Welcome to Waiver Wire Watch, where we review the top 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 try to list the category where I think he’ll be helpful or the quick reason he’s listed. My hope is that it will help you to 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 50% 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 50% 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.
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Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Adds
We’ll start by just looking at the teams with the best overall schedule in the next week. It’s just a part of the equation but it’s good to know which hitters will face an easier road.
Hitters
Colton Cowser - OF, BAL: 59% rostered
(POWER, STARTING JOB)
I know Cowser is now above 50% rostered, but I felt he was worthy of a mention because he should still be rostered in more leagues. Last Sunday night, I mentioned that Cowser was a great stash if you didn’t need immediate production. I figured with Austin Hays’ early struggles, the team would give Cowser a shot at some point. It turns out that point was this week and Cowser has now started the last five games in a row, including one game in center field against a lefty with Cedric Mullins sitting. Cowser is 14-for-31 to start the season with three home runs, six doubles, 12 RBI, and two stolen bases. I don’t think he’s giving this job back. The 24-year-old gets lost in the shuffle with Baltimore’s talented prospects, but he was the 5th overall pick in the 2021 draft and a consensus top-30 prospect in baseball. He won a spot on the roster this spring by hitting .304 with six home runs and 13 RBI in 18 games. He’s a talented player and could be a staple in the Orioles’ lineup for years to come. I’d recommend adding him in almost all league types right now.
Jose Caballero - 2B/SS, TB: 49% rostered:
(SPEED AND LINEUP SPOT)
I’ve had Caballero on here three weeks in a row and even made a video about him, but I’ll keep putting him on here until his roster rate increases above 50%. He has an everyday job and the speed to make a real difference in fantasy leagues. You can watch the video for a bit of a deeper dive.
Lars Nootbaar - OF, STL: 42% rostered
(RETURN FROM INJURY)
I’m going to keep Nootbaar here because his roster rate hasn’t changed since last Sunday even though he returned on Friday and hit a home run in his first game back. This was what I said then: “Nootbaar was sidelined at the start of the season due to a rib injury, but he has already begun his rehab assignment. It’s unclear exactly when the Cardinals will activate him, but I would imagine it’ll be within the next week or so and he should come up right back into the starting lineup for the Cardinals. He flashed good skills last year with 14 home runs, 11 steals, and a .261 average, but there should be more in the tank there. He makes for a priority season-long add if you need OF help.”
Luis Rengifo - 2B/3B/SS/OF, LAA: 38% rostered
(HEALTH AND ROLE CHANGE)
For a while, it seemed like Rengifo was playing strictly a bench role for the Angels. Then he was fighting his way into playing time and hurt his hamstring. Now, he’s started four of the last five games and has a hit in each one. His lineup spot is still all over the place, and there’s no guarantee that the Angels will continue to play him every day, but he will likely be a solid source of batting average with some chip-in home runs and steals. If he also lands a spot near the top of the lineup, his multi-position eligibility will make him really useful.
Michael Busch - 1B/3B, CHC: 36% rostered
(POWER, LINEUP SPOT)
I highlighted Busch last week and his roster rate climbed all of 12%, so I’ll reiterate what I said last week: “Michael Busch was a power-first prospect with questionable contact rates when he was with the Dodgers but was given a chance at a full-time job when he was traded to the Cubs. So far, he’s delivered and, more importantly, he’s regularly been hitting sixth in the lineup, which is great for his RBI opportunities considering how guys like Seiya Suzuki and Cody Bellinger have been hitting. Garrett Cooper is also hitting well, so Busch needs to keep it up, but the Cubs will give him every opportunity.” Busch is now 6-for-16 with three home runs and four RBI over his last four games.
Jack Suwinski - OF, PIT: 36% rostered
(POTENTIAL NEW LEVEL)
I know the stats aren’t there for Suwinski yet, and he still sits most games against lefties, but there are some intriguing changes here, and I think we could see a hot streak soon. I covered Suwinski in my pre-season article on plate discipline values; however, Suwinski is making the changes we want to see. His strikeout rate and swinging strike rates are both down. He’s swinging in the zone way more than before and is making 90% contact in the zone. The barrels haven’t been there yet, but I believe they will be.
Brandon Marsh - OF, PHI: 36% rostered
(POWER/SPEED, STARTING JOB)
Marsh went up from 6% to 36%, but I still like him as a pick-up. He’s been in the lineup for the Phillies almost every game, including against lefties. If Marsh is going to play that often in a really good lineup, then we should be interested. He has just enough power and speed to help you a little bit everywhere and he’s showcasing a new approach this season, swinging far more and selling out for power. While that has led to a high strikeout rate, he also isn’t swinging and missing as often, so there’s a chance that strikeout rate corrects.
Junior Caminero - 3B, TB: 34% rostered
(HEALTH AND POSSIBLE STARTING JOB)
We’ve seen Jackson Holliday get promoted already, and there’s a chance Caminero will be next. He had suffered a quad injury that sidelined him at Triple-A, but he’s back now. The Rays aren’t getting much from their DH spot, and Brandon Lowe is now on the IL with an oblique injury. There’s a chance the Rays give Caminero a few games to get his timing back and show that he’s fully healthy before giving him another shot at the big leagues. You could also stash Joey Loperfido - HOU, OF/2B (4% rostered) in deeper formats. He has tremendous power, but the contact could be an issue in the big leagues. He’s probably a .230-.240 hitter right now, but he gets a boost in OPS and OBP formats.
Vaughn Grissom - SS, BOS: 26% rostered
(HEALTH AND STARTING JOB)
Grissom has already begun a rehab assignment and should be back up in Boston in another week or so. When he’s up, he’s going to play every day at second base. He won’t hit for a ton of power, but he’ll likely sport a good batting average and give you some chip-in steals while hitting in a solid but not great lineup.
Sal Frelick - OF, MIL: 21% rostered
(SPEED, STARTING JOB)
Frelick hasn’t quite broken out like people wanted or picked up the multi-position eligibility we hoped for, but he’s hitting in the middle of the Brewers’ order against all righties and has two steals so far this season while hitting over .300. He’s not going to be elite in any one category, but he should be solid in a bunch of them. If you want another deeper league option, I like Jurickson Profar - OF, SD: (15% rostered), who is playing every day and hitting in the middle of the Padres lineup. I’m not sure we’re seeing a new level from him, but we can’t deny the results we’re getting right now.
Brett Baty - 3B, NYM: 20% rostered
(AVERAGE, STARTING JOB)
We knew Baty was better than what he showed last year. The young third baseman spent time in the offseason working on his swing, and has made consistent contact while playing every day for the Mets. We haven’t yet seen power show up, and I’m not sure Baty is more than a 12+ home run hitter, but he should give you solid batting average and RBI totals while hitting in the middle of a lineup that has some good hitters at the top of the lineup.
Mitch Haniger - OF, SEA: 20% rostered
(POWER AND LINEUP SPOT)
Haniger is hitting .261 with two home runs and eight RBI. I’ve had him on here for three weeks in a row, but his roster rate actually went down this week. The question for Haniger is usually never talent but health. He’s had double-digit barrel rates every year since 2018 and has a history of elite power production while playing in Seattle. He’s hitting clean-up right now, after Julio Rodriguez and Jorge Polanco and before Cal Raleigh. While he may not play a full season, you aren’t playing in a best-ball league, so add him and take his production for as long as he stays healthy.
Nelson Velazquez - OF, KC: 17% rostered
(POWER, STARTING JOB)
The big power hitter has started each of the last nine games for the Royals and has two home runs so far while hitting .326. He has only six RBI on those home runs, but I think the Royals have a solid lineup that will provide more opportunities in the future. If you need power, Velazquez is a good bet. You could also look to Edward Olivares - OF, PIT (10% rostered), who is starting to play more regularly and has three home runs on the year. I just think his playing time is less secure.
Ty France - 1B, SEA: 14% rostered
(POWER POTENTIAL)
The power isn’t yet there for France, who is hitting .333 but has just three RBI and no home runs. However, he is hitting the ball harder than he has in recent years. Statcast has a new metric called EV50, which takes the average exit velocity of the top 50% of a hitter’s batted balls. The benefit of this stat is that it doesn’t just show us how hard a hitter can hit the ball once but what his consistent top-end exit velocities are. Carlos Marcano also found that, for players with at least 80 batted ball events, EV50 in 2022 had a better correlation with HR in 2023 than MaxEV2022. So while we’re not at 80 BBE yet, France is putting up an EV50 of 103.7 mph that suggests power is coming. If you want a deeper league option, Gavin Sheets - 1B/OF, CWS: 4% rostered is playing against all right-handed pitchers and has an EV50 of 102.2 mph. He looked good in the spring, so maybe there’s something here.
Ivan Herrera - C, STL (9% rostered)
(POTENTIAL PLAYING TIME BOOST, POTENTIAL POWER)
Given the struggles of the Cardinals’ lineup, the team has said they will get Herrera into the lineup at DH even with Willson Contreras healthy. Whether that keeps up after Lars Nootbaar and Tommy Edman are back is anybody’s guess, but Herrera is worth an add for now.
Blaze Alexander -2B/SS - ARI (8% rostered)
(STARTING JOB, POTENTIAL POWER/SPEED)
I mentioned Alexander last week after he was set to get everyday playing time with Geraldo Perdomo out. Alexander has a solid swing and some power/speed potential, so I’d add him in deeper formats if you lost Trevor Story, for example.
Brenton Doyle - OF, COL (6% rostered)
(STARTING JOB, SKILLS GROWTH?)
I also love the power and batting average we’re getting from Doyle but it’s weird to see that he hasn’t stolen a single base. The batting average will come down because he has a lot of swing-and-miss in his game, but he has cut his chase rate and swinging strike rate while making more contact in the zone, so perhaps the average will be palatable. We just need the steals back. In deeper formats, I also like Dominic Canzone - OF, SEA: 1% rostered because of his improved contact quality. So far this year, he has three home runs and an EV50 of 102.9 mph. He’ll sit against lefties but will be in the lineup for all other games, so I’m intrigued if he gets a right-handed-heavy schedule.
Willi Castro - 2B/3B/OF - MIN (6% rostered)
(POTENTIAL STARTING JOB, SPEED UPSIDE)
With Carlos Correa hitting the IL, it seems like Castro will be the regular shortstop for the Twins. He’s off to a really slow start this year, but he did steal 33 bases last year, so there is some real speed upside here if he can start getting on base again. Castro being at shortstop will also open up starts at third base and Max Kepler going on the IL will open up starts at DH, so you could also look to add Kyle Farmer - 2B/3B/SS - MIN (1% rostered) or Jose Miranda - 3B, MIN (0% rostered) or Manuel Margot - OF, MIN (8% rostered) until we see how the playing time shakes out.
Luis Garcia - 2B/SS, WAS: 3% rostered
(PLAYING TIME, POTENTIAL NEW LEVEL)
Another duplicate from last week when I said, “Much like his teammate CJ Abrams, I think we sometimes forget how young Garcia is because he debuted so early. Garcia is just 23 years old and showing his best exit velocities yet. He’s sixth in baseball in barrels per plate appearance so far and has a 50% exit velocity of 105.4 mph, which means the average of the hardest 50% of balls he hits is 105.4 mph. That’s 13th in baseball. It’s early and we don’t want to overreact to that, but we also want to acknowledge a young player who is showing quality contact.”
Pitchers
MacKenzie Gore - SP, WAS: 49% rostered
Last year, Gore took a big step forward with a new curve ball and this season he’s taken his game to another level with a tweak to his fastball shape and a new attack plan where he’s using the fastball up in the zone more. Of course, I’d still like to see that location be more consistent, but his strikeouts are up this season with 23 in 16 innings to go along with a 2.81 ERA and 1.19 WHIP. Given the state of pitching right now, he should be rostered in way more leagues.
Yusei Kikuchi - SP, TOR: 47% rostered
As should Yusei Kikuchi, who shrugged off a poor first start against the Ray and responded with two strong outings against the Yankees and Mariners. He added a new change-up this offseason and was using it a lot in that first start, but he’s leaned back into his curveball in the last two starts, which is good because that’s what worked for him last year. In this range of rostership, I think Max Meyer - SP, MIA (46% rostered) also needs to be on more teams. He doesn’t have a deep arsenal and will certainly be on an innings limit this season, but he has looked good early on and I think his rotation spot is safe even when the Marlins get Edward Cabrera and Braxton Garrett back in a couple weeks.
David Robertson - RP, TEX: 44% rostered
The closer landscape is tough right now. Injuries to Jhoan Duran, Devin Williams, Jordan Romano, and Paul Sewald shook things up early on. Then we’ve had the early season struggles of David Bednar, Jose Leclerc, and Tanner Scott. I know Bruce Bochy has said he wants Leclerc to be “the guy,” but he also demoted him from high leverage, and I’m not entirely sure that Leclerc is good enough to hold down the job. Robertson has been pitching in high leverage spots and could get the next few save opportunities, but I also like adding Kirby Yates RP, TEX (7% rostered) who I think could also mix in at the end of games.
James McArthur - RP, KC: 39% rostered
I covered McArthur last week and he’s still under 50%, so I’ll keep what I said about him: “It’s just not happening for Will Smith. I know he’s had the early opportunities, but I think his time as the closer is done. We should start by saying that I don’t think the Royals plan to let one guy run with the job. There may be a “favorite” for saves, but I think saves will be shared to a certain extent so please keep that in mind before bidding this weekend. I know many people are big on James McArthur, but I would put my chips on John Schreiber - KC: 3% rostered. I know he has struggled versus lefties in the past, but I think he can miss bats, and the Royals gave up a big-time prospect for him, which means I think they value him. I would put Chris Stratton - KC: 1% rostered the third of this group and think he got a save on Saturday only because McArthur and Schreiber were rested due to their previous workloads.”
Michael Kopech - RP, CWS: 39% rostered
If you’re looking for help with saves, I think it’s time to turn to Michael Kopech, who has a 2.45 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, and 12/5 K/BB through his first 7.1 innings this season. I know the White Sox are bad, which will limit his saves upside, but we’ve seen closers on bad teams put up 20+ saves in a season, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Kopech can steal 15 saves if he keeps the job for the season. The other benefit to Kopech is that he will throw multiple innings, as we saw on Tuesday night when he threw two shutout innings to lock down a save. This can be an extra boost for your ratios and give you more saves. He’s pumping over 100 mph out of the bullpen and has a good slider to go with it. While he’s still learning how to be consistent in his new role, the ceiling is high if he begins to put it all together, like we saw on Tuesday. Getting relievers like this who may only get a handful of saves but will help your ratios is better than trying to chase saves with mediocre pitchers. That’s why I was so in on Mason Miller in the preseason, and I think Kopech can fill a similar role.
Reynaldo Lopez - SP, ATL: 37% rostered
The injury to Spencer Strider gives Reynaldo Lopez a bit more of a leash in the rotation. However, he has also been solid in the early going with a 0.75 ERA and 1.00 WHIP across 12 innings while racking up 11 strikeouts. After a good spring, it might be time to consider that the Braves could get the most out of him. If you want other starting pitcher adds, I like Seth Lugo - KC: 34% rostered, Luis Gil - NYY: 30% rostered, Javier Assad - SP, CHC: 28% rostered, Casey Mize - DET: 19% rostered, and Reese Olson - DET: 18% rostered.
Check out my list of weekly streamers below.
Yariel Rodriguez - P, TOR: 20% rostered
I understand everybody wants to add Rodriguez right now because he looked good in his MLB debut on Saturday, and I have no problem adding him but I would caution against bidding a lot of money. Even though the Blue Jays signed him to a good-sized contract, he was never really an international prospect of much merit until he moved to the bullpen. There is a chance that the Blue Jays will be able to stretch him out into a starter, but he needed 68 pitches to get through 3.2 innings in his debut, and he actually threw FEWER pitches in his second rehab outing than he did in his first. I have some concerns about whether he can consistently go 5-6 innings.
Edward Cabrera - SP, MIA: 18% rostered
Last week I covered Cabrera and I think now may be the last time to add him without paying a big cost. This is what I said last week: “Cabrera has already made one rehab start at Triple-A, so I think he’s only a week or so away from a return. I loved the command improvements we saw from him in spring training before his shoulder impingement. If he were to carry those over to the regular season, we could see a breakout. I’d be trying to stash him on my IL now.” I also think you should stash Jameson Taillon - SP, CHC (4% rostered), who the Cubs announced would be coming off the IL next week.
Shelby Miller - RP, DET: 15% rostered
I know everybody rushed out to pick up Jason Foley after his great first week, and he has looked tremendous, but the truth is that A.J. Hinch will continue to play matchups in his bullpen, which he has said repeatedly. I think Foley will get the majority of the saves, but I also think Miller will get a handful and also steal a handful of wins. I think he’s a solid add in most leagues. In deeper formats, I also like adding Ryne Stanek - SEA: 4% rostered because I think he can claim a handful of saves if Andres Munoz is used in early innings in a high leverage spot or Jeff Hoffman - PHI: 7% rostered, who I think could get save chances working in tandem with Jose Alvarado.
Michael Lorenzen - P, TEX: 4% rostered
After a false step last week, Lorenzen is reportedly set to make his season debut for the Rangers next week. He’s not an exceptional pitcher, but he’s a solid one who should keep his ratios in check while pitching for a good team in a good pitcher’s park. There isn’t a high ceiling here, but I think the floor is safe, so you should likely pounce in deeper formats. I also have some interest in Jose Butto - SP, NYM (6% rostered), who now has a spot in the rotation. He looked good this spring, so I’m curious to see what he does against Kansas City on Sunday.
STREAMING STARTER OPTIONS FOR THE UPCOMING WEEK (ranked in loose order)
Garrett Whitlock (BOS) - vs CLE, @ PIT
Zack Littell (TB) - vs LAA
Reese Olson (DET) - vs TEX, @ MIN
Casey Mize (DET) - vs TEX, @ MIN
Seth Lugo (KC) - @CWS, vs BAL
Erick Fedde (CWS) - vs KC, @PHI
Graham Ashcraft (CIN) - vs LAA
Ross Stripling (OAK) - vs STL, @CLE
Martin Perez (PIT) - @NYM, vs BOS
Joe Ross (MIL) - vs SD, @STL
JP Sears (OAK) - vs STL
Dean Kremer (BAL) - @ KC (You don’t HAVE to attack KC, but I do like Kremer in deeper leagues)
Players to Drop
It’s only been a little over a week, so we don’t want to overreact and drop people because they had a bad start. In most cases, I would recommend holding almost every hitter unless there’s a major role change. However, I’ll list some players I think are rostered in too many leagues as of now, and I’ll also list the schedule as well to highlight which teams have fewer games or face a tougher road of pitchers.
Josh Jung - 3B, TEX: 89% rostered
Much like last week when we discussed Matt McLain, I’m not outright advocating cutting Jung because he’s immensely talented and there are so many different league types. I just wanted to mention that you should expect to be without him for about three months and I would doubt Jung will return immediately with his typical power after recovering from his fractured wrist. We may not see the Josh Jung we’re used to seeing until August or September, and so if you’re in leagues without an IL spot or get into an IL crunch, I could see moving on in shallower formats.
Jose Leclerc- RP, TEX: 64% rostered
I just can’t do it with Leclerc anymore and I would argue neither should you. (Yes, you, Dave). For years, the Rangers have told us Leclerc is going to be their closer and he’s simply never been able to hold down the job. I’m just not sure why we should believe that this will be the year.
Jose Abreu - 1B, HOU: 41% rostered
I know Abreu got off to a terrible start last season and then rallied, and he certainly could do that again this season; however, he also might just be on fumes. He’s 27-years-old. He’s striking out 11% more than his career rate and his max exit velocity has plummeted. I think it’s telling that the Astros started having Loperfido play 1B in the minors.
Players to Hold
It’s only been two weeks of baseball so I also want to take some space to highlight players who are among the most dropped players on Yahoo and who I think you should hold onto. Given the starting pitching landscape right now, I think you need to hold onto any arm that has some upside because that waiver wire could be barren in another couple of weeks.
Jordan Walker - OF, STL: 71% rostered
I understand people are concerned about Jordan Walker, but there’s a narrative out there that he has struggled now in two years in the big leagues. I know Walker was demoted early last season, but he also hit .276/.342/.445 with 16 home runs and seven steals in 117 games as a 21-year-old. That’s not struggling. This season, Walker’s stats don’t look good, but there is nothing overly concerning under the hood. His swinging strike rate and strikeout rates are up a bit, but he’s not chasing out of the zone more. He is being more aggressive in the zone but also missing more in the zone. He’s hitting the ball hard but BOTH his fly ball rate and ground ball rate are up, which signals a player still looking to find his approach at the plate. Given his raw skills and that he’s still making lots of hard contact, I wouldn’t be cutting bait yet.
Thairo Estrada - 2B/SS, SF: 71% Rostered
We had questions about dropping Estrada in our Q&A this week, so I put him in here on Thursday during my first draft. He has now gone 5-for-8 with two home runs and three RBI over his last two games, so this seems rather obvious, but I chose to keep my analysis in here. Estrada has seen his swinging strike rate and strikeout rates rise a bit, but he’s not being more aggressive overall. His swing rate is actually down a bit and his called strike rates are seeing the biggest jump. Pitchers are also throwing more first-pitch strikes to him than they did last year and more pitches in the zone, so it seems like pitchers are going after Estrada and he’s getting behind in the count. I believe in his ability to settle into a .260 hitter who could go 20/20, so I think he just needs to adjust back to what pitchers are doing to him this season.
Ceddanne Rafaela - OF/SS, BOS: 41% Rostered
You can cut Rafaela. I know it hasn’t looked good so far this year. However, he’s also a talented young player who had 22 home runs and 39 steals in 2023 and is likely going to remain in the lineup every day for Boston after signing an eight-year contract extension. These are the players I think you could onto a bit longer than is comfortable early in the season because the fantasy rewards could be great if it starts to click.
Victor Scott II - OF, STL: 19% rostered
Yes, Victor Scott is just 4-for-44 to start his MLB career, so I’m not listing him as a hold forever, but I think we should be holding him a bit longer. He survived the first roster crunch by remaining in the starting lineup even after Lars Nootbaar came back and given his game-changing speed, I’m willing to hold onto him until the Cardinals no longer decide to. So far, Scott is not swinging and missing much, but his called strike rate is elevated which has led to a higher strikeout rate than we’d like to see. This is something we see often with rookies as they learn the MLB strike zone and adapt to how MLB starters pitch them. However, Scott has just one strikeout in his last six games, so perhaps making more contact will lead to more hits, which will allow him to use his elite speed. Again, I’m not saying you need to keep Scott for long, but I’d be trying to hold on while he’s still on the Cardinals’ active roster because the upside is worth it.