Welcome to the Waiver Wire Picks, our daily fantasy baseball article that looks at the best 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 you can leave on the wire.
Top Priority Players to Add
Zack Gelof (ATH) – 2B, 3B, OF (Yahoo! – 53%)
Coors and Great American Ballpark are empty for the rest of the week. The only hitters’ stadium on the schedule is Sutter Health Park. Luckily for us, we can find plenty of hot bats playing in the Sacramento heat.
You know him, you love him; Gelof is hot again. He’s only batting .215 since returning from the IL last month, but he has 6 HR and 6 SB in that span. He’s been red-hot the past week especially, batting .267 with 3 HR and 4 SB. Now’s the perfect time to cash in on a hot streak from the streaky slugger/speedster.
Jeff McNeil (ATH) – 1B, 2B, OF (Yahoo! – 28%)
McNeil has played 128 games this season, yet he’s hit half of his homers in the last month. He’s batting .318 over the last 30 days with 4 HR. He closes this week out with a homestand against the struggling Mariners. If you can’t get Gelof or Henry Bolte (who has been highlighted in several recent Waiver Wire Picks), McNeil could be an excellent consolation prize.
Joshua Báez (STL) – OF (Yahoo! – 45%)
Three home runs in his debut, three in the last two weeks. Both decent. Báez is batting .325 with a 1.022 OPS in the last 14 days, and isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. He’ll try to keep things rolling against the White Sox this weekend, hopefully providing you plenty of HR along the way.
Yohandy Morales (WSN) – 1B, 3B (Yahoo! – 3%)
If Báez is rostered and you still need a power-hitter: look no further. Morales has played in six games since making his debut on the first of the month. There’s some competition for playing time, but Morales is off to a torrid start to his MLB career. He’s batting .375 with 2 HR and a 1.250 OPS since getting the call. He was slugging in Triple-A for most of the season, racking up 25 HR and an .881 OPS in 104 games. He’s striking out a brutal 50% of the time in the small sample we have, but he should be able to work that number back down to the mid 20’s where it sat during his stint at Triple-A.
Yahoo! and ESPN Most Added Players
Yahoo!
Drew Anderson gave up three runs in 5.1 innings against the Twins last night. He has a 2.96 ERA over the last month, and gets a two-start week against the Jays and White Sox next week.
Corbin Burnes made his season debut against the Royals last night, going three scoreless innings. It will take a few more starts before he’ll be in line for any wins, but he should be able to help everywhere else.
Henry Bolte would have been a priority pick if he hadn’t been named a few times in recent Waiver Wire Picks. He’s swinging a hot bat; he’ll be playing at home.
Quinn Mathews took the loss in a quality start against the Giants. He’s lined up to have a two-start week next week, against the Giants and Nationals at home. Great streaming option next week.
Andrew Painter was shelled by the Astros yesterday. His three starts before that were all quality starts, and hopefully he’ll return to form for his next start on Sunday against the Braves.
ESPN
Jake Bennett has a great matchup against the Angels today. Excellent streamer.
Hayden Wesneski handled the Phillies yesterday, just barely eking out a quality start. He gets the Rays next time out, and he’s worth targeting in that start.
Javier Sanoja is providing a little bit of everything right now. He’s batting .354 over the last month, with 4 HR and 3 SB. He’s a rock-solid bench bat. I’m not sure why he’s listed as a relief pitcher here; maybe you can stash him as a pitcher on off-days.
Corbin Burnes made his season debut yesterday, going three innings against the Royals. He looked good, but he likely won’t be in line for many wins as he builds back up to five innings of work.
Andre Pallante gets the Giants in Oracle today, and the Giants in Busch next week. Another excellent streaming candidate.
Streaming Pitchers
Check out Nick Pollack’s SP Streamer Rankings for a complete breakdown of every start over the next few days.
Today (Wednesday): Zebby Matthews (MIN) (34% on Yahoo!) Matthews has posted a 3.19 ERA over the past month. He was untouchable in August, but slipped in his first September start against the White Sox. The Tigers seem like the ideal team for him to bounce back against.
Tomorrow (Thursday): Jared Jones (PIT) (31% on Yahoo!) Jones is coming off a six-inning, nine-strikeout shutout outing against the Angels. The White Sox are a more potent opponent, but nothing that Jones shouldn’t be able to handle.
