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
A.J. Ewing (NYM) – 2B,OF (Yahoo – 21%)
Ewing and Carson Benge continue to be the only bright spots for the Mets. Both rookies have spent time in the leadoff spot, but it looks like Ewing’s got the edge of late, batting first in five of the last seven games (Benge hit cleanup yesterday). It’s a move that’s apparently unlocked Ewing’s power stroke, as he started Wednesday’s game with a homer and went deep in three of five appearances last week.
While Ewing is probably a better play in points formats—especially if he’s leading off regularly—he’s a future five-category candidate. He’s got some power, knows how to drive in runs even from the leadoff spot (he’s got a .480 SLG with runners in scoring position), and can hit for average. He’s also really fast (96th-percentile sprint speed), but is still learning to run on Major League catchers (despite that speed, he’s getting caught stealing 40% of the time), but let’s remember he’s just 21 years old and there’s a lot of room to grow.
Kyle Karros (COL) – 3B (Yahoo – 18%)
Son of Eric Karros, Kyle played in college at UCLA before getting drafted in the fifth round. Not a celebrated prospect, Karros nonetheless has worked his way through the minors in ’24 and ’25 and earned the Rockies’ Minor League Player of the Year honors before getting called up late last year. He was challenged to earn his full-time role in Spring Training this season and delivered an OPS of 1.000 to pass that test with flying colors.
Like so many other young players these days (Ewing included), Karros appears to be getting better every month. Settled into his everyday job at third base, Karros has made the leap into fantasy relevance based on a scorching-hot June where he hit .357 with a 1.030 OPS on the month and had eleven extra-base hits. While his home run total (7) seems less than impressive, he hit a 470-foot bomb last week (and that was in San Fran, not Coors) that proves he has pop once he learns how to lift the ball more regularly.
I’d prefer to have Karros in a points league, mainly due to his propensity for walks (12.9% BB-rate) and gap power, but if he continues to hit over .300 (like he’s done since May 23), he could be playable everywhere.
Tristan Peters (CHW) – OF (Yahoo – 4%)
Let’s keep it going with our theme of Rookies Who Are Only Getting Better. I don’t like Peters as much as the other players above, but he’s worth keeping an eye on in deeper leagues, and is showing an impressive ability to make better decisions at the plate. Where he started the season in the 20th-percentile of this stat, he’s steadily been climbing and is now well above average (his overall season average now sits exactly on the MLB average line).
Peters came out of Canada and has been kicked around as a Minor League replacement-level for a few years, but he’s gotten his shot in Chicago and appears to be making it work. He’s got 85th-percentile sprint speed (so he could run a little more than he is) and makes decent contact, and is riding a July where he’s hitting .333 with a .935 OPS and .573 SLG. He also slugged .493 in June and .487 in May, so there’s some solid gap power here that may develop into something more.
Peters is only hitting .115 against lefties so he’s mostly getting platooned, but he’s hitting .311 against RHPs this season and is a solid under-the-radar option if you need one.
Nasim Nunez (WSH) – 2B,SS (Yahoo – 27%)
It’s hard to believe Nunez is only 27% owned given he’s leading all of baseball in stolen bases, but most feel he’s a one-category player and not worth the roster spot. That might no longer be true, as he’s developing into a more rounded player. After finishing May with a .498 OPS, Nunez found another gear by hitting .333 in June with a 40% OBP and respectable .417 SLG.
July’s been even better in the early going, as Nunez hit his first homer of the season on the first of the month and is hitting .444 since. And while he’s hardly developing into a power hitter, his exit velocities show dramatic improvement since the beginng of the season.
Yahoo and ESPN Most Added Players
Yahoo!
I usually take issue with picking up any pitcher from Colorado, but Feltner’s better than most. He’s gone six innings in seven of his last nine starts and given up more than two earned runs just once. The Rockies are in San Fran, though, and the Giants have been swinging it well at home. I don’t dislike Feltner, but I don’t love him, either.
A pitcher I do love is Logan Henderson. He’s made ten starts in the Majors and had just one bad one, and while he’s coming off the IL from a back issue he should settle back in the rotation nicely. His rotation spot got a little more secure with the Brandon Woodruff injury, but the way he’s been going he should already have locked down his slot (for whatever reason, though, the Brewers have been cagey with him). When he’s fully back from the back problem, he should get back to having a K/9 over ten with solid ratios—which means with the Brewers, a lot of Wins potential. I think he’s a top-50 starter.
Ewing we covered, so let’s move on to the last two pitchers. I’m not really a fan of either and frankly am not sure why Pallante would be 43% owned. He’s a ground-ball pitcher but that doesn’t play too well with Milwaukee and his K-rate is historically so bad. He’s worth streaming in most matchups, but not this one.
I like Sandoval a bit better and have streamed him many times when he was with the Angels. He had internal brace surgery in 2024 and is only now back in the league, as he had several setbacks including a biceps issue earlier this year. He’s a lanky lefty with a decent K-rate and not-great control, but he’s looked good in his rehab outings in the Minors and Boston has played well of late, so I think he’s worth streaming in most situations.
ESPN
Streaming Pitchers
Check out Nick Pollack’s SP Streamer Rankings for the complete breakdown on every start for the next few days. There are two pitchers to highlight.
Zebby Matthews (MIN) – SP (Yahoo – 15%) vs LAA
Matthews had a not-so-great outing last week against the Yankees, leaving the game early due to a foot laceration. That may have affected his performance, however, and while it put this start in question it looks like he’s good to go. The Angels are pretty bad against righties (they lead the Majors in strikeouts against them and rank last in the league in WRC+), so it’s a great matchup. On top of that, Zebby’s a consistent pitcher who doesn’t make mistakes. He can get hit hard sometimes, but the 6% walk rate and other metrics show his 4.43 ERA is partly a product of bad luck. He should have a good day as long as his foot’s fine.
Javier Assad (CHC) – SP (Yahoo – 12%) @ CIN
Like with Zebby, this is a great matchup for Assad, who gets the offensively challenged Reds, who have the 29th-worst batting average in the Majors. Assad doesn’t miss a lot bats—actually, that’s an understatement, he’s got a first-percentile Whiff rate of 13.1%, but the Reds strike out a ton so it should even out. One thing Assad does do well is keep the ball down and get a lot of ground balls, and a sinker-ball pitcher in Great American Ball Park can be successful. Assad’s got a WHIP below 1.00 and an ERA under 3.00 over his last nine outings, and he should cruise in his tenth.
