Welcome to the Waiver Wire Picks, our daily fantasy baseball article that looks at the best players 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 tell you which players to add and which to leave on the wire.
Top Priority Players to Add
Bryce Eldridge (SF) – 1B (Yahoo – 16%)
The Giants have been lifeless offensively. Through Sunday, they and the Mets own baseball’s worst wRC+ at 81. Enter Bryce Eldridge, whom the Giants selected 16th overall out of James Madison High School three summers ago, and who is MLB Pipeline’s 20th-ranked prospect. The six-foot-seven-inch left-handed hitting first baseman banged five home runs while hitting .333 with a 159 wRC+ across 137 PAs with Triple-A Sacramento before getting called up yesterday. As you might have surmised, power is Eldridge’s calling card. Rookies are impossible to gauge and in most cases struggle. The Giants might also shield him against lefties, complicating matters further. …And he also struck out 29.9% of the time in the minors thus far this season. Still, he is up for a reason. If you’re looking to take a chance on a wild card, he is it.
Travis Bazzana (CLE) – 2B (Yahoo – 32%)
Again, you know how it goes with rookies. However, Cleveland’s top prospect is worth gambling on, especially if you’re not pleased with your second baseman. The 23-year-old Bazzana hasn’t shown much power with only two home runs across his 117 PAs with Triple-A Columbus, but he also had a .422 OBP, so he could climb up Cleveland’s lineup. And he has shown some baserunning chops, having stolen eight bags with Columbus and two since being promoted last Tuesday.
Logan Henderson (MIL) – SP (Yahoo – 23%)
Henderson held a 1.02 ERA and 23.3% K-BB% through five games (three starts) with Triple-A Nashville before being promoted to face the Nats Sunday. And guess what? He looked great! He needed only 76 pitches to record 18 outs, 8 of which were strikeouts. Again, he only threw 76 pitches, but his locations were backed by a pristine 5.30 PLV. Henderson’s phenomenal four-seamer and change fueled his success during last year’s cup of coffee. And they haven’t gone anywhere. The difference now seems to be a revamped slider that has given him a more dynamic movement profile. All in all, this is something worth getting pretty excited about.
Yahoo and ESPN Most Added Players
A date with the woeful Mets tempted a fair number of fantasy managers to start the week with Tomoyuki Sugano, but it didn’t pay off. He allowed five earned runs while earning his second loss of the season. Back to the wire he goes.
Jasson Domínguez has filled in with Stanton on the IL (calf). As someone who has him on a dynasty roster, I want to believe in the Martian. But the Yankees have not deployed in a way that suggests they view him as anything more than a defensive liability who can’t hit left-handers. That’s not great. Still, I get chasing the idea of what he could be.
Right-hander Sean Burke owns a 2.72 ERA and 1.01 WHIP through seven appearances (five starts). Nick recently led with him on his SP Roundup. In short, he doesn’t have anything under the hood that suggests an imminent breakout, but he’s got a reasonable upcoming schedule (SEA, KC, @SEA).
If you’re a fantasy manager who had been hoping for Agustín Ramírez to turn things around, check your wire for Ryan Jeffers; the 28-year-old righty is slashing .287/ .394/ .471 as a key cog in the Twins’ lineup. And his 126 Process lends credence to the results.
Nick Martinez earned his third win yesterday against the Jays and owns a 1.71 ERA and 1.02 WHIP through seven starts. This feels like a classic Vargas Rule, but his next date at Fenway this Saturday doesn’t seem like a slam dunk.
I want to ignore Mickey Moniak because of his uniform. Still, I’m obliged to report that he is slashing .333/ .378/ .745 with 11 taters. Moniak has gone on tears before, but the excitement dies once pitchers rediscover that he will swing at pretty much anything.
Davis Martin has been a gem off the wire. As I’m writing, he’s bulldozing the Angels while earning what would be his fifth win. His 4.98 PLV and average-ish strikeout rate aren’t terribly exciting, and neither is his arsenal. Regression seems imminent, but in the meantime, you play by the Vargas rule.
Max Meyer looks like a classic post-hype breakout. His fastball has been a liability at times. However, his slider and sweeper have been phenomenally productive, each yielding whiff rates of over 35%. He flummoxed the Phillies this past Saturday, while dropping his ERA to 2.62, and will face the Orioles this Thursday. He is 52nd on The List.
Streaming Pitchers
Be sure to check Nick’s daily SP streamers article.
Today
Brandon Sproat (MIL) – SP (Yahoo – 6%) at STL
Sproat totes a 6.75 ERA and 1.61 WHIP into tonight’s start against the Red Birds. Nope, you’re right; that’s not good, not good at all. Still, he has looked impressive at times and has the stuff to succeed. His previous start against the Diamondbacks looked pretty nice until things fell apart in the fourth. Am I wish-casting? Yes. But there is at least some reason to believe in his breakout potential, which is much more than you can say for the other options under 10% rostered.
Tomorrow
Colin Rea (CHC) – SP, RP (Yahoo – 15%) vs CIN
No Rea, isn’t exciting. But he pitched reasonably well in his last start against the Diamondbacks. When all else fails, let’s pick on the Reds and their 88 wRC+.
Deep League Players to Watch
Austin Martin (MIN) – 2B/OF (Yahoo – 4%)
Toronto’s fifth overall pick from the 2020 draft, Martin is slashing .333/ .484/ .431 across 95 PAs. He has been caught stealing four times in eight attempts. Meh. Well, at least he’s trying. And his batted ball metrics? No, sir, you won’t find too many hard hits in this profile. Still, I’m awfully intrigued by his 100th percentile chase rate.
MJ Melendez (NYM) – OF (Yahoo – 1%)
Yeah, you’re darn right this is gross. But sometimes, desperate times call for desperate measures. Melendez hit .083 last year across 65 PAs before the Royals finally cut the cord. He has hit third or fourth for the Mets in six of their last seven games. That kinda tells you how the year is going for the Mets. Regardless, he’s been productive enough to warrant a look in 15-team, five-OF leagues.
