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
Noelvi Marte (CIN) – 3B/OF (Yahoo – 31%)
Marte has been a mercurial prospect for a while. He was the big chip in the Luis Castillo four years ago. And then in 2024, he served an 80-game suspension for PEDs. Last year, he showed promise, hitting .263 with a 101 wRC+, 14 home runs, and 10 stolen bases across 360 PAs. Earlier this season, he struggled, hitting just .138 with a K rate over 30% across a scant 31 PAs before being demoted. Well, now he is back again. We, of course, haven’t seen nearly enough of the 24-year-old to discern his true talent level. However, if what he did in Triple-A Louisville is any semblance of an indication, he is well worth your attention; the 40-game stint netted a .369 batting average, 155 wRC+, eight home runs, and nine steals.
Dustin May (STL) – SP (Yahoo – 27%)
May is still available in plenty of leagues, partly because, well, his 4.59 ERA and 1.29 WHIP aren’t great. However, he has racked up 25 strikeouts over his last three starts. Sure, it could be a mirage; he has just a 21.8% K rate over 390 career IP. But it could also be a pitcher we’ve had our eyes on for years, reaching new heights. Literally. Nick noted in his SP Roundup that May’s heaters were well located up in the zone and featured a little more vert than we’ve seen from him. That has me excited, and I want to see where this goes.
Paul Goldschmidt (NYY) – 1B (Yahoo – 6%)
Goldy has been mentioned a few times already, but the man keeps raking! And his .275/.360/.533 slash line is backed by terrific PLV metrics, including a 135 Process and 128 Power. We saw Springer bounce back with a vengeance last year. Why not Goldy? Rice is the only player on the Yankees with a better wRC+ than his 152. Yes, there will be a logjam once Stanton returns to occupy the DH spot. But let’s not worry about that now.
Yahoo and ESPN Most Added Players
Colin Rea’s roster percentage rose ahead of an impending date against the A’s; that seemed a little ambitious, given that Wrigley Field can be temperamental and Rea has limited strikeout upside. But, I get it, we’re all just looking for wins every now and then. Stephen Kolek has posted shinier results (3.48 ERA and 0.94 WHIP), but like Rea, he is not someone you are going to roster all year. A date at the GABP didn’t seem like an exciting spot on paper. Rea is ranked 92nd on The List, and Kolek fell off after a tough start in Texas his last time out.
Bless the Rockies. They love to give Quad-A players oodles of at-bats. Enter Jake McCarthy; he has a career 98 wRC+ over 1,622 PAs, and that is apparently good enough to be leading off for the purple and black. As much as I would like to ignore McCarthy’s recent stretch of success, he’s probably going to have a big game soon, with the Rockies starting a six-game home stand this Friday. At the very least, you know he is going to try to steal if he gets on base.
Carson Benge is easily the most exciting player here. We’ve seen him blossom lately, hitting leadoff in front of Soto. The Mets’ top prospect is hitting .254 with a 104 wRC, six dingers, and nine steals across 225 PAs. His 114 Process portends well. I have a hunch his 31% roster rate will keep climbing.
26-year-old righty Yoendrys Gómez appears to be Minny’s closer after converting his fourth save Tuesday. He has been superb since the Rays traded him, posting a 0.71 ERA and 0.79 WHIP across 14 appearances. However, his average-ish K rate and 4.82 PLV make me think this is more of a SAGNOF situation rather than something to be excited about.
Walbert Ureña’s stock rose on ESPN, thanks to an impending date with the Road Rockies. The 22-year-old has posted a 2.44 ERA across eight starts despite an 8.2% K-BB. He’s 72nd on The List. I hope this works out better than G-Rod Tuesday night. Yikes.
Payton Tolle is easily the biggest name here. He owns a 2.61 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, and a 21.8% K-BB. And he’s 26th on The List. I’m unsure how he has remained below 50% on ESPN.
MacKenzie Gore endured a cold streak with spotty control, but has cruised lately with just five walks over his last four starts. He will probably always be somewhat volatile, but his stuff is way too good to leave on the wire. He’s 57th on The List.
Similarly, walks have bitten the Pasta Pirate, Spencer Arrighetti. Regardless, he has been brilliant, posting a 1.34 ERA and 1.13 WHIP across eight starts. He’s 60th on The List. Go get him.
Streaming Pitchers
Be sure to check Nick’s daily SP streamers article.
Today:
Brayan Bello (BOS) – SP (Yahoo – 9%) vs. BAL
Thursday doesn’t offer many options, so we’re left with Bello. His 5.63 ERA and 1.64 WHIP are not ideal. However, he has been terrific operating behind an opener in his previous four appearances. Let’s cross our fingers and hope there’s something to that.
Tomorrow:
Christian Scott (NYM) – SP (Yahoo – 18%) at SD
Scott is beginning to show why he was a very good prospect not long ago, with a solid performance against the Fish last Saturday. He’s not quite all the way back yet, but he carries breakout potential and could be someone you’ll want to carry for a while. Meanwhile, the Padres have not been all that great with an 88 wRC+, tied for third-lowest with the Phillies.
Deep League Players to Watch
Joc Pederson (TEX) – UTIL (Yahoo – 9%)
I’ll admit, I chased Pederson more than a few times last year in 15-teamers. Spoiler alert: it didn’t work. Well, here’s a classic case of flop lag. He’s been on a roll as the Rangers’ leadoff man, hitting .253 with eight bombs and a 133 wRC+ across 183 PAs. The Util tag is a downer, but we know he can be a useful daily league option against RHP.
Ty France (SD) – 1B (Yahoo – 1%)
France has easily been one of the Padres’ best bats, hitting .291 with six home runs over 116 PAs. He doesn’t walk much, but his PLV metrics are popping off the page (127 Power, 127 Process).
Troy Johnston (COL) – 1B/OF (Yahoo – 9%)
The 28-year-old lefty is playing every day for the Rockies and slashing a rock-solid .320/ .377/ .437. He hasn’t shown much in-game power, with only two home runs thus far. However, he couldn’t certainly pay dividends as a fifth outfielder in points leagues with the Rockies headed home this weekend.
