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. 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
Camilo Doval (SFG), RP (30% rostered on Yahoo, 8% rostered on ESPN)
DOOOOOOOOOOOVAL!!! Camilo Doval lost his closing role to Ryan Walker last season, getting optioned just a year after being named an All-Star for his excellence in getting outs in the clutch. Walker has looked terrible thus far this year in that closing role, as he has been way more hittable than in prior years. Due to this, the Giants knew that a change was necessary, and they have turned back to Doval.
In the recent series against the Brewers, Doval got the opportunity to close out the last two games, securing a series win for the Giants. He now has five saves on the season, an impressive mark already for a guy who was supposed to be the next man up. If he squeezes his way into the closer role, yay! If not, you can send him back to the wire (unless you have a holds league where he can still be quite valuable).
Now, we have to note that the underlying numbers have seen a downgrade with Doval. While he’s commanding the four-seamer better, it’s no longer the insane fireball we are so used to seeing in terms of velocity. His K rate has dropped significantly with this, so if you need strikeouts, then perhaps he isn’t the ideal pickup for you. But for now, we are seeing a player with rejuvenated confidence who is stepping into a higher-leverage role. If he shows signs of being anything like his 2023 form, watch out.
Gavin Williams (CLE), SP (41% rostered on Yahoo, 15% rostered on ESPN)
This feels like cheating, as I can honestly say I was SHOCKED to see how little Gavin Williams has been rostered, especially in ESPN leagues. It seems like the industry was super excited about him, especially during spring training, where he put up absurd whiff numbers. The results so far this year have been pretty wishy-washy, but still, it feels like he’s earned the right to have the trust of fantasy managers. His last start was pretty great, cooking against a superpowered Yankees lineup, earning 21 whiffs in the process. He won’t always dominate at this level, but again, it still feels like he’s one of those pitchers who should be held onto throughout the year unless he looks disastrous. If your league is among those where he is available, pick him up. And if you do it soon, you will get to start him against the Royals, who haven’t been able to get anything going on offense.
Trent Grisham (NYY), OF (18% rostered on Yahoo, 18% rostered on ESPN)
Did the Yankees win the Trent Grisham trade? This question is a joke, of course, but he is looking like a serious threat at the plate. The numbers have been insane. He’s already starting to close in on his home run total from last year, and his batting average is well above .300. He is a lefty pull hitter, which makes him the ultimate fit for Yankee Stadium. Not only is he taking advantage of the short porch in his home park, but he has also terrorized the Rays at Steinbrenner Field. Perhaps he will become the king of short porches? Well, there are a few contenders for that role, but either way, Grisham is in THE situation that will squeeze the most production out of his talents. It also helps that the Yankees are such an elite offense, so the runs and RBIs will not be as difficult to come by as they would be on virtually every other team.
Yahoo and ESPN Most Added Players
It was a huge day for streaming yesterday, as four out of our top five most added players on Yahoo were streamers. Well, that and Camilo Doval, but we’ve talked about him already.
Luis Severino was a popular pick-up following a couple of great starts, including his last outing in which he went a full 8 innings. Then he got the White Sox, one of the juiciest matchups you can find yourself stacked against. Severino mostly delivered, giving us a poor quality start with seven strikeouts. It was a pretty standard Severino stat line, the kind you’d expect when picking up for the start. It is interesting, though, that he was such a popular stream, considering the ballpark he is playing in. The early returns seem to indicate that Sacramento is a hitter’s environment. Many of the pitchers playing there have blown up and had way worse starts than anticipated. But for the most part, the White Sox seem to negate this. They’re that bad.
Andrew Abbott being a stream was honestly a bit perplexing. There’s no doubt that he’s been really good as of late, coming off a start against the Orioles where he completely dominated a lineup that is not supposed to look that silly. However, streaming in Coors is rarely a good idea. The Rockies have been BAD as of late, but there is still that lingering fear of the long-ball causing problems whenever you stream at Coors. Sure enough, Abbott struggled, giving up free passes galore en route to a 4-inning, 4-earned-run affair. Be careful streaming at Coors, as this is often what you get.
It’s always fun when two of the top 5 most added streamers are going against each other. That is what happened in the Cardinals/Brewers game, where Matthew Liberatore and Chad Patrick faced off against each other. Liberatore did wonders, as he put up yet another strong outing, earning the win with four strikeouts. His promotion into a stable role in the rotation has done him wonders, as he’s showcased the stuff that made him seemingly worth trading Randy Arozarena for. I kid, but maybe that trade isn’t looking too bad now? Liberatore’s slider has been disgusting, getting swings-and-misses galore. The fastball isn’t great, but if he can lean into the pitch mix and locate well, he could be one of those guys you hold for a while. Chad Patrick wasn’t much to write home about in the grand scheme of things. He was similarly coming off a solid outing that put him on the radars of desperate fantasy managers, and he ended up giving us basically nothing. Only 4.1 innings with 2 runs and only 2 Ks with meh WHIP to go along with it doesn’t entail a successful stream.
The first four players are the same ones who have been on this list for the last couple of days. Tyler Mahle continues to put up excellent stat lines for the Rangers, befuddling all of us spreadsheet users. Dylan Moore is so awesome that I featured him last Saturday, as he is looking like a player amid a serious breakout. And speaking of breakouts, Max Meyer had the game of his life earlier in the week, and will now be viewed as a potential rotation-stabilizing arm. Carson Kelly has been unstoppable, putting up ridiculous numbers nobody could’ve imagined.
Pete Crow-Armstrong has had quite the ascent this year, making that Javier Báez trade look a lot worse than before. He’s been on quite the tear as of late, turning a disastrously slow start early in the season into an excellent April. We all know about PCA’s tools; it’s just been about finding consistency. PCA has done that so far, as evident by his near .300 batting average, which he has obtained by spraying the ball all over the field. His bat speed has risen from last year, which has made him a more potent power threat as well. Of course, when you think PCA, you think about the speed. He has a dynamic set of wheels, which he routinely takes advantage of. He steals lots of bases and has done an excellent job in that category thus far, already reaching double digits. His speed also allows him to run out a lot more seemingly easy outs and helps him turn what would normally be singles into extra-base hits. This ups his value in the runs department, which is a category you expect a player like PCA to contribute to. Adding to all of that is the fact that the Cubs have been virtually unstoppable offensively this year. I would have put PCA in the priority adds category; however, as you can see, he is now unavailable in most leagues (92% in Yahoo).
Category Specific Players to Add
Sal Frelick (MIL), OF (38% rostered on Yahoo, 36% rostered on ESPN)
Sal Frelick might be one of the more popular players in this article, as his roster percentage is nearly 40% in both Yahoo and ESPN leagues. However, he was available in several of my leagues, so I am going to include him here. Frelick has very little power, so if you need some home runs and RBIs desperately, there are plenty of better options on the wire. Frelick excels, though, in being scrappy. If you want to up your batting average, he is one of the hardest outs you can find, as he rarely chases and rarely swings and misses. His discipline will allow his high average to be somewhat sustainable, keeping the strikeouts low and the hit totals high. Additionally, if you need help in the stolen bases department, Frelick is your guy. His excellent sprint speed has allowed him to amass 7 steals already, so keep that in mind if you need some nabbed bags.
Streaming Pitchers
WAIT! You haven’t read Nick Pollack’s starting pitcher streamer rankings for today? Get on that pronto. He ranks every expected starter for each day, highlighting who you should start, sit, and claim off waivers. The whole series of these can be found here: https://pitcherlist.com/category/fantasy/sp-streamers/
In terms of whom I would recommend you pick up? A couple of names come to mind.
Jeffrey Springs (ATH), SP (31% rostered on Yahoo, 11% rostered on ESPN)
It’s been a bit of a disaster start for Jeffrey Springs. Many thought he would be the ace of this ballclub, especially considering the success he found in the albeit limited innings with the Rays. Still, there is a lot to like about Springs as a pitcher. His changeup is still an incredibly nasty offering, as it still has one of the highest swinging strike rates of any slowball. Now he gets the White Sox, and while his last start against them wasn’t amazing, he still got the win, a decent WHIP, and a few strikeouts. This could be a home run of a stream if it all comes together for Springs.
José Soriano (LAA), SP (33% rostered on Yahoo, 16% rostered on ESPN)
José Soriano has had some ugly numbers in the past few games, that is true. However, he gets the Twins in his next start, and this has the chance to be lovely. Soriano can be about as erratic as it gets at times, as he can be prone to brutal “donut command,” which sees pitches either down the middle or way off the plate. If you’re not a Twins or AL Central fan, you might not realize how brutal the Twins have been offensively. They are STRUGGLING, with a bottom-5 team wRC+. It’s always a recipe for success when you have a pitcher in need of a bounceback facing off against a bottom-of-the-barrel offense. This stream could do wonders for you.
Deep League Players to Watch
Alek Thomas (ARI), OF (2% rostered on Yahoo, 2% rostered on ESPN)
Alek Thomas has been surprisingly pretty great this year so far. He has a really solid batting average, which is shown to not be a fluke per his expected stats, and he’s stolen a few bases, utilizing his above-average baserunning. He’s not an everyday player, but he’s pretty close to it. While you shouldn’t expect the best production out of him, he could be a solid pickup in deep leagues, especially if you need to up your average or your stolen base totals. Oh, and playing for that excellent Diamondbacks offense certainly helps.
