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
Jo Adell (LAA), OF (29% rostered on Yahoo, 9.3% on ESPN)
Adell is someone that fantasy players seem reluctant to trust. That’s understandable. He was considered a can’t-miss prospect for a long time, but it’s taken until his sixth season in the big leagues to ultimately break out. There’s a good chance that he’s already hurt your fantasy squads at some point in that run.
However, this go-around seems different for Adell. The power is 100% legit. He’s already launched 16 homers this season, which is just four fewer than he hit all of last year. He also has the supporting data to back it up. He ranks in the 99th percentile for bat speed and 91st percentile for barrel rate, so if anything, he’s been a little unlucky so far this season. Adell’s .554 xSLG puts him in the 95th percentile and represents an increase of more than 70 points from his actual mark.
With that in mind, it’s no surprise that he’s started to see some positive regression. He’s homered in three straight games entering Saturday, and he’s up to nine homers in the month of June. That power surge has led to some pretty big gains in Process+:
Adell is not going to hit .300—he’s probably not going to hit .250—but the power is more than enough for him to be a valuable fantasy asset. He’s the No. 3 outfielder and No. 7 player overall in ESPN’s Fantasy Player Rater over the past 15 days. Overall, he’s not someone who should still be available in roughly 70% of Yahoo leagues and more than 90% of ESPN ones.
José Soriano (LAA), SP (34% Yahoo, 16.1% ESPN)
Let’s double down on the Angels. For most of the season, Soriano has been a fringe fantasy starter. He has one elite trait: his ability to generate groundballs. He owns a massive 67.2% groundball rate thanks to his power sinker, which he throws more than 50% of the time. It puts him in the 99th percentile, and he’s ridden that to a respectable 3.54 ERA.
The big development is that he’s sprinkled in some added strikeout upside of late. Most of that stems from a 12-strikeout performance three starts ago vs. the Athletics, but he followed that up with six strikeouts vs. the Yankees. He also limited those two quality offenses to just eight hits and one earned run across 14 innings, so he’s checked all the boxes in those starts.
Soriano took the mound again Saturday vs. the Astros, and the excellent results continued. He allowed one run over 6.2 innings, and he added another 10 strikeouts.
If Soriano is going to continue to punch out batters at an increased frequency, he is undoubtedly someone who deserves to be rostered.
Yahoo and ESPN Most Added Players
As usual, Yahoo’s list of most-added players is dominated by streaming pitchers. Each of the top five options was slated to take the mound yesterday, including Soriano.
Brandon Walter was opposing him for the Astros, and he entered that contest with fantastic numbers in a limited sample size. He pitched to a 1.53 ERA, 2.87 xERA, and 2.73 FIP through his first three starts, and he added better than a strikeout per inning. Unfortunately, he came crashing back to reality vs. the Angels. He allowed nine hits and seven earned runs across six innings, with the only positive being his six strikeouts.
Kumar Rocker drew a strong matchup vs. the Pirates, and he more or less did his job. He pitched 5.1 innings with two earned runs, and he added four strikeouts. That’s not exactly what you’re looking for, but it wasn’t that far off. His offense gave him just enough support to also secure his third win of the season. Most of Rocker’s metrics for the year are still underwhelming, and his next start is tentatively scheduled for at home vs. the Mariners. He’s not someone who has much long-term appeal.
Brayan Bello was a hard-luck loser for the Red Sox on Saturday. He surrendered just one earned run across six innings, but his offense didn’t get on the scoreboard until the ninth. Bello did make up for the lack of a win with six strikeouts and just five baserunners allowed, so he at least provided strong ratios. His next start is slated for the Blue Jays, who have shown some improvement over the past two weeks.
Grant Holmes was already owned in more leagues than he wasn’t, but he was even more popular than usual thanks to a matchup vs. the Marlins. The fact that he’s racked up 20 strikeouts compared to just two earned runs over his past 12 innings certainly didn’t hurt either. Holmes kept the good times rolling on Saturday, twirling 5.2 scoreless innings in a combined shutout. He did have plenty of traffic on the bases—he allowed five hits and handed out five free passes—but he ultimately managed to come out unscathed. Holmes moved up to No. 57 in the Pitcher List Rankings this week, so he’s a reasonable add in leagues where he’s still available.
ESPN’s list of most-added players is also comprised strictly of pitchers. Two of them were names that we’ve already discussed in Holmes and Walter, while the other three are guys we’ve highlighted plenty in recent weeks.
Jacob Misiorowski is the clear headliner here. He entered the year as one of the top pitching prospects in baseball, and it’s hard to imagine his MLB tenure getting off to a better start. He threw five hitless innings in his first start, and he took a perfect game into the seventh inning in his second. His stuff is absolutely electric, with a fastball that routinely hits over 100 miles per hour. His 1.82 xERA suggests the production is no fluke, so he should be universally owned at this point.
Clarke Schmidt got off to a shaky start this season after missing the first couple of weeks with an injury. However, he’s officially settled into a groove. He’s allowed zero earned runs in four of his past five outings, including three straight. He’s also gone at least 6.0 innings in all four of those contests, and he’s averaged just under a strikeout per inning for the year. Holmes has the track record and underlying metrics to support his recent surge, and he’s officially cracked the top 40 in the Pitcher List Rankings. He’s another pitcher who should not be available.
Ryan Pepiot has been a strikeout machine of late. He’s racked up 35 punchouts in 24.2 June innings, and he’s also posted a 2.55 ERA and 0.93 WHIP. Pepiot has always had the raw talent to be a high-end MLB starter, and he’s starting to put it all together. He’s another priority add where he’s available.
Category-Specific Players to Add
Alec Burleson (STL), 1B/OF (37% Yahoo, 33.7% ESPN)
If you’re looking for batting average, it’s hard to do a lot better than Burleson. He doesn’t strike out often — his strikeout rate puts him in the 88th percentile — which has allowed him to accumulate a .314 batting average for the year. He’s also squared up the baseball 34% of the time (93rd percentile), so he’s making quality swings on a consistent basis.
Burleson isn’t going to give you much in the power department, but he’s been hot in that area, too. He’s launched three homers in his past five games, bringing his tally to eight for the year. Burleson had 21 homers and nine steals last year, so he’s not a complete zero in those categories. Ultimately, he’s the type of player who isn’t going to hurt you anywhere, and he should help tremendously in terms of batting average.
Eduardo Rodriguez (ARI), SP (9% Yahoo, 3.2% ESPN)
Rodriguez has some ghastly numbers for the year, with his ERA currently sitting near six. However, his underlying metrics are far more impressive. His 3.88 xERA is significantly better, and he’s posted solid strikeout and batted-ball numbers as well.
Rodriguez has also pitched significantly better since returning from the IL. He’s allowed two earned runs in each of his past three outings, so his numbers are trending in the right direction.
That said, the big reason to be excited about Rodriguez is his upcoming schedule. He’s expected to make two starts next week, on the road vs. the White Sox and at home vs. the Marlins. It simply doesn’t get much better than that. If you play in a league with a limited number of moves per week, it makes sense to take a flyer on Rodriguez.
Evan Carter (TEX), OF (30% Yahoo, 11.2% ESPN)
Carter has been red-hot of late. He’s posted a .311 batting average with three homers and three stolen bases in June, and he’s added seven RBIs and 14 runs.
Carter’s underlying metrics aren’t quite as impressive, but he has an elite prospect pedigree. He entered last season as a borderline top 10 prospect in all of baseball, and he was phenomenal in limited action back in 2023. It’s ultimately not a huge shocker that he’s starting to put things together.
Carter’s best attribute is his speed. He ranks in the 95th percentile for sprint speed, so he should help out from a stolen base perspective at a minimum. His six steals don’t jump off the page, but he should run a bit more if he continues to get on base. Carter has as many as 28 steals in a season in the minors, so he has some upside in that department.
Streaming Pitchers
Be sure to check out the great Nick Pollack’s SP Streamer Rankings to see his favorite choices. There are a handful of decent options to choose from on Sunday, with Nick opting for Lucas Giolito. However, he’s not the only player worth considering:
Ben Casparius (LAD), RP (16% Yahoo, 7.7% ESPN)
Casparius has struggled to find a consistent role this season, but he’s been extremely effective whenever the Dodgers have deployed him. His 2.85 xERA puts him in the 90th percentile, and he has some of the best batted-ball data in the league. Add in a 70th percentile strikeout rate, and Casparius checks all the boxes.
All he needs is more consistently opportunities, and he’s at least in the rotation for the time being. He’ll technically serve as the “follower” behind Shohei Ohtani on Sunday, but that’s a positive for fantasy purposes. It makes it even more likely for Casparius to be on the mound at the end of the fifth inning and be eligible for the win. He has plenty of win upside vs. the Nationals, and he should provide decent production in the other categories as well.
Speculative Adds
Chase Burns (CIN), SP (16% Yahoo, 5.6% ESPN)
It has been a year defined by super quick promotions in the minor leagues. The 2024 MLB Draft happened less than a calendar year ago, but we’ve already seen guys like Nick Kurtz, Jac Caglianone, and Cam Smith make their debuts at the big league level.
Burns could be the next guy to follow. The No. 2 pick in 2024 has been basically unchallenged in the minors. He owns a 1.77 ERA through 13 starts this season, and he’s added more than 12 strikeouts per nine innings. He’s currently making Triple-A look easy as well, posting a 2.19 ERA with a 10.22 K/9.
It seems like it’s just a matter of time before Burns is pitching in the big leagues, especially with Hunter Greene currently on the IL for the Reds. He could join guys like Misiorowski and Noah Cameron in making an immediate impact, making him worth considering as a stash.
Brooks Lee (MIN), 2B/3B/SS (16% Yahoo, 4.9% ESPN)
Speaking of top prospects, Lee also fits that description. He entered the 2024 season as the No. 29 prospect per FanGraphs, but he failed to make much of an impact in his debut season.
However, the talent is clearly there, and he’s picked up his production of late. He’s hitting .328 in June, and he’s added three homers. It’s the type of production that should put him on the radar for fantasy purposes, especially given his multi-positional eligibility.
Deep League Players to Watch
Brady House (WSN), 3B (7% Yahoo, 3.7% ESPN)
House was recently promoted for the Nationals, and he brings some big raw power to the table. He hasn’t quite been able to get to it in games yet, but he has 65-grade upside on the 20-to-80 scale. That’s the same exact mark as Kurtz.
House has scorched the ball since being called up, posting a .392 xBA and .407 xwOBA through his first 21 plate appearances. That’s obviously a small sample size, but House should be in the lineup nearly every day for the rebuilding Nationals. He’s worth at least keeping an eye on in deeper formats.
