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
Jo Adell (LAA), OF (5% owned in Yahoo!)
Adell is on the cusp of breaking out as he has built on some of the underlying positives of his 2024 season. So far, he has cut his K rate even more (currently 24.5%) along with other contact improvements and continues to hit the snot out of the ball.
Fresh off of hitting two home runs in the same inning last week in Tampa Bay, now could be a good time to get in before he does more damage. There’s the possibility that the K rate goes in the wrong direction, but he’ll be a productive source of home runs and steals regardless.
Kyle Stowers (MIA), OF (10% owned in Yahoo!)
Stowers has been crushing the ball in the first few weeks of the season with a mammoth 21.1 Barrel%. He’s combined his excellent quality of contact with the patented patience that he displayed in the minor leagues. The swing and miss has consistently been his pitfall, and while it’s still not a strength at a 27.7% K rate, it can play if he continues to hit for damage. He possesses the ideal combination of plus bat speed (74.2 mph) and a compact swing length (6.7 feet), which is similar to sluggers like William Contreras and Pete Alonso.
Landen Roupp (SF), SP (16% owned in Yahoo!)
Roupp has looked sharp so far this year despite the 4.80 ERA, as his peripherals look strong with a 2.62 FIP and 19.4 K-BB%. He’s relied heavily on his sinker (99 Stuff+) and curveball (108 Stuff+). His curveball has been one of the best in baseball so far, with the second-best SwStr% (29.1%) among all curveballs thrown (min. 50 pitches). Factor in a great pitcher’s park, and he is worth an add.
Landen Roupp threw his curveball a career-high 56 times on Monday.
The Phillies connected with the pitch for a hit just once. They swung and missed 15 times. pic.twitter.com/1AufKA16g9
— John Foley (@2008Philz) April 15, 2025
Edward Cabrera (MIA), SP (5% owned in Yahoo!)
Cabrera returned from the IL last week and pitched decently. His excellent stuff gives him great strikeout upside, but control and command issues have plagued him. Part of a team-level philosophy for the Marlins this year, Cabrera threw fewer fastballs in his first start. To be determined if that is a good thing or not, but it is interesting. At minimum, he’s someone to use at home with a favorable home pitcher’s park.
Yahoo! and ESPN Most Added Players
Bobby Miller was recalled by the Dodgers to make a start Wednesday night against the Rockies. Miller had a nightmare 2024 season after a promising rookie campaign and is hopeful to re-find the goods. His stuff is awesome, and he is worth adding to find out.
I highlighted Jonathan Aranda as a priority add last week in this column, as he has obliterated baseballs so far. His 0.487 xwOBA is fourth-best in baseball (min. 50 PAs) and, as mentioned before, he plays his home games in a minor league park. He does platoon currently, but that could change the way he’s been going.
Jose Quintana made his season debut for the Brewers last week and pitched well. The 36-year-old lefty continues to chug along as he’s been solid each of the past three seasons and should be a fairly reliable and boring source of innings.
Tyler Mahle has a sub-1.00 ERA through his first 19.2 innings of 2025. His fastball velocity is up, along with his strikeouts. I’m still skeptical of him as someone who throws his fastball north of 50% of the time in the low 90s, but the results are tough to ignore.
Osvaldo Bido is a pitcher I like as he possesses multiple fastballs and an above-average breaking ball. While he didn’t go deep in his first three starts (5 IP in each), he did complete 5.2 strong innings at the White Sox on Wednesday night and has a 2.76 FIP early on. Although he unfortunately gave us a donut in the strikeout column.
Kyren Paris has been touched on multiple times in Waiver Wire picks and continues to be a must-add. The strikeouts will continue, but he could be a 20-20 candidate.
The contact-oriented Geraldo Perdomo has had a fun start with three home runs and two stolen bases. In addition, his walk rate (17.6%) is more than triple his K rate (5.4%). That’s pretty cool.
Kris Bubic has remade himself as a starter and has been awesome through his first three starts. He finished up a tough Wednesday night start at the Yankees with an unspectacular final line (5.1 IP | 7 H | 3 ER | 4 BB | 6 K). He still should be looked at as a universal add.
Zach McKinstry resembles Brendan Donovan as a player to an extent, as a utility player who can mix in a few homers and steals. If dealing with injury at any position, he makes for a decent fill-in option.
Chris Bassitt has shoved in his first four starts with a sub-1.00 ERA and a whopping 10 Ks Wednesday afternoon at home against the Braves. He will continue to eat innings for the Blue Jays, and when he is still flashing this sort of upside, it certainly makes him that much more appealing.
Category-Specific Players to Add
Jake Meyers (HOU), OF (3% owned in Yahoo!)
Meyers is currently tied for third in the league in stolen bases with six so far. Additionally, he is making more contact while also swinging in the zone more and chasing less. So he could hit for a decent AVG and continue to play plenty as the Astros’ best defensive CF.
Streaming Pitchers
Be sure to check out Nick’s daily SP streaming article!
Luis L. Ortiz (CLE), SP (6% owned in Yahoo!)
I’d call us 2-1 on my three streamer picks early on between José Soriano @ CWS, Will Warren @ PIT, and Richard Fitts @ CWS. Even with Fitts unfortunately leaving early with an injury, he at least gave us five shutout innings on his way out. This week, we are going back to the well and targeting Pittsburgh again with Luis L. Ortiz on Friday. Classic revenge game here for Ortiz, in addition to the exciting 10-strikeout outing against the Royals his last time out. Ortiz has had good Stuff+ numbers in the past and could be on the verge of putting the pieces together.
Luis L. Ortiz pitched a gem today as he struck out 10 over 5.2 IP with 1 ER
Ortiz racked up 17 whiffs on the day as his fastball returned an elite 44.4 Whiff% pic.twitter.com/NnAGegIhB0
— Thomas Nestico (@TJStats) April 12, 2025
Speculative Adds
Logan Henderson (MIL), SP (3% owned in Yahoo!)
Henderson was called up to Milwaukee on Tuesday. It is to be determined if he will claim a rotation spot for the foreseeable future, but the Brewers’ 12th-ranked prospect has posted strong numbers in the minor leagues (28.1 K-BB% in 81.1 innings in 2024) and is instantly one of their more exciting arms in the majors.
Deep League Players to Watch
Brooks Lee (MIN), 2B, 3B, SS (4% owned in Yahoo!)
Lee has started every game at 3B for the Twins since being reinstated on April 13. He offers eligibility at multiple IF spots, which can be invaluable. On top of that, he makes a lot of contact along with the shown ability to pull the ball for a little bit of power in the minor leagues. Furthermore, with strong walk rates across his time, he could have some value in OBP leagues.
For more deep leaguers, check Ben Rosener’s Deep League Waiver Wire column every Thursday and Saturday.
