waiver wire: Week 26 middle infield targets

Ceddanne Rafaela, SS/OF, Boston Red Sox

Roster percentage: 2.6%

Rafaela just cracked the necessary threshold for shortstop eligibility, giving him rare and valuable positional flexibility. But it’s not just roster convenience that makes the rookie worth paying attention to: After tearing up Triple-A (.312/.370/.618, 14 homers, six steals in just 48 games) Rafaela has just kept on hitting in the Majors, slashing .357/.386/.595 with two homers and a steal over his first 44 plate appearances. The 22-year-old stands just 5’9, but he’s a ridiculous athlete who goes up to the plate looking to do serious damage, and his aggressive approach has yet to cost him at the highest level. As Boston falls out of Wild Card contention, they have no reason not to play him in the infield or outfield, and Rafaela has major power/speed upside as long as he continues to keep his K rate in check.

Noelvi Marte, 3B/SS, Cincinnati Reds

Roster percentage: 2.9%

Speaking of top prospects getting major run down the stretch: Marte is seeing the field more and more for Cincinnati, especially now that Elly De La Cruz is sitting against most left-handed starters, and the consensus top-50 prospect is making the most of it — with an absurd .432/.475/.568 slash line over 40 September plate appearances and hits in 10 of the 13 games in which he’s appeared this month. Marte vaulted up prospect lists for a reason, showing major power potential from a yolked-up frame and posting an .820 OPS at Triple-A, and the sky is the limit for him in such a hitter-friendly home ballpark.

Mauricio Dubon, 2B/SS/OF, Boston Red Sox

Roster percentage: 10.9%

Dubon may not wow you, but the utility man just keeps finding ways to earn playing time in a very potent lineup — and keep on hitting. Dubon has a .944 OPS and four multi-hit games so far in September, with five runs and four RBI in 10 games overall (seven starts). Houston is an ideal place to rack up counting stats, and Dubon is sort of fantasy glue: He doesn’t do any one thing super well, but he contributes a little bit everywhere while plugging a variety of roster holes. You can start him at either middle infield spot or in the outfield and be able to count on a boon to your batting average and a chance to compile runs and RBI.

Jordan Lawlar, SS, Arizona Diamondbacks

Roster percentage: 3.1%

If you gave up on Lawlar pretty quickly amid his rough landing in the Majors earlier this month, consider buying back in — especially if you’re in need of speed late in the season. To wit:

With Nick Ahmed DFA’d, Lawlar is seeing regular playing time even amid his slow start at the plate, and there are signs that he’s starting to warm up (he’s striking out far less than he did in his first week, for example). This is a guy who conquered the high Minors with ease this year, posting an .840 OPS with 15 homers and 33 steals in a repeat stint in Double-A before hitting a blistering .358/.438/.612 in his first 16 games at Triple-A — all at just 21 years old — and his power/speed upside is still worth rostering just about everywhere.