Welcome to the Waiver Wire Picks, our daily fantasy baseball article that looks at the best players in baseball that you should be adding to your rosters. We’ll look at the players that are likely to be available in most leagues, as well as some deep league waiver wire options, and we’ll also look at the most added players in fantasy baseball across the major sites, and let you know which players to add, and which players you can leave on the wire.
Top Priority Players to Add
I’m cosigning Maikel Garcia, Andy Pages, and Kyles Stowers and Manzardo, all of whom were featured in the last few days of Waiver Wire picks. Click through above to read the excellent write-ups done by our team.
Dane Myers (MIA), OF (Yahoo!: 4%)
The Marlins are 13-21, but plenty of fish are poised to make a splash. No, I’m not talking about Kyle Stowers — Ryan Clark covered him on Saturday and said “[t]here’s something about Marlins hitters and the waiver wire this year. It feels like there’s always at least one we’re talking about.” Well, here’s the next man up. Myers is 15-for-43 in the last month and is slashing .344/.391/.531 on the season. He’s locked down the starting centerfielder job and is running away with it with two homers, three steals, and a .583 average in the last week.
Myers is practically a journeyman, debuting in 2023 in his age-27 season. Since then, the 29-year-old has played in only 90 major league games. This isn’t the traditional path to big league success, but it isn’t unprecedented either. Brent Rooker didn’t see more than 60 games in a season until he was 28. When things did click for Rooker, he hit 30 homers with a 126 wRC+.
Myers doesn’t tout the same power as Rooker, but he’s not far off with a 91.7 mph average exit velocity compared to Rooker’s 91.1. He hasn’t played enough for his xStats to mean much, but they aren’t raising any alarms. Myers is on pace for 15 home runs and 30 steals and could reach higher heights with his increased playing time.
We’re a ways off from adding Meyers in eight or 10-team leagues, but he’s on the verge of being a must-add in 12-team leagues and up. He won’t be on the waiver long if he keeps hitting like this. If the wheels fall off down the road, you should feel free to move on, but he’s a premium dice roll, and the time to get in is now.
Yahoo! and ESPN Most Added Players
Yahoo!
Ben Casparius tops the list of most added players today. He’s had a good year as a reliever for the Dodgers, posting a 2.91 ERA over 21.1 innings. He matched up as the planned bulk guy against the Marlins, and delivered, notching five Ks in four innings and earning the win. As a Dodger, he’ll be in line for plenty of those, but isn’t likely to get stretched out for many quality starts.
Kyle Stowers is red-hot, slashing .321/.387/.541 with six homers on the year. Looking at his history in the minor leagues, the home run rate looks sustainable, but I’d predict his average to settle closer to .250 than to .300. I wrote about him as a deep-league target two weeks ago, and he’s looking better by the day. I’m adding him in every league I can.
Luis L. Ortiz matched up with the Nationals on Monday, but the game was rained out and postponed to Tuesday. He’s shown flashes of dominance this year, with three games in a row with eight or more strikeouts and a 6.1 inning shutout of the Twins in his most recent start. I’d hold off on him in 10-team leagues, but he’s worth a flier in anything deeper.
Maikel Garcia has been fantastic to start the season, slashing .319/.379/.496 with seven steals and four home runs. He had a similarly strong start to 2024, hitting four home runs through March and April. His power dropped off a cliff from May onwards, tallying just three more home runs the rest of the year. His average exit velocity is up almost three miles per hour from last year, and I’m hoping it’s enough to prevent a similar fall-off this season. Even if he can’t keep up his 20 home run pace, he will be good for plenty of stolen bases — he swiped 37 last season. He’s a must-add in all league sizes, but if the power turns to smoke, I’d be okay moving off of him.
Griffin Canning is someone I still can’t buy into. His 2.61 ERA on the season is ultimately more important than what the underlying metrics say, but he hasn’t changed all that much to differentiate himself from the 4.78 ERA guy he was with the Angels. This looks like a classic Vargas Rule, though I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop from a safe distance.
ESPN
Jorge Polanco looks unstoppable this season, slashing .380/.419/.785 with nine home runs. If by some miracle he’s available in your league, you need to get him now.
Kyle Stowers got a write-up above. In short, he rocks.
JP Sears, like Canning, has wildly outperformed any expectation of him to start the year. He was a popular streaming target for his matchup with the Marlins, earning him a spot on this list. He held his own, but his career 4.24 ERA will come calling eventually. He has a nightmare start against the Yankees in Sacramento, which I would avoid at any cost.
Emilio Pagán has locked it down as the Reds’ closer. He’s pitching great with a 2.35 ERA and eight saves, so he’ll keep the closer job as long as he continues to perform. He has a poor home ballpark, and he’s outperforming his xERA by a wide margin. Saves are saves, and if you need them, he’s got them.
The script flipped quickly for Noelvi Marte. He was a major target for me after getting the call, but he’s really struggled in his last few games, going 4-for-24 this week. Slumps happen, but I’m more concerned that he’s losing playing time. He’s sat in two of the Reds’ last three games in favor of Santiago Espinal. I hope he can hit his way back in, but I’m worried he could be back in the minors before he gets the chance. If career 93 wRC+ Espinal cools down before Austin Hays and the rest of the injured Reds return, he should get a shot. I trust Marte’s skills long-term, but I’m not rushing to add him anywhere until we see him with a full-time role.
Streaming Pitchers
Check out Nick Pollack’s SP Streamer Rankings for breakdowns and recommendations for every start.
Michael Wacha (KCR), SP (Yahoo!: 29%)
Wacha is the definition of what you see is what you get. He’s had virtually the same 3.50 ERA for the last four years, and he has a date with the White Sox to look forward to. A 29% rostered, consistent pitcher with a good matchup is exactly what I’m looking for in a streamer.
Speculative Adds
Zach Agnos (COL), RP (Yahoo!: 3%)
Agnos has notched two of the Rockies’ five saves on the year and is emerging as the favorite for the ninth. The team is 6-28 for the year, but if you need to speculate on saves, he’s a strong option. He’s given up zero earned runs in 7.1 innings of work, and the Rockies aren’t quite this bad.
Deep League Players to Watch
Check out Ben Rosener’s Deep League Waiver Wire column every Thursday and Saturday for more Deep League picks.
Elias Díaz (SDP), C (Yahoo!: 1%)
Diaz and Martin Maldonado have been splitting catcher starts all season, but Diaz is pulling ahead at the plate. He’s looking like a strong option in NL-only and two-catcher leagues. Plenty of power for a catcher, with a below-average average.
Zach Dezenzo (HOU), 1B/OF (Yahoo!: 2%)
Dezenzo distinguished himself in spring training with a 1.070 OPS, but he hasn’t found consistent playing time until this week. He’s hitting .308 wth one home run and one steal in that span. He’s a good-not-great prospect and is hitting well right now, with the track record to maybe carry it forward through the season
