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

 

Jose A. Ferrer (WSH), RP (12% rostered on Yahoo, 3% rostered on ESPN)

With the trade of Kyle Finnegan, many wondered who the next reliever to take up the helm as the Nationals’ closer would be. It appears that the job has gone to Jose A. Ferrer, which really could be a great choice.

Ferrer doesn’t have the ERA of top relievers per se, but his skills are top-notch. He’s a great control arm, keeping the walks down while also keeping the ball on the ground whenever it’s put in play. His sinker is a machine for generating groundballs, while his changeup is the key to the swing-and-miss aspects of his game.

A lot has changed in the closer landscape, with trades, injuries, and investigations shaking things up. However, many of the new closers were likely already unavailable in your leagues due to speculative/ratio adds. Ferrer is one of the rare ones who is fairly easy to pick up. He also has little competition in a pretty underwhelming bullpen, so this job seems his to keep.

 

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.

Braxton Ashcraft was given a season-high five innings the start before, and has now slid into the starting rotation, where he has made the most of the opportunity. He cut up the road Rockies, blanking them across five innings, with only two baserunners allowed and six strikeouts notched.

Taijuan Walker has now become a fixture in the Phillies’ rotation since Zack Wheeler is out with a blood clot issue. A matchup against the lowly Nationals seems like one you have to pounce on, but Walker’s struggles in the past still make me a bit skeptical. His start was overall… Eh?? It was a disaster in the beginning, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that the ending line wasn’t too bad, considering how poor a start he got off to in the game. The move is clear, only start Walker against the weakest offenses.

Zebby Matthews has been an interesting pitcher this year, as he has shown plenty of potential, but is clearly very raw, and he struggles to go deep into games. The White Sox are always an intriguing matchup, though, even if their offense has gotten a bit scarier as the season has gone on. Matthews allowed four earned runs in under five innings, walking three and striking out four. Yeah, his starts can be tough, but the potential is still there.

We were all highly anticipating the second start from Nolan McLean, whom I featured as a must-add player last week. McLean was AWESOME in his second career start, going seven innings and giving managers success in every single category. The Mets needed this jolt, and it’s awesome that McLean gets to start his career immediately helping a team right in a contention window.

Jose Quintana took on the San Francisco Giants, who are far from scary these days. His final stat line was basically all twos, with two hits, two earned runs, two walks, and two strikeouts in 5.1 innings. It was just a ratio start, but hey, it got the job done, and I’d say it was an okay stream.

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.

Hurston Waldrep has become a big name in the fantasy baseball sphere as of late, vaulting up rankings for next season due to a string of excellent starts to open his season. The main difference between this version of Waldrep and the ones we’ve seen before? His splitter. He’s leaned into the pitch even more and has basically shelved the four-seamer that once was his main offering. Splitters are sometimes risky pitches to build an arsenal around, but this is a good start to a career

Jacob Lopez was a player I believed in, even during his Rays days, as it felt like they’d unlock him. He’s the ultimate lefty deception pitcher, taking notes from his rotation-mate Jeffrey Springs. His slider is just so good, and he’s able to use his arsenal and ability to locate precisely in a way that gets the most out of a fastball that is well below-average in many facets. He faces the Mariners in Seattle next, a matchup worth the stream.

Miguel Andujar has come a long way since the days he was a mock trade throw-in along with Clint Frazier. He’s been hitting in the cleanup role for the Reds and has found plenty of success, especially with the ratios. He is coming off quite the hot streak, where he went 8 straight games with a hit, notching three of his nine homers in that span. He’s a really solid play for teams looking to bring in one more bat, especially considering his positional versatility between OF and 3B.

Noelvi Marte has been an incredibly streaky hitter throughout his short career, and right now, he’s on one of those patented hot streaks. Similarly to Andujar, he brings that 3B/OF eligibility that makes him a valuable pickup for teams struggling in those positions. He’s also seen his role increase, as he recently hit in the two hole, a massive step up for his value compared to when he was regularly hitting in the 9 spot.

 

Category Specific Players to Add

 

José Caballero (NYY), 2B, 3B, SS, OF (29% rostered on Yahoo, 11% rostered on ESPN)

I’ve spoken about José Caballero in the past, as he quietly has led the Majors in stolen bases for pretty much the entire season. It seems like he will start getting more attention, considering the fact that he’s on a contending Yankees team and looks to have a solid role there. Caballero may not give you power (though he had a home run against his former team), but he will provide solid ratios mixed in with tons of stolen bases. Caballero is the type of player you want on your team.

 

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? One name comes to mind.

Jeffrey Springs (ATH), SP (43% rostered on Yahoo, 18% rostered on ESPN)

It’s been a bit of a difficult season for Jeffrey Springs, who had ace-like tendencies at points with the Rays before getting Tommy John surgery and then a trade to the Athletics. Still, there is some value in bringing him out in good matchups. Seattle is known for a bump in strikeouts, which could be huge for a deception-focused arm who gets lots of Ks when he’s at his best. Springs has struggled a bit lately, but this feels like a great possible bounce-back start.

 

Speculative Adds

 

Bubba Chandler (PIT), SP (33% rostered on Yahoo, 12% rostered on ESPN)

After a long wait, he’s finally here! YAY!!! Aaaand he’s pitching out of the bullpen. BOOO!!! Yeah, it’s been a bit of a frustrating year for Bubba Chandler managers, who have felt like Squidward looking out the window as Cade Horton,  Chase Burns, and Jacob Misiorowski have debuted and looked successful, maintaining spots in their rotations when healthy. Now we have Chandler, and he won’t be in the role we expected. Still, he will get a chance to make some starts this year if he plays at a level anywhere near his billing, and as the top pitching prospect, you can expect some solid production. He’s not Paul Skenes, but he could be a top 40 pitcher in next year’s draft, and it might not be a bad thing to get him early.

Craig Kimbrel (HOU), RP (1% rostered on Yahoo, 0.2% rostered on ESPN)

Well, this is a fun one. The Astros have reportedly signed legendary closer Craig Kimbrel to what might be his final deal. He’s struggled in recent years with teams like the White Sox, Dodgers, Phillies, and Orioles, with a brief stop in Atlanta this year. He’s still shown some flashes of production, but all that mileage has done a number on his consistency. Still, there’s a chance that he gets a few save opportunities towards the end of the season, which makes him an interesting speculative add for managers desperate for reliever production.

 

Deep League Players to Watch

 

Carson Williams (TBR), SS (6% rostered on Yahoo, 3% rostered on ESPN)

The Rays recently called up top prospect Carson Williams to join their big league squad due to yet another injury to Ha-Seong Kim. Williams is a really interesting player, as it feels like he has one of the highest ceilings and lowest floors of any organization’s top prospect. He strikes out A LOT, but we’ve also seen improvement in that area. He’s likely to stick around at shortstop due to being the best defender at the position of possibly any prospect, but that doesn’t help you too much in fantasy if he isn’t producing. Williams has serious power and speed, which adds to his value immensely. The floor is low, but the ceiling is high. Grab him if you can afford the risk or are desperate.