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
With many leagues in championship week, I’ll roll through as many potentially helpful bats on the wire. Quick hits. Remember, flags fly forever. For Pitchers, Nick has everything you need on The List. I’m not kidding, he’s got everything there, complete with beautifully colored tables.
Ezequiel Tovar (COL) SS (41% rostered on Yahoo)
Tovar has been no fun this year, slashing .259/.305/.411 across 342 PAs. However, the Rockies are home this week; it’s that simple. His next two matchups are Ryan Weathers and Sandy Alcantara, capable pitchers, but this weekend could be bananas with the Angels coming to town. I’ve said this at least once, probably twice, but Tovar’s 118 Power+ has me optimistic that he has a lot more upside than the snoozeworthy results thus far.
Tyler Freeman (COL) 2B/SS/OF (8% rostered on Yahoo)
Ditto with Freeman. Except, unlike Tovar, he has very little thump to speak of (83 Power+). But he makes contact, so he could help you with batting average, and he has stolen 17 bases this season on 29 attempts. As Mitch mentioned yesterday, you can look at Mickey Moniak and Jordan Beck, too.
Gabriel Moreno (ARI) C (34% rostered on Yahoo)
It’s too bad we didn’t get to see what Moreno could do across a full season. But the former top prospect for the Jays is making up for lost time, slashing a robust .288/.348/.457 across 267 PAs. He also checks important boxes with a 112 Process+, 106 Contact Ability+, and a 107 Power+. The D’Backs wrap their series with the Giants today against Verlander’s ghost, before facing the soft spot in the Phillies’ rotation, ie, not their two stud lefties.
Nathaniel Lowe (BOS) 1B (33% rostered on Yahoo)
Lowe sat out Monday’s game against Jeffrey Springs. However, the Sox are lined up to face a row of RHP this week (Barnett, Ginn, Rasmussen, Houser, and Pepiot). Lowe has hit .265 with a 121 wRC+ against RHP for his career, so he could provide some RBIs or maybe pop a homer or two.
Ryan O’Hearn (SD) 1B, OF (31% rostered on Yahoo)
O’Hearn has struggled badly since being traded to the Padres, hitting .228 with a .644 OPS over 40 games. Still, we know he can hit RHP well (122 wRC+ vs. them this season), and luckily, he’ll face three this weekend when the Padres continue their road trip on the South Side of Chicago (Martin, Gomez, Burke).
Otto Kemp (PHI) 1B, 2B, 3B, OF (19% rostered on Yahoo)
Kemp has played primarily at 3B (29 starts) as the replacement for Alec Bohm (shoulder). However, Bohm is travelling with the Phillies to Arizona, so he could be back as soon as Friday, putting Kemp’s role in limbo. Still, Kemp has been decent, slashing .250/.318/.419 with six home runs and two steals across 192 PAs. He should be on the radar, but at the same time, he will lose time if/when Bohm returns this weekend.
Caleb Durbin (MIL) 2B, 3B, SS (19% rostered on Yahoo)
Durbin has posted multiple hits in four of his past five games. He won’t help in the home run department (78 Power+), but he should provide some decent batting average as a regular in the Brewers lineup. He also has 16 stolen bases, on 22 attempts. The Brewers have got two more against the Angels before finishing the week in St. Louis against (Gray, Mikolas, Liberatore).
Romy González (BOS) 1B, 2B, 3B, SS (17% rostered on Yahoo)
He was stuck in a platoon role, but his playing time has trended up since Roman Anthony’s injury. Romy G is also sneakily second on Boston’s active roster with a 128 wRC+ through 299 PAs. The Red Sox face the Rays this weekend at George M. Steinbrenner Field, where runs can often come in bunches.
Joc Pederson (TEX) OF (4% rostered on Yahoo)
I know, this is gross. But if you’re desperate in a deep league, the Rangers face three right-handers this weekend (Junk, Mazur, Pérez). Maybe, just maybe, you can catch lightning in a bottle with Pederson’s track record for mashing RHP.
Christian Moore (LAA) 2B (2% rostered on Yahoo)
Last summer’s eighth overall pick out of Tennessee has given us little to hang our hats on, hitting .195 through 138 PAs. But he has shown some pop in the minors. He has started three straight games and is a Hail Mary for deep leagues only, with the Angels heading to Coors this weekend.
Austin Martin (MIN) 2B, OF (2% rostered on Yahoo)
He has gotten some run as the Twins’ two-hole hitter, and has been pretty solid thus far, slashing .289/.386/.388 with one home run and eight steals across 142 PAs. He has next to no power, judging by his minor league numbers, but he could be useful if you’re looking for an OBP boost.
Yahoo and ESPN Most Added Players
Mitch mentioned Sal Stewart in yesterday’s column; the 21-year-old righty-hitting third baseman is slashing .297/.316/.622 with four home runs. Yeah, rookies can turn cold at the drop of a hat, but Stewart is worth your attention, having slashed .315/.394/.629 with 10 home runs and four steals across 165 PAs with Triple-A Louisville before being promoted on September 1st. He is also Cincinnati’s top prospect via Pipeline.
The recent results have been great for E-Rod, with him allowing just one earned run over his last three starts (18.1 IP). He got the Giants last night, and the D’Backs are off Thursday, meaning he won’t make another start until next Monday at home against the Dodgers. Nah, that’s not gonna help.
Casey Mize struck out eight Guardians last night across five and a third innings, but also allowed eight baserunners. We should see him again this Sunday, with the Tigers hosting the Braves.
Dean Kremer took advantage of a good matchup last night against the White Sox, but we won’t see him again until next Tuesday, with the O’s hosting the Rays.
Mitch also discussed Mickey Moniak yesterday. Moniak’s swing decisions are horrifying, and make me wonder why pitchers bother throwing him anything close to the plate, but who cares? The Rockies are at Coors Field for the rest of the week, where he is hitting .303 with a 126 wRC+.
A second-round pick by the Nats out of Trinity High School four seasons ago, Daylen Lile has impressed, slashing .295/.346/.477 with six home runs and eight stolen bases through 314 PAs. Judging by his numbers in the minors, Lile’s best contributions should be in the batting average and OBP categories. Unless, that is, you are in a league that values triples, in which case he might be worth his weight in gold, having swatted triples in September. Wild stuff.
Tyler Wells isn’t an electric talent, but he is a rock-solid pitcher who most recently provided savvy fantasy managers with a great line against the Pirates last Wednesday. He could potentially be a difference-maker in the final days, with his next start on tap for today against the White Sox.
Harrison Bader has matched his career-high 16 home runs and has been terrifically productive with a 129 wRC+ this season. And he’s now hitting leadoff in front of Schwarber et al. Bader has a career 93 wRC+ against RHP, so this feels like this is the sort of thing that you’d bet against sticking if this were April or May, but with just a few games to go, there’s no reason not to ride this wave.
Kyle Bradish struck out nine in a good start against the White Sox on Monday. He owns a 2.45 ERA and 1.09 WHIP through four starts, but gets a stiff test against the Yankees this weekend, and he’ll face them again after that. It’s a tricky spot. He’s not a slam-dunk start if you can afford to be cautious.
Cade Horton got the job done against the Pirates, punching out six and allowing one earned run while bagging his 11th win. He has a 2.66 ERA and 1.10 WHIP over 115 IP, and there is no reason to stop plugging him in with his next two projected starts at Cincinnati and at home against the Cards.
Streaming Pitchers
Be sure to check Nick’s daily SP streaming article.
Jonah Tong (NYM), SP (24% rostered on Yahoo)
Yes, I completely understand if you want to avoid Tong after he got demolished against the Rangers in Jacob deGrom’s return to Citi Field last Friday. Still, I’d roll the dice with Tong, the guy who had a 29.9% K-BB across 22 starts before getting called to Queens. I’ll admit, the Padres aren’t a great matchup; PLV projections have them in the solid tier. A safer option could be Colin Rea, who will face the Reds at the GABP and is also PL Bot’s pick. But, I don’t know, there’s no fun in that pick.
