Welcome to the Waiver Wire Picks, our daily fantasy baseball article that looks at the best players 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 tell you which players to add and which to leave on the wire.

Top Priority Players to Add

Will Warren (NYY) – SP (Yahoo – 51%)

Warren retired only 11 hitters on Monday. I get it, that doesn’t scream must-add. However, his line would have been much better if not for an error by José Caballero. During his latest start against the Angels, Warren’s changeup yielded three whiffs on six swings; that could be noteworthy, considering his well-documented struggles against left-handers. I’m also intrigued by his stellar 5.32 PLV; that’s tied with Jacob deGrom for seventh among all pitchers with at least 100 pitches thrown thus far. Yes, I’m cherry-picking a bit. But the point here is to say that he’s doing a lot of good things under the hood despite the forgettable results. A home start against the Royals awaits this Saturday. I have a hunch his roster rate will jump after that one.

Colt Keith (DET) – 1B, 2B, 3B (Yahoo – 31%)

I get it, he hasn’t hit any home runs, and he doesn’t steal bases. However, Keith deserves a long look simply because he has done everything else pretty well, slashing .321/ .356/ .446 through his first 59 PAs. His PLV metrics, including a 103 in Decision Value, a 113 in Contact Ability, and a 113 in Process, suggest more impressive results forthcoming. He has been a fixture, hitting third in Detroit’s lineup, and given his eligibility at 2B and 3B, he could end up being a pretty useful option.

Reid Detmers (LAA) – SP (Yahoo – 28%)

We didn’t see Detmers in the Angels’ rotation last year; that wasn’t terribly surprising, given his 4.90 ERA and 1.37 WHIP over 75 career starts. However, he has pitched well, posting a 3.57 ERA and 1.06 WHIP through his first four turns. His changeup has yielded a phenomenal 47.8% whiff rate, which propelled a gem at Yankee Stadium two days ago. Could this be a mirage? Absolutely. But if you’ve frequented this site over the years, you’ll probably remember Nick had a crush on Detmers. Hey, maybe this is it.

 

Yahoo and ESPN Most Added Players

The Astros called up the Pasta Pirate, AKA Spencer Arrighetti, to face the Rockies last night. He struggled last year with a 7.1% K-BB across seven starts, so I wouldn’t consider him anything more than a streamer, and a very volatile one at that.

Jeremiah Jackson swatted two dingers Monday night and hit another one yesterday. He’s been a fixture near the bottom of Baltimore’s line and is perfectly fine as a stopgap option in deep leagues. But he will likely lose playing time once Jackson Holliday (hamate fracture) returns.

You might remember Jake Bauers; he was a former top prospect with Cleveland eons ago. He has bounced around a lot, and he caught my eye three years ago when the Yankees plucked him off the scrap heap. He has since turned into a pretty decent platoon bat at first base. His power is legit, but strikeouts have always plagued him. You’re probably better off ignoring his recent hot streak.

Michael McGreevy and Sean Burke are streamers with limited upside. However, Burke might be worth a closer in points leagues, given his SPRP eligibility.

Eduardo Rodriguez entered yesterday’s matinee at Camden Yards sporting a 0.50 ERA and 1.00 WHIP through his first three turns. Alas, yesterday’s start yielded ten baserunners over five innings. He might be useful early next week against the White Sox, but, yeah, he’s far from somebody to get excited about.

Randy Vasquez took advantage of the Road Rockies last Thursday and faced Seattle last night with mixed results. He entered the season with a 14.8% K rate over his first three seasons (269.1 IP). However, more fastball velocity and a revamped cutter have fueled a 27.8% K rate thus far.

The Guardians snapped Bryce Elder’s scoreless streak last Friday. His new cutter has made him a little more interesting. Still, I don’t think he’s much more than a decent streamer for favorable matchups, like last night against the Fish.

Seth Lugo continued the streaming parade with a matchup against the Tigers last night after previously holding the White Sox to one earned run on four hits and four walks with four strikeouts across six innings. You know his 1.53 ERA and 1.08 WHIP won’t stick. Still, he is a decent, albeit boring, option when he’s clicking.

Speculative Adds

Louis Varland (TOR) – RP (Yahoo – 7%) 

Jeff Hoffman has blown three of five save opportunities. He hasn’t been ineffective by any means, striking out 43.9% of the batters he has faced. Still, Varland has been brilliant, having not allowed a run over his first nine appearances. And his 5.35 PLV is tied with Logan Gilbert for third among all pitchers with at least 100 pitches thrown. Not bad.

Tony Santillan (CIN) – RP (Yahoo – 17%) 

Emilio Pagán tweaked his hamstring while converting his fifth save Tuesday; it sounds like he avoided a serious injury, but Santillan appears to be the next guy in line.

Brandon Sproat (MIL) – SP (Yahoo – 5%) 

Sproat has allowed a whopping 24 baserunners through ten-plus innings. That’s not ideal. Still, the Brewers are giving him another shot against the Jays today. It might not be a bad idea to scoop him up on the chance he showcases the ability that made him a big part of the Freddy Peralta trade this past offseason.

Streaming Pitchers

Be sure to check Nick’s daily SP streamers article.

Today:

Steven Matz (TB) – SP, RP (Yahoo – 23%) at CWS

The Stony Brook native has posted a 3.94 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, and a 19.1% K-BB through his first three turns. There’s no reason to stop now with the White Sox today. He’ll also face the Reds and Guardians down the line, so he could be useful for the next week-plus.

Lance McCullers Jr. Jr. (HOU) – SP (Yahoo – 24 %) vs. COL

The A’s and Mariners took turns battering McCullers over his past two turns. But you couldn’t ask for a better bounce-back spot.

Landen Roupp (SF) – SP (Yahoo – 21 %) at CIN

Not an ideal spot, considering the venue, and he’s facing Chase Burns. Still, Roupp’s 18.9% K-BB makes him a worthwhile gamble.

Foster Griffin (WSN) – SP, RP (Yahoo – 8 %) at PIT

The lefty, changeup-flinging journeyman has done yeoman’s work, with a 1.76 ERA and 1.11 WHIP through three turns. A matchup against the Pirates is pretty decent, but his counterpart, Braxton Aschraft, could make the win hard to come by.

Tomorrow:

Janson Junk (MIA) – SP, RP (Yahoo – 4 %) vs. MIL

The results haven’t been phenomenal, but he’s got a stellar 5.27 PLV. Nick really likes him, too, and he’ll face a Brewers lineup sans Yelich and Chourio in Miami.

Deep League Players to Watch

Josh Jung (TEX) – 3B (Yahoo – 4%)

A former first-round pick out of Texas Tech, Jung had a pretty decent season three years ago, hitting 23 homers with a 114 wRC+. And, as you can surmise by his 4% roster percentage, he has done next to nothing since. However, he is playing every day and came into last night’s game riding a modest six-game hit streak. Did I mention the 3B bar in deep leagues is extraordinarily low?

Oswald Peraza (LAA) – 2B, 3B, SS, (Yahoo – 1%)

I’ve mentioned him before, but the former Yankee prospect is starting to percolate with dingers in two of his last three games. The things we do in deep leagues.

Daniel Schneemann (CLE) – 2B, 3B, SS, OF (Yahoo – 1%)

The 29-year-old lefty has been pretty decent, hitting .268 with a 128 wRC+ across 44 PAs thus far. But really, the eligibility alone makes Schneemann worth his weight in gold in deep leagues. That’s 185 pounds according to MLB.com. Don’t worry, I’ll be back next week!