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
Andy Pages (LAD), OF (40% rostered on Yahoo, 19.4% on ESPN)
Pages is starting to get a bit of steam on the waiver wire, and he’s up to 40% rostered on Yahoo. That said, that’s still probably not high enough. Pages plays for arguably the best offensive team in baseball, and he has been in the lineup consistently so far this season. He’s appeared in 28 of the team’s first 31 contests, and he moved up to the No. 5 spot in the order in the team’s last game. That was against a right-handed pitcher, which is an encouraging sign for his prospects moving forward.
Pages has also shown significant improvement at the plate as the year has progressed. He’s made strides in every area across the board using Process+, increasing his power, contact, and decision-making:
The big question is, can he keep it up? His underlying Statcast data isn’t the best, but he has the potential to be a five-category contributor. Those are rare to find on the waiver wire. He’s currently hitting .292 with six homers and three stolen bases, and his RBI and run-scoring opportunities to increase if his move up the lineup sticks.
There’s enough upside here to warrant an add wherever available. Even if he doesn’t stick in your lineup all season, it’s worth riding out the hot streak for as long as possible.
Tony Gonsolin (LAD), SP (33% Yahoo, 12.6% ESPN)
While the Dodgers’ offense has basically been as advertised—they’re third in the league in runs per game—their pitching staff hasn’t been nearly as impressive. On paper, they had a collection of aces that would make any poker player jealous. However, that only matters if those guys are actually healthy enough to toe the rubber. Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell are currently on the IL, while Clayton Kershaw is still rehabbing in the minors. Depth pieces like Emmet Sheehan and Gavin Stone are also on the IL, so they have more innings available than expected.
Gonsolin’s return couldn’t have come at a better time for Los Angeles, and he was brilliant in his first game back. He pitched six innings and racked up nine strikeouts, resulting in a 2.36 xERA. His actual ERA was significantly worse (4.50), but part of that was due to some shaky defense from Los Angeles. Ultimately, the positives far outweighed the negatives, albeit in a great matchup vs. the Marlins.
Gonsolin should stick in the rotation with all the team’s injuries, and he’s not all that far removed from a year with a 2.14 ERA in 2022. Gonsolin’s next start is currently slated for Tuesday, and he’ll get the same juicy matchup vs. the Marlins. He’s worth rostering for that start alone, but he has the upside to potentially stick in your rotation all year long.
Yahoo and ESPN Most Added Players
As usual, Thursday’s top adds on Yahoo featured a couple of streaming pitchers. Chad Patrick was targeted for his matchup vs. the White Sox, while Taijuan Walker got the nod for some against the Nationals. Unfortunately, neither player got the job done.
Patrick wasn’t dreadful vs. the White Sox, but he didn’t help fantasy players much, either. He pitched 5.2 innings and surrendered three earned runs with four strikeouts. He also got no support from his offense, which couldn’t muster a single run. Some of Patrick’s advanced metrics suggest he was unlucky—his 1.67 FIP was significantly better than his ERA—but that could be his last go around in the rotation. Brandon Woodruff could make his return as early as next week, so Patrick could be headed to the minor leagues or bullpen.
Walker was actually pretty good by Walker’s standards, though he also failed to record a win. He surrendered four runs across 5.1 innings, but only one of those runs was earned. Unfortunately, none of his other metrics were particularly impressive. He managed just two strikeouts while scattering four hits and three walks. Like Patrick, his time in the rotation seems destined to end soon, with Ranger Suárez close to making his season debut.
The other two pitchers are more intriguing long-term adds. Shelby Miller picked up a save for the Diamondbacks on Thursday, and it’s possible he could fill that role for the team moving forward. A.J. Puk is currently on the IL, and while Justin Martinez is still around, he has been a bit shaky so far this season. He surrendered two runs in a save situation on Wednesday, and his walk rate ranks in the ninth percentile for the year. The job is likely still his for the time being, but Miller could be the next man up if he falters.
Are you ready to live in a world where Lance McCullers Jr. is relevant again? We could be headed there. He has pitched extremely well during his rehab assignment in the minor leagues, posting an 11.37 K/9 with a 2.84 ERA. We haven’t seen McCullers in the big leagues since 2022, but in his prime, he was a solid source of strikeouts and run prevention. He’s still just 31 years old, and his time in the majors is coming soon: he’ll make his season debut Sunday vs. the White Sox. That alone makes him an excellent streaming target, but he has enough upside to potentially be a part of your rotation moving forward.
Pages rounds out this tier as the only offensive option of note. While he’s up to 40% on Yahoo, he’s still rostered in less than 20% of ESPN formats.
ESPN’s list features a host of players who have been routinely featured in these articles throughout the season. That includes Pages.
Jorge Polanco is still just 61.9% rostered on ESPN, and that figure should be closer to 100% at this point. He has nine homers and a .384 batting average, and his underlying metrics suggest the production isn’t fluky. He’s in the 100th percentile for xwOBA, xBA, and xSLG, so scoop him up if he’s still available.
Noelvi Marte is a former top prospect who has taken advantage of the injury to Christian Encarnacion-Strand in Cincinnati. He has a .967 OPS through his first 63 plate appearances, and he’s added three homers and four stolen bases. He’s cooled down just a smidge in recent games, but he did pick up two more hits on Thursday. He’s worth adding just for the power-speed combo alone.
Emilio Pagán has seemingly seized the closer job in Cincinnati. He already has eight saves on the season, which is tied for the sixth-most in baseball. His xERA suggests he’s been a bit fortunate from a run prevention standpoint, but all that really matters is he’s getting the ball in the ninth inning.
Finally, Tylor Megill is someone who should definitely be owned at this point. His ERA sits at 1.74, while his strikeout rate puts him in the 85th percentile. He also grades out extremely well from a pitch-modeling standpoint, and he pitches for one of the best teams in the league. He checks all the boxes.
Category-Specific Players to Add
Zach Neto (LAA), SS (69% Yahoo, 19.3% ESPN)
Neto technically does not qualify for this list on Yahoo, but he’s well below the 60% threshold on ESPN. In fact, he’s not even 20% rostered in those leagues, and that simply cannot stand. Neto was awesome last year for the Angels, finishing with 23 homers and 30 steals, and he’s picked up right where he left off. He has three homers, three steals, and a .286 AVG through his first 11 contests, and his xBA puts him above .340. Quite simply, he’s a top-10 fantasy shortstop. Add him to your squads where he’s available.
Chandler Simpson (TBR), OF (35% Yahoo, 23.8% ESPN)
Simpson hasn’t run as much as most people would’ve expected. He had 104 steals in 110 minor league games last season, and he added eight more in 17 Triple-A games this year. His three steals through 11 games with the Rays are nothing to sneeze at, but he hasn’t been the type of game-changer that some were anticipating.
The good news is that he’s proven he can hit at the major league level. He has zero power to speak of—just one of his 16 hits has gone for extra bases—but he’s sitting at .318 through his first 44 at-bats. As long as he can continue to get on base, the speed numbers should eventually come. He also continues to hit at the top of the Rays’ lineup, so he’s a solid anchor for those looking for steals and batting average.
Lucas Giolito (BOS), SP (13% Yahoo, 5.9% ESPN)
When hunting for starting pitchers, it’s all about upside. That’s something that Nick Pollack constantly preaches in his Pitcher List Rankings. With that in mind, why not take a swing at Giolito?
In his prime, Giolito was one of the best in the business at missing bats. He had at least 10.13 strikeouts per nine innings in three straight seasons from 2019 through 2021, before dipping to just under 10 in 2022 and 2023. Giolito missed all of last year while rehabbing from an internal brace procedure, and things went well for him in his first start in more than a year. He started with five scoreless innings before surrendering three runs in the sixth. More importantly, he displayed the swing-and-miss stuff that he utilized in his breakout campaigns, tallying seven total punchouts.
Giolito’s next start is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday vs. the Rangers, and Texas is quietly just 24th in wRC+ vs. right-handers.
Camilo Doval (SFG) RP (43% Yahoo, 14.1% ESPN)
It appears as though the Ryan Walker era could be over in San Francisco, at least for the time being. Walker has struggled mightily this season, pitching to an ERA near 6.00, and he blew a save for the team on April 20th. Since then, Doval has gotten the past three save opportunities, and he’s converted all of them. He’s pitched to a sparkling 1.93 ERA and 2.56 xERA, so it’s not surprising that he’s ultimately passed Walker in the pecking order. If he continues to pitch well, he could take the job and run with it for a team with the fourth-best record in the National League.
Streaming Pitchers
Be sure to check out the great Nick Pollack’s SP Streamer Rankings to see his favorite choices. Friday’s slate is loaded with stud pitchers, so there aren’t a ton of elite streamers to choose from. Nick makes the case for Michael Wacha vs. the Orioles, but he’s not the only potential target:
José Soriano (LAA), SP/RP (25% Yahoo, 11.7% ESPN)
Soriano is wildly inconsistent. He’s had a couple of gems this season—seven scoreless innings vs. the White Sox, 7.1 innings with one run vs. the Rays—but he’s also had a couple of clunkers. That includes a disastrous performance against the lowly Pirates, surrendering eight hits with four walks in less than four innings.
That makes Soriano a risky option in any start, but it’s hard not to like his matchup vs. the Tigers. Detroit hasn’t been nearly as futile against right-handers as they have been the past few years, but they’ve cooled off after a strong start to the year. Over the past two weeks, they’re merely 25th in wRC+ in that split.
Soriano doesn’t do a ton well, but he is elite at generating ground balls. He has a 64.4% ground-ball rate so far this season, which puts him in the 96th percentile. That means he ultimately shouldn’t be hurt too badly as long as the Tigers don’t string together a bunch of hits. It’s enough to make him a viable target on a slate without a ton of appealing options.
Speculative Adds
Ben Casparius (LAD), RP (8% Yahoo, 5.1% ESPN)
Gonsolin isn’t the only Dodgers pitcher worth monitoring. Things have gotten so bad from an injury standpoint that the team is reportedly debating adding Casparius to the rotation.
It’s hard to knock that option. Casparius has been awesome for the Dodgers as a multi-inning reliever, pitching to a 2.91 ERA with 23 strikeouts across 21 innings. His 2.44 xERA is even better, while all of his Statcast metrics are above-average to good.
If Casparius does move to the rotation, there’s a good chance that his first start will come Monday vs. the Marlins. Not only is that an excellent matchup, but it also sets him up to potentially make two starts next week. Add in the fact that he has relief pitcher eligibility, which is a major plus for those punting saves—and he looks like an appealing add in deeper leagues. The fact that he plays for the Dodgers certainly doesn’t hurt, either.
J.P. Crawford (SEA), SS (10% Yahoo, 7.2% ESPN)
Crawford is absolutely en fuego at the moment. Over the past 14 days, he’s the No. 4 shortstop on ESPN’s Fantasy Player Rater. He trails only Elly De La Cruz, Oneil Cruz, and Francisco Lindor, who are all absolute studs.
The big knock on Crawford is that he’s not going to give you a ton of production in the power or speed department. He has just two homers and one steal for the year, and he’s never been particularly adept in either area.
However, Crawford also moved up to the leadoff spot in the Mariners’ lineup in their last contest. He’s spent most of the year in the No. 9 slot, so that’s a huge development if it sticks. It should lead to significantly more opportunities to score runs, which would make Crawford more than just a one-category player.
Deep League Players to Watch
Noah Cameron (KCR), SP (3% Yahoo, 1.1% ESPN)
Cameron made his MLB debut this week, and things couldn’t have gone much better. He pitched 6.1 scoreless innings, despite a subpar five walks. He allowed just one hit and ultimately secured the victory, so he delivered exactly what the Royals were looking for while filling in for Cole Ragans.
His reward? A trip back down to the minors. While that’s discouraging, Cameron’s time as a full-time big-leaguer should be coming soon. He’s pitched to a 3.22 ERA and a 10.88 K/9 in five Triple-A starts this season, and at 25 years old, he doesn’t have much left to prove in the minors. He entered the season as the team’s No. 5 prospect, so he’s an interesting stash in deep or AL-only formats.
