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 you can leave on the wire.
Top Priority Players to Add
Connor Prielipp (MIN) – SP (Yahoo! – 2%)
Prielipp got the call earlier this week, and was officially listed as the Twins’ starter for today. One of Minnesota’s top prospects, Prielipp was off to a hot start at Triple-A this season, with a 2.30 ERA and 22 strikeouts across 15.2 innings pitched. He has a phenomenal 70-grade slider and has added an equally impressive curveball just this season. A 95 mph fastball and solid changeup round out his arsenal. He’s given up some hard contact in the minors and the walk-rate is a little high at 13.1%, but his strikeout numbers more than make up for it.
It’s been a bumpy road through the minors for Prielipp, mostly due to injuries and rehabs slowing him down. It was looking increasingly likely that he’d end up in the bullpen. But now, he’s healthy and he’s getting as good a shot as anyone. We’ve seen plenty of unheralded rookie callups kick down the door after getting their opportunity. I’m seeing flashes of Nolan McLean, who entered his 2025 minor league season as a fringy top-100ish prospect. In Triple-A that year, McLean posted a 2.45 ERA and a K/9 of 10.06. Now, Prielipp is a fringy top-100ish prospect, posting a 2.30 ERA and K/9 of 10.67 (granted, in about 10% as many innings). To be clear, I don’t expect Prielipp to be quite this year’s McLean. The injury concerns are real and he’s had a good start at Triple-A rather than a good season like McLean. Still, Prielipp is well worth chasing in all league sizes. He’s available nearly everywhere and there’s a world where he does end up as an excellent MLB starter.
Luke Raley (SEA) – 1B, OF (Yahoo! – 31%)
I’m usually hesitant to write about platoon bats, but Raley is hitting the cover off the ball. His hard hit rate, barrel rate, and average exit velocity are all above the 90th percentile. He’s doing a tremendous job lifting and pulling the ball to make the most of that power too, something he hasn’t done successfully since 2023 when he posted a career-best .824 OPS. He’s unfortunately in a strict platoon and has sat against every left-handed pitcher that the Mariners have faced. And his strikeout rate is extremely high at 36%. And he’s getting somewhat lucky with a .432 BABIP. While I’m hesitant to wholeheartedly recommend strict platoon players, I do roster a lot of players like Raley. It’s fairly easy to work him into or out of lineups based on his schedule and his eligibility in the outfield and at first base.
Mickey Moniak is having similar success as a lift-and-pull focused platoon bat, and has the added bonus of playing in Coors.
Yahoo! and ESPN Most Added Players
Yahoo!
Carmen Mlodzinski was a popular streamer for his start against the Rangers. Things didn’t go according to plan — he gave up five earned runs in 4.1 innings. He’s not anything more than a streamer and, and you’ll have better options more often than not.
Tanner Scott is the heir-apparent for the Dodgers’ closing job in the wake of Edwin Díaz hitting the injured list. He likely won’t be the only pitcher in line for saves with Alex Vesia and Blake Treinen in the mix, but Scott figures to be the favorite for the time being with a 1.04 ERA across 8.2 innings of work. Scott should be a strong closing option even if he doesn’t have a monopoly on the job. He’s worthy of an add in all league sizes.
Dalton Rushing has been absurdly hot in his limited playing time. He got a slight boost snagging a start at first with Freddie Freeman on the paternity list, but he’s back to his regularly scheduled programming as a backup catcher. He’s a talented hitter but he’s not seven-home-runs-in-eight-games-good. If you have a spare bench slot, he’s hitting so ridiculously well that you might as well slot him in when he’s starting, but he won’t dethrone any of Freeman, Will Smith, or Shohei Ohtani for a starting job. Don’t worry about adding him in 12-team leagues or shallower unless you have more bench slots than you know what to do with.
How is Max Muncy still only 62% rostered? I’ve been committing gross malpractice by not highlighting him. Muncy was stellar last year when healthy and he’s picked right up where he left off. His plate discipline is a bit worse but he’s making excellent contact so far and it more than makes up for the increase in his swing-and-miss. He’s an add in all league sizes.
Landen Roupp managed another excellent start, this time holding the Dodgers to one run in five innings with seven strikeouts. We’re probably seeing the upper limit of what he’ll do this year, but he’s limiting walks and not giving up hard contact. He looks like a solid middle-of-the-rotation arm in all but the shallowest leagues.
ESPN
Take a look at the Yahoo! section above for blurbs on Max Muncy, Dalton Rushing, Landen Roupp, and Tanner Scott.
Braxton Ashcraft looks excellent. Upper 90’s fastball, multiple off-speed options, which are returning plenty of whiffs. I prefer Ashcraft to Roupp if you’re between the two: I think we could still see even better results out of Ashcraft.
Streaming Pitchers
Check out Nick Pollack’s SP Streamer Rankings for a complete breakdown of every start over the next few days. There are two pitchers I’d like to highlight.
Tomorrow (Thursday): We have a short slate of games of tomorrow and I’m not crazy about any of the streaming options. Davis Martin isn’t anything special but he’s had a nice string of starts and he has a good shot to handle the Diamondbacks.
Deep League Players to Watch
Edouard Julien (COL) – 1B, 2B (Yahoo! – 2%)
Julien’s .693 OPS and one home run don’t paint the brightest picture. But the underlying metrics point to sunnier days ahead. He’s making strong contact, similar to his previous seasons, and seeing a substantial power boost from his new home in Coors. It should translate to more home runs, especially once the weather heats up a bit. He lifts the ball well but he doesn’t pull it often enough to get it out of the park consistently, though he’s doing so at the highest rate of his major league career.
