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Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: Miguel Vargas is heating up, Cole Young makes his debut
Welcome to Waiver Wire Watch, where I review my favorite waiver wire adds and drops for each week of the MLB season. The premise is pretty straightforward. I'll try to give you some recommended adds each week based on recent production or role changes. When I list a player, I'll list the category where I think he'll be helpful or the quick reason he's listed. I hope it will help you determine if the player is a fit for what your team needs. For a player to qualify for this list, he needs to be UNDER 40% rostered in Yahoo! formats. I understand you may say, 'These players aren't available in my league,' and I can't help you there. These players are available in over 60% of leagues and some in 98% of leagues, so they're available in many places, and that can hopefully satisfy readers who play in all league types. Matthew Pouliot, Waiver Wire Hitters Jordan Beck - OF, COL: 35% rostered (HOME PARK BONUS, PROSPECT GROWTH) The Rockies are coming back to Coors Field for the three games next week and are on the road in Miami for their other three, so now may be the time to add Beck back if he was dropped this week. He's a young hitter with some power and speed who has a 15.3% barrel rate on the season. His exit velocities aren't great, but he's pulling and lifting the ball more this year, which is going to help him get to his power. He still has just a 70% contact rate and 14.4% swinging strike rate, so the batting average will likely regress, but the power is intriguing, and you can slot him into your lineup every time the Rockies are at home. Another outfielder to add for recent production and a strong schedule is Jesus Sanchez - OF, MIA (3% rostered). He gets five right-handed pitchers this week, including two starts against the Rockies' staff, so that puts Sanchez firmly on the radar. The got a late start to the season due to injury, but is hitting .275/.366/.425 in May with three home runs, 12 runs scored, 11 RBI, and four steals in 22 games. He still hits the ball on the ground far too much for my liking, but he has taken a more passive approach this season, cutting his chase rate and swing rate by a good deal, which makes me think this solid average with modest speed/power profile could be real. Max Muncy - 3B, LAD: 34% rostered (HOT STREAK, RBI UPSIDE) At the beginning of May, Muncy started wearing glasses during games to help with an astigmatism in his right eye. He didn't know if it would help him at all, but he said he was willing to try anything if it might help his game. Well, since May 5th, Muncy is hitting .250/.370/.422 with five home runs, 24 RBI, two steals and a 12/13 K/BB ratio in 21 games. We've seen Muncy has good stretches before and even the batting average during this hot streak isn't great, but he's putting the ball in play and driving in runs. That kind of power and RBI production is useful in any format. If you're looking for a third baseman in deeper formats, Jose Tena - 2B/3B, WAS (0% rostered) has been posting a solid batting average of late, hitting .286/.368/.429 over his last 15 games with nine runs scored, four RBI and one steal. He is among the leaders on Statcast's Rolling wOBA Leaderboard and has a 7/7 K/BB ratio over that stretch which highlights his strong swing decisions. As you can tell from the numbers above, he's not bringing you tons of value, but in really deep formats, a player who is playing regularly and making good swing decisions and getting on base can be valuable. Chase Meidroth - 2B/3B/SS, CWS: 32% rostered (EVERY DAY JOB, MODEST STEALS UPSIDE) In 23 games in May, Meidroth is hitting .290/.365/.366 with 13 runs scored, seven steals, and a 12/11 K/BB ratio, so he's another hitter I'm highlighting on here who is making good swing decisions and succeeding due to a strong understanding of the strike zone. He had never stolen more than 13 bases in a season at the minor league level, so that number is a bit shocking to me, but he can run a bit and is a smart baseball player on a bad team that has no problem taking chances on the bases. Meidroth is also hitting leadoff and playing every day, so he could accumulate runs and steals while hitting for a solid batting average. That works in a lot of leagues. If you were interested in a more volatile option for speed, you could turn to Connor Norby - 2B/3B, MIA (12% rostered). The Marlins infielder has been working with hitting coaches on some swing modifications and that has led to a .282/.322/.435 slash line in 22 games in May with two home runs, 13 RBI, and two steals. He stole 16 bases last season between the minors and MLB, so he's not a burner, but he will swipe some bags. The issue is that, even in this strong stretch, he has a 27% strikeout rate, so the swing and miss will likely always be in his game and lead to some cold streaks. Alec Burleson - 1B/OF, STL: 29% rostered (PLAYING TIME REGAINED, POWER UPSIDE) After losing playing time early in the season to Jordan Walker, Burleson got back to a point where he was starting essentially every day against right-handed pitching. Then Walker started working himself back into playing time and the Cardinals have started to play Ivan Herrera at DH. On Saturday, the Cardinals put Walker on the IL, so we should see Burleson back into a full-time role. He has done his part too. In 18 games in May, Burleson is hitting .328/.371/.608 with four home runs, 10 RBI, and one steal. The Cardinals have been a solid offense so far this season, and Burleson can be a big component of that. He won't play versus lefties, which makes him a better fit in daily moves leagues, but he can be solid in NFBC-type formats when you can change your lineup mid-week as well. We just have to keep an eye on the playing time and ensure it remains. Gavin Sheets - 1B/OF, SD (20% rostered) had been in a similar boat, but he has started playing against some lefties recently as well. Sheets is hitting .285/.331/.510 on the season with nine home runs, so he has been productive for the Padres this year. He's hitting in the middle of a lineup that features a lot of strong bats, which means he has a good chance for RBI upside. His multi-position eligibility also makes him a bit more valuable, and he's an add I like in daily moves leagues. Roman Anthony - OF, BOS: 29% rostered (TOP PROSPECT, POTENTIAL CALL-UP) The screams for the Red Sox to promote Roman Anthony are only getting louder as the big league team struggles to find any offense without both Alex Bergman and Triston Casas. The issue is that the Red Sox still don't have space in the outfield for Anthony, and Rafael Devers has not yet agreed to take reps at 1B. It's coming to a point where Boston may have no choice but to move Gold Glove CF Ceddanne Rafaela back to the infield just to get Anthony's bat up. You simply can't be in a big market like Boston and have your big league team playing this poorly while the top prospect in ball of baseball is hitting .309/.441.514 with eight home runs, 40 runs scored, and 23 RBI in 50 games at Triple-A. Anthony has never posted a swinging strike rate above 9% at any step in the minors other than 50 games at High-A in 2023, so he should be a solid batting average asset upon being called up with good power potential and the ability to swipe 5-10 bases. Once he's up, Boston is HIGHLY unlikely to send him back down. Another big money stash option would be Jac Caglianone - 1B, KC (13% rostered), who the team promoted to Triple-A recently. He's gone 12-for-37 at the level with five home runs and 10 RBI in nine games. The Royals have also been playing him in the outfield to expedite his path to the big leagues, and with the team waiving Hunter Renfroe, we may see Caglianone get a shot in the coming weeks. Keep in mind that he has played only 43 games above High-A and had a nearly 13% swinging strike rate in Double-A, so this may be a similar situation to Nick Kurtz as well, where we see good power but some stretches where the swing-and-miss takes over as he adjusts to MLB pitching. Ryan O'Hearn - 1B/OF, BAL: 22% rostered (CONSISTENT PLAYING TIME, POWER UPSIDE) Ryan O'Hearn is a boring veteran who has also been criticized because he was 'blocking' the path of many of the Orioles' top prospects for the last couple of years. However, at this point, Kyle Stowers and Connor Norby are gone, Jordan Westburg and Colton Cowser play every day when healthy, Heston Kjerstad has not hit at the MLB level, and the team clearly doesn't trust Coby Mayo as a defender, so maybe we should just embrace O'Hearn for the value that he does bring. Much like Burleson, O'Hearn isn't going to play against lefties, but unlike Burleson, we know for certain O'Hearn will be in there against right-handed pitching. He hits clean-up for the Orioles and is having one of his best seasons by trading a little but of contact for a slightly more pull-happy approach. He's more of a line drive hitter, so the home run production will come and go, but the quality of contact has been really good, and this lineup should improve when Cowser and Westburg return soon. Marcelo Mayer - SS, BOS: 21% rostered (RECENT CALL-UP, BATTING AVERAGE UPSIDE) With Alex Bregman suffering a 'significant' quad strain, the path for Mayer to finally reach Boston became clear, and he was called up last Saturday for his MLB debut. Since then, he has started every game at third base and gone 5-for-19 with two extra base hits and on run scored. In Triple-A, Mayer hit .271/.347/.471 in 43 games at with nine home runs and 43 RBI. Just like what we discussed above with Jac Caglianone, there will be struggles for Mayer to adjust to MLB pitching, and his power is not going to immediately carry over. That being said, unlike power-first guys like Caglianone and Nick Kurtz, Mayer is an MLB-ready hitter from a plate discipline and contact perspective, and is going to be a strong fantasy add in deeper formats. In shallower leagues, he may not be as valuable this year since the power and speed numbers won't be that great. Miguel Vargas - 1B/3B/OF, CWS: 17% rostered (POST HYPE PROSPECT, EMERGING POWER) I'm not sure what more Vargas has to do to be rostered in more leagues. Three weeks ago, he appeared in my article on hitters to add based on their plate discipline and contact rates. Vargas is chasing at a super low rate, making 85% contact overall and rarely swinging and missing. He's pulling the ball slightly less this season and has focused less on lifting the ball, which is a good change. He doesn't smoke the ball, but a 90 mph average exit velocity is pretty good, and he's playing every day in Chicago. The production he's put up over the last month matches the process, with him hitting .275/.343/.604 in 24 games in May with seven home runs, 17 runs scored, and 15 RBI. The team context is not good, but the playing time and production have been solid. Another multi-position option, but one primarily for speed, is Jose Caballero - 2B/3B/SS/OF, TB (15% rostered), who has 11 steals in 21 games in May. He may lose his starting spot in two-ish weeks when Ha-Seong Kim returns, but the Rays have shown confidence in playing him basically anywhere on the field, which could help him keep making four starts a week and helping with your stolen base totals. Brett Baty - 3B, NYM: 17% rostered (PLAYING TIME OPPORTUNITY, HOT STREAK) With Mark Vientos continuing to look lost at third base, there's a real chance for Baty to emerge as the regular third baseman for the Mets with Vientos shifting to DH. In 20 games in May, Baty is hitting .290/.333/.581 with five home runs and 16 RBI. He's also pulling the ball 45% of the time as he starts to get a little more aggressive in the batter's box. That's huge for him because a lot of his early-season struggles were connected to being too passive and getting himself into terrible counts. In deeper formats, we are going to see Shay Whitcomb - 3B, HOU (1% rostered) get a chance in Houston this year now that Chas McCormick is on the IL. Whitcomb has been tearing up AAA to the tune of 18 home runs and a .275/.357/.599 slash line. He has can play multiple positions on the infield as well as shift into the outfield, and with Zach Dezenzo also hurting his hand on Saturday, there could be a chance for Whitcomb to push for playing time here. Cam Smith - 3B/OF, HOU: 17% rostered (POWER UPSIDE, PROSPECT GROWTH IS NOT LINEAR) Cam Smith is continuing to hit, going 23-for-75 over the last month, which is a .307 average. Unfortunately, the increased batting average is coming with a huge dip in fly ball rate, so he has no home runs and just seven RBI over that stretch. Smith is a young player who jumped straight to the big leagues from High-A ball, so he's adjusting to MLB pitching and starting to have some success. I'm willing to bet on him continuing to adjust and finding the power stroke again. Matt Wallner - OF, MIN: 12% rostered (POWER UPSIDE, RETURN FROM THE IL) The Twins lineup got fully healthy this weekend with the return flor Byron Buxton and Wallner, who has been out six weeks with a hamstring strain. Wallner was crushing the ball in Triple-A and should immediately return to his everyday role against right-handed pitching. What that means for Kody Clemens - 1B/2B/3B, MIN (3% rostered) is anybody's guess. Clemens has been on fire of late and can move all over the field, so there's still reason to be adding him because he can starts 4-5 times a week in a super utility role. However, I'd keep my bids light until we know for sure what his role is. Jake Meyers - OF, HOU: 10% rostered (SPEED UPSIDE, STARTING JOB) A few weeks ago, I published an article on hitters who were being more aggressive and swinging at the first pitch more often this year than last year. Myers popped up for me on that leaderboard, and I explained in detail why I'm a fan of his new approach, so you should read that article to check out the analysis; however, I think he's a solid add for steals and something close to a .270 batting average. Another outfield speed option is Sal Frelick - OF, MIL (19% rostered) who has been a bit underrated in fantasy circles this season despite hitting .297 with 11 stolen bases. He's gone 18-for-48 over the last two weeks with three steals while driving in nine runs for a Brewers offense that is slowly waking up a little bit. He's primarily a batting average and stolen base asset, but he does help a little bit everywhere and is a really solid, deep league player and a fine fifth OF in shallow formats. Carlos Santana - 1B, CLE: 8% rostered (BATTING AVERAGE, RBI UPSIDE) Every year, Carlos Santana has strong stretches where his batting average spikes and he drives in a bunch of runs in the middle of a batting order. We are in one of those stretches right now. Over the last month, he has gone 23-for-75 (.307) with four home runs and 21 RBIs. The batting average will likely regress in the coming weeks, and this isn't a pick up necessarily to hold for the remainder of the season, outside of deeper formats, but Santana is a solid veteran hitter, who can be helpful for you when he's riding hot streaks like this. It also seems like Eric Wagaman - 1B/3B/OF, MIA (3% rostered) is heating up again. He's hitting .286 over his last two weeks, going 14-for-49 with one home run but just five RBI since the lineup around him is not great. That limits him to just deep leagues. Addison Barger - 3B/OF, TOR: 7% rostered (PLAYING TIME OPPORTUNITY, POWER UPSIDE) I was a fan of Addison Barger in the spring when he was all over the spring training leaderboards, and then I read about how the Blue Jays tried to change his swing upon his arrival in the big leagues and how it didn't work. He has now gone back to a more 'free' swing that he says stops him from overthinking in the box and just lets him be loose. We obviously love to hear that, and I think Barger has a profile that the Blue Jays need. So many of their hitters are contact-first bats (Bichette, Clement, Springer, Kirk). I think Barger is a nice fit as more of a pull-heavy hitter who tries to do damage when he swings. That may lead to a .250 type of hitter, but I believe in his batted ball quality and think he could push to be the Blue Jays' third baseman for the season. Barger's teammate, Ernie Clement - 2B/SS/3B - TOR (4% rostered) has only been seeing the ball well lately, going 28-for-94 (.298) over the last month with three home runs, 14 runs scored, and 12 RBI. The impending return of Andres Gimenez could make plane time a bit complicated, but Anthony Santander heading to the IL means that Barger could move to DH and allow both Clement and Gimenez to play the field every day again. Clement proved himself to be a solid batting average asset last season and his multi-position eligibility makes him valuable in deeper performance. Carlos Narvaez - C, BOS: 7% rostered (PLAYING TIME OPPORTUNITY, TBATTING AVERAGE UPSIDE) It seems as though Narvaez has emerged as the starting catcher and one of the better rookies in the AL. He was known primarily for his plus defense when he was acquired from the Yankees in a trade this off-season, but he's hitting .285/.349/.457 in 166 plate appearances with five home runs and 17 RBI. He provides top-tier defense behind the plate and is going to start about two-thirds of the games for the Red Sox while hitting near the middle of the order. He should be rostered in all two-catcher leagues. Henry Davis - C, PIT (0% rostered) has also become the starting catcher for the Pirates with Joey Bart on the concussion IL. Davis has gone 7-for-24 (.292) over that span with one home run and four RBI. It's not elite production, but he has some prospect pedigree, is showing minor improvements, and Bart has had a few concussions before, so it's unclear how long he may be out for. Cole Young - 2B/SS, SEA: 6% rostered (RECENT CALL-UP, BATTING AVERAGE UPSIDE) On Saturday, the Mariners called up their 3rd-ranked prospect, Cole Young, who's the 43rd-ranked prospect in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline. He's a high contact rate hitter who doesn't have tons of power but could push 15+ steals in an everyday role. He's seen a slight uptick in his power this season, but he's probably a 10+ HR bat right now who has a good feel for the zone and gets a slight boost in OBP leagues. The Orioles also called up Coby Mayo - 3B, BAL (6% rostered) with Ryan Mountcastle headed to the IL with a hamstring injury. Even though Jordan Westburg is returning, Mayo should be set as the near every day 1B/DH for a few weeks while Mountcastle is down. This could finally be the chance for him to get regular run in a big league lineup. The only potential concern is if Colton Cowser and Tyler O'Neill both come back and the Orioles decide to push Heston Kjerstad to DH versus righties Robert Hassell III - OF, WAS: 6% rostered (PROSPECT CALL UP, SPEED UPSIDE) The Nationals called up Hassell last week after having to place both Jacob Young and Dylan Crews on the IL. So far, the former top prospect, who is one of the players who came over in the Juan Soto trade years ago, has gone 10-for-37 (.270) with one home run, six RBI, and one steals. He was hitting .288 with four home runs, nine steals, and a .742 OPS in Triple-A this season and had made clear gains in his exit velocity and shown a little bit more pop than in years past. I don't expect him to hit for much power at the big league level, but he could be useful in deeper formats. Fantasy managers in deep leagues could also add Andrew Benintendi - OF, CWS (3% rostered). We know he's not going to set the world on fire, but he's going to play every day and had shown some solid power earlier in the season before getting hurt. It's boring but functional in deeper formats. Thairo Estrada- 2B, COL: 6% rostered (OFF THE IL, BATTING AVERAGE UPSIDE) He's back. Estrada was a big late-round favorite of mine early in the season now that he's in Colorado. I think he hurt his fantasy value by playing through injury last year, but he's a .270 15/15 type of talent who will not be playing in Coors Field. A fractured wrist could impact some of that power, but Estrada hit a solid 7-for-23 during his rehab assignment and could be a solid source of batting average and speed while being the likely every day starter at second base for the Rockies. Dane Myers - OF, MIA: 5% rostered (OFF THE IL, SPEED UPSIDE) The Marlins brought Dane Myers off the IL this week. He had hit .337/.375/.482 with seven steals in 29 games and should play everyday, so if you're in a deeper league and need some speed, he's a solid gamble. Injuries to Anthony Santander and Daulton Varsho may have also opened up playing time chances for Alan Roden - OF, TOR (1% rostered), who started the year up in Toronto before heading back to Triple-A and lighting up the box scores with a .375/.467/.625 slash line, three home runs, and three steals in 16 games. In shallower formats, I'd want to wait to see what Toronto is doing a bit more, but in deeper leagues, I'd gamble and add Roden this weekend. Ha-Seong Kim - SS, TB: 4% rostered) (IL STASH, SPEED UPSIDE) If you have space for a bench stash, Kim is another possible option if you need speed. He's currently in Triple-A on a rehab assignment, so it feels like maybe two more weeks until we see Kim back up, but he should play every day for the Rays, who may also then ship him away at the trade deadline. Even if that happens, Kim would have value wherever he winds up, so now may be the time to stash him. Another middle infield option primarily for speed is Otto Lopez - 2B/SS, MIA (8% rostered), who stole 20 bases for Miami last season. He has hit just .237 since coming off the IL and has just five steals on the season, but I think his true talent is as a 20-25 steal middle infielder, and so that has value if you're OK with the counting stats being pretty modest. Waiver Wire Pitchers Ryan Weathers - SP, MIA: 38% rostered I'm surprised that Weathers still makes the cut for this list. He has come back off the IL and faced the Cubs twice and Padres once and allowed just three runs in 15/2 innings while striking out 15. His spring training velocity has held, and his command has been tremendous early on. I like him as an upside play and think he needs to be rostered in all formats. Daniel Palencia - RP, CHC: 37% rostered Palencia has seen his roster rate shoot up almost 30% after securing five of his last five save opportunities. The right-hander has limited experience and some previous control concerns, but he throws hard and has a 1.74 ERA, 0.77 WHIP, and 22 strikeouts in 20.2 innings this season. At this point, it's hard to see him losing the closer role to either Ryan Presley or Porter Hodge when he returns. However, I do expect the Cubs to go out and trade for a veteran reliever at some point. That still gives Palencia a few weeks as the unquestioned closer on one of the best teams in baseball. Eury Perez - SP, MIA: 36% rostered Eury Perez looks set to make his season debut this week after throwing five shutout innings in his final Triple-A start on Wednesday. During his rehab starts, he has showed off a new sinker that should help him as a second fastball variation and a pitch to attack righties with inside. He's a young arm with the upside to be a 30% strikeout rate pitcher with a low 3.00 ERA; however, we have to remember that he missed all of last season after Tommy John surgery, so his command figures to be inconsistent this year, and the Marlins are going to be cautious with his innings. His potential for wins is also capped on Miami, so while I like adding Perez, I just want you to do it with some caution. Bubba Chandler - SP, PIT: 32% rostered Is Tuesday the day? Mike Burrows' spot in the rotation comes up on Tuesday at home, and there are some rumblings that Bubba Chandler could make that start. We have no idea if it's true, but it seems like it's only a matter of time before Chandler is up in the Pirates rotation. He has dominated the level this year, and has nothing left to prove. I know waiting is hard, but if you have the bench space for a stash, I think Chandler is the one. Shelby Miller - RP, ARI: 24% rostered Justin Martinez is back and throwing 100 mph, but I think it's premature to assume that he will simply be given the closer's role. There's a good chance they use Miller to help lessen some of Martinez's workload after coming back, by using him in the eighth inning or mixing in Miller for some save opportunities as well. If somebody in your league has dropped Miller, I'd put in a small bid just until we see how this situation plays out. Edward Cabrera - SP, MIA: 22% rostered Cabrera has long tantalized with his upside and disappointed with his command, but he is making some pitch mix changes that caught my attention. I dug into him for my starting pitcher news column this week, so I'd encourage you to check that out for a more detailed breakdown. Zebby Matthews - SP, MIN: 19% rostered We waited for months to get Zebby in the Twins rotation, and then he pitched seven combined innings in his first two starts. Well, the Twins let him go seven innings in just his last start alone, and while the overall stat line isn't great, Matthew's struck out seven and pitched deep into the game. He also really only got dinged up in the first inning when both Cal Raleigh and Randy Arozarena got him for home runs. He settled down after that, and if I'm getting Zebby with the ability to go six or more innings then I'm in. Landen Roupp - SP, SF: 17% rostered Last week, everybody was talking about Hayden Birdsong and Kyle Harrison moving into the rotation, but Roupp just keeps chugging along. He threw four great innings against the Tigers on Wednesday, but the fifth inning was a mess of errors and some hits, and he was chased from the game early. Still, over his last 26 innings, he has just a 1.73 ERA, 11.19 WHIP and 21 strikeouts. With the exception of his last start, he's been going five innings or deeper pretty consistently, and I think he's a pretty safe option. Richard Fitts - SP, BOS: 8% rostered Fitts was added back to the rotation last week instead of continuing his rehab assignment, and while he was limited to just three innings, we should expect him to build back up in the coming weeks. With Tanner Houck on the IL, I expect Fitts to officially take Hunter Dobbins' place in the rotation for the foreseeable future. Before straining his pec in April, he showed off improved velocity and a much deeper pitch mix that features a new fastball variation and sweeper. I'm a believer in Fitts. Slade Cecconi - SP, CLE: 3% rostered Cecconi was not great on Saturday against the Angels, but he was also pitching on nine days rest due to a groin injury, and I often think added rest like that can backfire on a starter. I covered Cecconi's increased velocity and new pitch mix in my starting pitcher column for last week, so I'd encourage you to check that out for my thoughts. Sawyer Gipson-Long, SP: 1% rostered Is in a similar situation to Fitts. He's likely to come up this week to take Jackson Jobe's spot in the rotation, but could likely still use some more rehab stints. I like Gipson-Long as an arm, so I wanted to highlight him here, but I'd be trying to just watch him this week rather then add him since he missed all of last season after elbow surgery. STREAMING STARTER PITCHERS MUST BE 40% ROSTERED ON YAHOO OR UNDER (ranked in loose order) Week of 6/2 Strong Preference Fairly Confident Some Hesitation If I'm Desperate
NBC Sports
25-05-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: Time to stash Eury Perez, is Cam Smith figuring it out?
Welcome to Waiver Wire Watch, where I review my favorite waiver wire adds and drops for each week of the MLB season. The premise is pretty straightforward. I'll try to give you some recommended adds each week based on recent production or role changes. When I list a player, I'll list the category where I think he'll be helpful or the quick reason he's listed. I hope it will help you determine if the player is a fit for what your team needs. For a player to qualify for this list, he needs to be UNDER 40% rostered in Yahoo! formats. I understand you may say, 'These players aren't available in my league,' and I can't help you there. These players are available in over 60% of leagues and some in 98% of leagues, so they're available in many places, and that can hopefully satisfy readers who play in all league types. Matthew Pouliot, Waiver Wire Hitters Will Benson - OF, CIN: 35% rostered (RECENT CALL-UP, POWER UPSIDE) Last week, Benson was just 1% rostered in his first week after being recalled. Now, he almost doesn't qualify for this list after going 12-for-32 (.375) with five home runs, 11 RBI, and one steal in his 11 games. Those are certainly exciting numbers, but we've seen this before from Benson. He has tremendous power/speed potential, but also a frustrating approach at the plate. Even in Triple-A this season, he was striking out 29% of the time with a 70% contact rate and 13% swinging strike rate. I think this will probably wind up just being a hot stretch, and there's a chance that you missed the best part of it, but I wouldn't begrudge you crossing your fingers and hoping for the best. If you're in a daily moves league, you could opt for Trevor Larnach - OF, MIN (14% rostered), who has gone 13-for-43 (.302) over his last 11 games with two home runs and nine runs scored. Larnach has seven home runs and 23 RBI on the season, and the Twins' lineup is getting healthier. He's going to play against all right-handed pitching, which makes him a valuable piece in a daily moves league. Jordan Beck - OF, COL: 33% rostered (HOME PARK BONUS, PROSPECT GROWTH) Most of Jordan Beck's value comes from playing in Coors Field, but he's also a young hitter with some power and speed who has a 16% barrel rate on the season His exit velocities aren't great, but he's pulling and lifting the ball more this year, which is going to help him get to his power. He still has just a 70% contact rate and 14.4% swinging strike rate, so the batting average will likely regress, but the power is intriguing, and you can slot him into your lineup every time the Rockies are at home. Just keep in mind that the Rockies' next NINE GAMES will be on the road. If you're looking just for power, Daulton Varsho - OF, TOR (14% rostered) has changed his swing to maximize power output. He's not going to continue to have a 28% HR/FB ratio, but his average exit velocities are through the roof. He's also chasing out of the zone at a career-high rate and sporting a 17% swinging strike rate on the season, so I don't think you'll get much more than a .220 batting average. You may not be able to withstand that in a roto league if you have some other batting average drains. Hyeseong Kim - 2B/SS, LAD: 28% rostered (PLAYING TIME UPSIDE, STEALS UPSIDE) Hyeseong Kim is another player who is better utilized in a daily moves league. He's gone 15-for-38 (.395) since being called up with nine runs scored, one home run, and three steals. However, his average exit velocity is just 85.3 mph, and he has a 75% contact rate overall, which jives with what he did in the minors, hitting .252 in 131 plate appearances at Triple-A with a 12% swinging strike rate. His overall contact rate of 75% at Triple-A is fine, but suggests there will be some swing and miss at the big league level, and even though he had a few huge home runs that we saw on Twitter, his average exit velocity at Triple-A was 87.3 mph. The Dodgers claim they're going to start him around four games a week, but with Michael Conforto, Andy Pages, Tommy Edman, and Teoscar Hernandez all needing to get at-bats, it's unclear just how consistent Kim's role will be. If you're just looking for speed, you can go with Jose Caballero - 2B/SS/3B/OF, TB (13% rostered), who is getting nearly every day playing time while moving all over the field, starting in 11 of the last 12 games for the Rays. He's hitting just .257 in that stretch with no home runs and three RBIs, but he does have six steals. Ha-Seong Kim - SS, TB (4% rostered) is currently in Triple-A on a rehab assignment, so it feels like maybe two more weeks with this consistently playing time for Caballero, and it might actually be a good time to stash Kim. Chandler Simpson - OF, TB: 27% rostered (EVERY DAY ROLE, SPEED UPSIDE) I don't quite get why Simpson is still available in a lot of leagues. He's hitting .290 with 13 steals and 15 runs in 29 games. What did we expect him to be? He's not going to hit for power, but he hits at the top of the order against right-handed pitching and will run whenever he gets on. If you want a player who can 'win you a category' with his speed, then Simpson is that dude. Drake Baldwin - C, ATL: 24% rostered (PLAYING TIME OPPORTUNITY, TOP TIER PROSPECT) Baldwin is in a timeshare with Sean Murphy in Atlanta, but it seems like Baldwin has become the preferred option against right-handed pitching since he hits left-handed. On the season, Baldwin is hitting .355/.400./559 in 100 plate appearances with five home runs, 14 strikeouts, and seven walks. The production has been there, and if he's now going to start 60-70% of the games, that makes him worth adding in all two-catcher formats. I'm still not 100% sure I can get there in a one-catcher league, but if you're starting a fringe top-ten guy, then I could see pivoting to Baldwin. It also seems as though Carlos Narvaez - C, BOS (4% rostered) has emerged as the starting catcher and one of the better rookies in the AL. He was known primarily for his plus defense when he was acquired from the Yankees in a trade this off-season, but he's hitting .291/.357/.480 in 140 plate appearances with five home runs and 17 RBI. He provides top-tier defense behind the plate and is going to start about two-thirds of the games for the Red Sox while hitting near the middle of the order. He should be rostered in all two-catcher leagues. Alec Burleson - 1B/OF, STL: 23% rostered (PLAYING TIME REGAINED, POWER UPSIDE) After losing playing time early in the season to Jordan Walker, Burleson is back to starting essentially every day against right-handed pitching. In 16 games in May, Burleson is hitting .347/.396/.653 with four home runs, 10 RBI, and one steal. The Cardinals have been a solid offense so far this season, and Burleson is a big component of that. He won't play versus lefties, which makes him a better fit in daily moves leagues, but he can be solid in NFBC-type formats when you can change your lineup mid-week as well. Gavin Sheets - 1B/OF, SD (13% rostered) had been in a similar boat, but he has started playing against some lefties recently as well. Sheets is hitting .285/.331/.510 on the season with nine home runs, so he has been productive for the Padres this year. He's hitting in the middle of a lineup that features a lot of strong bats, which means he has a good chance for RBI upside. His multi-position eligibility also makes him a bit more valuable, and he's an add I like in daily moves leagues. Nick Kurtz - 1B, ATH: 21% rostered (POWER UPSIDE, PROSPECT GROWTH IS NOT LINEAR) I covered Nick Kurtz in my article this week, where I used Statcast's new bat path metrics to find potential power breakouts. You can read that here. But I also recorded a video on him, which is embedded above, because I think people gave up on him too quickly. He did have a hip flexor injury on Saturday, so keep an eye on that, but the A's have called him day-to-day so far. A similar argument about patience can be made about Cam Smith - 3B/OF, HOU (21% rostered), who is a young player who jumped straight to the big leagues from High-A ball. After struggling in April, he's hitting .314/.397/.392 in May with eight runs scored. Part of the bump in batting average is that his groundball rate has skyrocketed and his power has diminished, but he's a young hitter who is adjusting to MLB pitching and having some success. I'm willing to bet on him continuing to adjust and finding the power stroke again. I love these new Statcast tools b/c I can say, "Hmm, Cam Smith looks a little better in May. I wonder what's going on," and then see that he's opened his stance, is moving back in the box, and also hitting the ball more out in front of the plate Chase Meidroth - 2B/3B/SS, CWS: 21% rostered (EVERY DAY JOB, MODEST STEALS UPSIDE) In 18 games in May, Meidroth is hitting .324/.385/.423 with 11 runs scored and seven steals. He had never stolen more than 13 bases in a season at the minor league level, so that number is a bit shocking to me, but he can run a bit and is a smart baseball player on a bad team that has no problem taking chances on the bases. Meidroth is also hitting leadoff and playing every day, so he could accumulate runs and steals while hitting for a solid batting average. That works in a lot of leagues. You could also roster Meidroth's teammate, Miguel Vargas - 3B/OF, CWS (17% rostered), who appeared in my article two weeks ago on hitters to add based on their plate discipline and contact rates. Vargas is chasing at a super low rate, making 85% contact overall and rarely swinging and missing. He's pulling the ball slightly less this season and has focused less on lifting the ball, which is a good change. He doesn't smoke the ball, but a 90 mph average exit velocity is pretty good, and he's playing every day in Chicago. The production he's put up over the last month matches the process, with him hitting .253/.321/.520 in 20 games in May with five home runs, 10 runs scored, and 13 RBI. The team context is not good, but the playing time and production have been solid. Marcelo Mayer - SS, BOS: 21% rostered (RECENT CALL-UP, BATTING AVERAGE UPSIDE) If you spend any time on social media, then you know that everybody is clamoring to find out how the Red Sox are going to call up Mayer and Roman Anthony to 'save' their big league club. Unfortunately, with Alex Bregman suffering a 'significant' quad strain, the path for Mayer became clear, and he was called up on Saturday for his MLB debut. While that debut didn't go well, we should keep in mind that he spent the entire first half of the day in the locker room at Worcester, not playing in the team's doubleheader and waiting to see if he would be called up. Then he found out he was going to the big leagues, packed up all of his stuff, got into his car, lost his car keys, and drove to Boston in time to play the second game of their doubleheader. He had no time to scout the pitcher or really adjust to being a big leaguer at all, so I would not overreact to his poor start on Saturday. On the season, Mayer is hitting .271/.347/.471 in 43 games at Triple-A with nine home runs and 43 RBI. Just like what we discussed above with Nick Kurtz, there will be struggles for Mayer, and his power is not going to immediately carry over. That being said, he is an MLB-ready hitter, and he's going to be a strong fantasy add in deeper formats. Another stash option would be Jac Caglionne - 1B, KC (13% rostered), who the team promoted to Triple-A recently. He's gone 6-for-21 at the level with three home runs and seven RBI. The Royals have also been playing him in the outfield to expedite his path to the big leagues, and with the team waiving Hunter Renfroe, we may see Caglionne get a shot in the coming weeks. Keep in mind that he has played only 43 games above High-A and had a nearly 13% swinging strike rate in Double-A, so this may be a similar situation to Nick Kurtz as well, where we see good power but some stretches where the swing-and-miss takes over as he adjusts to MLB pitching. Jake Meyers - OF, HOU: 10% rostered (SPEED UPSIDE, STARTING JOB) Two weeks ago, I published an article on hitters who were being more aggressive and swinging at the first pitch more often this year than last year. Myers popped up for me on that leaderboard, and I explained in detail why I'm a fan of his new approach, so you should read that article to check out the analysis; however, I think he's a solid add for steals and something close to a .270 batting average. Fantasy managers in deep leagues could also gamble on recent Rangers call-up Alejandro Osuna - OF, TEX (1% rostered), who is joining the big league team after Joc Pederson fractured his hand. Osuna impressed in spring training but was sent to Double-A to start the season. After hitting .283 with two home runs and seven steals in 31 games, he was promoted to Triple-A, where he has slashed .259/.474/.444 in eight games with two steals and an 8/9 K/BB ratio. Any time you have a young player who is walking more than he's striking out, that's always eye-catching, and Osuna has shown good plate discipline in the minors. He had 18 home runs and 17 steals in 102 games last year, so there is some modest power and speed here, and the lineup around him will be good. The big question is how much you buy his current contact gains because he had an 11.4% swinging strike rate in Double-A last year, and if that hitter shows up, he might be eaten alive in the big leagues. Expect him to take the Joc Pederson role as a strong-side platoon bat, but he can play good defense, so there's a chance Osuna works himself into a bigger role if he produces. Nolan Schanuel - 1B, LAA: 10% rostered (BATTING AVERAGE UPSIDE, HOT STREAK) Nolan Schanuel has always intrigued me because he's a big dude at 6'2", 220 pounds who makes an elite amount of contact (87% overall) and a good feel for the strike zone. He's just 23 years old, and so I tell myself a story where he continues to get comfortable in the big leagues and works himself into a 15-20 home run batting with a strong batting average, kind of like Nathaniel Lowe. So far this season, he has just three home runs, and the exit velocities are not there to suggest power growth. However, the contact skills remain elite, and he's hitting .333/.442/.431 in 21 games in May with 15 runs scored and five RBI while hitting second every day for an Angels team that has come alive a little bit. Mike Trout is also set to come back in the next week or two, which means Schanuel could continue to be a solid source of batting average and runs into the summer months. Addison Barger - 3B/OF, TOR: 6% rostered (PLAYING TIME OPPORTUNITY, POWER UPSIDE) I was a fan of Addison Barger in the spring when he was all over the spring training leaderboards, and then I read about how the Blue Jays tried to change his swing upon his arrival in the big leagues and how it didn't work. He has now gone back to a more 'free' swing that he says stops him from overthinking in the box and just lets him be loose. We obviously love to hear that, and I think Barger has a profile that the Blue Jays need. So many of their hitters are contact-first bats (Bichette, Clement, Springer, Kirk). I think Barger is a nice fit as more of a pull-heavy hitter who tries to do damage when he swings. That may lead to a .240-.250 type of hitter, but I believe in his batted ball quality and think he could push to be the Blue Jays' third baseman for the season. I also think it's time we take what Brett Baty - 3B, NYM (9% rostered) is doing more seriously. In 14 games since being called back up from Triple-A, Baty is hitting .326/.356/.698 with five home runs and 13 RBI. He's also pulling the ball nearly 50% of the time as he starts to get a little more aggressive in the batter's box. That's huge for him because a lot of his early-season struggles were connected to being too passive and getting himself into terrible counts. With Mark Vientos continuing to look lost a third base, there's a real chance for Baty to emerge as the regular third baseman for the Mets. Denzel Clarke - OF, ATH: 1% rostered (PROSPECT CALL UP, SPEEDUPSIDE) The Athletics called up Denzel Clarke to the big league roster on Friday morning after their team stated they wanted to prioritize his elite defense in center field. From a fantasy perspective, Denzel Clarke can run. He had 36 steals last year and was off to a strong start in Triple-A, hitting .286/.436/419 with seven steals in 133 plate appearances. As you can tell from that slash line, there was basically no power as he went to a more ground ball-heavy approach this year has helped curb his swing and miss and lower his strikeout rate. There is some pop in his bat, but this new approach would make him an OK source if batting average with some speed, which kind of keeps him to deep leagues only for now. The Nationals also called up Robert Hassell III - OF, WAS (6% rostered) after having to place both Jacob Young and Dylan Crews on the IL. The former top prospect, who is one of the players who came over in the Juan Soto trade years ago, was hitting .288 with four home runs, nine steals, and a .742 OPS in Triple-A this season. He had made clear gains in his exit velocity and shown a little bit more pop than in years past. I don't expect him to hit for much power at the big league level, but, like Clarke, he could also hit for a solid average with speed. I'd rather have Clarke because the lineup and ballpark are better, and I think he'll have a longer leash. Waiver Wire Pitchers Gavin Williams - SP, CLE: 40% rostered Gavin Williams is back! The right-hander started mixing in his cutter and a new sinker over his last three starts, and the results have taken off. I recorded a video on him here, so I encourage you to watch that for more detail. Hayden Birdsong - SP, SF: 34% rostered Birdsong moved into the Giants' rotation with Jordan Hicks moving to the bullpen. The right-hander had a great spring training and showed off improved command that had him on the verge of winning a starting spot in the rotation. However, he was sent down to the minors and then returned to pitch out of the bullpen, where he produced a solid 2.31 ERA in 23.1 innings. He did have a 1.3 WHIP over that stretch, which is not ideal, so command may still be something we need to keep an eye on here, even if he didn't have any issues with it in his first start. Even if I'm not 100% sold on Birdsong, he has a four-pitch mix and plenty of swing-and-miss in the arsenal, so he's worth a gamble if he can carry over these command gains. I do still prefer his teammate Landen Roupp - SP, SF (20% rostered), who was struggling with efficiency in his first outings, but has settled down a bit lately. He has more swing and miss upside, in my eyes, and I'm always a sucker for that. Eury Perez - SP, MIA: 32% rostered Eury Perez was up to 61 pitches in his last rehab start at Triple-A on Thursday. He only threw 37 of those pitches for strikes, but he struck out seven and showed off a new sinker that should help him as a second fastball variation and a pitch to attack righties with inside. I would expect Perez to likely make one or two more rehab starts, and his chances of wins are not going to be great in Miami, but there are few pitchers with his upside on the waiver wire. Richard Fitts - SP, BOS (3% rostered) also made his first rehab start after being on the IL with a pectoral injury. With Tanner Houck on the IL, I expect Fitts to come back and take Hunter Dobbins' place in the rotation. He may only need to make one more rehab start, so if you have the space to stash a pitcher, now could be the time. Tommy Kahnle - RP, DET: 32% rostered I guess people don't want to add Kahnle because he doesn't throw hard, and the Tigers mix and match their late-inning relievers, but Kahnle has looked good so far, and Detroit has no problem running out a closer who doesn't have elite strikeout upside or a big fastball. Kahnle has five saves and a 0.61 ERA in 14 appearances so far this year, so I'm scooping if he's available. However, just note that the Tigers like to use Kahnle in high-leverage situations, which will also mean save opportunities for Will Vest - RP, DET (40% rostered), who is worth an add if you need saves as well. I know Vest blew an opportunity two weeks ago, which made him one of the most dropped players in Yahoo formats, but he has allowed just four runs on 10 hits in 17 innings this season. He'll still be back in high-leverage innings and will get some save chances. Bubba Chandler - SP, PIT: 32% rostered It seems like it's only a matter of time before Bubba Chandler is up in the Pirates rotation. He has dominated the level this year, and now that the super two deadline has passed, the Pirates can call him up and still retain an extra year of control over him. This is also right around the time they called up Paul Skenes last year, and they saw that it was enough time for him to win and our rookie of the year, and the Pirates another draft pick. I know waiting is hard, but if you have the bench space for a stash, I think Chandler is the one. Shelby Miller - RP, ARI: 29% rostered Justin Martinez is back and throwing 100 mph, but he also gave up two runs on Saturday, so I think it's premature to assume that Martinez will simply be given the closer's role. There's a good chance they use Miller to help lessen some of Martinez's workload after coming back, by using him in the eighth inning or mixing in Miller for some save opportunities as well. If somebody in your league has dropped Miller, I'd put in a small bid just until we see how this situation plays out. Ryan Weathers - SP, MIA: 26% rostered Weathers has come back and had to face the Cubs twice, but looked great against them both times. His spring training velocity has held, and he's struck out nine while walking just one in 10 innings, which is command that we love to see. He has gone only five innings in each start, and things don't get much easier for him against San Diego this week, but Weathers should be up around 90 pitches in that start, and he has looked really strong so far through two starts. I like him as an upside play. Cade Horton - SP, CHC: 21% rostered It's been a fine start to Horton's MLB career with seven runs allowed on 17 hits in his first 14.1 innings with 10 strikeouts and three walks. In his last two starts, I have been heartened to see him lean into his changeup and curveball more and even throw a few sinkers. That's a true five-pitch mix that he'll continue to gain confidence in the more he pitches to big league hitters. The upcoming schedule is also enticing as he gets his feet wet at this level, so Horton remains a solid add for now, even if we don't know how long he'll remain in the rotation. Lucas Giolito - SP, BOS: 16% rostered Giolito had a great start on Saturday against the Orioles as he continues to alternate between strong starts and bad starts. Remember that he missed all of last season following elbow surgery, so that inconsistency shouldn't be a surprise. What we should be focusing on is the fact that his velocity is up around 94 mph on the four-seam fastball and, after his bad start in the rain, he changed the grip on his slider and has started to gain more confidence in the pitch. That's making him a three-pitch guy with a curve that he can mix in as well. I still think Giolito is not getting nearly enough respect. Daniel Palencia - RP, CHC: 9% rostered The Cubs placed Porter Hodge on the IL with an oblique injury and then immediately gave their first two save opportunities to Palencia. He blew one of them and converted the other. The right-hander has limited experience and some previous control concerns, but he throws hard and has a 2.16 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, and 16/7 K/BB ratio on the season. However, before we spend big money on him in FAAB, we also have to acknowledge that Ryan Pressly has had decent numbers apart from his one blow-up outing, and we're seeing a resurgence for Drew Pomeranz - RP, CHC (7% rostered), who should also work into the mix against left-handed batters. You can pick up either of those guys, but just keep the bids modest. Slade Cecconi - SP, CLE (3% rostered) Cecconi has had two really good starts since he joined the rotation with Ben Lively out for the season with an elbow injury. I covered Cecconi's increased velocity and new pitch mix in my starting pitcher column for this week, so I'd encourage you to check that out for my thoughts. STREAMING STARTER PITCHERS MUST BE 40% ROSTERED ON YAHOO OR UNDER (ranked in loose order) Week of 5/26 Strong Preference Fairly Confident Some Hesitation If I'm Desperate
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18-05-2025
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Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: Starting pitchers galore, can we believe in Hyeseong Kim?
Welcome to Waiver Wire Watch, where I review my favorite waiver wire adds and drops for each week of the MLB season. The premise is pretty straightforward. I'll try to give you some recommended adds each week based on recent production or role changes. When I list a player, I'll list the category where I think he'll be helpful or the quick reason he's listed. I hope that it will help you determine if the player is a fit for what your team needs or not. For a player to qualify to be on this list, he needs to be UNDER 40% rostered in Yahoo! formats. I understand you may say, 'These players aren't available in my league,' and I can't help you there. These players are available in over 60% of leagues and some in 98% of leagues, so they're available in many places and that can hopefully satisfy readers in all league types. Matthew Pouliot, Waiver Wire Hitters Victor Scott II - OF, STL, 39% rostered (EVERY DAY ROLE, SPEED UPSIDE) Situations like Scott's confuse me. Everybody was rushing to add him last year, and it didn't pan out. Now, Scott is hitting .264 with 13 steals on the season, and people don't seem to want to pick him up. Two weeks ago, I posted an article about hitters who could be worth adding/trading for based on their contact rates and swing rates. Scott popped in that article. There's more detail in the article, but I like a lot of what he's doing in terms of his swing decisions. I need him to focus more on line drives and hard groundballs, and I think we could see a strong stretch of production in the coming weeks. Chandler Simpson - OF, TB (27% rostered) is also still available in a lot of leagues. I don't get it. He's hitting .301 with nine steals and 15 runs in 25 games? What did we expect him to be? He's not going to hit for power, but he hits at the top of the order against right-handed pitching and will run whenever he gets on. Rhys Hoskins - 1B, MIL: 37% rostered (POWER UPSIDE, FINALLY HEALTHY) This is my third week with Hoskins in this column, but I'm going to keep him here until people buy in because he's hitting .285/.389/.445 with five home runs and 24 RBI in 43 games. I bought in on Rhys Hoskins during spring training because he talked about being fully healthy after ACL surgery in 2023. He also changed his stance to quiet his head and improve his contact. The results didn't come right at the start of the season, but we're starting to see them now. We know he's not going to be a major batting average asset, but he likely won't be a drain either. I like his ballpark, and I like his lineup, so I have no problem adding Hoskins anywhere he's available right now. Max Muncy - 3B, LAD (34% rostered) is another veteran who made a tweak and has started to heat up of late. Except, Muncy's tweak was to start wearing prescription glasses starting on May 5th. Since then, Muncy is hitting .275/.375/.475 with two home runs and 11 RBI in 11 games. A lot of that did come in an offensive series against the Athletics, but Muncy also has eight strikeouts to seven walks over that span, so it's pretty clear that he's seeing the ball better. Brandon Lowe - 2B, TB: 36% rostered (POWER UPSIDE, HOT STREAK) Brandon Lowe is another veteran who is starting to settle into himself a bit. Over his last 12 games, he's hitting just .256 with three home runs, eight runs scored, nine RBI, and a 14% barrel rate. We know the batting average will fluctuate up and down with Lowe, but we also know he's going to hit second in the order against right-handers and could easily carry a few balls out of that minor league ballpark when the weather starts to heat up. Jake Cronenworth - 1B/2B, SD (33% rostered) came off the IL on May 9th and has gone 8-for-27 with one home run, five RBI, and five runs scored in eight games. He's a bit boring for fantasy, but that doesn't mean he's bad. He's going to play every day in a solid Padres lineup and has always been about a .240 hitter with 15+ home run power who will drive in some runs hitting behind Xander Bogaerts, Jackson Merrill, and Manny Machado. Hyeseong Kim - 2B/SS, LAD: 34% rostered (PLAYING TIME UPSIDE, STEALS UPSIDE) Hyeseong Kim is such a tough decision this weekend in fantasy. He's gone 14-for-31 (.452) since being called up with nine runs scored, one home run, and three steals. However, his average exit velocity is just 87.1 mph, and has a 73% contact rate overall, which jives with what he did in the minors, hitting .252 in 131 plate appearances at Triple-A with a 12% swinging strike rate. His overall contact rate of 75% at Triple-A is fine, but suggests there will be some swing and miss at the big league level, and even though he had a few huge home runs that we saw on Twitter, his average exit velocity at Triple-A was 87.3 mph. The other question is where he plays when Tommy Edman and Teoscar Hernandez both come back, which is likely to be next week. James Outman is almost assuredly getting sent down, but if the Dodgers want to keep Kim on the active roster, they'll need to DFA one of Chris Taylor, Enrique Hernandez, or Michael Conforto. The Dodgers have historically been hesitant to move on from those long-tenured veterans, so it will be an interesting decision to see. If Kim does stay up, he'd be the regular second baseman and sit against all lefties, which would still give him solid value for speed. Colt Keith - 1B/2B, DET: 19% rostered (HOT STREAK, POST HYPE PROSPECT) It was a slow start to the season for Keith, but he has come alive of late. Since May 1st, he's hitting .317/.391/.585 with three home runs, 12 runs scored, and seven RBI. While we do have to acknowledge that some of that is connected to Coors Field, Keith also has a 9.4% barrel rate on the season and is chasing outside of the zone way less this year. His overall contact profile hasn't changed a lot, but he's being more selective, which is working for him. He's not a prototypical 1B from a power perspective, but he had an elite hit tool as a prospect and hits near the top of a decent Tigers lineup. There's a chance that he's a 20 HR bat, so if he can hit .260 that's great production at 2B and solid production at CI. With Colorado heading back home this week, you could take a flyer on Ryan McMahon - 3B, COL (33% rostered), who is hitting .333/..443/.667 in May with four home runs, 13 runs scored, and seven RBI. I covered McMahon two weeks ago in my article on hitters swinging at the first pitch more often, and was confused why he was struggling so much. I mentioned that his bat speed is almost two mph faster than last year, and his average exit velocity has jumped to 94.1 mph, and I believed that, 'at some point, you have to think the hits will start to fall.' Maybe now they have. Evan Carter - OF, TEX: 12% rostered (RETURN FROM MINORS, POST HYPE PROSPECT) I know Evan Carter hasn't been good since being called up, but he's back in Texas and playing regularly against right-handed pitching, so he remains a potential add in deeper formats. After a slow start to his Triple-A season, he was hitting .288 with three HRs and four steals in his final 12 games. Since coming up, he's gone 6-for-33 (.182) with one home run, but he does have three steals, so he's going to run when he gets on. He's going to sit versus lefties and the back injury will always be a black cloud hanging over him, but he's a talented player and was my off-season pick to be a second-year breakout hitter, so I believe he's worth a flier in most league types. In deep formats, you might decide to pivot to an option like Trevor Larnach - OF, MIN (13% rostered), who's hitting .280 over his last 27 games with seven home runs, 18 runs scored, and 19 RBI. He's going to sit against all left-handed pitchers, but that platoon role has allowed him to thrive and put up really solid numbers, so he's especially interesting in daily moves leagues. Luisangel Acuna - 2B/SS, NYM: 11% rostered (PLAYING TIME OPPORTUNITY, SPEED UPSIDE) Last week, I mentioned that Jesse Winker's injury was likely to open up playing time for Acuña, and the young middle infielder started four of the six games heading into Sunday. Mark Vientos started all six, and Brett Baty and Jeff McNeil both started three. With Winker out six weeks, the Mets could move Vientos to DH sometimes and let Acuña play 3B, or let veterans like Jeff McNeil and Brandon Nimmo DH at times and play Acuña at 2B. Brett Baty being up complicates this a bit, but Acuña brings plus defense and a speed and batting average upside that Baty doesn't have. I guess we should address the Brett Baty - 3B, NYM (8% rostered) call-up. At this point, you've probably picked up and dropped Baty three or four times in your fantasy league over the years. However, he has come back up from AAA and hit three home runs in the last two games and started each of the last three games at 3B for the Mets, so we can't just ignore that. All of what I said above means that Baty could also get a chance at regular playing time again in New York, and so, in deeper format, that might be worth a gamble if you're struggling at third base. I just can't bid a lot of money here because it could implode at any minute. Gavin Sheets - 1B/OF, SD: 15% rostered (EVERY DAY PLAYER, RBI UPSIDE) Sheets' recent numbers are certainly skewed by the trip to Coors Field last week; however, he is hitting .290/.343/.481 on the season with six home runs, so he has been productive for the Padres this year. He starts against all right-handed pitching and is hitting in the middle of a lineup that features a lot of strong bats, which means he has a good chance for RBI upside. His multi-position eligibility also makes him a bit more valuable, and he's an add I like in daily moves leagues. Another deeper league multi-position add could be Kody Clemens - 1B/2B/3B, MIN (1% rostered). He had been playing some first base when Ty France was banged up, and now he's starting regularly at second base with Brooks Lee shifting to shortstop while Carlos Correa is on the concussion IL. Clemens will likely sit against left-handed pitching, which makes him a tougher add for this week, but he has three home runs, two doubles, and a 17% barrel rate in 45 plate appearances this season, so I like what he's doing. His contact rates are strong, and he's aggressive in the strike zone, so he could be a decent short-term add. Jake Meyers - OF, HOU: 9% rostered (SPEED UPSIDE, STARTING JOB) Last week, I published an article on hitters who were being more aggressive and swinging at the first pitch more often this year than last year. Myers popped up for me on that leaderboard, and I explained in detail why I'm a fan of his new approach, so you should read that article to check out the analysis; however, I think he's a solid add for steals and something close to a .270 batting average. Fantasy managers in deep leagues could also gamble on Angels rookie Matthew Lugo - OF, LAA (1% rostered), who has gone 8-for-21 (.381) in eight games since being called up with three home runs and six RBI. Lugo is a former second-round pick of the Red Sox who came to the Angels last year at the trade deadline. He has never been a huge power hitter, but he did have 17 home runs and 16 steals in 79 minor league games last year, so there is some 20/20 upside here if he hits his ceiling. He doesn't have elite high-end exit velocity, but he makes hard contact regularly and has a pull-heavy approach, which helps him get to that power. However, he did have a 14.5% swinging strike rate in Triple-A this year and just a 73% contact rate, so don't expect the batting average to remain all that high. Trey Sweeney - SS, DET: 10% rostered (EVERY DAY JOB, POTENTIAL BREAKOUT) A few weeks ago, I published an article on hitters who were making elite swing decisions and contact and could be in for hot streaks. Sweeney just barely qualified for the leaderboard, but I opted to leave him out of the article because I had doubts about him, and I had covered a lot of hitters already. That was a mistake. I should have trusted my thought process for the article and at least put Sweeney in the article to explain why he was there, and what my doubts were. It appears that my doubts may have been partially unfounded because Sweeney has been on a bit of a hot streak that began before he even went to Coors Field. I don't know how long this hot streak will last, but he's playing every day in Detroit and making good swing decisions, so that makes him worth an add in deeper formats. Drake Baldwin - C, ATL: 9% rostered (PLAYING TIME OPPORTUNITY, TOP TIER PROSPECT) Baldwin is in a timeshare with Sean Murphy in Atlanta, but it seems like Baldwin has become the preferred option against right-handed pitching since he hits left-handed. On the season, Baldwin is hitting .360/.407.573 in 81 plate appearances with four home runs, 13 strikeouts, and eight walks. The production has been there, and if he's now going to start 60-70% of the games, that makes him worth adding in all two-catcher formats. I would rather place bids on Baldwin than I would on either of the other two catchers who came up this week: Dalton Rushing - C/OF, LAD (17% rostered) and Moises Ballesteros - C, CHC (7% rostered). I understand that Rushing is a good prospect and looked strong in his first two games, but Dave Roberts has already said that Rushing won't play the outfield with the Dodgers and will catch two games a week. With Shohei Ohtani locked in as the DH, you can maybe hope Rushing gets one start a week at 1B when the team rests Freddie Freeman, but that's three starts per week for Rushing. It's just hard to bid on him if that's all we're going to get. Ballesteros is in a similar spot. Carson Kelly and Miguel Amaya are playing well, and both have no minor league options remaining. When Ian Happ comes back, likely next week, all of Happ, Kyle Tucker, Seiya Suzuki, and Pete Crow-Armstrong need to play so the DH spot will be locked up. I just don't see any room for Ballesteros to remain with the Cubs for now. Marcelo Mayer - SS, BOS: 8% rostered (MINOR LEAGUE STASH, BATTING AVERAGE UPSIDE) If you spend any time on social media, then you know that everybody is clamoring to find out how the Red Sox are going to call up Mayer and Roman Anthony. Well, we got a glimpse at one possibility on Friday when videos surfaced of Kristian Campbell doing pre-game work at first base. Campbell moved all around the field in the minors and has graded out below average at second base (a new position for him), so it makes sense for Boston to see how he can handle 1B. That would also open up a middle infield spot for Mayer, who is hitting .274/.351/.486 in 37 games at Triple-A with eight home runs. He's ready, and he'll be an impactful bat early on but more for batting average than anything. Another stash option would be Jerar Encarnacion - OF, SF (1% rostered), who is on a rehab assignment after having wrist surgery back at the end of spring training. We know the immense power he possesses, and the Giants have said they're going to play him at 1B primarily when he comes back, so that will add multi-position eligibility to his case for your roster. Addison Barger - 3B/OF, TOR: 5% rostered (PLAYING TIME OPPORTUNITY, POWER UPSIDE) I was a fan of Addison Barger in the spring when he was all over the spring training leaderboards, and then I read about how the Blue Jays tried to change his swing upon his arrival in the big leagues and how it didn't work. He has now gone back to a more 'free' swing that he says stops him from overthinking in the box and just lets him be loose. We obviously love to hear that, and I think Barger has a profile that the Blue Jays need. So many of their hitters are contact-first bats (Bichette, Clement, Springer, Kirk). I think Barger is a nice fit as more of a pull-heavy hitter who tries to do damage when he swings. That may lead to a .240-.250 type of hitter, but I believe in his batted ball quality and think he could push to be the Blue Jays' third baseman for the season. Miguel Vargas - 3B/OF, CWS (5% rostered) appeared in my article two weeks ago on hitters to add based on their plate discipline and contact rates. Vargas is chasing at a super low rate, making 83% contact overall and rarely swinging and missing. He's pulling the ball slightly less this season and has focused less on lifting the ball, which is a good change. He doesn't smoke the ball, but a 90.3 mph average exit velocity is pretty good, and he's playing every day in Chicago. He's limited to deeper leagues right now, but I still think he's worth an add there because the production he's put up over the last month matches the process. Miguel Andujar - 3B/OF, ATH: 4% rostered (EVERY DAY JOB, BATTING AVERAGE UPSIDE) This week, I posted an article looking at Pitcher List's Process+ stat to see which hitters have the best Contact Value and Decision Value on their swings so far this year. Andujar qualified for that list despite not having the required number of pitches faced. He has become the starting third baseman for the Athletics and has hit 11-for-38 (.289) over the last month with eight RBI and one home run. He's not going to produce huge power numbers, but that park is going to be great for offense in the summer, and Andujar will sport a good batting average while hitting in the middle of the order. In deeper formats, you also scoop up his teammate, Luis Urias - 2B/3B, ATH (4% rostered), who is now the regular second baseman. With Zack Gelof suffering a rub injury on his rehab assignment, Urias may have a few weeks remaining as an everyday player. Will Benson - OF, CIN: 1% rostered (RECENT CALL-UP, POWER UPSIDE) Benson was recalled late last week and has had a great first week back in the big leagues, going 8-for-22 with three home runs, eight RBI, and one steal. We've seen this before from him. He has tremendous power/speed potential, but also a really frustrating approach at the plate. Even in Triple-A this season, he was striking out 29% of the time with a 70% contact rate and 13% swinging strike rate. Perhaps you'll get a shot stretch from Benson; it might be worth the gamble, but it doesn't appear as if he's changed his approach at all. Another new starter on his team is Santiago Espinal - 2B/3B/OF - CIN: 3% rostered, who has become the regular third baseman in Cincinnati with Noelvi Marte on the IL. Espinal is hitting .273/.328/.322 on the season with almost an identical walk and strikeout rate. He makes a lot of contact and rarely swings and misses, but he also doesn't bring a ton of speed or power to the table. He would be an add for batting average and the hope of counting stats when the Reds are playing at home. Waiver Wire Pitchers Yu Darvish - SP, SD: 37% rostered Darvish made his first rehab start at Triple-A on Wednesday and threw 57 pitches over four innings while striking out four and walking one. He sat 94.5 mph on his fastball, and his slider and cutter both looked good. Last year, Darvish had a 3.31 ERA and 1.07 WHIP in 16 starts. If you take out the two starts we know he was pitching hurt, then he allowed 21 earned runs in 76 innings, which is a 2.47 ERA with 71 strikeouts. I think he'll still be a mid-3.00 ERA guy, so I'll be grabbing some shares soon. He may still be three weeks away from his season debut with the Padres. Tommy Kahnle - RP, DET: 32% rostered I guess people don't want to add Kahnle because he doesn't throw hard, and the Tigers mix and match their late-inning relievers, but Kahnle has looked good so far, and Detroit has no problem running out a closer who doesn't have elite strikeout upside or a big fastball. Kahnle has five saves and a 0.61 ERA in 14 appearances so far this year, so I'm scooping if he's available. However, just note that the Tigers like to use Kahnle in high-leverage situations, which will also mean save opportunities for Will Vest - RP, DET (29% rostered), who is worth an add if you need saves as well. I know Vest blew an opportunity two weeks ago, which made him one of the most dropped players in Yahoo formats, but he has allowed just four runs on 10 hits in 17 innings this season. He'll still be back in high-leverage innings and will get some save chances. Bubba Chandler - SP, PIT: 32% rostered It seems like it's only a matter of time before Bubba Chandler is up in the Pirates rotation. Even though his command was not great in his last start in AAA, he has dominated the level this year, and now that the super two deadline has passed, the Pirates can call him up and still retain an extra year of control over him. This is also right around the time they called up Paul Skenes last year, and they saw that it was enough time for him to win and our rookie of the year, and the Pirates another draft pick. Skenes made his MLB debut on May 11 last year, and so my guess is that Chandler is up for the Pirates' next homestand, which begins on May 19. I would try and stash him now before that News becomes official. Cade Horton - SP, CHC: 32% rostered Will they keep him in the big league rotation even after Imanaga is back? There are a lot of questions here, but he's a top-50 overall prospect in baseball and is worth a stash, especially since he gets the Marlins next. If you want a deeper dive into Horton, I covered him in my Starting Pitcher News column this week. Interesting 2nd start for Horton. Humidity/15 mph winds blowing out. All 3 runs scored on 2 HR. Sweeper still looks plus. We also saw WAY more curves today, a few more changeups, & a sinker I didn't know he had. Those secondaries will take time to steady but that's a deep mix Shelby Miller - RP, ARI: 27% rostered I spoke to Shelby Miller a couple of weeks ago before the Mets game and wrote up my thoughts on the Arizona bullpen situation here. I prioritized Miller on the waiver wire, and so far, that has worked out. We know that Justin Martinez is back and throwing bullpens and feels good, but there's no guarantee that he remains healthy or that the Diamondbacks immediately put him back as the everyday closer. There's a good chance they use Miller to help lessen some of Martinez's workload after coming back, so I wouldn't go ahead of drop Miller just yet, thinking that he's absolutely going to lose all the save chances going forward. Zebby Matthews - SP, MIN: 21% rostered Zebby Matthews is finally getting a chance to become a full-time starter in the Twins' rotation. He has been electric at Triple-A with a 1.93 ERA and 38:9 K:BB ratio over seven starts and 32 innings. I wrote him up in the pre-season as one of my choices for an undrafted starting pitcher who could finish the season as a top 25 arm, so I'd encourage you to check that out to see my full thoughts on him. Logan Henderson - SP, MIL: 21% rostered Henderon is in the Brewers' rotation (for now) after Jose Quintana went on the IL. He has a solid 2.45 ERA and 16:2 K:BB ratio in his two starts this season. He uses his four-seam and changeup 87% of the time, but they both are above-average pitches. The four-seam averages just 93 mph and has poor extension, but he has really good iVB on it and, given his release height, it's a really flat fastball. He does a good job of keeping it up in the strike zone, so it misses more bats than your average four-seamer and pairs well with the changeup he keeps low in the strike zone. He mixes in a cutter to lefties and a slider to righties, but he's really just a two-pitch pitcher and that makes me a little bit nervous as teams start to see him more. Ryan Weathers - SP, MIA: 19% rostered Weathers was back on Wednesday and looked pretty good in his first start against the Cubs. The left-hander had a 1.69 ERA with 13 strikeouts in 10.2 innings at Triple-A over his rehab appearances, and the spring training velocity gains held, which is nice to see. He gets the Cubs yet again this week, which is still a tough matchup to trust, but I really like Weathers for the long-term this season. Dennis Santana - RP, PIT: 16% rostered In the two games since Pittsburgh fired its manager, David Bednar has operated as the high-leverage reliever, which has led to two ninth-inning stints for Santana. He picked up the save in one, but also allowed two runs in one inning. Bednar remains the reliever to roster here because he has been great since coming back from the minors and will pitch more regularly; however, Santana should get the save chances, if Pittsburgh can muster many. Noah Cameron - SP, KC: 13% rostered Noah Cameron is yet another young pitcher getting a shot in the rotation with both Cole Ragans (groin) and Seth Lugo (finger) landing on the IL. Now, neither of those guys should be out too long, so I don't think this is a situation where Cameron pitches his way into a permanent spot in the rotation, but he might get 2-3 turns through the rotation, and that could be worth something. He's a soft-tossing lefty who averages 91.3 mph on his fastball, but has a good slider and changeup. He'll also mix in a cutter to righties, which helps to take the pressure off of his four-seam fastball. I don't love the profile, and don't think there's a ton of strikeout upside here, but he mixes and matches speeds well and has good command, so I can see him producing some solid performances. Hayden Birdsong - SP, SF: 11% rostered Birdsong is moving into the Giants' rotation with Jordan Hicks moving to the bullpen. Birdsong had a great spring training and showed off improved command that had him on the verge of winning a starting spot in the rotation. However, he was sent down to the minors and then returned to pitch out of the bullpen, where he produced a solid 2.31 ERA in 23.1 innings. He did have a 1.3 WHIP over that stretch, which is not ideal, so command may still be something we need to keep an eye on here. That said, he has a four-pitch mix and plenty of swing-and-miss in the arsenal, so he's worth a gamble if he can carry over these command gains. Managers in deeper leagues could also look to add Slade Cecconi - SP, CLE (1% rostered), who will be in the rotation with Ben Lively sidelined. He had an up-and-down season debut on Saturday, but he showed off added velocity, thanks to mechanical tweaks to his lower body, and has some subtle changes to his pitch mix, where he's relying on his four-seam fastball less often. Cecconi had allowed just one run in five innings in his start, but he tired in the sixth and allowed a run, and then the inherited runner he left on base also came around to score. He should be pushed up to about 85 pitches in his next start, but there may be something here in deeper formats. Hunter Dobbins - SP, BOS: 8% rostered With Tanner Houck ending up on the IL, Hunter Dobbins is likely to remain in the Red Sox rotation for a few extra weeks. I've been intrigued by his performance so far this season and wrote about him in detail in my starting pitcher article this week, so check that out for more details on Dobbins' pitch mix and my expectations for him. STREAMING STARTER PITCHERS MUST BE 40% ROSTERED ON YAHOO OR UNDER (ranked in loose order) Week of 5/19 Strong Preference Fairly Confident Some Hesitation If I'm Desperate
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11-05-2025
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Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: Cade Horton is here, Evan Carter is back
Welcome to Waiver Wire Watch, where I review my favorite waiver wire adds and drops for each week of the MLB season. The premise is pretty straightforward. I'll try to give you some recommended adds each week based on recent production or role changes. When I list a player, I'll list the category where I think he'll be helpful or the quick reason he's listed. I hope that it will help you determine if the player is a fit for what your team needs or not. For a player to qualify to be on this list, he needs to be UNDER 40% rostered in Yahoo! formats. I understand you may say, 'These players aren't available in my league,' and I can't help you there. These players are available in over 60% of leagues and some in 98% of leagues, so they're available in many places and that can hopefully satisfy readers in all league types. Matthew Pouliot, Waiver Wire Hitters Tyler Stephenson - C, CIN (40% rostered) (RETURN FROM IL, POWER UPSIDE) Tyler Stephenson returned from the IL last week after missing the first month of the year with an oblique injury, and his roster rate hasn't changed at all. I'm not sure I get that. He's already homered and driven in five runs in his first nine games back, and we know that Stephenson is a strong hitter for a catcher. He was routinely drafted among the top 8-10 players at the position in all league types. He's a .260-ish hitter with .20+ home run power in a great home ballpark and good lineup. The Reds have said they will play him at 1B/DH as well, so he should be in the lineup for around 80% of the Reds' games. That's enough for me to roster Stephenson in one-catcher formats if I don't have a stud at the position. Victor Scott II - OF, STL, 39% rostered (EVERY DAY ROLE, SPEED UPSIDE) Situations like Scott's confuse me. Everybody was rushing to add him last year, and it didn't pan out. Now, Scott is hitting .289 with 11 steals on the season, and people don't seem to want to pick him up. Are we just being spurned former suitors? I don't get it. Last week, I posted an article about hitters who could be worth adding/trading for based on their contact rates and swing rates. Scott popped for me in that article. There's more detail in the article, but I like a lot of what he's doing in terms of his swing decisions. I need him to focus more on line drives and hard groundballs, and I think we could see a strong stretch of production in the coming weeks. Rhys Hoskins - 1B, MIL: 34% rostered (POWER UPSIDE, FINALLY HEALTHY) I bought in on Rhys Hoskins in spring training because he talked about being fully healthy after ACL surgery in 2023 and had also changed his stance to quiet his head and improve his contact. The results didn't come right at the start of the season, but we're starting to see them now. We know he's not going to be a major batting average asset, but he likely won't be a drain either. I like his ballpark, and I like his lineup, so I have no problem adding Hoskins anywhere he's available right now. Hyeseong Kim - 2B/SS, LAD: 23% rostered (PLAYING TIME UPSIDE, STEALS UPSIDE) When Tommy Edman landed on the IL, the Dodgers finally called up Hyeseong Kim. However, Chris Taylor and Miguel Rojas started games at second base after Kim was called up. Yet, with Teoscar Hernandez now out too, there is an avenue where Kim and Edman can be the CF/2B with Andy Pages moving to RF. Kim was hitting just .252 in 131 plate appearances at Triple-A with a 12% swinging strike rate. His overall contact rate of 75% at Triple-A is fine, but suggests there will be some swing and miss at the big league level, and even though he had a few huge home runs that we saw on Twitter, his average exit velocity at Triple-A was 87.3 mph. The 13 stolen bases are very real, and I think that's going to be the majority of Kim's value at the big league level this season if he lands in a full-time role. It just remains to be seen what his long-term role is; although, it seems like the Dodgers will sit him against lefties for now. Trent Grisham - OF, NYY: 22% rostered, (INCREASED PLAYING TIME, POWER UPSIDE) Grisham has been playing more regularly for the Yankees after hitting .256 over his last 12 games with four home runs and seven RBI. He plays good defense in the outfield, and Jasson Dominguez has been struggling, with a -15 Outs Above Average in left field. Dominguez has also been unable to hit lefties, so Grisham may continue to play 4-5 games a week and produce decent power numbers when he plays. We just never know when this ride will end. Daniel Schneeman - 2B/3B/SS/OF, CLE: 20% rostered (PLAYING TIME OPPORTUNITY, HOT STREAK) A few weeks ago, Schneeman popped up on a leaderboard I made of bat speed risers, but he wasn't playing enough at the time for me to pay much attention to it. Now he's started ten of the last 13 games and is hitting .328 with four home runs and 10 RBI in his last 60 at-bats. I'm not sure how long this lasts, but I'll take a small gamble on a hitter showing a slightly new level of talent who's in the middle of a hot streak. Another multi-position infielder is Josh Smith - 3B/SS/OF, TEX (27% rostered). Even with Evan Carter up, Smith is still starting pretty much every day. He'll play some CF, some 1B, and some SS/3B when the team gives Corey Seager and Josh Jung a breather. I know it feels risky to roster a 'bench' player, but Smith is a valuable piece for the Rangers and often hits leadoff when he's in the lineup, so he can bring plenty of fantasy value. Colt Keith - 1B/2B, DET: 17% rostered (HOT STREAK, POST HYPE PROSPECT) It was a slow start to the season for Keith, but he has come alive of late. Over the last two weeks, he's gone 10-for-34 (.294) with four home runs, 10 runs scored, and 9 RBI. While we do have to acknowledge that some of that is connected to Coors Field, Keith also has a 9.2% barrel rate on the season and is chasing outside of the zone way less this year. His overall contact profile hasn't changed a lot, but he's being more selective, which is working for him. He's not a prototypical 1B from a power perspective, but he had an elite hit tool as a prospect and hits near the top of a decent Tigers lineup. There's a chance that he's a 20 HR bat, so if he can hit .260 that's great production at 2B and solid production at CI. Carlos Santana - 1B, CLE: 7% rostered is another deeper league corner infield target that routinely gets forgotten about. He's hitting .300 over his last 13 games with two home runs and 11 RBI. He's never going to be BAD, so he won't hurt you on your roster, and there are stretches every season where he's really good. He's a good streaming hitter, and now could be the time to stream. Evan Carter - OF, TEX: 12% rostered (RETURN FROM MINORS, POST HYPE PROSPECT) Evan Carter is back in Texas. After a slow start to his Triple-A season, he was hitting .288 with three HRs and four steals in his final 12 games. Since coming up, he's gone 4-for-17 with one home run while starting four of five games. He's going to sit versus lefties and the back injury will always be a black cloud hanging over him, but he's a talented player and was my off-season pick to be a second-year breakout hitter, so I believe he's worth a flier in most league types. You could also take a gamble on the player who was cut to make room for Carter, Leody Taveras - OF, SEA (1% rostered). Taveras is a good defender with plus speed who flashed modest power/speed upside in the past but failed to show it consistently. Sounds a bit like Victor Robles, who also thrived when moving to Seattle. I'm not saying Taveras is Robles or will also breakout, but he's going to play regularly in the short-term and have a chance to showcase that speed value, so he's worth an add in deeper leagues. Luisangel Acuna - 2B/SS, NYM: 11% rostered (PLAYING TIME OPPORTUNITY, SPEED UPSIDE) I know it may not compute to say that Jesse Winker's injury impacts Acuña, but I think it will. The Mets are wavering in their trust of Mark Vientos as a fielder. Acuña has played some 3B recently but is also a good defender at 2B and SS. With Winker out six weeks, the Mets could move Vientos to DH sometimes and let Acuña play 3B, or let veterans like Jeff McNeil and Brandon Nimmo DH at times and play Acuña at 2B. Brett Baty being up complicates this a bit, but Baty has yet to produce consistently at the MLB level, so Acuña should be getting regular starts, and his speed and batting average will help your fantasy teams. However, I guess we should address the Brett Baty - 3B, NYM (3% rostered) call-up. Are we really gonna do this again? At this point, you've probably picked up and dropped Baty three or four times in your fantasy league over the years. However, he has come back up from AAA and hit three home runs in the last two games and started each of the last three games at 3B for the Mets, so we can't just ignore that. All of what I said above means that Baty could also get a chance at regular playing time again in New York, and so, in deeper format, that might be worth a gamble if you're struggling at third base. I just can't bid a lot of money here because it could implode at any minute. Dane Myers - OF, MIA: 10% rostered (SPEED UPSIDE, PLAYING TIME OPPORTUNITY) Myers has been starting regularly for the Marlins and is batting .340 over the last month with three home runs and six steals. I'm not sure how much I believe the batting average will stick, but Myers is certainly fast, and the Marlins will let him run. If you're in a deep league and just looking for a guy who will play and steal bases, then Myers could be a solid fit. Chandler Simpson - OF, TB (32% rostered) is also still available in a lot of leagues. I understand that he's hitting just .246, but he's playing most every day, batting lead off a lot, and has seven steals in 21 games. Even if we say he's a .250-.260 hitter, that kind of speed is worth rostering if you need stolen bases. Gavin Sheets - 1B/OF, SD: 8% rostered (EVERY DAY PLAYER, RBI UPSIDE) Sheets' recent numbers are certainly skewed by the trip to Coors Field; however, he is hitting .296 on the season, so he has been productive for the Padres this year. He starts against all right-handed pitching and is hitting in the middle of a lineup that features a lot of strong bats, which means he has a good chance for RBI upside. His multi-position eligibility also makes him a bit more valuable, and he's an add I really like in daily moves leagues. I've recently also picked up a lot of shares of Zach Dezenzo - 1B/OF, HOU (1% rostered). Dezenzo has now started 12 of the last 15 games for the Astros as he cements himself as essentially an every-day player. He should remain that way as long as he keeps hitting. The 24-year-old is hitting .267 on the season and showcased decent power and speed in the minors, hitting 18 home runs with 22 steals in 2023, which was his last full season in the minor leagues. He has a 17.1% barrel rate in his 60 at-bats this season, and is chasing way less than he did in his MLB sample last year. An 81% zone contact rate is not great, so there will be some swing-and-miss here, but if he can hit .250 while bringing 15/15 upside, that's not a bad gamble. Jake Meyers - OF, HOU: 8% rostered (SPEED UPSIDE, STARTING JOB) This week, I published an article on hitters who were being more aggressive and swinging at the first pitch more often this year than last year. Myers popped up for me on that leaderboard, and I explained in detail why I'm a fan of his new approach, so you should read that article to check out the analysis; however, I think he's a solid add for steals and something close to a .270 batting average Trey Sweeney - SS, DET: 6% rostered (EVERY DAY JOB, POTENTIAL BREAKOUT) Two weeks ago, I published an article on hitters who were making elite swing decisions and contact and could be in for hot streaks. Sweeney just barely qualified for the leaderboard, but I opted to leave him out of the article because I had doubts about him, and I had covered a lot of hitters already. That was a mistake. I should have trusted my thought process for the article and at least put Sweeney in the article to explain why he was there, and what my doubts were. It appears that my doubts may have been partially unfounded because Sweeney has been on a bit of a hot streak that began before he even went to Coors Field. I don't know how long this hot streak will last, but he's playing every day in Detroit and making good swing decisions, so that makes him worth an add in deeper formats J.P. Crawford - SS, SEA (11% rostered) As I mentioned last week, Crawford may be a boring veteran, but he's a solid option as a player who could help your batting average. He's hitting .276 on the season but has gone 14-for-47 (.298) with two home runs and seven RBI over his last 11 games. He's being a little more aggressive this season, which is fine for Crawford because he has an 84% contact rate for his career. He's expanding the zone a bit more this season, but is still making elite levels of contact, and the batting average bump of late feels partially real. Eli White - OF, ATL: 5% rostered (EVERY DAY ROLE, RUNS UPSIDE) White continues to get consistent playing time as Ronald Acuna Jr. remains out in Atlanta. Since coming to Atlanta, White has cut his fly ball rate by over 10% and gotten more aggressive with his swing rates. Focusing on groundballs and line drives seems to have helped because the swinging strike rate is down significantly from his early-career numbers, and the overall contact rates have pushed up near 80%. Pairing that with a 10% barrel rate is kind of nice. It's not going to lead to plenty of fantasy juice, but White could continue to post a solid batting average while hitting in a good Atlanta lineup, and that could be worth something if you need an outfielder. I should also note that Jerar Encarnacion - OF, SF (1% rostered) is a solid deep league add if you have a healthy lineup because he's starting his rehab assignment from a broken hand and could be activated on May 23rd. The Giants are playing him at 1B in the minors, which means he could quickly pick up 1B/OF eligibility in all formats. Given his plus raw power, that could make him a useful add for the summer. Miguel Vargas - 3B/OF, CWS: 5% rostered (MINI HOT STREAK, POST HYPE PROSPECT) Like Victor Scott II, Miguel Vargas appeared in my article last week on hitters to add based on their plate discipline and contact rates. Vargas is chasing at a super low rate, making 83% contact overall and rarely swinging and missing. He's pulling the ball slightly less this season and has focused less on lifting the ball, which is a good change. He doesn't smoke the ball, but a 90.3 mph average exit velocity is pretty good, and he's playing every day in Chicago. He's limited to deeper leagues right now, but I still think he's worth an add there. Another multi-position option for deeper formats could be Santiago Espinal - 2B/3B/OF - CIN: 4% rostered, who has become the regular third baseman in Cincinnati with Noelvi Marte on the IL. Espinal is hitting .314/.375/.373 on the season with almost an identical walk and strikeout rate. He makes a lot of contact and rarely swings and misses, but he also doesn't bring a ton of speed or power to the table. He would be an add for batting average and the hope of counting stats when the Reds are playing at home. Tim Elko - 1B, CWS (0% rostered) (RECENT CALL-UP, POWER UPSIDE) The White Sox called up Elko on Saturday, finally, after he tore up AAA to the tune of a .348/.431/.670 slash line with 10 homers in 31 games at Triple-A Charlotte. He wasn't even in the Yahoo system until Saturday, so his roster rate remains low, but Elko is a prototypical, hulking first base prospect who is power over hit with minimal defensive value. However, the White Sox lineup needs all the thump it can get, so expect Elko to get a chance to be the regular 1B/DH. The Reds have seemingly also decided to give Will Benson - OF, CIN (0% rostered) and Rece Hinds - OF, CIN (1% rostered) another chance; although, they alternated starts in the two games since both of them have been up in Cincinnati. It's hard to tell which one of them will get more regular at-bats, but they both have tremendous raw power and a great home park. The issue is that they both have lots of swing-and-miss, which means they could be back down in the minors soon. Waiver Wire Pitchers Tommy Kahnle - RP, DET: 35% rostered I guess people don't want to add Kahnle because he doesn't throw hard and the Tigers mix and match their late-inning relievers, but Kahnle has looked good so far, and Detroit has no problem running out a closer who doesn't have elite strikeout upside or a big fastball. Kahnle has five saves and a 0.61 ERA in 14 appearances so far this year, so I'm scooping if he's available. However, just note that the Tigers like to use Kahnle in high-leverage situations, which will also mean save opportunities for Will Vest - RP, DET (11% rostered), who is worth an add if you need saves as well. I know Vest blew an opportunity two weeks ago, which made him one of the most dropped players in Yahoo formats, but he has allowed just four runs on 10 hits in 17 innings this season. He'll still be back in high-leverage innings and will get some save chances. Gunnar Hoglund - SP, OAK: 31% rostered Earlier this week, I wrote up my thoughts on Hoglund's debut, which you can read in more detail above. My worry is that this isn't a package that will lead to many strikeouts when he's not facing the Marlins, but I liked the foundation of it enough to add him and see how this pans out. However, I'm unclear what the plans are for the rotation with JT Ginn returns. Bubba Chandler - SP, PIT: 29% rostered It seems like it's only a matter of time before Bubba Chandler is up in the Pirates rotation. Even though his command was not great in his last start in AAA, he has dominated the level this year, and now that the super two deadline has passed, the Pirates can call him up and still retain an extra year of control over him. This is also right around the time they called up Paul Skenes last year, and they saw that it was enough time for him to win and our rookie of the year, and the Pirates another draft pick. Skenes made his MLB debut on May 11 last year, and so my guess is that Chandler is up for the Pirates' next homestand, which begins on May 19. I would try and stash him now before that News becomes official. Shelby Miller - RP, ARI: 26% rostered I spoke to both Shelby Miller and Kevin Ginkel - RP, ARI (7% rostered) last week before the Mets game and wrote up my thoughts on the Arizona bullpen situation here. I prioritized Miller on the waiver wire, and so far that has worked out. Just remember that Justin Martinez's MRI came back clean, and he has already begun to face live hitters at the complex fields this week. Provided Martinez feels healthy and the velocity is where it used to be, he could be back in Arizona in a couple of weeks, which would kill a lot of value for these two guys. AJ Smith-Shawver - SP, ATL: 23% rostered Smith-Shawver made really good use of his two-start week this week and now has a 2.76 EERA and 24.6% strikeout rate in 32.2 innings so far this season. I'm happy to add him because he's a young pitcher on a good team with clear talent, but I want us to be rational in our bids. This two-start week was against a mediocre Cincinnati offense and a bad Pirates offense. Smith-Shawver had a great statline against the Reds, but he threw 60% fastballs and basically just challenged Reds' hitters in the zone, and they couldn't make contact. His splitter had just a 14% CSW in that game, and so I think Smith-Shawver is still just an arm we want to use in plus matchups. Cade Horton - SP, CHC: 23% rostered Horton made his MLB debut as a follower on Saturday, and allowed three runs in four innings while striking out five. All three runs came on a home run to Brett Baty, and Horton didn't walk anybody on the day, which is good to see. He was primarily four-seamer and sweeper against the Mets, but he flashed a few curves and changeups that looked pretty promising. I have no idea what the Cubs' plan for him is, but he threw 77 pitches on Saturday, so he could push towards 90 in his next outing. Will they use him as a traditional starter? Will they keep him in the big league rotation even after Imanaga is back? There are a lot of questions here, but he's a top-50 overall prospect in baseball and is worth a stash, especially since he gets the White Sox next. Porter Hodge - RP, CHC: 18% rostered Why is Hodge's roster rate so low? People see what Ryan Pressly looks like, right? Hodge is a solid reliever who posted an elite 1.88 ERA last season. He's the guy if Pressly is hurt, and the Cubs are a really good team, so you're going to want whoever is closing games for them. Dennis Santana - RP, PIT: 18% rostered In the two games since Pittsburgh fired its manager, David Bednar has operated as the high-leverage reliever, which has led to two ninth-inning stints for Santana. He picked up the save in one, but also allowed two runs in one inning. Bednar remains the reliever to roster here because he has been great since coming back from the minors and will pitch more regularly; however, Santana should get the save chances, if Pittsburgh can muster many. Ryan Weathers - SP, MIA (11% rostered) Weathers will be back on Wednesday. Sadly, that first start will come against the Cubs, so I would highly recommend not using Weathers this week. Still, the left-hander had a 1.69 ERA with 13 strikeouts in 10.2 innings at Triple-A over his rehab appearances, and the spring training velocity gains held, which is nice to see. He'll probably be at about 70 pitches in his debut, so this is just a bench stash in case he continues to pitch as well as he did this spring. Clayton Kershaw - SP, LAD: 1% rostered Kershaw likely only has one more minor league, rehab appearance before he's activated and back in a Dodgers rotation that could desperately use starting pitchers. At this point in his career, it's clear that Kershaw is no longer one of the top starting pitchers in baseball; however, he has never been bad when he's on a major league mound, and the Dodgers could certainly use him as a five-inning starting pitcher almost immediately after he returns. Given how strong the Dodgers' offense is, there's a chance that Kershaw is a solid ratio starter, who will pick up some wins, even though he won't give you tons of innings or strikeouts. I'm not going crazy on my bids, but I could put in some low-cost bids to see if this works out. STREAMING STARTER PITCHERS (ranked in loose order) Week of 5/12 Strong Preference Fairly Confident Some Hesitation
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04-05-2025
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Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: Lucas Giolito and Tyler Stephenson return to action
Welcome to Waiver Wire Watch, where I review my favorite waiver wire adds and drops for each week of the MLB season. The premise is pretty straightforward. I'll try to give you some recommended adds each week based on recent production or role changes. When I list a player, I'll list the category where I think he'll be helpful or the quick reason he's listed. I hope that it will help you determine if the player is a fit for what your team needs or not. Advertisement For a player to qualify to be on this list, he needs to be UNDER 40% rostered in Yahoo! formats. I understand you may say, 'These players aren't available in my league,' and I can't help you there. These players are available in over 60% of leagues and some in 98% of leagues, so they're available in many places and that can hopefully satisfy readers in all league types. MLB: New York Yankees at Cleveland Guardians 2025 Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani & Bobby Witt Jr. lead Top 300 rest of season ranks There's a new No. 1 in Judge, and Roman Anthony makes his Top 300 debut. Waiver Wire Hitters Tyler Stephenson - C, CIN (40% rostered) (RETURN FROM IL, POWER UPSIDE) Advertisement Tyler Stephenson made his season debut on Friday night after missing the first month of the year with an oblique injury. We know that Stephenson is a strong hitter for a catcher, and he was routinely drafted among the top 8-10 players at the position in all league types. He's a .260-ish hitter with .20+ home run power in a great home ballpark and good lineup. The Reds have said they will play him at 1B/DH as well, so he should be in the lineup for around 80% of the Reds' games. That's enough for me to roster Stephenson in one-catcher formats if I don't have a stud at the position. In two-catcher leagues, you can still add Edgar Quero - C, CWS (2% rostered), who is hitting .327 with seven RBI in his first 15 games. The comes with no home runs and no steals in a bad lineup, which is the primary concern with rostering Quero, who was the 62nd-ranked prospect in baseball and the 6th-ranked prospect in the White Sox organization. I would rather add Dillon Dingler - C, DET (6% rostered), who is playing most every day in Detroit with Jake Rogers hurt. Dingler is hitting .269 in 20 games over the last month, but has three home runs and 10 RBI over that span as well. He was a top prospect in the Detroit system, so he's worth a shot if you're hurting with your second catcher. Rhys Hoskins - 1B, MIL: 36% rostered (POWER UPSIDE, HOT STRETCH) I bought in on Rhys Hoskins in spring training because he talked about being fully healthy after ACL surgery in 2023 and had also changed his stance to quiet his head and improve his contact. The results didn't come right at the start of the season, but we're starting to see them now with Hoskins going 22-for-76 (.289) over his last 25 games with three home runs and 11 RBI. We know he's not going to be a major batting average asset, but he likely won't be a drain either. I like his ballpark, and I like his lineup, so I have no problem adding Hoskins anywhere he's available right now. A deep league option for power is Rowdy Tellez - 1B, SEA (1% rostered), who is 7-for-25 (.280) over his last 10 games with two home runs and eight RBI. He will only play against righties, but the Seattle lineup has been heating up lately, and Tellez is still making a lot of quality contact. Kyle Manzardo - 1B, CLE: 33% rostered (POWER UPSIDE, HOT STREAK COMING) Advertisement Manzardo has been here for the last two weeks because I've been highlighting that his quality of contact is really strong, and the surface-level results are going to start to catch up to that. Over the last 12 games, he's gone 10-for-40 with four home runs and eight RBI. That's solid production from a corner infield spot. I think he's a .260+ hitter with 25+ home run power in a solid lineup. If you don't care as much about power, you can still add Ty France - 1B, MIN (9% rostered), who has continued to hit all season long. He's hitting .271 with three home runs on the season and has gone 12-for-29 (.414) with six RBI over the last week. He's going to play every day in Minnesota, so the average and RBI should be solid but not spectacular. Sal Frelick (OF, MIL: 33% rostered (EVERYDAY ROLE, SPEED UPSIDE) Frelick is playing every day in Milwaukee and hitting .307 in his 33 games with seven steals and 16 runs scored. He hasn't been running as much over the last week or so, but I don't believe that's a long-term concern for his stolen base output. He hits fifth or sixth in the Brewers' lineup, which should lead to decent counting stats as the season goes on, but he's unlikely to hit more than five home runs this season. This play is essentially about batting average and speed, but if you need those two things, Frelick is a solid option for you. Victor Scott II - OF, STL, 32% rostered (EVERY DAY ROLE, SPEED UPSIDE) Advertisement You can add Victor Scott II for the same reasons you'd add Frelick. This week, I posted an article about hitters who could be worth adding/trading for based on their contact rates and swing rates. Scott popped for me in that article. There's more detail in the article, but I like a lot of what he's doing in terms of his swing decisions, and he's hitting .273 on the season with 11 steals while playing every day. I need him to focus more on line drives and hard groundballs, and I think we could see a strong stretch of production in the coming weeks. Roman Anthony - OF, BOS: 28% rostered (PROSPECT STASH, POWER UPSIDE) The Red Sox will need to clear up some space in the outfield for Anthony, but he's off to a strong start in Triple-A. Realistically, he should be up soon, especially if Ceddanne Rafaela continues to struggle to make consistent contact. Rafaela could move into a super utility role with Jarren Duran in CF and Anthony in LF. If the Red Sox consider moving Rafael Devers to 1B with Triston Casas out then that would free up the DH spot to be used for an extra outfielder, which means Anthony could come up and they could rotate the outfielders around. Nothing is imminent, but it feels like the time could be coming. The same could be said for Jordan Lawlar - SS, ARI (29% rostered), who is tearing up Triple-A. The Diamondbacks have started to play him at 3B recently, which means they could call him up, move Eugenio Suarez to DH, and create a LF platoon with Pavin Smith and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. That might be the smartest decision for the team. Jordan Beck - OF, COL: 26% rostered (POST-HYPE PROSPECT, POWER UPSIDE) Advertisement Beck had no home runs this week after hitting five last week, but that's to be expected. He didn't produce in 55 MLB games last year and then failed to produce early this season, and was demoted for Zac Veen. Beck has the potential to be a solid fantasy contributor, and he plays his home games at Coors Field, which is going to be a major boost for him, but he also has a 17% swinging strike rate and 34% strikeout rate with poor contact rates. His aggressive approach will lead to lots of hard-hit pulled baseballs, but he is going to remain inconsistent. You can expect similar inconsistency from Trent Grisham - OF, NYY: 22% rostered, who has been playing more regularly for the Yankees after hitting .235 over his last eight games with four home runs and five RBI. He plays good defense in the outfield, and Jasson Dominguez has been struggling, especially against lefties, so Grisham may continue to produce decent power numbers when he plays. We just never know when he will play. Kyle Stowers - OF, MIA: 26% rostered (POST HYPE BREAKOUT?, POWER UPSIDE) When I started writing this article on Saturday morning, Kyle Stowers was 12% rostered in Yahoo formats. Then he went and hit two home runs, including a game-winning grand slam, and his roster rate has more than doubled. This week alone, Stowers went 7-for-15 with four home runs and 10 RBI. That's unfortunate because we've had Stowers on here for a couple of weeks as a low-cost add, and now the price is going to skyrocket above what you probably want to pay. Yes, Stowers has power with a 20% barrel rate and 91.3 mph average exit velocity; yet, he also has an 18% swinging strike rate and just a 67% contact rate overall. He is swinging out of the zone less this season, which is nice, and Stowers is aggressive enough in the zone that he can make up for some of that swing and miss, but he's also sporting a career low 31% fly ball rate. He sprays the ball all over the field, which should help keep the batting average high, and the low fly ball rate could be solid in a pitcher-friendly park, but this feels more like a .250 type of hitter who will be limited to 15-20 HRs due to park and approach. A cheaper but less explosive deep-league outfield option is Eli White - OF, ATL (3% rostered), who continues to get consistent playing time as Ronald Acuna Jr. remains out in Atlanta. Since coming to Atlanta, White has cut his fly ball rate by over 10% and gotten more aggressive with his swing rates. Focusing on groundballs and line drives seems to have helped because the swinging strike rate is down significantly from his early-career numbers, and the overall contact rates have pushed up near 80%. Pairing that with a 10% barrel rate is kind of nice. It's not going to lead to plenty of fantasy juice, but White could continue to post a solid batting average while hitting in a good Atlanta lineup, and that could be worth something if you need an outfielder. Connor Norby - 2B/3B, MIA: 15% rostered) (EVERY DAY JOB, SPEED UPSIDE) Advertisement Connor Norby has been off the IL for almost two weeks now, but his roster rates remain pretty low. He's gone just 11-for-50 (.220) in 14 games with one home run, two steals, and 10 runs scored, but he's playing every day for the Marlins, and we know there is some power and speed in there. He's chasing out of the zone a lot, and his swinging strike rate was high last season as well, so he's highly unlikely to be a batting average asset, but if you want a 20/10 type of player who will play every day, then Norby is for you. Another Marlins hitter of note is Eric Wagaman - 1B/3B/OF, MIA (7% rostered), who came up for me on a random search of players who are making solid swing decisions, making a lot of contact, and making authoritative contact. He's always made a fair amount of contact and doesn't lift the ball a lot, which will limit his home run upside, but his strong understanding of the strike zone means he gets his pitch often and has the chance to run a decent batting average with 15 HR power. He'll just need to hit to keep getting at-bats. With Jonah Bride now gone and Griffin Conine injured, Wagaman has a chance to carve out some playing time at 1B/3B/DH. I'd only take gambles in deep leagues, but it might be worth a shot. Zack Gelof - 2B, ATH: 12% rostered (IMPENDING RETURN FROM IL, SPEED UPSIDE) Zack Gelof is at Triple-A for his rehab assignment after offseason surgery on his wrist. He's only had 12 plate appearances coming into today, and the A's have said they wanted him to get 35 before being activated, so he's unlikely to return from the IL this upcoming week, but should be back the week after. Adding him now would likely save you some FAAB. Even in a down season last year, Gelof hit 17 home runs and stole 25 bases, so if he can go back to being even a .230-.240 hitter, you're looking at a guy who could easily go 15/15 in the remaining games this season. That's without even factoring in what playing in a minor league ballpark in the middle of the hot summer months in Sacramento could do for Gelof's power. I've already stashed him in a few places, and I'll try to add a few more. Hyeseong Kim - 2B/SS, LAD: 11% rostered (RECENT CALL UP, COUNTING STAT UPSIDE?) Advertisement With Tommy Edman landing on the IL, the Dodgers finally called up Hyeseong Kim. However, Chris Taylor started Saturday's game at second base, and Miguel Rojas also started two games at second base this week before Kim was called up, so just keep that in mind when you set your bids tonight. Kim is the exciting new player, but he was hitting just .252 in 131 plate appearances at Triple-A with a 12% swinging strike rate. His overall contact rate of 75% at Triple-A is fine, but suggests there will be some swing and miss at the big league level, and even though he had a few huge home runs that we saw on Twitter, his average exit velocity at Triple-A was 87.3 mph. The 13 stolen bases are very real, and I think that's going to be the majority of Kim's value at the big league level this season, but I'd rather stash Gelof if you're choosing between the two. Javier Baez - 3B/SS/OF, DET: 11% rostered (EVERY DAY PLAYING TIME, NOTABLE IMPROVEMENTS) Yes, it's the year 2025, and I'm recommending adding Javy Baez. The veteran has now homered in three straight games and has gone 24-80 (.300) over the last month with three home runs, 12 RBI, and 10 runs scored. We know he had surgery in the off-season, so much of this could just be that he's healthy again; however, we should also acknowledge that he has the lowest chase rate and swinging strike rate of his career. In fact, his 12.8% swinging strike rate is WAY below his career 18% mark. He's swinging at the lowest rate he ever has and posted his highest zone contact rate and overall contact rate. He has not all of a sudden become an elite contact hitter, but he has made clear improvements to his approach. When he does swing, he's pulling the ball more than he ever has and hitting it on the ground a decent amount, which is helping that batting average. Given that he's playing nearly every day in center field and playing really good defense out there, I'm inclined to believe that a lot of this value is real. Just keep an eye on his plate discipline stats because if he starts getting overly aggressive again, a cold streak is coming. Another multi-position infielder is Brooks Lee - 2B/SS/3B - MIN (4% rostered), who has turned it on a bit of late, going 13-for-44 (.295) in his last 13 games. The downside is that he only has one home run and three RBI with no steals over that stretch. He's not much of a power/speed threat, so I think he's a better real-life player than a fantasy player, but he could produce a solid batting average in regular at-bats, and that's worth something in deeper formats. Just keep in mind that Royce Lewis is likely back on Monday, and we don't know what that will do to Lee's playing time. J.P. Crawford - SS, SEA: 11% rostered (BATTING AVERAGE ASSET, REGULAR PLAYING TIME) Advertisement As I mentioned last week, Crawford may be a boring veteran, but he's a solid option as a player who could help your batting average. He's hitting .287 on the season but has gone 16-for-40 (.400) with three home runs and 13 RBI over his last 10 games. He's being a little more aggressive this season, which is fine for Crawford because he has an 84% contact rate for his career. He's expanding the zone a bit more this season, but is still making elite levels of contact, and the batting average bump of late feels partially real. Chase Meidroth - 2B/3B/SS, CWS (4% rostered) returned from the IL this week and has gone 4-for-12 with four runs scored and an RBI in three games. He's going to hit leadoff and play shortstop for the White Sox every day. The power isn't great, and the counting stats will be impacted by the poor lineup around him, which is why he's mainly a deep league option. Daulton Varsho - OF, TOR: 10% rostered (RETURN FROM IL, SPEED UPSIDE) Varsho came off the IL this week and had two good games against the Red Sox, but is 3-for-14 overall with two home runs, three RBI, and a steal. He also has seven strikeouts in five games. Varsho is a career .225 hitter, and while he has 20/20 upside in a full season, you're likely getting that with a worse batting average than somebody like Gelof would give you. It's a solid profile for a player who's on the wire in a lot of formats right now, but you're not adding a "league winner" or somebody who is going to drastically impact your standings. Coby Mayo - 3B, BAL: 8% rostered (RECENT CALL UP, POST HYPE BREAKOUT?) Advertisement With Ramon Urias battling a hamstring injury, the Orioles finally called up Coby Mayo. Mayo is hitting .255/.353/.539 with six homers in 27 games at Triple-A this season, but has been swinging a hot bat lately. There remains plenty of upside in Mayo's bat, but there are a few concerns. For starters, Urias and Jordan Westburg don't figure to be out more than a couple of weeks, so how long will the Orioles keep Mayo up? His overall contact rates remain below average, but he's been crushing lefties (.529/.579/1.471 slash with four HRs), BUT HE DIDN'T EVEN START ON SATURDAY AGAINST A LEFTY! At this point, I just don't trust the Orioles to make the right decisions with their roster construction, which is an odd thing to say. Trevor Larnach - OF, MIN: 7% rostered (STARTING JOB, HOT STREAK) I wrote about Larnach a few times in the off-season as a post hype player I was targeting in deeper formats since we knew he'd be on the bench against lefties. He got off to a slow start to the season, but has gone 14-for-51 (.275) over his last 13 games with three home runs and 10 RBI. He's beholden to the whims of Rocco Baldelli and won't play against lefties, but his overall batted ball profile is interesting enough in deeper formats if you need an outfielder. A player in a similar situation is Max Kepler - OF, PHI (4% rostered), who the Phillies said would be their everyday left fielder but is still sitting against lefties this year. Kepler has three home runs this week and has gone 13-for-41 (.317) over his last 12 games with six RBI. He's in a great lineup, in a good home ballpark, makes a good amount of contact, and is not striking out a lot. That will lead to decent results in that lineup. Miguel Vargas - 3B/OF, CWS: 3% rostered (MINI HOT STREAK, POTENTIAL BREAKOUT COMING) Advertisement Like Victor Scott II, Miguel Vargas appeared in my article this week on hitters to add based on their plate discipline and contact rates. Vargas is chasing at a super low rate, making 83% contact overall and rarely swinging and missing. He's pulling the ball slightly less this season and has focused less on lifting the ball, which is a good change. He doesn't smoke the ball, but a 90.3 mph average exit velocity is pretty good, and he's playing every day in Chicago. Another multi-position option for deeper formats could be Romy Gonzalez - 1B/2B/3B/SS, BOS (1% rostered). Now that Triston Casas is out for the season, it seems that Romy, Abraham Toro -2B/3B, BOS (0% rostered), and Rob Refsnyder - OF, BOS (0% rostered) will primarily split the reps at 1B. With Refsnyder mainly playing against lefties, I think Gonzalez will get the first chance at 1B. It's a small sample size, but he does have a 93.3 mph average exit velocity and 9.1% barrel rate this season. He also has career-high pull and fly ball rates, and while he's making less contact than he has before, his approach could be intriguing at Fenway Park. I just can't imagine he's the first baseman for that long. Jon Berti - 3B, CHC: 1% rostered (STARTING JOB, SPEED UPSIDE) Berti has been the regular third baseman for the Cubs with Matt Shaw in the minors. He's hitting .288 on the season with seven steals and 10 runs scored in 58 plate appearances. We know who he is at this point in his career, but the 3B spot is such a dump in fantasy right now, so the fact that Berti has his stolen base upside and is playing regularly in Chicago is worth noting for deeper formats. Another deep league infield option is Jorbit Vivas - 2B, NYY (0% rostered), who looks to be the regular second baseman with Jazz Chisholm Jr. on the IL. I recorded a video on Jazz Chisolm and Vivas this week, so I'd encourage you to check that out for more of my thoughts. Waiver Wire Pitchers Ranger Suarez - SP, PHI: 40% rostered Suarez is set to come off the IL today. We know who Suarez is at this point in his career, but he's a valuable pitcher in the midst of all this chaos, so just check your waiver wire. Another pitcher nearing a return to MLB action is Ryan Weathers - SP, MIA (9% rostered), who threw 62 pitches at Triple-A Jacksonville on Friday. He's set for one more rehab assignment this week, where the Marlins can get him up over 70 pitches, and then he's likely to return the week of May 12th. The only issue is that he'd likely line up for a first start against the Cubs, which you're not using him for. Advertisement Griffin Canning - SP, NYM: 38% rostered I spoke to Canning last week about the changes he's made since coming to the Mets, and I don't think this early hot start is 100% flukey. Tony Gonsolin - SP, LAD: 34% rostered Tony Gonsolin made his return to the Dodgers' rotation this week and struck out nine batters in his six innings. It was against the Marlins, so take that into consideration, but it's nice to see Gonsolin back and going six innings. He is not likely to miss bats at this rate, but he has always been a solid ratio started,r and the team context is obviously great, so he's worth a bid in most formats, but I think he's just a streamer in 12-team leagues. Tommy Kahnle - RP, DET: 32% rostered I guess people don't want to add Kahnle because he doesn't throw hard and the Tigers mix and match their late-inning relievers, but Kahnle has looked good so far, and Detroit has no problem running out a closer who doesn't have elite strikeout upside or a big fastball. Kahnle has five saves and a 0.71 ERA in 12 appearances so far this year, so I'm scooping if he's available. However, just note that the Tigers like to use Kahnle in high-leverage situations, which will also mean save opportunities for Will Vest - RP, DET (11% rostered), who is worth an add if you need saves as well. I know Vest blew an opportunity this week, which made him one of the most dropped players in Yahoo formats, but he has allowed just four runs on eight hits in 13 innings this season. He'll still be back in high-leverage innings and will get some save chances. Matthew Liberatore - SP, STL: 32% rostered I covered Liberatore in detail in my Starting Pitcher News article, so check that out for a more detailed breakdown, but I think Liberatore is a fine option for decent ratios and a low strikeout total. Advertisement Brayan Bello - SP, BOS: 30% rostered Bello has been good in his return to the Red Sox rotation, posting a 2.55 ERA and 1.19 WHIP in 17.2 innings across three starts. The slider has looked good at times, and I like that he's been attacking with the sinker more and using the four-seam fastball upstairs to try and get swings and misses. However, the command of his slider and changeup remains inconsistent, which has hurt him in two-strike counts and has made him a bit frustrating. I still see Top-40 upside in that arm, but he's not putting it together right now. Shelby Miller - RP, ARI: 25% rostered I spoke to both Shelby Miller and Kevin Ginkel - RP, ARI (7% rostered) this week before the Mets game and wrote up my thoughts on the Arizona bullpen situation here. I would be prioritizing Miller on the waiver wire, but I'll have bids in for Ginkel too. Also, just remember that Justin Martinez's MRI came back clean, so we're not dealing with a major injury here. There's a chance Martinez is back in a few weeks and pitching like himself after a brief reset. Gunnar Hoglund - SP, OAK: 23% rostered I watched Hoglund's debut, and I came away thinking it was solid. The four-seamer is only 92 mph, but he gets elite extension on it and has good vertical movement, which allows him to get whiffs up in the zone. He also features a solid sinker with tons of arm-side run and a changeup that's seven mph slower than the sinker and darts low and out of the zone. He had no problem throwing the changeup to righties and lefties, but I didn't love either the cutter or the slider. My worry is that this isn't a package that will lead to many strikeouts when he's not facing the Marlins, but I liked the foundation of it enough to add him and see how this pans out. Lance McCullers - SP, HOU: 19% rostered I felt the need to cover McCullers here because he's a big name and is making his season debut today, but I can't tell you to run out and grab him right now. We have no idea how effective he'll be or how long Houston will let him pitch in games. I could easily see a situation where he's piggybacked with Ryan Gusto so the Astros don't strain McCullers too much. Advertisement Lucas Giolito - SP, BOS: 14% rostered Giolito returned to the mound for the Red Sox this week, and I think he looked better than Bello, which is why I made that direct one-for-one swap in a few leagues. He was pretty good for the first half of the season in 2023 before the White Sox traded him across the country, and the wheels fell off. I think we've written his obituary too early. His four-seam fastball had more juice again, and the fastball/changeup combination is a good one. The Red Sox are clearly working to re-shape his slider back to his older version, and if he can unlock that too, you might get a great season from Giolito. As is, he's a solid Top-50 arm. You could also roster his teammate, Hunter Dobbins - SP, BOS (4% rostered), who seems likely to hold down a rotation spot as long as Walker Buehler is sidelined. Dobbins has seen velocity gains this year, turned his splitter into a splinker that he can command, and separated his slider into a slider and a sweeper. That has given him a six-pitch mix with decent command. I kind of like Dobbins, and I'm not worried about his start against the Royals this week. Porter Hodge - RP, CHC: 14% rostered Another option who I think scared people off because of one horrible outing against Arizona last week. Ryan Pressly has looked average in Chicago and had fluid drained from his knee last week, which is not ideal. Hodge is a solid reliever who posted an elite 1.88 ERA last season. He's the guy if Pressly is hurt, and the Cubs are a really good team, so you're going to want whoever is closing games for them. Luis L. Ortiz - SP, CLE: 12% rostered This guy is always going to pull me back in. The Guardians have made some clear changes to try and get more swing-and-miss into Ortiz's pitch mix, and while that has led to inconsistency, it has presented some clear long-term upside for him as well. He is utilizing his changeup far more than he has before and has switched up the locations on his cutter to get more swinging strikes. I'm still expecting inconsistency as he gets comfortable with the changes, but I love the roadmap here. Ben Casparius - RP, LAD: 8% rostered I covered Casparius in detail in my Starting Pitcher News article this Wednesday, so check that out for more detail. PLAYERS TO DROP I was asked last week if I could mention some players that I think it might be time to move on from in shallower formats, so below are a few players I would be cutting in 10-12 team leagues. Most of the names will be hitters because I believe those fringe SPs should always be on and off your roster in shallower formats based on their upcoming matchups. Advertisement Lourdes Gurriel Jr. - OF, ARI: 46% rostered: He hasn't been hitting, and I'm starting to think the only way the Diamondbacks can call Jordan Lawlar up is to play him at 3B, move Eugenio Suarez to DH, and make Gurriel and Pavin Smith a platoon in LF. It makes the most sense for the team. Lawlar can't stay in AAA much longer. Jonathan India - 2B/3B/OF - KC: 42% rostered: I was never a huge fan, the ballpark is going to take all of his power away, so you're looking at a .260 hitter with minimal speed and no power in a fairly average lineup. That's just not for me. Carlos Correa - SS, MIN: 33% rostered: He doesn't run, he's clearly playing through an injury, and he just might not be healthy until they put him on the IL. Alec Burleson - 1B/OF, STL 32% rostered: He just barely plays for St. Louis anymore. He's starting two, maybe three, games a week, and I can't hold him until he starts to play and produce again. Advertisement Luis Rengifo - 2B/3B, LAA: 27% rostered: His value was in his speed, but he's had multiple soft tissue injuries this season and is not running. STREAMING STARTER PITCHERS (ranked in loose order)
