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 you can leave on the wire.
Top Priority Players to Add
Lars Nootbaar (STL) – OF (Yahoo! – 6%)
Few things are certain in life. Death. Taxes. Lars Nootbaar somehow finding fantasy relevance.
Noot is off to a great start to the season. To quote myself in my inaugural Stream Team column, where each week I’ll be identifying streamer candidates for every position (releasing every Sunday, check it out:) “His Statcast page is redder than a 49ers @ Rams game, and this could be the start of a big season for him.” The 28-year-old outfielder is posting an .872 OPS in 85 PA, with 2 HR.
The Samurai Japan legend broke onto the major league landscape in 2021 despite never having a strong prospect pedigree. His plate discipline earned him a spot, and the hope was always that power would materialize as he aged. His plate discipline has remained excellent, and his exit velocity and barrel rates have been good-to-great for much of his big league career; yet he’s never managed an .800+ OPS season. The obvious sticking point has been his launch angle. He’s found the launch angle sweet spot 31.5% of the time in his career, well below the MLB average. This season, he’s finding it 38.5% of the time: well above the MLB average.
Most of the pieces have been there for Nootbaar for much of his career. Now, they might all be there. Sometimes players need some extra seasons to find that final spark. I hope that Noot’s found the swing, the eye, whatever that missing piece was, that truly works for him. I’m adding him in 10-team leagues, though you can likely play it a bit slower.
Henry Bolte (ATH) – OF (Yahoo! – 14%)
Bolte has worked his way into the leadoff spot in the A’s lineup. He’s taking full advantage, with a .287 average, 2 HR, and 11 SB. He’s one of the fastest players in the league, and he gets the benefit of playing in Sacramento’s hitter-friendly park and batting ahead of MVP candidate Nick Kurtz.
There’s hope for even better results in the future. He hasn’t managed to replicate the fantastic results of his time in Triple-A, where he swatted 12 HR, stole 17 bases, and put up a 1.076 OPS in 37 games. But all of his advanced stats are pretty close to where they were. From strikeout rate to barrel rate, it looks like he’s just a step or two from finding another level. He’s only played 43 games thus far, and he should continue to improve with every pitch that he sees. He’s flirting with 10-team relevance, and he looks like a lock in anything deeper.
Yahoo! and ESPN Most Added Players
Yahoo!
Esmerlyn Valdez would have led this article, but he was a Priority Pick yesterday in Ryan Amore’s Waiver Wire Picks. The young slugger is a legitimate power hitter who managed a .914 OPS with 13 HR in Triple-A this season. He’s not a sure thing, but his profile is worth chasing.
Brandon Sproat earned his second win in a row, this time against the Reds. His ERA still sits at 5.28 on the season, and the upside-to-risk ratio isn’t quite where I would like it to be.
Griffin Jax continues to pitch well and is slowly approaching the longevity of a regular starter. He’s worth an add in all leagues.
Connelly Early has been cruising. Had been cruising. Elbow discomfort never bodes well. If it turns out to be nothing, Early’s been excellent. But elbows rarely turn out to be nothing.
Martín Pérez is a streamer who’s pitching beyond his true level. The 3.27 ERA is stellar, but the Cards got to him in this one with 4 ER in 5 IP.
ESPN
Esmerlyn Valdez would have led this article, but he was a Priority Pick yesterday in Ryan Amore’s Waiver Wire Picks. The young slugger is a legitimate power hitter who managed a .914 OPS with 13 HR in Triple-A this season. He’s not a sure thing, but his profile is worth chasing.
I’ll be honest, I have no idea what to do with Tatsuya Imai. I’m all for chasing the strikeouts, but I don’t think I can give a wholehearted recommendation with this level of risk.
Payton Tolle has been phenomenal. He’s up to 23rd on The List, so get him while you still can.
Joey Cantillo is on the rise following an excellent stretch of games. I don’t love the low-90s heater thrown 40% of the time, even if it is from the left side.
Luis García Jr. had a scorching June, with a 1.128 OPS and 11 HR. Even if it’s just a hot streak, that’s too good to ignore.
Streaming Pitchers
Check out Nick Pollack’s SP Streamer Rankings for a complete breakdown of every start over the next few days.
Today (Wednesday): Shane Drohan (MIN) (14% on Yahoo!) Drohan has put up two solid, albeit brief, starts in a row. I’d like to see more strikeouts out of him, and the Reds have struck out more than almost anyone.
Tomorrow (Thursday): Walbert Ureña (LAA) (34% on Yahoo!) Ureña holds a 3.17 ERA on the season despite his most recent disaster of a start. It was the second time he faced the A’s in a row, and now he’ll get the benefit of Seattle’s ballpark.
