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
Cole Young (SEA), 2B (Yahoo Rostership 11%)
After only homering four times last season in 237 plate appearances, Cole Young now has two home runs this season in 39 plate appearances after a strong showing on Sunday, where he went 1-4 with a home run, three RBI, two runs, and a walk. Coming into the year, he was gaining some hype after showing improved power in spring training as well. His strikeout rate has been a bit high so far this season compared to last year, so having a game with a walk and no strikeouts is nice to see.
Speaking of his strikeout and walk rate, what’s going to be interesting to monitor this season is if Young can continue showing his gains in the power department while keeping the low 18% strikeout rate he had last season, with a respectable 10% walk rate. If there is a world where Young combines that all together this season, he can be an impact bat across all fantasy baseball formats in 2026. Young is a great option at a weak position at second base, and if nothing else needs to be rostered in way more leagues than he currently is. Batting towards the bottom of the lineup for the Seattle Mariners lineup may hurt Young from a volume standpoint, but he hit 7th in the order on Sunday and could continue to rise with sustained production.
Jordan Walker (STL), OF (Yahoo Rostership 19%)
Jordan Walker of the St. Louis Cardinals could be the poster child of giving us what you’d call prospect fatigue, but there is a chance he’s finally putting the pieces together. Through his first eight games, he has two home runs and a 0.960 OPS after hitting six home runs over 111 games in 2025. The issue for Walker has never been bat speed or the ability to hit the ball hard, but rather the fact that he’s struggled to hit the ball in the air. A good example of his easy power was the 459-foot grand slam he hit on Saturday in Detroit. This is a player whose widely available with real breakout potential, so check and see if he’s available in any of your leagues.
Yahoo and ESPN Most Added Players
The most added players on Yahoo is not a list of starting pitchers I’m particularly interested in, but if I had to choose one to highlight, I would point out Bryce Elder. He’s not the most exciting pitcher on the planet, but he’s good at being efficient and pitching deep into games, and he has a clear rotation spot on an Atlanta Braves team that should win a lot of games.
Eric Lauer struggled on Sunday, and his velocity was way down, so I don’t expect his roster rate to continue to rise. Jordan Walker is an exciting option whose highlighted above in this article.
The most added players on ESPN highlights some starting pitchers who are much more intriguing. Through two tough starts against the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs, Parker Messick has an impressive 0.82 ERA and should be picked up anywhere he’s available.
Through two starts, Jack Leiter is also looking strong, facing the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday, where he struck out nine over five innings while racking up 18 whiffs on 85 pitches. He continues to look like a breakout starting pitcher for 2026. Kyle Harrison is also worth a look, pitching for a winning ball club in the Milwaukee Brewers and already off to a 2-0 start.
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.
Jameson Taillon (CHC), SP (Yahoo Rostership 16 %)
One of two pitchers listed here with a two-step this week, it makes Taillon especially valuable in a weekly points league. He also has two quite favorable matchups, first against the Tampa Bay Rays in the Trop, which is perfect for an opponent. It’s a favorable pitching environment against a pedestrian offense, and then he gets the Pittsburgh Pirates in Wrigley over the weekend. They may now have Konnor Griffin in the lineup, but the Pirates are still not a lineup to fear until proven otherwise. Pitching in front of that great Chicago Cubs defense as well gives Taillon a good shot at having a nice week here.
Janson Junk (MIA), SP (Yahoo Rostership 1%)
Janson Junk may only be one percent rostered, but he’s my favorite streaming pick of the two here. Junk is potentially looking like a new and improved pitcher this year, earning an A+ on his Pitcher List player card in the first start of the season. That would have been enough to make me want to give him a shot, but he also happens to have two starts next week, so even better. He’ll first face the Cincinnati Reds in Miami, then face the Detroit Tigers in Detroit on Saturday. The Tigers are a good team, but don’t have an especially good offense, and both matchups will come in pitchers’ parks, which will only help Junk. He’s a no-brainer to start in points leagues, and I’m considering him in a categories league as well.
Speculative Adds
Joe Boyle (TBR), SP (Yahoo Rostership 9%)
In his first two starts filling in for Ryan Pepiot, Joe Boyle pitched about as well as we’ve ever seen from him for the Tampa Bay Rays. He’s a spec add with no guarantees he makes another start, but pay attention to see if he gets another turn. Command has always been the issue with Boyle, and what’s most encouraging about his two starts is that he only walked three batters across 11.1 innings in those outings. For more context, his walk rate last season was 12.4%, and in the early going, it’s at 6.5%. While it’s a small sample size, it’s encouraging to see him cut his walk rate essentially in half. In his first start, he didn’t have any walks, so if he does make another start, see how his walk rate fares as well.
