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
Francisco Alvarez (NYM), C (15% owned in Yahoo!)
Alvarez has been back as the primary Mets catcher since July 21, and he’s been one of the best hitters in baseball in that span. He’s hitting .304/.418/.630 with a gaudy 20% barrel rate and .463 xWOBA, which is the best in the league during that time frame (min. 50 PA).
Interestingly, he’s dropped his pull rate to a career low 27.5% this year, down from 44.3% in his 25-homer 2023 season and 34.8% last year. He is setting deeper in the box this year, which allows him to take the ball the other way more often. He has plenty of bat speed and raw power to hit for damage to the opposite field, and perhaps this approach enables him to make more consistent contact. This displays some adaptability at the plate as we’ve seen him get to plenty of pull power, and now he has shown this ability. The power upside is among the best at the catcher position, and he should be a must-add where available.
Matt Wallner (MIN), OF (12% owned in Yahoo!)
Wallner has played nearly every day for the Twins of late, and everyone is aware of his power ceiling. Since the start of July, he’s hitting .239/.360/.576 (155 wRC+) with nine homers. He’s started in three of the Twins’ last four games against lefties and has a 21.1% barrel rate with an even 18.8% strikeout rate and 18.8% walk rate so far in August. While he won’t be an asset in batting average, he’s worthy of picking up in most standard formats.
Highest xwOBA – Last 2 Weeks
Matt Wallner: 0.495 xwOBA
Pete Alonso: 0.488 xwOBA
Brice Turang: 0.473 xwOBA
Seiya Suzuki: 0.472 xwOBA
Jakob Marsee: 0.47 xwOBA
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.: 0.464 xwOBA
Carlos Correa: 0.462 xwOBA
Giancarlo Stanton: 0.456 xwOBA— Jon Anderson (@JonPgh) August 13, 2025
Dustin May (BOS), SP (26% owned in Yahoo!)
The Red Sox have already begun tinkering with May’s arsenal, as he threw all four offerings at least 20% of the time Tuesday night against the Astros. It was an excellent game to build on, with six scoreless innings and eight strikeouts. May has always had the prospect pedigree, and now, on a Boston team that has optimized plenty of pitchers recently, it could be a good time to buy.
Dustin May’s 3Ks in the 2nd…and K Scream 😱
5Ks thru 2. pic.twitter.com/vxVEHwFuRT
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 13, 2025
Hurston Waldrep (ATL), SP (16% owned in Yahoo!)
Waldrep has turfed his poor four-seamer and is now throwing a sinker and cutter to go with his nasty splitter and curveball. The results were great in his first start back in the majors, throwing six innings of one-run ball with six strikeouts against Miami. After struggling to a 4,42 ERA and 1.47 WHIP in Triple-A, this adjustment could be exactly what he needs to unlock some things.
Hurston Waldrep (@Braves No. 4 prospect) twirls a 💎 in his first big league start (second appearance) of 2025:
6 IP
4 H
1 R
1 BB
6 K pic.twitter.com/VNBKG2XPij— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) August 9, 2025
Yahoo! and ESPN Most Added Players
Michael McGreevy was scooped up to stream against the Road Rockies on Wednesday. He threw a quality start, allowing three runs on seven hits in six innings with two strikeouts. McGreevy lacks upside, as the most strikeouts he’s had in a start so far are four.
Blaze Alexander has been surging in August, with a 1.158 OPS and four homers. He’s benefitted most from the Eugenio Suárez trade, starting every game at third base since the deadline. He is a good hot hand guy to pick up and ride while he hits.
Nolan McLean is set to make his debut on Saturday against the Mariners, and I’ll have more on him below in the streamer section.
Cam Schlittler was streamed against the Twins on Wednesday and had the most promising start of his career so far. He allowed one run over five innings while striking out six, and he has plenty of upside.
Cade Horton continued his strong stretch Wednesday in Toronto, throwing 5.2 innings, allowing only one hit and one run while striking out eight. It snapped his 22.2 inning scoreless streak, but you will certainly take that kind of outing.
Gavin Williams struggled against the Marlins on Wednesday, allowing four runs in the first inning, and wound up only completing three frames. However, he’d been on a really quality stretch on the mound, with a 2.36 ERA in 72.1 innings since June.
Edward Cabrera should be owned universally at this stage, as I’ve talked him up every chance I can. He’s fresh off his best outing of the season in Atlanta, throwing eight innings, allowing only one run with 11 strikeouts.
Isaac Collins has been one of the best surprise stories in baseball so far. He’s hitting .292/389/.451 with 8 homers and 13 steals in 326 plate appearances. He’s one of six players with a .375 OBP or higher and at least 10 stolen bases. That group includes George Springer, Kyle Tucker, Shohei Ohtani, Juan Soto, and Geraldo Perdomo.
Isaac Collins over his last 20 games:
10 Multi-Hit Games
Walkoff HR
16 Team WinsThe only other rookie in the modern era (since 1901) to have each of those marks or better over a 20-game span is Yasiel Puig in 2013. pic.twitter.com/s0DEAoerg9
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) August 10, 2025
Jacob Lopez hasn’t allowed a run in four straight starts now. As Eno Sarris pointed out, he had a major jump in Stuff+ on his fastball at the start of August and has stuck since.
It held yesterday (101 Stuff+), and I think it’s because he’s changed his fastball mix (more sinkers, fewer four-seamers) and also upped the vert on his four-seam. Jacob Lopez still suffers from poor velocity but it’s an interesting mix. https://t.co/aolEW83QBX pic.twitter.com/0QjgAPORWR
— Eno Sarris (@enosarris) August 13, 2025
Luke Keaschall has had quite the start to his career, 14 games in, hitting .354/.436/.604 with two homers and five steals. He’s shown a great approach and the ability to pull the ball for power with his subpar 66.7 mph bat speed.
Streaming Pitchers
Check out Nick’s daily SP streaming article!
Nolan McLean (NYM), SP (9% owned in Yahoo!)
McLean will make his MLB debut on Saturday at home against the Mariners. He gets the benefit of a favorable home park for pitchers and a Seattle offense that has a 14.5% swinging strike rate against righties in August, third highest in the league. McLean features a deep arsenal that includes multiple fastballs in a four-seamer, sinker, and cutter, along with a sweeper, curveball, and changeup. Overall, it comes out to a strong 109 Stuff+.
Nolan McLean’s rapid rise to the big leagues culminates this Saturday, when he’s set to make his debut! pic.twitter.com/v4wBnLbKNK
— Pitch Profiler (@pitchprofiler) August 13, 2025
The right-hander has had excellent numbers in 113.1 combined innings at Double-A and Triple-A this year, with a 2.45 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, and 127 strikeouts. He’s made two starts in August and has allowed only one run and three hits in 9.2 innings while striking out 14.
Deep League Players to Watch
Troy Melton (DET), SP (4% owned in Yahoo!)
Melton is a name to keep an eye on as he made a spot start Wednesday against the White Sox and blanked them over five innings while allowing only one hit and six strikeouts. Before Wednesday’s start, his underlying numbers showed great promise. He throws a hard fastball at 97.2 mph and throws six pitches at least 5% of the time. All six have Stuff+ grades of 107 or better, and he has above-average Location+ marks on three of them. That’s an enticing profile and one to keep an eye on if a rotation spot opens up or if he ends up sticking.
Troy Melton’s 3Ks in the 5th. pic.twitter.com/V9wPIkmZCL
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 13, 2025
