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
Kris Bubic (KC), SP (33% rostered on Yahoo, 26% rostered on ESPN)
Kris Bubic impressed in his second start of the season on Sunday, allowing just one run on five hits and a walk while striking out eight over 6.2 innings. It was his second dominant start in a row, as he also struck out eight over six innings in his first start against the Brewers. He induced 16 whiffs this time out, with eight of them on his changeup, giving the pitch a whiff rate of 73%.
It’s still early, but it certainly looks like Bubic is carrying over his success from the bullpen in 2024. He posted an elite 32.2% strikeout rate, 4.1% walk rate, and 2.6% barrel rate that would have ranked among the best in the league if he had enough innings to qualify. Now a starter again, he has started the year by dismantling two very good offenses. He looks like a legitimate difference-maker on the mound, yet is just 33% rostered in Yahoo leagues and is even less owned in ESPN. This is your sign to go and get him now before anyone else beats you to the punch.
Tyler Soderstrom (ATH), 1B (56% rostered on Yahoo, 36% rostered on ESPN)
Tyler Soderstrom went 2-for-4 with a home run, a walk, two runs, and two RBIs on Sunday. It was a continuation of an already stellar weekend, as this was his third multi-hit game in a row. He’s now slashing .359/.405/.718 on the year with four homers through ten games. His 23.8% strikeout rate isn’t great, but it’s low enough for a player with this caliber of power. He is 56% rostered on Yahoo, only four percent away from the 60% threshold to qualify for this article. He should pass that number in the coming days and will likely stay above that line for the rest of the season.
Spencer Torkelson (DET), 1B (40% rostered on Yahoo, 27% rostered on ESPN)
Spencer Torkelson is another slugging first baseman who needs to be rostered in the majority of leagues. He hit his second home run of the season over the weekend and is batting .324. He shouldn’t be expected to maintain that type of batting average for the rest of the season, but he’s done enough in the early going to suggest he’s going to be closer to the 2023 version of himself than the 2024 one. If you need a refresher, he slashed .233/.313/.446 with 31 home runs in 2023.
Shane Baz (TB), SP (58% rostered on Yahoo, 39% rostered on ESPN)
Shane Baz is another player coming in just below that 60% rostered threshold, which is a shockingly low number considering his production and pedigree. In his first start of the year, he struck out 10 batters over six shutout innings against the Pirates. It was only one start against a very bad offense, but there simply aren’t many reasons to doubt Baz at this point. He was one of the highest-regarded pitching prospects in all of baseball who is finally healthy and ready for a full season for the first time in a long time. The long-awaited breakout may finally be here, and he should be picked up wherever available.
TJ Friedl (CIN), OF (36% rostered on Yahoo, 9% rostered on ESPN)
TJ Friedl had a slow start to the season but finally broke out on Saturday with a 4-for-5 performance that included a two-run home run. The outfielder seemed undervalued heading into the season as the projected leadoff man for the Reds, especially considering he hit 13 homers and stole nine bases in 85 games in 2024 after hitting 18 homers and stealing 27 bases in 138 games in 2023. That type of power-speed threat shouldn’t be available in over 60 percent of leagues.
Luke Jackson (TEX), RP (49% rostered on Yahoo, 20% rostered on ESPN)
Luke Jackson may have posted a 5.09 ERA and 1.47 WHIP last season and doesn’t look like the greatest reliever in baseball by any means, but he is now locked in as the full-time closer for one of the best teams in the league. He picked up his fifth save over the weekend, continuing his scoreless streak of six straight innings since blowing his first save opportunity on Opening Day. Rangers’ manager Bruce Bochy has stuck with him and has shown no signs of altering that plan anytime soon, making Jackson a must-own player in any leagues where saves are hard to find on the waiver wire.
Yahoo and ESPN Most Added Players
The five most added players on Yahoo all share a common theme, as they were all popular streaming options on Sunday. Jordan Hicks was the most popular of the bunch, and he pitched 5.1 innings while allowing three runs on six hits and a walk with five strikeouts. He didn’t look as good as he did in his first start when he shut out the Astros through six innings, but he is still a fine addition if you need rotation depth in deeper leagues. Bubic is my favorite of the bunch and has already been discussed in detail earlier in the article, but Chase Dollander might be worth a look, too. He pitched five innings in his MLB debut, allowing four runs on seven hits and a walk with six strikeouts over five innings against the A’s. It wasn’t a good start on paper, but the top prospect still carries immense upside that is worth taking a chance on for his future starts.
Martín Pérez and David Peterson were both fine streaming options but not pitchers that are worth holding on to all season. Perez turned in a quality start, and Peterson exited early with an illness. There’s no need to rush out to grab either of them, but they could be useful streaming options on a week-by-week basis.
With ESPN’s most added list looking at the past seven days of data, the players have remained mostly the same over the course of this season. Kristian Campbell, Wilyer Abreu, Lars Nootbaar, and Nathan Eovaldi are all above 60% rostered, and for good reason. All four of them look like they are set to outperform their draft costs and are worth adding if you happen to be in one of the few leagues where they are available. Hicks is the only player on this list not already highly owned, and he was discussed in the previous paragraph.
Streaming Pitchers
Be sure to check out Nick Pollack’s SP Streamer Rankings to figure out who you need to start, stream, or sit each day this season. There’s one name that I particularly like for today.
Dustin May (LAD), SP (51% rostered on Yahoo, 33% rostered on ESPN)
Dustin May looked great in his first start since 2023, allowing one unearned run over five innings while striking out six against the Braves. He generated 11 whiffs and has the elite Dodgers offense backing him, which should make him a great source of wins for fantasy. May was one of the most exciting young pitchers in baseball before suffering several injuries. He gets a great matchup against the Washington Nationals that he should be able to take advantage of. Not only is he a great add as a streamer, but it would be smart to hold on to him after the start, too.
Adapted by Kurt Wasemiller (@kurt_player02 on Instagram & Threads
@kuwasemiller.bksy.social on BlueSky)
None of these people are available in any of my leagues lol