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
Liam Hicks (MIA), 1B/C (Yahoo – 64%)
It appears that I may have to tout Liam Hicks until he’s universally rostered, as I can’t believe he’s still available in over a third of leagues, at least on Yahoo. He has been gaining some buzz over the first few weeks of the season, and all Hicks has done is continue to produce up until this point. His new pull-heavy approach, where he’s also swinging harder but not sacrificing his great plate discipline, has been a great formula for success for Hicks. He’s always had excellent plate discipline, but has never paired it with production like this.
So far this season, Hicks already has four home runs after hitting only six in 390 plate appearances last season. Up to this point, he’s also earned his impressive 0.326 batting average with a 96th percentile 0.313 expected batting average. It’s hard to say if he’ll be able to keep up this pace, but the longer Hicks continues to do this, the harder he’s becoming to dismiss. His walk rate is quite a bit lower than it was last season, but so is his strikeout rate. Right now, he’s just putting everything in play, but he still possesses an elite 21% chase rate, which tells us the walks will still normalize and tick up over time. That will especially be the case if he continues to be such a dangerous hitter.
Garrett Mitchell (MIL), OF (Yahoo – 13%)
Garrett Mitchell is an under-rostered player who continues to intrigue me with his interesting skill set. He does a lot of things well that would add up to an impactful player, like his elite bat speed and sprint speed. He also pairs that with a great walk rate of nearly 24% and a chase rate just below 21%. It’s one of those combinations of skills where I struggle to see how this wouldn’t work. He swings and misses a lot, but a lot of the best hitters in the game do that, too. He has struggled to stay healthy in his career, and at this point is probably his biggest obstacle. If all someone needs to do is stay healthy, that’s a player worth betting on.
Yahoo and ESPN Most Added Players
Brad Keller is the name to focus on here, who could be in line for saves for the Philadelphia Phillies, with Jhoan Duran landing on the injured list with an oblique injury. It’s hard to say how long this opportunity will last for Keller, but in the short term, he will be a great option for saves. He appears to be the one in line to earn saves, so he’s the reliever worth targeting on the Phillies.
Munetaka Murakami is doing a pretty good Kyle Schwarber impression so far this season, to the point that he’s becoming a very intriguing option. He homered again on Sunday, giving him a home run in each game of the Chicago White Sox series against the Athletics. He’s now up to eight home runs, and pairing that with his nearly 23% walk rate is more than enough to make up for the strikeouts.
My favorite pitcher from this group of added starters is Ryan Weathers, and he’s also the one who carries the most upside. Pitching for a good team in the New York Yankees should only help his cause, and the fact that he’s still healthy and piling up the strikeouts early in the season is very encouraging. His start on Sunday only adds to my interest in Weathers, who threw 7.1 scoreless innings with eight strikeouts against the Kansas City Royals.
Streaming Pitchers
Be sure to check out Nick Pollack’s SP Streamer Rankings, which he releases every day before any games have been played. It’s a great resource to use all season long. Check them all out here.
Max Meyer (MIA), SP (Yahoo – 13%)
Meyer is a great streaming target this week, especially in weekly leagues, since he will be making two starts. He gets some nice matchups as well, as the Miami Marlins will face the St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants this week. After the Giants’ showing on Sunday, where their offense couldn’t even score against Miles Mikolas, I’d be confident starting almost any pitcher against that offense at the moment. It’s becoming one of the most favorable matchups for starting pitchers this season. There are currently not many streaming scenarios than facing the Giants in Oracle Park. I really like Meyer in this spot.
Jack Kochanowicz (LAA), SP (Yahoo – 5%)
Kochanowicz will also get a chance to take down some struggling offenses, getting the Toronto Blue Jays and Kansas City Royals this week. That means he’s also a two-start pitcher, and he’s been a bit of a different pitcher this year. It’s caused me to have some interest in him for the first time, and this feels like a good time to give him a shot. In his three starts in April, he’s been particularly good, allowing four runs in 19.1 innings, good for a 1.86 ERA and 1.03 WHIP. He’s averaging over six innings in those three starts, so his ability to work deep into games makes him particularly valuable in a points league as well.
Speculative Adds
Peter Lambert (HOU), SP (Yahoo – 0%)
Lambert is a deep cut, considering he’s not owned in any leagues on Yahoo at the moment. This felt like a good spot to mention him, after a debut for the Houston Astros on Friday, where he struck out eight while generating 23 whiffs on 90 pitches. It wasn’t otherwise a particularly good start, as he allowed four earned runs in five innings, which is probably also why nobody noticed. This definitely comes out of nowhere, but what’s great about starting pitching emerging on the waiver wire is exactly this. Someone whose never been interesting all of a sudden comes back a different pitcher and version of themselves we’ve never seen before. So I’m interested in him as a spec add, and he gets a favorable matchup this week as well. He’s lined up to face the Cleveland Guardians on Wednesday, so keep an eye on him to see how that start goes.
