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
If you missed Jeremy Heist’s Waiver Wire Picks yesterday definitely check it out. I second that you should grab Kristian Campbell, Tyler Soderstrom, and Kyle Manzardo. I won’t cover them again so I’m going just a bit deeper to find some players who could change your season and are available in most leagues.
Ben Rice (NYY), 1B (10% rostered on Yahoo!)
Rice’s five spring homers in 20 games have been overshadowed by Soderstrom’s and Manzardo’s blisteringly hot starts to the season but he deserves to be in the same conversation. He hit his first homer of the year on Sunday and can back it up with an elite Barrel% of 15% from last year. Had he kept it up for the whole season he’d be in the top 10 just after Corey Seager. He was elite in Chase% and just shy of elite in BB% last year and his spring says he’s found the power to tie it all together. There’s no one in his way at DH so he’s guaranteed the runway to lock down the job.
José Soriano (LAA), SP (29% rostered on Yahoo!)
What if you took Framber Valdez and gave him three more ticks of velocity on every pitch? Soriano is an elite groundball pitcher coming off a stellar season opener where he went seven scoreless innings. Yes it was the White Sox, and yes he only notched five strikeouts, but Soriano looks like he’ll be a Quality Start machine. Kyle McCarthy did a great analysis of Soriano in his Going Deep article here, and he seems primed to take another step forward this year. This is the guy the Angels should be building around.
Kris Bubic (KCR), RP soon-to-be SP (18% rostered on Yahoo!)
In his Starting Pitcher and Streamer Rankings, Nick said of Bubic’s start today: “I don’t love the matchup nor Bubic’s lack of consistent groove in the spring, but I’m going for it, with an added element of ‘Hey, Bubic is a guy to add if you’re in a spot to chase an upside arm.’ He’ll be really hard to pick up if this one goes well.” Well, this one went well, with Bubic going six scoreless with eight strikeouts against the Brewers. Bubic closed out 2024 with a 2.67 ERA and 11.57 K/9 in 30.1 IP of relief after a bumpy stint as a starter in 2022 and 2023. We’ve seen plenty of relievers turned starters find success and Bubic’s 4.1% BB% last year and performance today screams Michael King to me. There’s a ton of upside here so expect Bubic’s ownership percentage to skyrocket and get in now while you still can.
Yahoo! and ESPN Most Added Players
Here are Monday’s most added players on Yahoo! We have a couple of streamers here: David Peterson against the lowly Marlins and Chris Paddack against the lowly White Sox. Peterson did great against the Fish going six innings with nine strikeouts earning the win while Paddack got smacked around by the Sox to the tune of nine earned runs in 3.1 innings with only two Ks, good for an ERA of 24.30. I don’t love Paddack enough to hold hoping for a bounce-back game next time against Houston but Peterson did quite well and has the Blue Jays for his next start who I’d be happy starting him against.
Tyler Soderstrom and Kyle Manzardo are prime targets for me this week. Manzardo sat today against a lefty. I was hoping he mashed his way out of his platoon, but he already drew one start against LHP this year so there’s still a good chance that this was a scheduled rest day.
Wilyer Abreu sat against lefty starter Cade Povich but came in for an at-bat later in the game. It seems unlikely that Abreu will break out of his platoon, as he hit just .180 against southpaws last year. If Roman Anthony keeps raking in Triple-A, his playing time could slip further. Abreu had a strong rookie year with a couple of down months that made it look less impressive than it was, but the outfield in Boston is so crowded that I’m wary about breaking the bank for him.
Here are the hot players on ESPN. I touched on Abreu above and yesterday’s Waiver Wire Picks covered Campbell and Soderstrom in depth (this is your sign to add Campbell and Soderstrom). Eugenio Suárez is criminally under-owned on ESPN (92% on Yahoo) and is an absolute must-add – he’s top ten on the season in every league and number one in most. He hit 30 homers last year and he’s already hit four in four games this year – he’s overdue for an All-Star nod. MacKenzie Gore should be universally rostered too after he blanked the Phillies in the season opener, racking up 13 K’s in six IP. He might not be destined for an AGA tag but the breakout may have finally arrived.
Category-Specific Players to Add
Jesús Luzardo (PHI), SP (58% Rostered on Yahoo!)
Luzardo earned the win in his first start of the year, giving up two earned runs over five innings of work. There’s injury risk looking at his past few years, and he’s not shown the consistency needed to be included in ace conversations, but he can truly rack up the strikeouts–if you’re after Ks I would start here. He should be good for plenty of wins too now that he’s free of Miami but you’re here for the counting stats and the K/9. He’s been prone to blowups but I think the stuff combined with the Philadelphia coaching staff will lead him to a career year.
Streaming Pitchers
Check out Nick’s SP Streamer Rankings for the most up-to-date starting pitching streamers.
Casey Mize (DET), SP (15% rostered on Yahoo!)
Mize’s career hasn’t panned out as expected but he put together a strong showing in spring training and locked down a spot in Detroit’s rotation. In 19 innings of spring work, he racked up 25 punch-outs with a 1.89 ERA. His 2024 season was less spectacular with a 4.49 ERA but that prospect pedigree never disappears completely. I’m not all in on him but he should be able to handle the Mariners and maybe this is the year he puts it all together.
Sean Burke (CWS), SP (18% rostered on Yahoo!)
Burke showed himself to be a capable starter at the end of last year delivering 19 IP of 1.42 ERA baseball. He’s carried that over into his first start of the year with six scoreless innings and a win against the Angels. The Twins shouldn’t be a bigger challenge than the Halos on Wednesday. I’d expect a better performance strikeout-wise and if he holds off Minnesota I like him against the Guardians in his next start. I’m after his schedule more than his upside here but he should pan out nicely.
Speculative Adds
Luke Jackson (TEX), RP (35% rostered on Yahoo!)
There’s still a good closer option on the wire in most leagues. Jackson doesn’t have an absolute lock on the job by any means but he’s notched two saves already. The Rangers are a much stronger team than the others out there with unsettled closer situations (shout out to Seth Halvorsen on the Rockies who is worth a look too) and that’s a huge deal when it comes to finding save opportunities. If you’re like me and punt on closers every year this is the guy to grab in most leagues. Still speculative but he’s a good bet.
Deep League Players to Watch
Alek Thomas (ARI), OF (1% rostered on Yahoo!)
Someone for the deep deep league players, Thomas is 5-for-7 to start the year with two doubles to his name, one of which fell just a few feet short of the centerfield wall. Thomas is dueling it out with Jake McCarthy for the starting job in center and each has drawn two of four starts for the team. McCarthy had the stronger spring but has so far failed to find a hit in eight plate appearances. Thomas hits righties better than lefties but hasn’t been in a strict platoon in past stints in the majors. His performance in the minors indicates he won’t be hitting more than 10 homers or swiping more than 10 bags but he could find himself with an everyday job and held a 14% K rate in the minors last year. He’s only 24 and a step forward isn’t out of the picture. He’s free virtually everywhere and has a bit more upside than other players likely on the wire.
Kyren Paris (LAA), 2B (1% rostered on Yahoo!)
Another one for the deepest leagues, Paris could be on the verge of winning an everyday job for the Angels. He’s delivered a hit in three of four games this year and threw in a homer and a couple of steals for free. He’s only started two games but there’s plenty of opportunity if Jo Adell misses time. Even if an Angels player manages to dodge the IL for once, Paris could find time at second if either Luis Rengifo or Yoán Moncada fulfills the prophecy. Paris didn’t have the best year in the minors last year but put up 14 homers, 44 steals, and a wRC+ of 123 in 113 games at Double-A in 2023 so he’s not too far removed from showing real fantasy appeal.
If you’d like to see more deep league options, check out Ben Rosener’s Deep League Waiver Wire column, every Thursday and Saturday.
