Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Picks: 5/7

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 

Ryan O’Hearn (BAL) OF (22% rostered on Yahoo!)

We’re just about a month into the season, and, yep, you guessed it, Ryan O’Hearn leads the Orioles with a .422 wOBA and .306 batting average (50 PA minimum). Baltimore skipper Brandon Hyde has primarily utilized O’Hearn in a strong-side platoon role, so his upside might not be sky-high. Still, the 31-year-old  lefty’s 92nd percentile hard-hit rate and 14.7% K rate should yield plenty of RBIs with a solid .308 xBA to boot.

O’Hearn’s hot start isn’t anything new; he entered the year as one of Baltimore’s steadiest bats, hitting .275 with a .334 wOBA over his previous two seasons after years of mediocrity with the Royals. His career arc is perhaps a little reminiscent of Justin Turner’s. Of course, O’Hearn has a long way to go to match Turner’s tenure with the Dodgers. Regardless, he should keep things rolling with the Orioles scheduled to face just one southpaw this week: Tyler Anderson on Sunday in Los Angeles.

Trent Grisham (NYY) OF (25% rostered on Yahoo!)

I mentioned Grisham last week, and he has continued to rake, hitting .298 with a .433 wOBA through 95 PA. He went yard again Monday night against Nick Pivetta, matching last year’s home run total of nine in roughly half the time. You might recall Grisham for his exploits in 2020 when he was one of the few players to post double-digit home runs and steals during the 60-game calamity of a season. However, he entered 2025 having hit .191 over his previous three seasons combined; that’s a span of 1,288 PA. Yeah, talk about coming out of nowhere.

Grisham owns a 94th percentile chase rate. However, he’s always demonstrated a discerning eye and decent pullside power, and yet, not really done much to write home about. Chances are, we wouldn’t be talking about Grisham if he had landed anywhere else, but alas, he’s bagged the fantasy motherlode, aka getting to hit in front of Aaron Judge. This has the feel of a right place, right time scenario. Grisham got hot for a team that lacked a clear-cut leadoff hitter, and Aaron Boone awarded him the assignment. I don’t know how long he’ll last as the Yankee leadoff hitter; Boone has tried Austin Wells, Ben Rice, and Paul Goldschmidt. He also tried Anthony Volpe last season. If you told me you were a time traveler and that Trent Grisham would be irrelevant in two weeks, I’d probably believe you. Regardless, I think you gotta see where this goes. Grisham’s average will likely plummet, but there’s a path for him to cruise past his career-high 17 home runs while scoring a boatload of runs if this keeps going. Remember DJ LeMahieu’s 2019 season? Fun times.

Andy Pages (LAD) OF (53% rostered on Yahoo!)

Pages’ roster percentage has about doubled since mentioning him here last week, and he’s right around the 60% threshold. Still, he might deserve even more attention following the injury to Teoscar Hernández. Pages hit second last night against the righty Cal Quantrill. Now, that won’t stick because Mookie Betts had a scheduled night off. Still, we could see Pages hit fifth more often, giving him a little more upside while Hernández is on the shelf.

Nick Kurtz (ATH) 1B (28% rostered on Yahoo!)

Kurtz has just one extra-base hit through his first 13 games, is striking out at a 40% clip, and hitting near the bottom of the A’s order, so there’s a decent chance he was dropped. It wouldn’t be the first nor the last time a big prospect duds in their first taste in the bigs. Still, he could turn it around. Or end up in the minors. You know how it goes with rookies. Regardless, he deserves a quick mention based on his potential. His 77.6 mph bat speed demonstrates the power that earned him the fourth overall selection last Summer.

Yahoo and ESPN Most Added Players 

 

 

Hyeseong Kim’s first start came Monday against the Marlins; he hit ninth and went 2-for-4 with a stolen base. The 26-year-old lefty will get some run with Tommy Edman shelved by an ankle injury. Judging by his numbers in the KBO, Kim should be a decent source of steals during Edman’s absence.

AJ Smith-Shawver pitched well against the Reds this past Monday and seems like a reasonable speculative add (see below) with a start this weekend against the Pirates.

I’m as surprised as you are about Grisham’s renaissance. But as we discussed at the top, such is the power of Aaron Judge. He’ll be on the radar for as long as he’s hitting leadoff against RHP.

Tyler Anderson and Jeffrey Springs were yesterday’s streaming adds, with matches against Toronto and Seattle, respectively. The southpaws are solid streaming options when their slowballs are rolling, but you’re not missing much considering their limited K upside. Keep on using that roster spot to stream.

Jorge Polanco’s resurgence has been a sight to behold. His .489 wOBA would rank second only to Aaron Judge among qualifiers. The 31-year-old has cut his K rate to a career-low 12% with a career-high hard-hit rate of 53.3%. There’s no way he can keep this act going, right? Regardless, it’s been a heck of a ride.

Jeremy Heist featured Tony Gonsolin in Monday’s waiver column. I’m unsure his arsenal stands out, and it’s probably best to take his first two turns with a grain of salt, given it was the Marlins, but team context will forever be in his favor as long as he’s wearing Dodger blue.

Through 32 games, Kyle Stowers is hitting .310 and is 17th among qualifiers with a .391 wOBA, providing plenty of reason for being on fantasy rosters. He’ll look to keep the good times rolling against the White Sox at Rate Field this weekend.

Two consecutive gems against the Rangers and Rockies have Robbie Ray back in the good graces of fantasy managers. His fastball returned a CSW of over 30% in both outings, and that’s a very good thing.

I have a hard time buying the Javier Báez resurgence, but, hey, you have to give him credit; he’s hitting .309 with a .364 wOBA, the latter two points of his career-high. At the very least, he heads to Coors Field for the next three games. How’s his chase rate? Don’t ask. 

Streaming Pitchers

Be sure to check Nick’s daily SP streaming article.

Brayan Bello (BOS), SP (30% rostered on Yahoo!)

The Thursday slate doesn’t offer us many options. However, if I’m taking a chance, it would be with Brayan Bello. He limited the Twins to one earned run on four hits and one walk. The matchup against the Rangers isn’t ideal; they recently got Corey Seager back from the IL, and I suspect Joc Pederson will be better moving forward. Granted, it’d be difficult for him to be worse. Regardless, Bello tossed 102 pitches against the Twins, so he should at least have a shot at a QS. Meanwhile, Fenway Park doesn’t exactly seem like a get-right spot for a young pitcher, so Boston could score some runs against Jack Leiter, who has struggled a bit in his last two starts.

Speculative Adds 

Ben Casparius (LAD), SP (27% rostered on Yahoo!)

Like Gonsolin, Ben Casparius took advantage of a soft landing spot, earning a win against the Marlins in his first start this past Monday. Technically, he followed an opener, Jack Dreyer. Still, Casparius was effective, tossing 70 pitches while recording twelve outs, five via strikeout. I’m not sure if the Dodgers plan to deploy an opener in front of him again, but it could make wins even easier. Casparius had excelled out of the pen but started 19 games last season in Double-A and Triple-A combined. It remains to be seen if he can be an effective big league starter, but he’s flashed a pretty decent arsenal thus far.

AJ Smith-Shawver (ATL), SP (18% rostered on Yahoo!)

Smith-Shawver dazzled Monday night, holding the Reds scoreless across eight frames. The 22-year-old righty has put together two good starts since rejoining Atlanta’s rotation, after Spencer Strider hit the IL with a hamstring strain. However, as Nick detailed in Monday’s SP Roundup, Smith-Shawver’s arsenal and approach are suspect at best. Chances are, the Braves would prefer to have him iron out his command in the minors, making him a better fit in dynasty leagues. Still, he gets the Pirates this weekend. That could work.

Evan Carter (TEX), OF (11% rostered on Yahoo!)

Carter was a popular pick in drafts last season, after impressing during the Rangers’ run to the 2023 World Series. However, he flamed out last year, hitting .188 with a .278 wOBA across 162 PA before being done in by a sprained lumbar. Carter demonstrated an exemplary chase rate, but really struggled with swing decisions inside the zone, ie, he might have been a little too passive for his own good. Carter’s batted-ball data indicated well below-average power, but at the very least, he’s got a ton of speed. The 22-year-old lefty is not far removed from being one of baseball’s notable prospects, and with Leody Taveras gone, he will get a chance at redemption. He was hitting .221 with a .340 wOBA, three home runs, and six steals across 21 games with Triple-A Round Rock before the promotion.

Coby Mayo (BAL), 3B (11% rostered on Yahoo!)

Baltimore’s starting third baseman, Jordan Westburg (hamstring), might not be far from returning, so Mayo might not have much of an opportunity to distinguish himself. Brandon Hyde was also stingy with the young righty’s playing time during his 17-game stint last year. Nonetheless, he was in the lineup Tuesday night against Pablo López and should at least be on the radar, considering his repute as a prospect. He was hitting .252 with six longballs and a .379 wOBA across 28 games with Triple-A Norfolk prior to his promotion this past Saturday.

Deep League Players to Watch 

Blaine Crim (TEX), 1B (0% rostered on Yahoo!)

Jake Burger’s demotion has opened the door to the Rangers’ first base job. Enter Blaine Crim, whom the Rangers promoted this past Friday; he hit eighth and went hitless in five at-bats. He also came up empty in his second start on Sunday. The 27-year-old righty is far from a hotshot prospect, but he’s produced well at every stop, including last season, during which he hit .277 with a .372 wOBA and 20 home runs across 586 PA with Triple-A Round Rock.

For more deep leaguers, check Ben Rosener’s Deep League Waiver Wire column every Thursday and Saturday.