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
Hunter Goodman (COL), C/OF (22% rostered on Yahoo, 12.5% on ESPN)
Do you know what’s great for fantasy baseball? Coors Field. Do you know who happens to play their home games at Coors Field? The Rockies. They’ve yet to play at home so far in 2025, but that’s poised to change on Friday. They’ll start up a three-game series vs. the Athletics, and they’ll follow that up with a three-game home series vs. the Brewers. Not only should Coors give the Rockies a massive boost, but the Brewers (7.81) and Athletics (5.46) have the two worst team ERAs through the first full week of the season. That’s a matchup made in fantasy heaven.
Not only does Goodman have catcher eligibility—a major plus for fantasy purposes—but he’s been occupying the cleanup spot in the Rockies’ lineup. He batted sixth in the first two games of the season before moving up to the No. 4 spot for each of the past four.
Despite being on the road, Goodman has also delivered the goods at the dish. He boasts a 204 wRC+ through his first six contests, and he’s already launched two balls over the fence. He probably won’t produce like that all season, but there’s no reason we can’t look to ride his hot streak in the most hitter-friendly venue in baseball. Add him to your squads and get him in your starting lineups.
Otto Lopez (MIA), 2B/SS (50% Yahoo, 28.5% ESPN)
Lopez is starting to garner a bit of attention on Yahoo, but he’s still drastically under-rostered across the industry. He currently ranks second in ESPN’s Fantasy Player Rater at second base, trailing only Andrés Giménez.
It’s easy to write off Lopez as a small-sample-size wonder, but the advanced metrics suggest that Lopez can keep his production rolling. His .407 wOBA is actually well below his .460xwOBA, so he’s potentially even been a bit unlucky to start the year.
Lopez has already launched two homers and added a stolen base, while his batting average checks in at a cool .345. While the power might take a step backward—he’s never had more than six homers in a year, even in the minors—the batting average and stolen bases seem legit. He stole 20 bags last season in 117 games, and that was with a subpar .313 OBP. He’s currently above .400 in that metric, and if he can continue to get on base, something like 30 steals is within the realm of possibility.
Yahoo and ESPN Most Added Players
Fantasy players on Yahoo are well aware of the Rockies’ upcoming schedule, and they’ve added Goodman more than any other player over the past 24 hours. Still, his roster percentage is well below where it should be.
Edmundo Sosa started four of the past five games for the Phillies before getting the day off on Thursday. Getting two days off this early in this season isn’t ideal, but Sosa’s versatility makes him an intriguing bench bat. He’s also been red-hot at the dish to start the year, posting a .600 AVG with five RBIs and four runs scored across his first 16 plate appearances.
Dennis Santana had the first save opportunity of the year for the Pirates, and with David Bednar being optioned to the minors, the coast is clear for him to assume that role moving forward. Santana doesn’t have the typical look of a closer—he throws his slider more than 50% of the time—but he has the metrics to justify the role. His 3.17 xERA put him in the 86th percentile last season, and he ranked in the 98th percentile in Chase rate. He also limited barrels and hard contact better than just about any reliever in baseball, so he has the chance to run with this role.
The Cardinals have been around for 144 years, so it’s pretty special anytime you can do something that they’ve never done before. That’s exactly what Iván Herrera did on Wednesday when he became the first Cardinals’ backstop to homer three times in a game. Herrera has long been considered one of the team’s top offensive prospects, and the Cardinals moved Willson Contreras to first base to open up a spot for his bat in the lineup. He’s been behind the dish in four of their first five games, and he’s hit fifth in two of the past three. Given his blistering 359 wRC+ through the team’s first two series, don’t expect that to change.
Taijuan Walker was picked up as a streaming option for the Phillies’ matchup vs. the Rockies on Thursday. He delivered in that outing, earning a win with four strikeouts across six hitless innings. His next start is tentatively scheduled for next Wednesday in Atlanta against the slumping Braves. That’s not nearly as exciting of a matchup as facing the Rockies in Philly, so he can be returned to the wire if you scooped him.
Wilyer Abreu and Kristian Campbell have been staples in this column all season. Both players have started the year hot for the Red Sox, and both players are now owned in more leagues than they aren’t. If Campbell is still out there in your league, his positional versatility and elite pedigree as a prospect make him a priority add.
Eugenio Suárez is one of the streakiest hitters in baseball, and he’s locked in the midst of a hot streak to start the year. He has five hits through his first six outings, but all five have gone over the fence. Suarez has launched at least 30 homers in five of the past seven seasons, and while he may never return to the 49 he slugged in the height of the juiced ball era, he’s well on his way to another strong power season.
Nathan Eovaldi is off to a phenomenal start in 2025. He’s had two difficult matchups through his first two starts—at home vs. the Red Sox and on the road vs. the Reds—but that hasn’t stopped him from pitching 15 innings with just two runs allowed. His last start was a complete-game shutout, and he’s added at least eight punchouts in both contests. Eovaldi’s underlying metrics also look strong (1.43 FIP; 2.39 xERA), and his next start will come on the road vs. the Cubs on Monday.
No player has seen a bigger bump in the Hitter List rankings to start the year than Lars Nootbaar. He’s up 31 spots overall, pushing him just outside the top 100 overall. Nootbaar has served as the Cardinals’ everyday leadoff hitter to start the year, and he’s had multiple hits in five of his six contests. He has two homers on the year—one vs. a lefty and one vs. a righty—so the days of him being a platoon bat could be in the past.
Category-Specific Players to Add
Jacob Wilson (ATH), SS (11% Yahoo, 7.6% ESPN)
It’s kind of ironic that Wilson plies his trade for the Athletics. They’re famous for their “Moneyball” teams, which prioritized getting on base above everything else. Wilson has yet to draw a single walk this season, and he’s never really walked in the minors, either. He also doesn’t strike out, meaning he puts the bat on the ball more than anyone not named Luis Arraez. His 24 batted-ball events are tied for the 11th-most in baseball, and the 10 players ahead of him have all had at least six additional plate appearances.
All that contact means Wilson has the potential to massively help out your team’s batting average. He’s currently sitting at .375, and his expected batting average checks in just slightly lower at .354. He’s started each game for the Athletics this season, and while he’s not hitting at the top of their lineup, there’s no reason that can’t change moving forward.
Tylor Megill (NYM), SP (15% Yahoo, 8.2% ESPN)
Putting Megill as a “category-specific” player could be a bit of an undersell. Megill quietly had a strong campaign in 2024, striking out 10.5 batters per nine innings across 76 innings. He also graded out well from a pitch perspective, with five different offerings that graded out as above average per Stuff+.
Megill locked in a spot in the Mets’ rotation following the injuries to Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas Jr., and he has the potential to run with it. He was phenomenal in his first start of the year vs. the Astros, pitching to a 1.80 ERA and a 1.03 FIP. He kept the strikeout production rolling as well—he fanned six batters in five innings—and the pitch-modeling metrics loved his arsenal in that outing. Overall, he ranks second in the league in Stuff+ at the moment, so he has the potential to be a legit addition to your fantasy rotation.
Megill gets the ball Friday vs. the Blue Jays, and he can definitely be started in that outing. If he puts together another strong showing, it could be worth hanging on to him to see if he can keep it rolling all year.
Streaming Pitchers
Be sure to check out the great Nick Pollack’s SP Streamer Rankings to see his favorite choices in the opening week. He’s highlighted Megill in his matchup vs. the Blue Jays, but he’s far from the only viable option.
Nick Martinez (CIN), SP/RP (27% Yahoo, 35% ESPN)
The Reds have pitched shockingly well to start the year, especially with their first six games all taking place in Cincinnati. Hunter Greene has a 2.25 ERA across his first two outings, while Brady Singer pitched seven scoreless in his team debut. Nick Lodolo and Carson Spiers also looked promising, with Martinez turning in the only clunker of the bunch. He allowed four runs across six innings, giving him a 6.00 ERA for the year.
However, that doesn’t tell the full story. Martinez actually pitched pretty well in that outing; he just got unlucky. He limited the Giants to a 23.5% hard-hit rate, which is an elite figure. Martinez was also really good in that department last season, with his 30.5% mark ranking in the 96th percentile. Overall, his xERA vs. the Giants was a much more appealing 2.72, which suggests better days on the horizon.
Perhaps that will start on Friday. He’s taking on the Brewers in Milwaukee, and getting out of the Great American Ballpark should do Martinez a world of good. He pitched to a 2.18 ERA on the road last season, compared to a 4.00 mark at home. Milwaukee also owns the sixth-highest strikeout rate against right-handers to start the year, and American Family Field has historically given pitchers a solid boost to their strikeout production. That gives him a bit more upside than usual, making him well worth a spot start.
Speculative Adds
Ben Rice (NYY), 1B (14% Yahoo, 8.2% ESPN)
With Giancarlo Stanton on the shelf to start the year, Rice has operated as the Yankees’ DH against right-handed pitchers. That’s allowed him to start five of the team’s first six games, and he operated as the team’s leadoff hitter on Thursday. That’s pretty appealing for a team that has done plenty of offensive damage to start the year.
Rice has done more than just ride the Yankees’ coattails, though; he’s been a legit producer. He’s already launched two homers, and his wRC+ sits near 300 through the team’s first two series.
The most intriguing part about Rice is that he has the potential to earn catcher eligibility at some point in the year. The Yankees have talked about using him in that role, and while he’s yet to see any time behind the dish, it’s intriguing enough to make Rice someone worth keeping an eye on.
Zack Littell (TBR), SP (9% Yahoo, 5.6% ESPN)
Littell shoved in his first start of the year, but that came at home against the Rockies. He was still very impressive, but you don’t get any brownie points for shutting down the Rockies outside of Coors Field.
What he does in his second start of the year will be much more interesting. He’s taking the mound against the Rangers in a significantly scarier matchup. He’s a risky streaming option in that matchup, but he draws a much better matchup next Thursday vs. the Angels. He was impressive enough in his first outing that he’s worth stashing until that point. If he has another strong showing, he’s someone you could consider adding to your roster for the long haul.
Deep League Players to Watch
Kyren Paris (LAA), 2B (6% Yahoo, 2.8% ESPN)
Paris is not someone who was a particularly impressive prospect. He topped out as the Angels’ No. 14 prospect per FanGraphs in 2023, and if you can’t crack the Angels’ Top 10, your chances of being an impact player at the major-league level are slim.
However, Paris put together an impressive spring training, launching two homers and swiping four bags across 49 plate appearances. He’s managed to keep that production rolling to start the season, tallying a homer and three steals through his first five games. Paris is playing his way into an everyday role with Los Angeles, and he has some stolen base upside at a minimum. He’s an intriguing flyer for those looking for speed in deep leagues.
