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
Brandon Marsh (PHI) – OF (Yahoo – 30%)
Marsh has been off to a very strong start to the season, slashing .333/.368/.500 with four homers and three steals. He’s also contributing significantly in the run production categories, with 20 runs and RBIs to his name, thanks to the Phillies hitting him 5th in their lineup vs righties (7th vs lefties). Marsh has elevated his strong performance from last year by continuing to cut down on strikeouts. Marsh struck out over 30% of the time from 2021 to 2024, before cutting his K rate to 25.9% last year, and 19.1% so far in 2026. He’s done so by being more aggressive, increasing his swing rates from the lower end of the 40% range to above 50% this season. Marsh has always had strong zone contact rates, but he’s pushed to elite levels over the past two seasons (89.8% in 2025, 91.7% in 2026). This year, he’s also making more contact outside the zone, at a career-high 65.2% rate.
Putting the ball in play isn’t always good, especially on pitches outside the zone, but Marsh has historically run the type of BABIPs I associate only with Derek Jeter. While Marsh’s .388 BABIP screams regression, he’s actually posted a .373 BABIP for his career. Marsh’s success on balls in play is due to a combination of factors. He has a 77th percentile sprint speed, uses all parts of the field equally, and runs consistently above-average line drive rates. Baseball Savant gives Marsh a .296 expected average, a number that doesn’t account for spray angle on batted balls. If Marsh outperforms his expected average by the same amount as he has for his career, you’re looking at a five-category contributor with an elite .318 batting average.
Travis Bazzana (CLE) – 2B (Yahoo – 33%)
Bazzana’s roster share is growing, but with him still being available in two-thirds of Yahoo leagues, it’s time to pounce. The batting average hasn’t been great so far at just .200, but he’s been wildly unlucky with a .217 BABIP so far. Bazzana’s expected batting average is an elite .294 based on a strong 90.5 MPH average exit velocity and 8.1 degree average launch angle. Bazzana isn’t a bat speed darling, but he consistently makes solid contact, posting an elite 32.6% squared up rate. Bazzana also features outstanding plate discipline, chasing under 20% of the time and swinging at pitches in the zone nearly 65% of the time. These rates are right in line with his Triple-A performance, suggesting it’s not a small-sample fluke. Bazzana has also been running wild on the bases, with four steals in his last two games and six steals in his first nine major league games. Put it all together, and Bazzana’s showing the skills of a high-average bat with low-teens homers and a bunch of steals. That’s a star at second base.
Ryan Waldschmidt (ARI) – OF (Yahoo – 8%)
Waldschmidt was promoted to the majors yesterday after the Diamondbacks designated Alek Thomas for assignment. Waldschmidt is a top prospect who can do a bit of everything, posting 18 homers and 29 steals across two levels of the minors last year. He’s started the year with 3 homers and 6 steals in Triple-A, slashing a very solid .289/.400/.477. There’s a bit more batting average risk than might be first apparent, as Waldschmidt has been striking out at a 24% rate this season, an increase of roughly 7% compared to last year. The strikeouts have been offset by a .382 BABIP, a number he shouldn’t be expected to replicate at the major league level. Waldschmidt shows excellent plate discipline, chasing only 16% of the time so far while swinging at 59% of pitches in the zone. His zone contact rate is strong at 85.5%, meaning the strikeouts are being driven by called strikes. Waldschmidt will need to be more aggressive in the zone to succeed in the majors, but he’s an exciting waiver wire bat at a point in the season where there haven’t been many of those.
Yahoo and ESPN Most Added Players
Ty Madden looks like the only non-streaming starter in the top 5, but he’s going in bulk relief after his excellent first start of the season. Pitching models are unanimous that the cutter is his best pitch, with PLV rating it in the 92nd percentile. Everything else in the models seems less optimistic, though, with Pitching Bot and Stuff+ really not liking the rest of the arsenal at all. PLV likes Madden’s sinker too, but rates his other pitches poorly. Madden’s first start was excellent, but we’re still at the stage with him where models are more predictive than results. Madden is a decent risk today, pitching at Kansas City, but next week’s start hosting Toronto is dangerous. He has a decent runway with the Tigers having 10 pitchers on the IL, but I’d preach caution here until Madden shows the reductions in walks from his first start aren’t a mirage.
It’s simply disrespectful that Payton Tolle is being treated like a streaming starter at this point. Yes, his velocity was down in his second start, but it rebounded in his third start to 96 MPH. That third start was dominant against a Tigers team with a top-10 offense by wRC+. He shouldn’t be on waivers anywhere. It’s been a rough go of things for Aaron Nola so far this season, although his last start against the Marlins was excellent. Getting Colorado on the road is another good start to target for a stream this weekend, but I’d need to see Nola shut down better competition before keeping him on my roster long-term. Janson Junk and Aaron Civale are both succeeding with low K rates and excellent BB rates. That’s where the similarities end, though. Junk has been keeping the ball on the ground (50.4% GB rate) while Civale has leaned into the fly ball (29.4% GB rate). Junk has a sustainable 73.4% strand rate, while Civale has left 85.6% of runners on base. Junk’s matchup is excellent today, but he also has just been a solid, if low-K, starter all season. Civale might be usable for this one on the road, but I can’t see a long-term pathway to success allowing so many fly balls in his home park. He’s a streamer only, and one I’d be cautious about.
Well, it’s even more disrespectful what ESPN managers have done to Tolle. Foster Griffin is here because ESPN reports 24-hour measures, and he was picked up to stream for his excellent start against the Marlins yesterday. Nick Martinez is another streaming pick for today. The results have been outstanding so far, but he’s using some smoke and mirrors to get there as well, stranding over 90% of baserunners. Unlike Civale above, he has an excellent home park to limit the negative effects of batted balls, with Tropicana Field ranking among the most pitcher-friendly parks in baseball. Spencer Jones is moving up based on his promotion to the majors with the Yankees. Jones was off to a typical start for him in Triple-A, slugging nearly .600, stealing 7 bases, and striking out nearly a third of the time. Projection systems are mixed as to his performance, with ATC giving him an incredibly pessimistic .182 average and 56 wRC+. ZiPS and OOPSY think he’ll be an above-average major league bat this season, although even their optimism doesn’t extend to more than a .238 average. Jones is worth taking a chance on, although with the Yankees expected to face lefties in two of their next three outings, you won’t get a ton of use out of him until the middle of next week. Still, he’s got massive upside if he can figure out how to make contact in the majors. With Jasson Domínguez and Giancarlo Stanton on the IL, Jones will need to show every ounce of power if he wants to maintain his job for longer.
Graphic by Carlos Leano
