Waiver Wire Week 6: Paredes Party

The waiver wire is one of the most fascinating aspects of fantasy baseball because this is one of the only fantasy sports where you can completely revamp your roster. Most fantasy football leagues are decided by the draft, but that’s not the case with baseball. You can stumble into a handful of pickups throughout the year that can turn your average roster into a championship one. That’s our ultimate goal here because we want to compile as many assets as possible throughout the season. We’ve stumbled across a few through the opening month, and we’ll look to keep that going here! With that in mind, let’s take a look at the waiver wire options for this week!

The stats and roster rates below are updated on 4/24. All rostership percentages are on Yahoo.

Feel free to comment here or reach me on Twitter @Bartilottajoel if you have any questions!

Also, check out my Streamers article dropping tomorrow. 

CATCHERS

10/12 Team Adds

Carter Jensen (KC, 34% Rostership) – This is the deepest the catcher position has been over recent years, and it’s hard to believe a guy like Jensen is still so widely available. This youngster broke out with a .391 OBP and .941 OPS in limited time last season and has looked similar this year. He’s been playing nearly every day for the Royals, registering a .417 OBP and 1.071 OPS across his last 16 outings. Those are absurd averages from a catcher, and we love that he has a road series in Sacramento this week against an awful A’s pitching staff.

% of Recommended FAAB: 5%

QUICK HITS: Francisco Alvarez (NYM, 37% Rostership), Alejandro Kirk (TOR, 31% Rostership)

Deep League Adds

Gary Sanchez (MIL, 6% Rostership) – We had Sanchez in this section last week, and he might remain in it until he gets rostered in more leagues. This former stud has recaptured something with the Brewers. He’s been hitting in the cleanup spot every day for Milwaukee, maintaining a .391 OBP, .582 SLG and .973 OPS in a bounce-back campaign. Milwaukee can’t keep him out of their lineup with Jackson Chourio and Christian Yelich sidelined, so Sanchez should continue to hit cleanup and be in the lineup every day. We also love Sanchez’s schedule this week, matching up with Arizona and Washington.

% of Recommended FAAB: 1-3%

QUICK HITS: Ryan Jeffers (MIN, 17% Rostership), Kyle Teel (CWS, 11% Rostership), Samuel Basallo (BAL, 22% Rostership)

INFIELDERS

10/12 Team Adds

Isaac Paredes (3B, HOU, 39% Rostership) – Paredes got off to an awful start this season, but it feels like he’s close to turning the corner. Our favorite part about Paredes is that he’s hitting either third or fifth in one of the best lineups in baseball. That’s already a massive bump off the waiver wire, but Paredes has shown that he’s capable of being a fantasy stud. He had a .350 OBP and .793 OPS over the last three seasons and has always been one of the best pull-hitters in baseball. That should be optimal in Houston going forward, given the Crawford Box, even though he has six road games this week. It’s actually six profitable road matchups, facing the Orioles and Red Sox. Not to mention, Paredes could gain eligibility at first and second base sometime over the next month.

% of Recommended FAAB: 3-5%

QUICK HITS: Xander Bogaerts (2B, SD, 40% Rostership), Matt McLain (2B, CIN, 49% Rostership), Max Muncy (3B, LAD, 40% Rostership)

Deep League Adds

Josh Jung (3B, TEX, 20% Rostership) – One of my favorite terms in fantasy sports is “post-hype sleeper.” This term always seems to happen in baseball more than any other sport because we always have players who struggle after getting called up. It just takes some time for these prospects to find it, and Jung has done just that. This third baseman has a .383 AVG, .455 OBP, .745 SLG and 1.199 OPS across his last 13 fixtures. That’s an exciting development for Rangers fans because he had a .372 OBP and .894 OPS throughout his minor league career. People also forget that injuries slowed Jung down over recent years, and sometimes it’s just health that gets these post-hype guys on the right track.

% of Recommended FAAB: 1%

QUICK HITS: Jake Bauers (MIL, 1B/OF, 20% Rostership), Amed Rosario (NYY, SS 6% Rostership), Ildemaro Vargas (ARI, 1B/2B, 12% Rostership)

OUTFIELDERS

10/12 Team Adds

Giancarlo Stanton (NYY, 47% Rostership) – It was unclear how much Stanton would play this season, but all of those questions have been answered. This slugger has hit cleanup or fifth in nine of the last 10 games. That’s all fantasy managers wanted to see, and there’s no reason for Stanton to be sitting on waiver wires as an everyday player. We’re talking about a guy who had a .350 OBP, .594 SLG and .944 OPS last season. He’s also approaching 500 career home runs and should have plenty of RBI opportunities in the heart of this daunting NY lineup. That’s exciting since they face the Rangers and Orioles this week.

% of Recommended FAAB: 3-5%

QUICK HITS: Jac Caglione (KC, 56% Rostership), Trent Grisham (NYY, 41% Rostership), Daylen Lile (WAS, 53% Rostership)

Deep League Adds

Garrett Mitchell (MIL, 14% Rostership) – We just discussed how Milwaukee is shorthanded right now, and those outfield injuries have really opened up the door for Mitchell to succeed. We’ve seen this guy bat anywhere between leadoff to fifth over recent weeks, and he’s playing nearly every day. He’s earned that promotion by providing a .421 OBP and .828 OPS this season. Mitchell has also added five steals to his resume, but we shouldn’t be surprised since he had a .381 OBP, .807 OPS and 41 steals across 158 minor league games. He also benefits from the Arizona and Washington matchups we mentioned in the Sanchez write-up.

% of Recommended FAAB: 1-3%

QUICK HITS: Troy Johnston (COL, 6% Rostership), Marcell Ozuna (PIT, 9% Rostership), Eloy Jimenez (TOR, 1% Rostership)

STARTING PITCHERS

10/12 Team Adds

Clay Holmes (NYM, 54% Rostership) – It’s surprising to see Holmes sitting around 50 percent on Yahoo. This guy has consistently been a solid pitcher throughout his career, compiling a 3.16 ERA and 1.21 WHIP across 455 innings since 2021. That’s a sustained level of success, and it looks even better since he has a 2.10 ERA and 1.03 WHIP through five starts this season. He’s also allowed two runs or fewer in all five starts and needs to be picked off of every waiver wire immediately since he’s projected to have a two-start week against the Nationals and Angels. Neither of those lineups worries us, and LA’s worst K rate should help him reach 10 Ks as well.

% of Recommended FAAB: 10-15%

Landen Roupp (SF, 51% Rostership) – This is another pitcher who needs to be picked up off every waiver wire. We always get excited about Giants pitchers potentially breaking out because San Fran owns one of the most spacious ballparks, and that’s just what’s happening with Roupp. The righty has allowed one run or fewer in four of five starts while registering a 2.28 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 10.1 K/9 rate. That pairs beautifully with his 4-1 record, and it’s even more remarkable that his ERA and WHIP are below 1.00 on the road. He has a road start this week, and it’s scary to think how good he can be with those road statistics and spacious San Fran park in his favor.  Jakkers just did a deep dive on him Friday as well.

% of Recommended FAAB: 5-10%

QUICK HITS: Casey Mize (DET, 53% Rostership), Jake Wrobleski (LAD, 36% Rostership), Andrew Abbott (CIN, 49% Rostership)

Deep League Adds

Jacob Lopez (ATH, 4% Rostership) – I’ve always been intrigued by Lopez’s stuff, but the numbers have him sitting on nearly every waiver wire out there. It’s easy to understand why, since this lefty has a 5.70 ERA and a 1.90 WHIP. Those numbers will have him overlooked in every league, but he’s actually allowed three runs or fewer in four of five starts. In addition, Lopez had a 2.17 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 10.8 K/9 rate in his final 13 starts last year before getting shelled in the finale. That sort of run is in line with his 2.94 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 10.7 K/9 rate throughout his minor league career. We’re willing to take the risk on him here because Lopez has a two-start week against the Royals and Guardians. Kansas City sits 24th in xwOBA while Cleveland was dead-last in that statistic last season.

% of Recommended FAAB: 1%

Lucas Giolito (SD, 5% Rostership) – It was shocking to see Giolito sitting as a free agent for so long, but San Diego is a sexy landing spot. Not only is that one of the most pitcher-friendly parks, but his division also has two cupcake matchups. Giolito isn’t quite the stud he was in the past, but people might forget he was an ace at one point. He had a 3.47 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 10.6 K/9 rate in his final three seasons with the White Sox and had a 3.41 ERA with Boston last year. That’s all you can hope for from a waiver wire add in a deep league, and reports say that Giolito should be up with the Padres in about three weeks.

% of Recommended FAAB: 1-3%

QUICK HITS: Bailey Ober (MIN, 21% Rostership), Yuseki Kikuchi (LAA, 23% Rostership), Dustin May (STL, 18% Rostership)

RELIEVERS

10/12 Team Adds

Tanner Scott (LAD, 44% Rostership) – This is a pretty easy pickup. The Dodgers lost Edwin Diaz for the next three months and said they’ll be going with a committee at closer. We have to assume Scott will get the most chances because he was an elite closer in the past. Scott had 77 saves between 2022 and 2025, picking up 23 for the Dodgers last year. Most importantly, he picked up the first chance since the Diaz injury and has a 0.84 ERA and 0.57 WHIP so far this season. If Scott reclaims his role as the Dodgers’ primary closer, he could literally lead the league in saves until Diaz returns, since this is the best team in baseball.

% of Recommended FAAB: 10%

QUICK HITS: Ryan Walker (SF, 61% Rostership), Joel Kuhnel (ATH, 26% Rostership), Louie Varland (TOR, 26% Rostership)

Deep League Adds

Ben Brown (CHC, 2% Rostership) – Daniel Palencia just landed on the IL, so someone needs to fill the closer’s gig in Chicago. It appeared that Caleb Thielbar was next in line, but a hamstring strain sent him to the IL as well. That leaves Brown as the only real option left, and he’s a speculative add in every league where saves are important. This righty has a 1.72 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 9.5 K/9 rate since struggling in the opener.

% of Recommended FAAB: 1%

QUICK HITS: Victor Vodnik (COL, 9% Rostership), Nick Martinez (TB, 13% Rostership), Chase Dollander (COL, 11% Rostership)