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
Jacob Latz (TEX) – RP (Yahoo – 31%)
We talked about Latz last Thursday, but he remains widely available. He most recently polished off Eovaldi’s gem in the Bronx last night and has been nearly flawless, with a 0.98 ERA and 0.44 WHIP. His 5.30 PLV is eighth-best amongst pitchers who have thrown at least 200 pitches. Right now, he looks an awful lot like a potential top-15 closer. Or…maybe even better. Rick Graham placed Latz at No. 10 in his latest RP Rankings.
Trent Grisham (NYY) – OF (Yahoo – 41%)
Yes, I’m leaning hard into the process-over-outcome argument by advocating for a guy hitting .170. But so much of this game comes down to getting the right opportunity. Hitting in front of Judge is about as good as it gets. Per Savant, Grisham’s pulled flyball rate is about five points above the league average; that will help his home run equity but will continue to drag down his average. Still, his .240 xBA, which is only eight ticks down from last year, paints a more amenable picture. As does his 99th percentile chase rate. He’s actually walking more often than he’s striking out, which is a career-low 16.1%. According to the PLV machine, he has a 120 Process. And his hard-hit rate is in the top 6%. Can you feel the heat?
Yahoo and ESPN Most Added Players
Colin Rea, Martín Pérez, and Andre Pallante were yesterday’s streamers. Nothing to see there.
Switch-hitting infielder Brooks Lee is slashing .270/ .323/ .435 across 124 PAs. He could be useful in points formats, thanks to his sub-20% K rate. But neither his recent nor his minor league track record suggests he offers much in terms of categorical upside. The best-case scenario, to me at least, feels like a dollar-store version of Jacob Wilson, with a little more power but not as good a batting average. Meh.
JJ Bleday has a 1.247 OPS through 29 PAs with the Reds. That’s sustainable, right? The fourth overall pick out of Vanderbilt seven years ago, the 28-year-old lefty’s Statcast page is red across the board. He is certainly worth adding, provided you’re bored with someone at the end of your bench. He has flashed some potential before, most notably with the A’s two years ago, when he banged 20 home runs with a career-best 120 wRC+. Hmm, a lefty with a little bit of pop coming out of nowhere with a career year at the GABP. Where have I heard this before? Is that you again, Scooter Gennett?
A little bit further down the list is Bryson Stott; he’s banged three home runs over his past four games. Does that suddenly make him interesting? Probably not, but you could do worse at second base.
Shane McClanahan retired 17 Blue Jays without allowing a run yesterday, dropping his ERA to 2.60. He’s not striking batters out at the same clip as his pre-injury days, but there is no reason for him to be available on waivers. He’s 34th on The List.
Casey Schmitt received top billing yesterday; the 27-year-old righty entered the season with a career 85 wRC+ over 738 PAs, but has flipped the switch with a 155 wRC+ thus far. It’s probably best to expect some regression, but he’s a no-brainer, given his hot start and his 2B eligibility.
Bailey Ober rattled off three consecutive quality starts, but Nick refused to endorse him as a streamer for last night’s game against the Nats. And, guess what? It was the right call.
Max Meyer owns a 2.68 ERA and 1.03 WHIP through seven starts, and looks like an awful lot like a post-hype breakout. His only downside is pitching for The Fish. He’s 52nd on The List.
Ranked 32nd by MLB Pipeline, 23-year-old left-hander Robby Snelling will make his major-league debut this Friday against the Nationals. He enjoyed quite the breakout last year in the minors, posting a 23.2% K-BB% across 136 IP. He has crushed skulls thus far with Triple-A Jacksonville, having the second-most strikeouts and the second-lowest ERA in the International League. Color me intrigued.
Speculative Adds
Tony Santillan (CIN) – RP (Yahoo – 24%)
Emilio Pagán will miss between 4 and 8 weeks with a Grade 2 hamstring strain. Enter Tony Santillan; he nailed seven saves last season and has been reasonably effective this year with a 2.87 ERA across 16 appearances. Although his 14.1% BB rate is a little dicey.
Bryce Eldridge (SF) – 1B (Yahoo – 16%)
Eldridge has gone 1-for-8 since debuting Tuesday. Strikeouts will most likely be a problem, but he deserves to be on the radar based on his prospect pedigree.
Christian Scott (NYM) – SP (Yahoo – 6%)
Scott’s return from TJ was disastrous. But he put it past him with a terrific outing against the Angels last Friday. He gets to pitch in Coors today. Yeah, not great. However, if you are absolutely done with the last person on your bench, please swap them for Scott. He had a phenomenal 26.2% K-BB in the minors before being undone by elbow surgery, so we’ve seen him succeed before. Even better, Nick believes Scott should be rostered in 12-teamers. That’s good enough for me.
Streaming Pitchers
Be sure to check Nick’s daily SP streamers article.
Today:
Cade Povich (BAL) – SP (Yahoo – 2%) at MIA
Thursday doesn’t offer us many options. As mentioned above, I’m most intrigued by Christian Scott’s long-term potential, but there’s no way you can risk starting him at Coors. That leaves us with Povich. He has a pretty decent changeup, but this is just me picking on the Marlins.
Tomorrow:
Connor Prielipp (MIN) – SP (Yahoo – 1o %) at CLE
Minnesota’s top pitching prospect has played well, holding a 3.86 ERA and 0.93 WHIP through his first three turns. However, he hasn’t exceeded five innings yet, leaving him a little under the radar. A matchup against the Guardians seems doable, and you get the added bonus of taking a chance on a guy with legitimate breakout potential.
Deep League Players to Watch
Mark Vientos (NYM) – 1B, 3B (Yahoo – 8%)
I had previously mentioned Josh Jung here, and he has since gone boom, big time. Vientos, meanwhile, was a pretty big disappointment last year, hitting .233 with a 97 wRC+ across 463 PAs. However, he had a two-home run game this past Sunday. The Mets need offense in the worst way, so he should have a runway despite his well-known defensive misgivings.
MJ Melendez (NYM) – OF (Yahoo – 1%)
I mentioned Melendez two days ago, and here I am again. Hey, look, someone has gotta swing the stick for the Mets. The former Royal has hit third in six of the past seven ballgames, and he’s been productive, hitting .316 with a 1.000 OPS.
