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
Caleb Durbin (BOS), INF — 41% Rostership
Durbin has been on an absolute heater since taking a three-day break back in late May. Since returning from that rest period, the 26-year-old has slashed .321/.356/.615 with a 160 wRC+. What’s even crazier? Durbin has gotten even better despite the larger sample size of PAs, posting a 230 wRC+ and crushing five home runs over his last 15 games.
Mickey Moniak (COL), OF — 48% Rostership
Moniak has been a slug machine all year, and despite that, his roster rate is so awfully low. The former top prospect has found a home in Colorado, launching 15 home runs while posting a career-high .615 SLG and 141 wRC+ through 54 games this season. He also enters play today with multi-hit performances in three consecutive games (four XBH over that span).
Yahoo and ESPN Most Added Players
Brandon Young owns a 3.11 ERA this season, and while some of the underlying metrics point towards some regression happening in due time, I don’t see why you wouldn’t want to take a stab at adding a guy that can go 5+ innings pretty consistently.
Sean Burke has been a solid waiver wire option, posting a 1.89 ERA, 23% K-BB rate, and 1.05 WHIP over his last three starts.
Jake McCarthy is another Rockies position player who is in that “must-add” category, coming off a monster six-RBI performance yesterday. He’s slashing .308/.346/.522 with a career-best 122 wRC+, already launching a career-high nine home runs and pairing that with 14 stolen bases.
Brendan Beck is an arm I’d stay away from. The -15.4% K-BB rate and FIP of nearly 10 (!!) from his debut was upsetting, plus add in the fact he wasn’t even BABIP’d a bit… this was all self-inflicted.
Hunter Greene was just activated by the Reds, so if by some miracle you can snag him, you do that. The rest of these players have been mentioned above.
Streaming Pitchers
Our guy Nick Pollack does a fantastic job at highlighting and ranking starting pitcher streaming options… check out his list here!
Brandon Sproat (MIL) — 22% Rostership
Sproat is coming off back-to-back quality appearances against the Reds, posting a 1.59 ERA/2.05 FIP over that span. He’s been really effective at limiting baserunners (0.62 WHIP), and his strikeout rate has jumped tremendously (43%). What makes this streaming option ten times more optimal is the fact that he faces a lousy Diamondbacks lineup that owns the worst wRC+ (82) versus right-handed pitchers this season.
Griffin Jax (TB) — 51% Rostership
I’m never not going to bet on Jax simply because the stuff is that legit. He’s gone at least five innings in five consecutive starts and last time out reached six innings — a new PR for him this season. Jax is not only pitching deeper into outings, but he’s also dominating opponents. Over the span I mentioned above, Jax owns a 1.73 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, and 22% K-BB rate.
Casey Mize (DET) — 59% Rostership
Mize is another high-quality option to grab if he’s still available in your league. Last time out against the Yankees, Mize twirled seven shutout innings while punching out 10 batters. He allowed just one hit. Through 65 innings this season, Mize owns a 2.51 FIP and 0.97 WHIP… that alone should be worth a roster spot.
