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. 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
Kyle Manzardo (CLE), 1B (33% rostered on Yahoo, 12% rostered on ESPN)
One thing’s for sure about Kyle Manzardo: he’s a fun player. It’s been really interesting to see what he’s become so far in his Major League career. For a while, he was viewed more as a contact-first prospect who would make it off the back of his excellent discipline, which you could see with his high walk rates and low strikeout rates in AAA. The comparison seemed to be Vinnie Pasquantino, whose value has largely been derived from how often he’s been able to square up the ball.
However, Manzardo has not really followed the blueprint and has instead become a home run hitter. That’s what he does best, and that’s why you should pick him up. There are very few times when you can pick up a consistent home run hitter on the wire. Manzardo’s lack of other strong qualities is the reason for this, as his batting average has remained low for most of the season. He also doesn’t provide any value on the basepaths, as he hits mid-lineup and does not steal bases. Still, he provides home runs, which come with runs and RBIs, and if he can tap into the contact skills that he was lauded for as a prospect, perhaps he can become an above-average first baseman and a real difference-maker for your team.
Shelby Miller (ARI), RP (16% rostered on Yahoo, 3% rostered on ESPN)
It’s been a rough stretch for the Diamondbacks’ bullpen, as they lost their two flamethrowing high-leverage arms to injury. Now, they’ve called upon their former bullpen fixture, Shelby Miller, to fill in the closing role, which he has done thus far admirably. Miller has bounced back from a rather mediocre year in 2024 with the Tigers, becoming unhittable in the desert. He still hasn’t allowed an earned run this year, and looking at his stuff, it’s hard to imagine he will. His excellence comes off the back of an outstanding fastball, which, despite not being super high velocity, earns tons of swings and misses. He also features a splitter, which isn’t amazing, but does the job with a heightened usage rate compared to 2024.
Kyle Stowers (MIA), OF (12% rostered on Yahoo, 6% rostered on ESPN)
There’s something about Marlins hitters and the waiver wire this year. It feels like there’s always at least one we’re talking about. Kyle Stowers, it’s your turn this week, come on down! Stowers is tearing the cover off the baseball, which has allowed him to obtain such a high batting average. While his expected stats don’t necessarily say he will always be THIS good, they still show a batter who can use his great bat speed and launch angle management to stay a dangerous hitter. His rostership numbers are surprisingly low still, though his two-HR game against the Dodgers probably did turn some heads. He probably gets ignored due to not quite playing every day, along with the fact that he hits near the middle of a pretty mediocre lineup. Still, Stowers has had a fun start to the year and could be a great fit for the last guy in your outfield.
Yahoo and ESPN Most Added Players
What a normal day for the waiver wire. A couple of streamers, some hot players with increased roles, and Javier Báez … Wait, what???
Javy Baez is so back. The oft-maligned shortstop who was the subject of two of the most panned transactions in recent memory is now a highly sought-after free agent on the waiver wire. Who would’ve thought? What makes this even crazier is the fact that he’s now playing in center field, where he’s put together some highlight-reel plays. What we care about, though, is his production, and it’s been surprisingly great. The underlying numbers show a pretty similar player to before, though with notably reduced bat speed, which has allowed him to square up the ball better and hit with a better launch angle. He’s still the free-swinger of old, but he has that old Baez look to him. He’s cooking right now for the Tigers, so I definitely understand what makes him such a popular pickup, even though it’s not something I would necessarily go for.
We spoke about Shelby Miller today and Andy Pages yesterday. They’re two great players who have really shown up in the recent weeks, which has led to managers being all over them.
For today’s streamer adds, we saw two players on the opposite side of the spectrum. Gunnar Hoglund is a former first-round draft pick finally making his Major League debut, while Michael Wacha is the veteran we all know and love.
Hoglund had a ridiculously great debut against the Marlins. Across six innings, he only allowed one run, kept the WHIP down, and notched seven strikeouts. All of this came together to give him the easy win. We will have to see what the Athletics due with Hoglund in the future, but for now, take the easy streaming victory.
Wacha, unfortunately, didn’t give managers much in his start. It wasn’t bad, going over six innings, but he allowed a bunch of hits and three earned runs. It works in a quality start league, but the lack of strikeouts + the loss can really hurt. Either way, Wacha is always a solid streaming option, as that changeup is legit and he seems a lock to go six frames for a team that is pretty competitive.
The ESPN list of added players is the same as yesterday, though in an ever-so-slightly different order.
Jorge Polanco has been one of the best players in MLB early in the season. He’s been mainly platooning thus far due to an injury, but he has been absolutely tearing the cover off the baseball. Look at any Polanco stats page from any stats website, and your jaw will drop. It’s crazy that he went from being a seemingly bad signing to being the best hitter in a lineup that has been a real electric factory so far.
The Reds duo of Noelvi Marte and Emilio Pagán also find themselves on the list of popular adds again. Marte has been awesome, proving why he was a top prospect once upon a time (the beginning of last year), while Pagan has become the de facto closer for the Reds.
The Tylord, Tylor Megill, continues to be one of the more fun pitchers to watch this year. His stuff is incredible, it’s just always come down to mastering the pitch mix and finding consistency. He gets the Cardinals this afternoon, which is always a decent matchup for pitchers. He’s a guy who is going to fluctuate a bit between the 35 and 65 range of pitcher rankings, but either way, he’s certainly a guy who has earned the trust of managers. He’s especially proven to be valuable for managers who need strikeouts.
Category Specific Players to Add
J.P. Crawford (SEA), SS (10% rostered on Yahoo, 8% rostered on ESPN)
Can you believe that we’re actually recommending Mariners players this year? Yeah, he plays at T-Mobile, and yeah, he had a really poor season last year, but J.P. Crawford has looked pretty good so far in 2025. Crawford’s main tool is his contact ability. He rarely chases, rarely whiffs, and hits the ball with the sweet spot of the bat at a high rate. If you need help with batting average, look to bringing Crawford onto your team, especially when the Mariners as a whole are actually looking solid at the plate for the first time in years.
Streaming Pitchers
WAIT! You haven’t read Nick Pollack’s starting pitcher streamer rankings for today? Get on that pronto. He ranks every expected starter for each day, highlighting who you should start, sit, and claim off waivers. The whole series of these can be found here: https://pitcherlist.com/category/fantasy/sp-streamers/
In terms of whom I would recommend you pick up? A couple of names come to mind.
Tomoyuki Sugano (BAL), SP (14% rostered on Yahoo, 8% rostered on ESPN)
It was an incredible day at the ballpark against the Yankees for Tomoyuki Sugano in his last start. The man who rarely struck anybody out notched 8 Ks and allowed 0 runs in 5 innings, turning some heads. The Orioles’ rotation has been BAD this year, but Sugano hasn’t been the reason for this. I like this matchup here, as Kansas City has struggled a bit to get things going offensively. Their series against the Rays saw something, but overall, they’ve definitely been below average at the plate. It’s risky to get guys after a breakout performance like Sugano’s, but this should be an easier matchup than the Yankees, so pick him up for this start and let’s see where it goes from there.
Erick Fedde (STL), SP (17% rostered on Yahoo, 10% rostered on ESPN)
When you open your league’s waiver wire and sort by pitchers, there will always be one name sitting there, smiling as you consider picking him up. That name would be Erick Fedde. He’s coming off a pretty bad start, but he’s also the type you expect to bounce back. He’s a good arm, not a great one, and for the most part, he’s given managers solid results. This might seem like a risky play against a hot Mets team, but Fedde is likely to give you a solid start where he could maybe even squeeze out a win as the underdog. Roll with Fedde when you need a start.
Deep League Players to Watch
Steven Matz (STL), SP, RP (5% rostered on Yahoo, 2% rostered on ESPN)
This is an intriguing one, as the SP/RP designation has summed up his season. After injuries and poor performance last year, the Cardinals started Matz out of the bullpen, which led to favorable results. They have also used him as a starter, which has also led to favorable results. The Cardinals are using a weird six-man rotation setup right now, inserting Matz when they feel like pushing the other guys back. However, with the rotation not being that strong and Matz looking like a solid pitcher, it could be worth it to pick him up now as he gets stretched out and becomes a bigger part of this team’s ambitions.
