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 players you can leave on the wire.
Top Priority Players to Add
A.J. Ewing (NYM), 2B/OF — 39% Rostership
Ewing, 21, has been such a consistent source of production for the Mets and fantasy managers alike since his promotion. The speedster is slashing .281/.425/.438 with a 155 wRC+, yet he’s actually underperforming his expected data. Ewing’s .533 xSLG compared to his actual .438 mark is perhaps the best example of this. He’s barreling the ball at an insane 14% clip, and his hard-hit rate has actually increased compared to his days in Triple-A.
If you are concerned about the strikeout rate early, don’t be. He’s seeing far fewer pitches in the zone, and that has put him into leverage counts, allowing him to take called strikes (and as a result, increasing his cStr% and CSW% by sizeable marks). The Z-Contact rate may be slightly down, but he’s whiffing at nearly the same rate we saw in the minors. This will even out in time.
Gavin Sheets (WSH), OF/1B — 36% Rostership
Sheets has arguably been the best qualified hitter in baseball this month, slashing an astonishing .288/.422/.596 with a 190 wRC+ and walking more times (12) than striking out (11) over that span. His xwOBA, xSLG, and barrel rate are all up compared to last year’s. Sheets’ ability to move between first base and the outfield really helps his fantasy value, too.
Alec Bohm, 1B/3B — 39% Rostership
Bohm is another potential corner infield addition that has been scorching hot this month, turning in a .323/.371/.569 slash line with a 163 wRC+ after what was a diabolically bad start to the season. The 29-year-old has hit safely in twelve of his last thirteen games, plus has seen a rise in EV (92.2) and HH% (47.4%) compared to his overall numbers.
The big difference for Bohm has been producing versus fastball types. Posting just a .169 xBA and .245 xwOBA against fastball-variants in April didn’t help. Since then, he’s got a .265 xBA and .319 xwOBA, dropping his whiff rate by over 15% to a jaw-dropping 5.9% clip and increasing his EV by 3 mph.
Yahoo and ESPN Most Added Players
J.T. Ginn being on this list is a no-brainer after his last outing, regardless of how it ended. Poor guy. The 27-year-old, fueled by an increase in fastball velocity, boasts a 2.98 ERA and 1.07 WHIP – easily the best marks of his young career. The 13.3% K-BB rate leaves some more to be desired, but he is working deep into games, and the swinging-strike rate has started to trend in the right direction over his last five appearances.
Grant Holmes is such a polarizing add. On one hand, he’s turned in quite a handful of quality starts this year. On the other hand, he’s simply not that good to sustain this success. Sorry, not sorry. His 4.81 FIP and 8% K-BB rate indicate he’s going to implode sooner rather than later.
Lucas Giolito was dealing in his season debut with the Padres before he completely hit a brick wall. That’ll happen when you’re still shaking off some rust. He’s a buy-low starter who has shown he can still be a formidable arm in the past, though he won’t be racking up strikeouts like crazy on a consistent basis. Same with Steven Kolek, who owns a career 10.9% K-BB rate but a solid 3.85 FIP.
Yes, yes, and yes on Max Meyer. He’s an absolute stud, and I’m glad people are finally starting to invest in his stock. He’s excelled this season, posting a 2.85 ERA/3.06 FIP and 18.2% K-BB rate through 53.2 innings. The slider/sweeper secondary (or primary) combo remains elite, and the swing-and-miss threat on those two offerings has actually elevated his four-seamer’s performance – a pitch that was once horrendous.
Jake Bauers is one of the hottest hitters on the planet right now, sporting a twelve-game hit streak dating back to May 3rd. He’s posted a 1.093 OPS and 209 wRC+ over that span, smacking 7 extra-base hits and driving home 10 runs. If he’s somehow still available, grab him.
Streaming Pitchers
Our guy Nick Pollack does a fantastic job at highlighting and ranking starting pitcher streaming options… check out his list here!
Christian Scott (NYM), RHP — 13% Rostership
Scott comes with a bit of risk given the fact he has yet to really work deep into games, but he’s undoubtedly a quality arm that has flashed upside in the past. He owns a 3.66 FIP and 28% strikeout rate through five starts, though the walk rate (13%) is less than ideal. That’s the X-factor… limiting walks means more innings and an increase in rostership for Scott. Rack up that CSW%!
Troy Melton (DET), RHP — 13% Rostership
Melton is an intriguing high-ceiling addition for your squad, even if you want to bench him in his first start (“still ILL” could be in effect, like Nick pointed out). The 25-year-old was lights out during his brief rehab stints in the minors this year, posting a 1.54 ERA/1.76 FIP and a 31.1% K-BB rate through 11.2 innings. Paired with the prior success he saw last year (2.76 ERA, 1.01 WHIP through 45.2 IP at the major league level), Melton jumps off the page as a name to circle that is available in way too many leagues.
