Welcome to Waiver Wire Picks, our daily fantasy baseball article that looks at the best available players in baseball that 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, and we’ll also look at the most added players in fantasy baseball across the major sites, and let you know which players to add and which players you can leave on the wire.
Top Priority Players to Add
Tyler Mahle, RHP (ATL) — 27% Rostership
Hot damn, what a turnaround for Atlanta’s new acquisition! Mahle ranks second in baseball behind teammate Chris Sale in strikeout rate this month with an astonishing 36.4% clip. He’s limiting baserunners at an elite level (0.75 WHIP) thanks to a sub-5% walk rate, and the FIP (2.00) is excellent. Mahle’s four-seamer has led the charge with a 41% CSW rate, while his secondaries have put in work generating misses. Batters have failed to impact the ball well in his first two Atlanta starts, too. Given his roster rate, this is a must-add for any pitching-starved manager.
Griffin Conine, OF (MIA) — 19% Rostership
Conine, T-3rd in baseball with four home runs this month, is on a roll and available in nearly every league right now. The 29-year-old has missed quite a bit of time this season, but when healthy, Conine has slashed .270/.367/.561 with a 152 wRC+ – he’s set career-highs in nearly every category. 13 home runs through 56 games is pretty impressive…please just stay on the field!
Yahoo and ESPN Most Added Players
Joshua Baez is coming off potentially the greatest rookie debuts of the 2020s, hitting home runs to left, center, and right field in three consecutive at-bats to start his young career. I’d say that’s good enough for an add.
Anthony Kay hasn’t allowed more than three runs in a start since mid-June. He’s rocking a 2.96 ERA over that span (9 starts), and while he’s bound to allow runs, he limits implosions well. It’s not the sexiest play, but he’ll eat innings good enough to spot start based on matchups.
Grant Holmes has tossed back-to-back scoreless outings, so naturally he’ll find himself on this list. I’d consider this a cautionary add. Even despite allowing no earned runs over his last 12 innings, he’s not missing bats, and the xERA (4.09) isn’t ideal. This is also a guy that won’t help you in the WHIP category.
Trent Grisham should be rostered in your league, but if not, he ranks T-1st among AL batters in home runs (5) this month.
Ian Seymour is a must-add in my book, and I’ve mentioned him a few weeks in a row now. What he’s doing on paper is more than fine, and the underlying metrics indicate even more is in the tank somewhere.
Sean Manaea is a fringey matchup-based add if you ask me. I highlighted him as a pitcher to stream last week and that worked out well – he tossed seven innings of one-run ball, punching out a season-high 11 batters. While I appreciate him for having my back, I don’t think 18 strikeouts over his last 13 innings is a norm moving forward. Play it by matchups.
I’m not sure why Jac Caglianone or Reid Detmers wouldn’t be rostered in your league, but if they aren’t, now would be a great time to scoop them up. Cags is objectively the hottest hitter in baseball right now.
Streaming Pitchers
Our guy Nick Pollack does a fantastic job at highlighting and ranking starting pitcher streaming options… check out his list here!
Jacob Lopez, LHP (ATH) — 19% Rostership
Lopez and his 5+ ERA don’t seem too intriguing at first, but the 28-year-old is quite literally the hottest budget arm on the market that also happens to be available in nearly every fantasy league across the nation.
Lopez over his last six starts:
| ERA | xERA | WHIP | K-BB% | EV | HH% |
| 2.22 | 2.26 | 1.02 | 20% | 84.8 | 26.1% |
Christian Scott, RHP (NYM) — 31% Rostership
Scott, fueled by a big fastball that grabs 6.9+ ft of extension, is punching batters out at a clip approaching 30% and has dominated left-handed matchups all year long. The Nationals, a relatively left-handed-heavy lineup that has lost a bunch of thump since the trade deadline, are a good matchup for the 27-year-old.
