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. 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
Cristian Javier (HOU), SP (25% rostered on Yahoo, 11% rostered on ESPN)
You may have forgotten, but there was a time when Cristian Javier was one of the top Cy Young dark horse picks. He was a true ace, breaking out in 2022 after leaving the Astros bullpen to get more innings as a starter. Unfortunately, Javier went down with an elbow injury last year, and
In Javier’s first start, he took down the Red Sox in a five-inning, five-strikeout performance, only allowing two home runs. This start showcased plenty of the things that showed us what we love about Javier. His four-seam fastball saw a bit of an uptick in velocity, and it kept the awesome vertical movement that it always had, which makes it quite the whiffable pitch when located in the top of the zone. He also showcased a great feel for his sweeper.
It’s crazy how available Javier is in many leagues right now, as he has the potential to be an ace for teams needing one down the stretch. The Astros will probably keep him on a bit of a leash for a bit, but the potential is great ratios, a strikeout-per-inning pace and plenty of wins on a great team.
Nolan McLean (NYM), SP (16% rostered on Yahoo, 6% rostered on ESPN)
We have another starting pitcher in our top-priority adds for this week, though this one is a bit different.
Nolan McLean is one of the top Mets prospects, and he has looked great in AAA so far. He has solid command and an excellent sweeper, which leads the way. He also, in general, has a pretty deep arsenal, which allows for him to be crafty and use a variety of pitches to get batters out. None of his fastballs are excellent per se, but he has three of them that he’s able to use in different situations, with each of them having velocities pretty in line with the average of the pitch type.
McLean gets the Mariners, who aren’t the easiest matchup away from home, and you don’t always want to start a player for debuts. But if you hold on, he could be a huge play to finish off the season.
Yahoo and ESPN Most Added Players
It was an all-streaming pitcher day yesterday, with some of the more common picks sitting at the top of the list.
Colin Rea is a player we feature often in this section of the article, as he routinely gets picked up whenever he has a matchup like the Pirates on his schedule. Like he often does, Rea went five innings, only allowing one earned run and keeping the WHIP at one as well. He grabbed five strikeouts. Unfortunately, he couldn’t grab the win, but it was a solid stream for fantasy managers.
We covered Hurston Waldrep as a top-priority add a couple of days ago, but yesterday, we actually got to see him in action. He dropped his four-seamer to become a more sinker-oriented arm, and it’s paid dividends. Many are listing him as one of the potential best draft picks of next season, and I can see why. He was AWESOME against the Guardians, taking advantage of a somewhat weak offense to give us six scoreless innings with seven strikeouts. This was a win that helped managers in every category, and one that gets us excited moving forward.
Noah Cameron has honestly done enough to be rostered in pretty much every league. His start against the White Sox, though, wasn’t anything too special. It helped any managers who needed wins and a lowered ERA, but the six hits and two strikeouts just make it a good stream. He’s a high-floor arm who plays well in solid matchups, keep streaming him and you’ll get success.
Charlie Morton had a bit of a cakewalk start against the Twins, putting up a great line that included a zero in the earned run department, five strikeouts and a WHIP under one. This was an excellent outing, and it should make the Tigers happy with their decision to bring him in. It should also show you how bad the Twins’ offense can be, as it only registered two hits in the entire game.
Jack Perkins faced off against a hot Angels team that recently gave the Dodgers the business, and all in all, he wasn’t too bad. He allowed three earned runs in five innings and had a bleh WHIP, but he exited the game in line for the win and grabbed seven strikeouts in the process. This is overall a decent success as a middling pitcher in a ballpark that benefits offense more.
It’s a pretty similar list of most added players on ESPN to what it’s been the past few days, with a couple of changes.
Isaac Collins was one of my featured players last Saturday, and it’s nice to see him keep the train rolling for this week. He went from a no-name player to one who is playing a vital role on one of, if not the best team in MLB. He’s hitting high up in the order, often being pencilled in that No. 2 slot. This gives him lots of value, as he has become a machine for producing runs. Collins is a must-roster at this point.
Edward Cabrera is a staple on this list at this point, as he’s become one of the better starting pitchers in the game, finally figuring out his incredible arsenal and using it to get strikeouts and put up solid ratios. His recent start against Cleveland wasn’t great, but it comes following a bunch of really great outings.
Ernie Clement has always been a fun player to watch. He’s a slappy little hitter who will swing at anything, but still refuses to strike out. He’s seen a big rise in popularity in fantasy after a bit of a power surge over the past couple of weeks. He had one stretch where he had four home runs in five games, which is certainly not something you’d expect from him. Clement will also have that built-in value of positional versatility, as he can help managers out in four positions if needed.
Jakob Marsee was similar to Collins in that I featured him last Saturday. Since then, he has been incredible. Marsee is off to a historic start right now, with his incredible seven-RBI game just being the cherry on top. We will see if this continues, as the xStats show a profile of a great player, though it is pretty difficult to not regress from the highs we’ve seen from him so far.
Category Specific Players to Add
Matt Wallner (MIN), OF (11% rostered on Yahoo, 3% rostered on ESPN)
Matt Wallner has just returned from paternity leave, and we’re expecting some papa power. Wallner was featured in the top-150 hitters by Scott Chu this week, with Scott saying it’s because the power potential that Wallner has is perfect for the last stretch of the season. I can’t help but agree. You may not get too much else with his batting average and sluggishness on the basepaths, but the potential for home runs and RBI could be a game-changer for teams that struggle with those categories.
Streaming Pitchers
WAIT! You haven’t read Nick Pollack’s starting pitcher streamer rankings for today? Get on that pronto. He ranks every expected starter for each day, highlighting who you should start, sit, and claim off waivers. The whole series of these can be found here: https://pitcherlist.com/category/fantasy/sp-streamers/
In terms of whom I would recommend you pick up? A couple of names come to mind.
Ryan Bergert (KCR), SP (11% rostered on Yahoo, 4% rostered on ESPN)
Have you all seen the ratios that Ryan Bergert has been putting up this year? Obviously, this isn’t necessarily sustainable with the profile that Bergert has, but it’s still a pretty cool sight to see. Bergert gets the White Sox up tomorrow, which could be a great matchup for him. You always want to stream against the White Sox as at the very least, there’s a good chance of a win.
Chris Paddack (DET), SP (22% rostered on Yahoo, 8% rostered on ESPN)
It’s a revenge game…well, not really, I think Chris Paddack seems happy with the trade that sent him to the Tigers. But anyway, this matchup sees a pitcher getting that boost of a fresh start with a new team facing their old team, which just so happens to be one that lost plenty of pieces at the trade deadline. Yes, Luke Keaschall is hot, and there is some power potential throughout that lineup, but it seems like Paddack should be good to start against his old club.
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