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

 

Chase Meidroth (CWS), 2B, 3B, SS (21% rostered on Yahoo, 9% rostered on ESPN)

In yesterday’s column, we highlighted that Chase Meidroth might not be the best option to go after. There’s definitely some truth to that, as these slap-hitter types don’t have the highest ceilings. However, with Meidroth, he presents a fairly high floor for a rookie player and he’s only getting better. Hitting at the top of the order as an on-base machine can have plenty of value, though he is on the White Sox. Another aspect of Meidroth’s value is his multiple position eligibility. Second base and third base can be particularly shallow, so if you’re desperate there, Meidroth might be a good name to consider. Though again, expect not the highest ceiling due to the team surrounding him.

Jose Caballero (TBR), 2B, 3B, SS, OF (13% rostered on Yahoo, 9% rostered on ESPN)

The Rays’ solution to losing a series against Miami was to… move Jose Caballero up the lineup?

Admittedly, a somewhat strange move, but all of a sudden, his value has risen tremendously. Caballero isn’t a great hitter, but he’s been good enough this year and he’s come through in some clutch moments. The key to Caballero is speed. Many might not know this, but he led the American League in stolen bases last year, and he is currently 5th in the stat this season. Many people tend to avoid caring about stolen bases altogether, and that makes sense. But if you need to excel in this category to compete, Caballero is your guy. It also helps that he’s improved at the plate as the season has gone on, though he still strikes out a bit too much and doesn’t show too much power. His ability to walk at an above-average rate and his great launch angle really help him get on base, which is key to his game. You pick a guy like this up for stolen bases, runs, and batting average, and you care very little about the home run and RBI chances.

Zebby Matthews (MIN), SP (19% rostered on Yahoo, 5% rostered on ESPN)

Zebby Matthews is back and has looked… Somewhat shaky. At least in his first start, where he looked awesome in the first inning and blew up in the third. He now has the Royals up next, and this is a matchup you should take advantage of, as Kansas City has struggled to generate offense this year.

There’s a lot to like about Matthews. He has an excellent combo of heaters and sliders, as well as a cutter, which likely will see increased usage this season. The key to Matthews’ success is his command, as despite the games with shaky control, he’s been able to make the most of the fastball/slider combination in many of his starts to maximize the effectiveness of each of the pitches.

 Yahoo and ESPN Most Added Players

 

Yesterday was a day of streamers, as four scheduled starters were the most common waiver picks, while the other player was Chase Meidroth, who we talked about in the must-add players.

Noah Cameron is only a couple of starts removed from his debut against the Rays, but he’s looked pretty solid so far, barring a pretty awful primary pitch in the four-seamer. If you look past that though, you see an arm who has always been more about execution than stuff, and that made him an exciting stream against the Twins. This start was GLORIOUS. Cameron looked incredible, fanning 8 and only allowing 1 earned run. These are the streams you dream of, too bad he couldn’t get the W.

In some years, streaming at Coors would be deemed unimaginable. Balls fly out like crazy in that park, the huge outfield sees plenty of bloops drop and the thin air can cause a reduction in the effectiveness of a starter’s stuff. This year, though, streaming in Coors has looked like a necessity. Especially when the Rockies are a travesty. Clarke Schmidt being added at the rate he was here is a symptom of the Rockies’ offensive struggles. It wasn’t Schmidt’s most efficient outing, as he took a loss by allowing 3 runs in 4 and two-thirds innings. The 8 Ks are definitely valuable though, even if it did come against the Rockies.

Landen Roupp has quietly been great this year. The master of the curveball has put together some excellent outings, and there are few opponents worth getting as excited about as the Nationals. He did his job against the Nats, as while he only recorded 2 strikeouts, he only allowed 7 baserunners and kept the scoresheet blank. His great play earned him the win, though you have to feel bad for his opponent, Mackenzie Gore, who was also absolutely cooking.

Miles Mikolas is not a pitcher whom I trust particularly that much, especially in a tough matchup like the Diamondbacks. Yet, he somehow continued his momentum and was solid against the Diamondbacks. This was a low-WHIP, 4 K performance with only 1 earned run, and he got a win out of it as well. This is the kind of quality start you want out of a stream, especially a risky one like Mikolas.

The top three guys here have been spoken about at length in our columns this week. Merrill Kelly is Merrill Kelly, and it’s about time people realize that. He’s not the flashiest option, but he’s a reliable arm that makes the most out of good matchups, as seen by his last two outings. He should cruise against the Cardinals.

Matthew Boyd has been on my agenda for quite a while, and I included him in last Saturday’s must-roster players. He’s been awesome this year, even if his most recent start wasn’t him at his best.

Logan Henderson has looked awesome as well and faces the Pirates tomorrow, hold him for that one, though the Brewers are soon going to have an influx of starting pitchers, so we will see whether Henderson maintains his current role or not. He certainly deserves it.

Will Benson has been on a bit of a tear lately, though he is still sitting against lefties, as his numbers against them are pretty putrid. It’s hard to deny his brilliance as of late, especially when you see that he put up five home runs in a four-game stretch last week. He’s smacking the ball right now at an impressive rate, posting way better xstats than he has over the last few years. The issue here, though, is that it’s still a relatively small sample size, especially when he’s seen very little increase in bat speed this year as compared to last. Be cautious about giving up a player or FAAB dollars for Benson, as this kind of production isn’t very sustainable, especially for a guy who plays in a division with plenty of lefty arms.

Heliot Ramos has been on and off the most-added players list all season. Why? Because when he’s on, he’s ON. He has a 207 wRC+ thus far in May, and nearly every game, you see him racking up the hits. It’s interesting how ESPN has seen his rostership go up to 52%, as in Yahoo leagues, it’s already at 85%. In fact, he’s a top 50 player in Yahoo’s rankings.

 

Category Specific Players to Add 

 

Jordan Romano (PHI), RP (70% rostered on Yahoo, 22% rostered on ESPN)

Okay, so this definitely is cheating, so I’ll keep it brief. Yes, Jordan Romano is rostered at 70% on Yahoo, but only 22% of leagues have him in ESPN. He has taken on the closer role with the Phillies with Jose Alvarado getting suspended. He has thrived in this role, tallying saves left and right while striking guys out. Perhaps his awful start to the season scared people off, but if you need saves, Romano might be the best option on the market, at least in ESPN leagues.

Sal Frelick (MIL), OF, (15% rostered on Yahoo, 18% rostered on ESPN)

It’s our seemingly daily speed + contact pick, and this week we have Sal Frelick. He’s one of the fastest players available on the market to pick up, as he has 9 stolen bases already. Frelick also gets value from having a high floor as far as getting on base, as he doesn’t chase, strike out or whiff often. Essentially you get a bit of a watered-down version of the Luis Arraez types, but with lots of stolen bases.

 

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.

Jack Leiter (TEX), SP (36% rostered on Yahoo, 19% rostered on ESPN)

Yeah, Jack Leiter is awesome, and if your league allows you to pick him up before tonight’s start, you should do it. He faces off against the incredibly lowly White Sox, and we expect a great line. Everything is in play here, from ratios to strikeouts to, of course, the highly coveted win. Leiter’s main issue has been command. He’s struggled with it, especially with the fastball. This is unfortunate, as his fastball has an elite attack angle that, if thrown in the top third of the zone, should be near unhittable. Whether he commands his arsenal well honestly shouldn’t matter too much against the White Sox, as their lineup has struggled of pitchers of many different levels of quality.

Jose Soriano (LAA), SP (30% rostered on Yahoo, 13% rostered on ESPN)

Another Jose Soriano start, another Soriano stream recommendation. He’s not the best pitcher out there, but he’s had some juicy matchups, and we always encourage you to take advantage of those. The Marlins are one of the juiciest matchups of them all, and we’ve seen Soriano cook against lowly offenses such as the White Sox and Rays. His rostership seems a bit high by both platforms’ standards, however, 100% of leagues should see managers take on a guy like Soriano when facing off against the Marlins.

Deep League Players to Watch 

Edward Cabrera (MIA), SP (3% rostered on Yahoo, 1% rostered on ESPN)

Think of this pick as a third streaming pick, but one more for deep leagues, as very few leagues see Edward Cabrera rostered. There was a time not too long ago where his stuff was viewed as genuinely some of the very best in MLB. His demon changeup is an electric pitch, as it’s highly GIF-able, sitting at 93mph and hitting 95mph fairly often. Cabrera starts against the Angels on Sunday, a team that you should never expect much offensive production from. He is also coming off a start where he executed well against an elite offense, so hopefully he will carry that momentum into a much easier matchup. A Marlins/Angels series really is perfect for easy streams.

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