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
Drake Baldwin (ATL) C (22% rostered on Yahoo!)
Fine, you got me, Baldwin probably fits the description of a speculative add with Sean Murphy still in tow. Sure enough, Murphy started last night’s game against Philly left-hander Ranger Suárez. However, Baldwin had started the previous two games, both against right-handers Dylan Cease and opener Sean Reynolds. What’s more, his lefty bat has impressed Atlanta’s skipper Brian Snitker to have him hit second instead of the slumping Austin Riley. Baldwin is hitting .304 with a .401 wOBA, and five home runs, two of which were hit the opposite way. The 25-year-old’s ability to drive the ball to all fields is pretty impressive, and given the state of the catcher landscape, he has to at least be on your radar.
Austin Hays (CIN) OF (30% rostered on Yahoo!)
I mentioned Hays last week, and his roster rate has gone up five points since, but I still think that’s a little too low given that he entered Tuesday hitting .321 with a .401 wOBA across a 122 PA. I understand the lack of enthusiasm surrounding Hays; he’s not a basestealer and has totaled 20 home runs once, four years ago with the O’s. Nonetheless, he’s producing well and has been a decent hitter with a career .264 batting average and a .325 wOBA. There’s no reason to think the 29-year-old can’t have a peak season as the Reds’ cleanup hitter while playing half his games in what has been the most home run-friendly park in baseball over the past three years, according to Statcast.
Daniel Palencia (CHC) RP (25% rostered on Yahoo!)
We wondered who would be the Cubs’ closer during the draft season. Would Ryan Pressly rebound after a poor final season in Houston? Would Porter Hodge build on his late-season success last year? Well, it turns out the answer might be Daniel Palencia. The hard-throwing, 25-year-old right-hander converted consecutive save chances Sunday and Monday. With Palencia having pitched two nights in a row, Pressly tossed a scoreless ninth in last night’s 11-inning, 4-3 win over the Rockies. Palencia owns a 1.93 ERA and 0.86 WHIP through 18.2 IP and very much looks like the guy to have in the Cubs’ pen.
Yahoo! and ESPN Most Added Players
Miguel Vargas has been a popular name this past week. He entered last night, hitting .239 with a .324 wOBA, and proceeded to sock his eighth dinger of the year off Mets right-hander Tylor Megill. Vargas’ PLV Power+ is 88 through 128 BBE; that’s roughly a standard deviation below average. But he’s been trending up. Vargas was a good prospect with the Dodgers a couple of years ago, and I have to give him credit; he’s been a lot better so far this year. But, boy, it’s awfully hard to get excited about really anyone in the White Sox lineup.
Griffey Geiss recently detailed Carlos Narváez. The 26-year-old righty has pulled away from Connor Wong as Boston’s primary catcher and has provided them with some much-needed thump in the middle of the order, hitting .297 with five dingers and a .368 wOBA through 152 PA.
The Orioles traded Connor Norby to Miami last summer. He showcased a pretty solid skillset before the deal, hitting .297 with 16 home runs, 13 stolen bases, and a .399 wOBA across 80 games with Triple-A Norfolk. Through 126 PA this year, he’s hitting .294 with four stolen bases, three home runs, and a .345 wOBA as the Marlins’ starting third baseman. He also brought a 10-game hit streak into last night’s game against the Padres. Similar to Vargas, I’m not sure Norby has enough power to be a slam-dunk in standard leagues for the long haul, given the lineup he’s in. Still, he’s at the very least a solid stop-gap option.
Stephen Kolek got the Marlins last night and struggled, surrendering six earned runs on six hits and two walks across five and a third; he struck out three. Kolek had put together a couple of good outings recently against the Jays and Rockies, but he’s probably not someone you need to hang on to, considering his 12.5% K-BB%.
Logan Evans was another streamer last night and did exactly what you wanted him to. He tossed eight strong innings, and held the Nats to one run, a 448-foot blast from James Wood, while earning his third win. His 10.2% K-BB% doesn’t leave much room for error, but he gets a light-hitting Twins team at home this weekend, and that could work again.
Taylor Ward has seen his roster rate climb to 85% on Yahoo after clobbering five home runs over his past 10 games. His PLV profile made him an intriguing late-round dart this draft season, and it’s good to see him clicking again.
Brandon Lowe has been in a similar groove, hitting .282 with six dingers through 22 games in May. You know he’s not going to sustain that batting average, but the lefty is an excellent source of power when he’s clicking.
Royals rookie southpaw Noah Cameron has impressed through his first 19.1 IP, including a humdinger of a performance this past Friday, during which he held the Twins to one earned run on four hits and a walk across six and two-thirds innings. He also struck out eight and needed only 82 pitches. The return of Cole Ragans and Seth Lugo might push Cameron from the rotation, but in the meantime, his efficiency is well worth chasing.
Chase Meidroth is hitting .296 with eight stolen bases as the White Sox’s leadoff man. The steals are great, but he also stole just 13 bases across 122 games with Triple-A Worcester last year, with only seven home runs. His batting average and OBP skills are exemplary. Still, I’m not sure he has enough categorical upside to overcome the limited run-scoring opportunities he’ll face in the White Sox lineup.
Ranger Suárez was brilliant last night, holding the Braves scoreless across six innings with eight punchouts. He’s not a huge strikeout guy, but he’s been an elite contact manager in the past, and is doing his thing thus far, holding enemy batters to a top four percentile xwOBACON.
Streaming Pitchers
Be sure to check Nick’s daily SP streaming article.
Jacob Lopez (A’s), SP (0% rostered on Yahoo!)
Just four games on Thursday, and three of the scheduled starters include Chris Sale, MacKenzie Gore, and Cristopher Sánchez. I’m not good with numbers, but I don’t believe that leaves us with many options. Seattle right-hander Emerson Hancock (2% rostered on Yahoo!) gets a favorable draw against the Nats, but he also enters the fray toting a 5.95 ERA, 1.65 WHIP, and a 9% K-BB%. Yeah, I’m not excited, either. Instead, I’m gonna roll with Jacob Lopez. The A’s rookie left-hander impressed this past Friday, holding the Phillies to just one earned run across seven innings while fanning eight batters; the 36.3% CSW was enough to earn a King Cole. The matchup against the Jays isn’t great, considering they have the lowest K rate in baseball, which recently included handing Jacob deGrom his first punchless start of his career. Still, Lopez showed enough to pique my interest on an otherwise barren slate.
Speculative Adds
Noelvi Marte (CIN) 3B (25% rostered on Yahoo!)
The 23-year-old righty third baseman flashed some potential, hitting .294 with a .371 wOBA, three homers, and five steals before succumbing to an oblique strain. It’s not everything, of course, but his 116.7 max EV is not something you see often; that bat speed could play well this summer at the GABP. He’s progressed well enough to have his follow-up MRI moved up a week, and makes for an excellent IL stash if you’ve got room.
Edward Cabrera (MIA) SP (10% rostered on Yahoo!)
Cabrera dazzled Sunday, fanning ten Angels while earning his first win of the year. His slider was particularly impressive, earning six whiffs and two called strikes on 11 pitches; the other two were fouled away. Cabrera has always had a mind-blowing changeup that you might’ve spotted on Pitching Ninja on X more than once, but the lack of a consistent breaking pitch has held him back. Speaking of breaking pitches, Cabrera’s curveball also yielded seven whiffs on 20 pitches. This could pretty easily be a mirage against an Angels team that whiffs a ton; Zach Neto was also out of the lineup. But this could perhaps signal Cabrera finally putting the pieces together. I say that as someone who has added and dropped Cabrera more times than I can count over the past two years. At the very least, he gets a pretty decent draw at home against the Giants this Friday.
Carson Kelly (CHC) C (39% rostered on Yahoo!)
Cubs’ backstop Miguel Amaya will be on the IL for four to six weeks with a strained oblique, which should boost Carson Kelly’s playing time. Kelly went on a power binge in April and had since gone quiet, hitting .245 with two dingers across 15 games in May. Still, the bump in playing time could put Kelly back on the radar in one-catcher leagues.
Brett Baty (NYM), 2B, 3B (17% rostered on Yahoo!)
Baty hit fifth last night against White Sox righty Jonathan Cannon, the highest spot he’s hit since being recalled from Syracuse on May 5th. He responded by going 2-for-4, raising his batting average to .250. He’s hit six home runs with a .322 wOBA across 114 PA while carving out an everyday role after an injury to Jesse Winker liberated the Mets’ DH spot. His 76.2 mph average bat speed suggests some pretty potent raw power.
Deep League Players to Watch
Caleb Durbin (MIL), 2B, 3B, SS (3% rostered on Yahoo!)
Durbin, who was part of the trade that sent Devin Williams to the Bronx this past offseason, has hit just .205 with a .267 wOBA across 129 PA since being called up on April 18th. However, he is hitting .310 over his last eight games. Does that mean anything? Maybe? No, probably not. But, perhaps the rookie is starting to get his feet under him. Durbin’s EVs are reminiscent of Mallex Smith, that is to say, not very good. However, he hit .287 and swiped 29 bases across 82 games with Triple-A Scranton Wilkes Barre last year, so he’s got some speed, and enough bat-to-ball ability to think he might not be a total drag on your batting average.
For more deep leaguers, check Ben Rosener’s Deep League Waiver Wire column every Thursday and Saturday.
