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

 

Brandon Sproat (NYM), SP (% rostered on Yahoo, % rostered on ESPN)

Another day, another Mets prospect pitcher call-up.

Like the others, though, Brandon Sproat is an incredibly intriguing arm that could make a difference for this team down the stretch if he shows up.

Sproat has a pretty solid arsenal of pitches, with a 97mph fastball working as the foundation. It’s not the best fastball in terms of shape, but the velocity makes up for that a bit. He does feature a sinker that has graded out decently well, so perhaps that becomes his primary pitch? In terms of secondaries, Sproat has several. His sweeper will probably see plenty of usage, similar to his rotation-mate McLean, who has used that pitch to take over in his starts. He also has a solid slider as well as a very high-velocity changeup (91mph). He rounds out his arsenal with a curveball, which is likely mainly going to be used to get strikes.

You never want to start a guy for their debut, but Sproat gets the Reds, and sometimes playing him is the move. After that, Sproat might be a key player for the Mets moving forward, so grab him now before it’s too late.

 

Yahoo and ESPN Most Added Players

 

As it often has been, yesterday’s group of adds featured nearly all pitchers throwing that day.

Javier Assad isn’t always the pitcher you want to rely on in desperate times, but in this case, he helped plenty of teams. He did allow four earned runs in five and a third innings, but he limited baserunners, keeping the WHIP under one. Additionally, the Cubs blew out the Nationals, giving them a win. The Nationals have looked very bad as of late (apart from the Marlins sweep), and so most streams against them are successful.

José Soriano had a brutal experience, getting roughed up for eight earned runs against the Athletics. His command was really poor here, as he allowed five walks while also serving up meatballs down the middle. Soriano was one of the best pitchers in the business at some points this season, but starts like this definitely hurt his stock for next year.

Payton Tolle had an excellent debut, which led to many circling his next start as one to watch. Unfortunately, he looked terrible against the Diamondbacks, allowing five earned runs in three innings, with four walks. It was a night of pitchers struggling to find the zone consistently.

Shane Smith had a somewhat similar outing to Assad, with a low WHIP but a higher earned run average than we’d like. He grabbed the win against the Tigers in a solid effort that might make you think about streaming him again. He gets the Rays next, so it might not be a bad idea? And the Orioles after that. Perhaps you hold on for a bit.

It’s a pretty similar group of players in the ESPN top 5 as it has been lately, though there’s a little bit of shuffling around and a couple of new names.

Luis Morales has been a breakthrough since he joined the Athletics’ rotation in mid-August. He has been an impressive ratio play, with low WHIPs and two or fewer earned runs in each start. Morales is also a popular pick because of his schedule. He faces the Angels today before getting Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. These are the matchups you want in the playoffs, even if Morales plays in not the most pitcher-friendly ballpark for home games.

Trent Grisham has simply had an awesome season, leading to some Yankee fans viewing the big Juan Soto trade as the Trent Grisham trade. He’s been on a torrid tear lately, demolishing home runs and destroying right-handed pitching. This has been a career year for Grisham, who set highs in RBIs and home runs. If you picked him up before this recent hot stretch of production, I’m jealous of you.

Cam Schlittler is another Yankee who has looked legit. Though he struggled yesterday against the Blue Jays, tough outings against good teams are part of the expectation for rookie pitchers.

Nolan McLean has looked legit with his excellent sweepers and sinkers. He really might be the ace the Mets have desperately needed. Unfortunately, his schedule will look tough from here on out, with matchups against the Phillies, Padres, and Cubs on the docket. He’s good enough to start for all of these, and it will be interesting to see where he gets drafted next year.

 

Category Specific Players to Add

 

Ryan McMahon (NYY), 3B (29% rostered on Yahoo, 40% rostered on ESPN)

Home runs can be hard to come by on the wire, especially with his teammate Grisham finally boosting up the rostership ranks. While McMahon isn’t an amazing hitter, he’s quietly put together a solid power-hitting season, currently sitting with 19 bombs. The average is going to be low, and you’re not going to get much from his baserunning, but in a strong lineup like the Yankees, he’s sure to get more RBIs and will probably hit a few more homers for those in need of some power.

Shawn Armstrong (TEX), SP, RP (14% rostered on Yahoo, 3% rostered on ESPN)

Who would’ve thought that Shawn Armstrong would be a closer for a team with postseason aspirations? Certainly not me. The Rangers’ bullpen has kind of been a revolving door of guys in the closer role, and now it’s Armstrong’s time to shine. After a disastrous year last year between a few teams, Armstrong has looked great for the Rangers, putting up a low ERA and a ridiculously low WHIP. He’s also racking up strikeouts at his highest rate in years, which shows that he has the stuff to keep this closer role down the stretch here.

 

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.

Colin Rea (CHC), SP (23% rostered on Yahoo, 9% rostered on ESPN)

Colin Rea has been a really common streamer pick this year, as he isn’t good enough to hold onto throughout the year but has pitched in many matchups beneficial to him. The start against the Nationals is another example of this. The Nationals’ offense has been really bad this year, and they’ve been swept several times lately. The win chance is likely, and he’s sure to keep the WHIP and earned runs low against that lineup.

Justin Wrobleski (LAD), SP, RP (1% rostered on Yahoo, 1% rostered on ESPN)

So it appears that Justin Wrobleski will be getting a spot start following some changes to the order of the Dodgers’ rotation. I really like Wrobelski and feel like he’s been an underrated streamer pick in the starts he’s had. The Dodgers are always a play for a win chance, and Wrobelski has pretty solid stuff, despite his subpar extension. The Orioles aren’t the scariest offense this year, which has made them streamable at many points.