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
Trevor Story (BOS) SS (66% Yahoo, 26% ESPN)
After an abysmal start to the season, most fans thought Story’s best days were behind him. Not so fast, doubters. The veteran shortstop has stepped up with the departure of Rafael Devers, playing at an elite level. He ended May with a .585 OPS. When June hit, Story sparked. In 33 contests, he’s hit .315 and gone deep eight times. He’s also running a bit more, too. The ability to steal has always been in Story’s toolbox, yet it is hard to take advantage of when he never gets on base. Story looks as confident as anyone in the box these days. Fantasy managers and Boston fans alike couldn’t be happier with his latest showings. How quickly it is forgotten that Story’s career average over 162 games typically comes out to a 30/20 player. When looking at roster rates, it’s a true mystery to me how there could be such a big discrepancy in Yahoo and ESPN percentages. Take advantage, especially considering he’s available almost everywhere on ESPN.
Brandon Woodruff (MIL) SP (75% Yahoo, 55% ESPN)
Many were skeptical of Woodruff’s return to the mound after missing all of last season on top of taking forever to rehab in the minor leagues. It seemed as if he was never going to make it back to the bigs after continually getting injured in Triple-A Nashville. Well, he’s back now, and his return performance looked identical to the ace-level stuff he displayed in years’ past. He earned the victory in Miami while striking out eight batters on just 70 pitches. Efficiency at its finest. 10 whiffs were produced while sitting right around 93 mph on the fastball and sinker. This was as good as fans could’ve hoped for, escaping with no injuries and looking as sharp as ever. Not too shabby considering his last major league game was on September 23, 2023. Elbow injuries are always scary when it comes to hurlers, but there’s no reason to be afraid of such problems when he’s by far the best pitcher still sitting on waivers.
Jo Adell (LAA) OF (58% Yahoo, 26% ESPN)
So this is the real Jo. If this continues, we have an elite outfield fantasy option on our hands, and the Angels have a stud player. Keep in mind that he has shown flashes of brilliance in the past, so there’s still much to prove. However, everything so far has been highly encouraging. 92nd percentile in barrel rate, 97th in xSLG, an 99th in bat speed. He’s the exact type of player who is worth taking the risk on when it comes to fantasy because even though some of his swing decisions aren’t the greatest at times, he’s not being a passive player. It’s true that patience is needed in the box, but only so much. When Adell sees something he likes, he goes after it. This allows him to run into batted balls right around the corners of the zone, which other batters might otherwise lay off. So yes, he may strike out more than we would like. But he will also be putting up more counting stats and round-trippers by taking those chances. The upside here is enticing, and his rates are far too low, especially in five-outfielder leagues.
Jordan Westburg (BAL) 3B, 2B (79% Yahoo, 49% ESPN)
This Baltimore offense has been hard to watch. It probably shouldn’t have been as much of a shock as it was this year if their past two playoff performances were taken into account. But still their -77.0 run differential, good for 26th in the majors, is surprising considering they were seen as the young stars on the block just a short time ago. There’s not a lot of pop in the Orioles’ bats these days, but Jordan Westburg is at least pulling his weight. He has only played in about half the contests this year so far, but he has continued the success from his 2024 showing. His metrics have always been solid, and his impact on the ball is real, in addition to the important dual eligibility at both third and second base. There’s not a lot of lineup support for him, but beggars can’t be choosers. After the elite are off the board at the hot corner and keystone positions, both positions become shallow quickly. He’s also a perfect piece to go after in a trade since the surface numbers aren’t all that gaudy because of the time he has missed.
Yahoo and ESPN Most Added Players
The five most added players feature for starting pitchers, in addition to the scorching hot Ceddanne Rafaela. And when it comes to offense, Rafaela is the perfect piece many fantasy managers are looking for since they can slot him in at shortstop or the outfield. It comes as no surprise that more and more pitchers are being picked up with all of the arm injuries happening across the league. Brandon Woodruff just racked up 10 strikeouts in his last start, while Lucas Giolito has shown flashes of his old self. Brayan Bello only gave up one run against the tricky Rays offense on Sunday, rewarding his streaming managers. And even though he has come with a fair amount of skepticism, Trevor Rogers has done nothing but produce. The eight strikeouts and one earned run against Miami on Saturday were just one example of his recent success.
Speculative Adds
Logan Henderson (MIL) SP (20% Yahoo, 7% ESPN)
Remember the guy in Milwaukee’s rotation who looked like a budding ace who was sent back to the minors? You know, the guy who racked up three wins in 21 innings with 29 K’s and a 0.95 WHIP. Nobody can predict when exactly Henderson will be back, but with the type of attrition that happens to pitchers in today’s environment, I am almost sure he will be back up in the second half of the season. Almost every fantasy manager has some type of pitching injury or injured list complexity, which only produces headaches. It is the perfect time to add Henderson in anticipation of his return on top of adding solid pitching depth. Better now than when it’s too late.
