Welcome to the Waiver Wire Picks, our daily fantasy baseball article that looks at the best players you should be adding to your rosters. We’ll look at the players that are likely to be available in most leagues, as well as some deep league waiver wire options. We’ll also look at the most-added players in fantasy baseball across the major sites and tell you which players to add and which to leave on the wire.
Top Priority Players to Add
Royce Lewis (MIN) – 1B, 2B, 3B (Yahoo – 56%)
Lewis has been remarkably productive lately; his 1.092 OPS over the last 30 days trails only Ohtani, Olson, Harper, and…Stott. Huh. His PLV metrics are pretty decent across the board, save for questionable swing decisions (94 DV). His .235 batting average, on the other hand, is not ideal. Still, I’ll more than willingly look the other way because he’s a perfect 11-for-11 on stolen base attempts. His eligibility at two of the weakest positions has spiked his roster percentage, but you know what? It should be higher.
Landen Roupp (SF) – SP (Yahoo – 37%)
Mahle’s control has abandoned him lately, prompting his roster percentage to crater. But I think this is a case where you have to take a big-picture approach and remember that he has also done a lot of good, including limiting hitters to a 96-percentile hard-hit rate. Jake Crumpler most recently endorsed Roupp as a bounce-back candidate in his SP Roundup. Let’s call it a temporary blip and move on. That’s good enough for me. You know what else is good? An impending date with the Road Rockies.
Cole Carrigg (COL) – OF (Yahoo – 27%)
The Rockies have teased us, or at least me, more times than I can count with their prospects. Remember Nolan Jones? How about David Dahl and Wilin Rosario??! Has anyone seen Zac Veen?! Remember that brief stretch from Jordan Beck last summer? Fun times. Time will tell if Carrigg has any staying power, and my magic-eight-ball is broken. But if you ask me, a .298 average with five home runs, a 20.4% K rate, and a 11.4% BB rate in just under 200 PAs qualifies as a pretty promising start. Judging by his work with Triple-A Albuquerque earlier this year, the 24-year-old switch-hitter’s speed could make him a fantasy dynamo. So far, he’s six-for-nine on stolen base attempts, and I wonder if more are on the way once he gets better acclimated.
Yennier Cano (BAL) – RP (Yahoo – 8%)
Andrew Kittredge pocketed Baltimore’s most recent save opportunity back on August fifth; Cano pitched the eighth. However, he earned the save the day before, and as Rick Graham noted, Cano’s recent two-year contract extension speaks volumes. And so do his 2.04 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, and 99th percentile groundball rate. His pitch quality metrics are also a sight for sore eyes; his 5.28 PLV is tied with Toronto’s Louis Varland for fifth-best among all pitchers with at least 200 pitches thrown. Yes, the Baltimore pen might be more of a committee than we’d like, even with Helsley and Bautista not close to returning. But if Cano converts another save, you know there will almost certainly be a rush to the wire.
Yahoo and ESPN Most Added Players
Potential two-step starters abounded on the wire. Hayden Wesneski reached 78 pitches in his second start last Tuesday against the Jays. He only struck out four batters, but as Nick mentioned in his SP Roundup, his approach, at least against right-handed hitters, was pretty solid. Last night’s start in Oracle Park seemed like a good spot on paper. He’ll most likely take the mound again this weekend in Houston against the Mariners. He has a chance to be a solid back-end-of-the-rotation arm the rest of the way, but temper expectations; command can come and go when pitchers are returning from TJ.
Bryce Elder held the Fish to just one earned run across seven innings last Wednesday, but he totaled just four whiffs. That seems like a big red flag, right? Yeah, I’d say so. Sure enough, the Mets tagged him for seven earned runs on ten hits and three walks. Yikes. He’ll get another home start this weekend against the D’Backs.
Andrew Painter entered last night’s start in Busch Stadium with a brutal 6.48 ERA and 1.57 WHIP across 75 IP. To his credit, he demonstrated a much-improved breaker-dominated approach after returning from the minors on July 31st. Can he replicate it? Your guess is as good as mine. Still, he’s worth keeping an eye on for his post-hype appeal.
Hunter Dobbins showcased a pretty-neat-looking arsenal and tight command against the Yankees last Tuesday, prompting me to endorse him as a streamer in yesterday’s column. He’ll get another start this week against the Cubs at Wrigley Field. Let’s just hope that the wind isn’t blowing out.
Joe Musgrove posted a 19% K-BB% across 19 starts in 2024 before undergoing TJ that September. He most recently completed three innings and change in Triple-A El Paso this Sunday, and could return in a few weeks. Who knows how he’ll look, but he’s not a bad stash if you happen to have a free IL spot. Lucky you.
Logan Henderson remains ridiculously overlooked on ESPN. He has a 2.70 ERA and 0.90 WHIP across ten starts. And his 27.1% K-BB% would rank second among qualified SPs behind only J-Miz. What more does he need to do?!
MacKenzie Gore earned a Gallows Pole last Tuesday against the Giants and got an even better matchup against the strikeout-happy Halos. I still think that Gore’s strikeout upside warrants a higher roster rate than 61.4%, but I get him being borderline in shallower points formats. He’s a rollercoaster, and his eight QS through 24 starts is a touch underwhelming. He’s 69th on The List.
Noah Cameron has earned more clicks after two consecutive gems against the Twins. His 14.4% K-BB% doesn’t necessarily jump off the page, but his recent results are too good to ignore. Regardless of how last night’s game at Dodger Stadium turned out, I’d want to keep him. He’s 80th on The List.
Speculative Adds
Patrick Sandoval (BOS) – SP (Yahoo – 15%)
On June 6th, 2021, Sandoval honored the 77th anniversary of D-Day by recording a mind-blowing 32 whiffs during a 9-5 loss to the Mariners. Random? Yes. But it illustrates Sandoval’s upside. Alright, fine, that version of Sandoval is probably gone, but he’s done enough to pique my interest. If you’re OK burning a move, consider adding him and putting him on your bench to see how he does tonight in Toronto.
Jordan Lawlar (ARI) – 3B, OF (Yahoo – 6%)
Lawlar returned from a fractured wrist on June 12th and got off to a very promising start, slashing .316/ .400/ .447 across a dozen games before the injury bug struck again with a strained hamstring about a week later. But he’s getting close; Torey Lovullo said yesterday that the team plans to have him continue his rehab with Double-A Amarillo today and tomorrow. Reading between the lines, he could return during Arizona’s upcoming road trip this Friday. Lawlar’s third-base eligibility (nine starts last season) makes the 24-year-old former top prospect a doubly interesting breakout candidate in the final two months. Stash accordingly.
Streaming Pitchers
Be sure to check Nick’s daily SP streamers article.
Today:
Cody Bradford (TEX) – SP (Yahoo – 4%) at LAA
Regardless of its Reagan-era velo, Bradford’s heater yielded a 33.3% during his return last Wednesday, and I’m very intrigued to see if there’s anything to it. He might not last long enough to qualify for the win (he threw 70 pitches in his season debut), but he could pile up a bunch of strikeouts against the Angels.
Tomorrow:
Tyler Mahle (ATL) – SP (Yahoo – 10%) vs. NYM
Mahle enters the start with a 4.83 ERA and 1.36 WHIP, but he has looked loads better lately with consecutive nine-strikeout starts. Granted, he got a little lucky against the Yankees, getting nine outs on 12 balls in play. I don’t think you can expect the vintage Mahle we saw five years ago, but he has shown enough recently to make him a worthwhile gamble against the Mets, and he could be a guy you hang onto the rest of the way now that he’s in Atlanta.
Deep League Players to Watch
Tim Tawa (ARI) – 1B, 2B, OF (Yahoo – 7%)
Tawa, 27, is on a modest five-game hitting streak, and while he has a .682 OPS, he entered last night’s series opener against the Rockies having started each of the past 12 games.
Griffin Conine (MIA) – OF (Yahoo – 5%)
Jeff Conine’s son is striking out a ton, but he’s been remarkably productive with a 142 wRC+. And his 129 Process is pretty dang good. Just note that the Fish have limited his opportunities against LHP.
Dylan Beavers (BAL) – OF (Yahoo – 1%)
Beavers hasn’t peppered the boxscore much this year, but he has become a regular for the Orioles against RHP and showed some pop and speed last year with Triple-A Norfolk.
