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
Marcelo Mayer (BOS), SS (23% Yahoo, 12% ESPN)
Alex Bregman went down with a quadriceps strain over the weekend, leaving a hole open at third base. While you’d think Rafael Devers could shift there (or to a vacant first base with Triston Casas out for the year), he’ll instead be sticking at designated hitter only for the foreseeable future. That leaves Roman Anthony stuck in Triple-A, but it did open a spot for one of their other elite prospects, Marcelo Mayer.
While he doesn’t have the same level of fantasy upside as Anthony or Kristian Campbell, he is still the eighth-best prospect in the league according to MLB.com. In Triple-A this season, he slashed .271/.347/.471 with nine home runs in 43 games. He’s not going to hit 40 home runs or be a huge threat on the base paths, but he’s the type of player who could hit for a solid average with 20-25 home runs and 10-15 steals if everything goes right. It’s not smart to bank on a rookie figuring things out right away, but his ceiling is high enough to be worth an add just in case he does get going right out of the gate.
Matt Shaw (CHC), 2B/3B/SS (50% Yahoo, 26% ESPN)
Matt Shaw got recalled for a second chance in the majors on May 19 and has gotten at least one hit in six of the seven games since. Three were of the multi-hit variety, and he’s totaled five doubles and two steals. Nothing has changed since he was one of the most popular sleeper picks of the pre-season, and he may be finally figuring things out.
Jake Burger (TEX), 1B/3B (51% Yahoo, 29% ESPN)
Jake Burger hit his seventh home run of the season on Sunday, which was his fourth since getting called back up to the majors on May 12th. He’s looked locked in since then, recording a hit in 10 of his past 13 games played. He was dropped in many leagues when he was demoted to Triple-A, but this is still a player who was being drafted in the top 125 overall less than two months ago.
Gabriel Moreno (ARI), C (32% Yahoo, 35% ESPN)
Gabriel Moreno started slow but has been on fire as of late, slashing .305/.339/.576 with four home runs in May. Even during his cold stretch to start the year, his underlying metrics looked better than his actual production. He remains one of the best options for batting average at the catcher position and is worth rostering even in one-catcher leagues as a hot-hand streamer.
Ben Rice (NYY), 1B (56% Yahoo, 33% ESPN)
Ben Rice has seen his ownership rate steadily decline after a hot start to the year, as he was batting just .194 in the past 14 days heading into Sunday. He’s also begun to lose playing time, as the Yankees can’t fit him, Trent Grisham, and Jasson Domínguez into the lineup at the same time unless Aaron Judge or Cody Bellinger are getting a day off. Despite this, Rice’s fantasy value is on the verge of taking a huge leap forward, and it could happen any day now. The first baseman’s primary position actually used to be catcher, and the Yankees have slid him behind the plate as a late-inning replacement four times so far this season. This means that in leagues where players only need five games played to become eligible at a new position, Rice will turn into a must-start catcher with just one more appearance.
Yahoo and ESPN Most Added Players
Four of the five most added players on Yahoo were Sunday streamers. Will Warren is my favorite among the group, who gave up two runs over four innings with seven strikeouts. He isn’t the most consistent option, but he’s a true standout in strikeouts with 60 in 46.2 innings. Edward Cabrera pitched the best of the four, striking out 10 over 5.2 shutout innings. I’m not super optimistic about him long term, but he can be a very good pitcher when he keeps the walks down. Patrick Corbin allowed three runs in 5.2 innings and has yet to allow more than three runs in a start all season. He’s a solid streaming option in the right matchups. Bailey Falter held the Brewers to two runs but only struck out one. There’s not much to get excited about there. Brett Baty is the only hitter on the list, and he is batting over .300 with five home runs since being recalled from Triple-A on May 7. He’s worth an add in deep roto leagues as a middle or corner infield option.
The top five added players on ESPN include some familiar faces, as Will Warren and Matt Shaw were already covered above. Chase Meidroth is a solid add, and if you want my full thoughts on him, scroll down to the category-specific section of this article. Logan Henderson and Taylor Ward have both been covered in previous days of waiver wire coverage, and now both exceed the rostered percentage threshold to be considered for this piece. Ward is 82% rostered and Henderson is at 66% on Yahoo, and both are worth picking up if you play in the few leagues where they are sitting on the wire still.
Category Specific Players to Add
Chase Meidroth (CHW), 2B/3B/SS (35% Yahoo, 17% ESPN)
This seems to be the year of the slap hitter. We’ve already seen Jacob Wilson and Jung Hoo Lee start to break out in 2025, and Chase Meidroth is the next name to add to that list. He only has one home run and four doubles through 30 games, but is batting .305 with a .387 on-base percentage and eight steals. He’s also triple-eligible, making him a worthwhile add in any league where you need batting average or stolen bases.
Gavin Sheets (SD), 1B/OF (21% Yahoo, 13% ESPN)
Gavin Sheets just continues to mash, hitting his 10th home run of the season on Sunday. He’s batting .283, which is likely to regress, but he should remain a solid bet for power if nothing else.
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 are two names that I particularly like for today.
Hayden Birdsong (SF), SP (34% Yahoo, 8% ESPN)
This isn’t the best matchup for Birdsong, but he’s one of my favorite streaming picks if you have the roster space to hold onto him moving forward. He’s a great option in weekly leagues with a second start at Miami later in the week, and he has long-term upside too. He was gaining steam as a breakout candidate this preseason before surprisingly not making it into the rotation, but he’s there now and already tossed five shutout innings in his first start.
Ryan Weathers (MIA), SP (27% Yahoo, 12% ESPN)
Ryan Weathers is another popular preseason breakout pick that was derailed before opening day, as he suffered forearm strain in late March. Since returning from the injured list, he’s made two starts that were both five-inning, one-run outings. He gets the Padres today and the Giants later in the week, but has the upside to become a must-own pitcher for fantasy.
Speculative Adds
Jac Caglianone (KC), 1B (14% Yahoo, 4% ESPN)
After dominating Double-A to the tune of a .322/.394/.553 slash line through 38 games, he recently got the promotion to Triple-A. He’s gone completely nuclear since then, hitting five home runs in his first five games at the new level. While there’s no news about an upcoming promotion, he is going to force the Royals’ hand very soon if he keeps hitting like this. He’s worth stashing if you have roster space.
