Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: Prospect call-ups galore, Austin Hays off the IL

Welcome to Waiver Wire Watch, where I review my favorite waiver wire adds and drops for each week of the MLB season.

The premise is pretty straightforward. I’ll try to give you some recommended adds each week based on recent production or role changes. When I list a player, I’ll list the category where I think he’ll be helpful or the quick reason he’s listed. I hope that it will help you determine if the player is a fit for what your team needs or not.

For a player to qualify to be on this list, he needs to be UNDER 40% rostered in Yahoo! formats. I understand you may say, “These players aren’t available in my league,” and I can’t help you there. These players are available in over 60% of leagues and some in 98% of leagues, so they’re available in many places and that can hopefully satisfy readers in all league types.

Kyren Paris and Nick Kurtz make their rankings debuts.

Waiver Wire Hitters

Jonathan Aranda – 1B, TB: 54% rostered (38% when the article was first drafted)
(POWER UPSIDE, SECURE PLAYING TIME)

I’m not quite sure what people are waiting for with Aranda. Even the 54% mark here feels a bit low. Yes, I know Aranda sits against left-handed pitching, but he has been crushing it this season, slashing .367/.435/.700 with four home runs, 12 runs, and 13 RBI in 19 games. While his pull rates have dipped slightly, Aranda has seen a 12% jump in his fly ball rate, and he’s driving the ball to right and right-center field. He’s traded a bit of contact for power, but we’re OK with that because he still makes a league-average amount of contact, and the ball should carry in Tampa Bay in the summer months. It’s also worth noting that Aranda has played 14 games at 1B this year while Yandy Diaz has played just two. Diaz’s name also came up in plenty of trade rumors this off-season, so if the Rays continue to struggle, he could be moved this summer, which even further cements Aranda’s spot in the lineup. He needs to be added in more places.

Tyler Fitzgerald – 2B/SS/OF – SF: 45% rostered (28% rostered when this was drafted)
(HOT STRETCH, POWER/SPEED UPSIDE)

Tyler Fitzgerald is one of the hottest hitters in baseball, going 12-for-34 (.353) over his last 10 games with one home run, five RBI, and three steals. That’s after a strong 2024 season where he hit .280 with 15 home runs and 17 steals in 96 games. There were some concerns with Fitzgerald’s approach coming into the season with a 14% swinging strike rate and nearly 32% strikeout rate, and some of that swing-and-miss remains, with Fitzgerald sporting a 15% swinging strike rate this season. However, he has been more aggressive, swinging almost 8% more overall, which means even though he is swinging and missing, he’s swinging more often, which gives him more chances to make contact. His 80% zone contact rate and 72% contact rate overall are not good, but also not horrible. At the end of the day, this is likely not an approach that will lead to consistent success for Fitzgerald, but it can lead to hot streaks when he’s seeing the ball well, and that’s happening now.

Dylan Moore – 1B/2B/3B/SS/OF, SEA: 44% rostered (33% rostered when this was drafted)
(SPEED UPSIDE, PLAYING TIME OPPORTUNITY)

Injuries to Victor Robles and Ryan Bliss have opened up the opportunity for everyday playing time for Moore, who can play second base, third base, or the outfield. He has seemed to settle in as the primary second baseman and is hitting .308 with four home runs and five steals in 18 games so far this season. We’ve also seen Dylan Moore do this before. He has great speed and plays almost every position on the diamond. However, we also know that he struggles with making consistent contact, and the cold streaks will always be there. I know that Wyatt Langford’s return is going to cause some people to drop Josh Smith – 3B/SS/OF, TEX (16% rostered), and I get that in shallow formats, but Smith isn’t going to start playing just once or twice a week. He was getting regular starts in left field with Wyatt Langford out and also started at third base when Josh Jung was out, so the Rangers have no problem plugging and playing him basically anywhere. He’s hitting .341/.438/.512 with three steals to start the season, and is a great multi-position bench piece in deeper leagues because I still believe he can play four times a week by moving all over the field.

Rhys Hoskins – 1B, MIL: 31% rostered
(POWER UPSIDE, HOT STRETCH)

I bought in on Rhys Hoskins in spring training because he talked about being fully healthy after ACL surgery in 2023 and had also changed his stance to quiet his head and improve his contact. The results didn’t come right at the start of the season, but we’re starting to see them now with Hoskins going 10-for-34 (.294) over his last 11 games with two home runs and six RBI. I like his ballpark, I like his lineup, and so I have no problem adding Hoskins anywhere he’s available.

Chandler Simpson – OF, TB: 27% rostered
(CALL-UP, SPEED UPSIDE )

Chandler Simpson is very fast. You don’t need me to tell you that, but it’s the basis for why you’re trying to add him this weekend. Anybody who steals 100 bases in one season has tons of fantasy juice in one category. He’s also a .321 career hitter in the minors, so he should still get on base and run a lot, but he has no thump in his bat. You’re hoping for speed and runs scored atop a Rays lineup. If you don’t really need speed, then you may not need/want to pay what it’s gonna take to get him, and if you do need speed but you’re not willing to pay what it will take to get Chandler then a pivot to Jake Meyers – OF, HOU (3% rostered) makes some sense. He’s starting every day in center field for the Astros and has gone 16-for-55 (.291) with seven steals so far this season. He hits eighth in the order, so he’s unlikely to help your counting stats too much, but an outfielder who can hit .270-.280 and swipe bases in a good offense certainly has value in deeper formats.

Sal Frelick (OF, MIL: 27% rostered
(EVERYDAY ROLE, SPEED UPSIDE)

Frelick is playing every day in Milwaukee and hitting .319 in his 21 games with five steals and 11 runs scored. He hits fifth or sixth in the Brewers’ lineup, which should lead to decent counting stats as the season goes on, but he’s unlikely to hit more than five home runs this season. This play is essentially about batting average and speed, but if you need those two things, Frelick is a solid option for you. Another similar “boring but useful” outfielder is Mike Yastrzemski – OF, SF (21% rostered), who is hitting .279/.405/.525 with three home runs, two steals, and 11 RBI so far this season. His contact profile doesn’t look much different, except for a slight bump in pull rate, but he has just a 9.2% swinging strike rate, which has led to a 78.3% contact rate and a solid amount of barrels early in the year. He’s not going to “break out,” but the Giants are a solid lineup, and Yaz has been leading off against right-handed pitching, which is a great spot to be in.

Jorge Polanco – 2B/3B, SEA: 26% rostered
(EVERYDAY STARTER, COUNTING STATS UPSIDE)

Polanco has been off to a hot start to the season, but his surgically repaired knee has been giving him some problems, and he still hasn’t been hitting right-handed since injuring his side a few weeks ago. Still, even with all those injuries, Polanco continues to produce, going 15-for-41 (.366) in 12 games with three home runs, 12 RBI, and one steal. I wrote him up as an undervalued hitter in spring training, so I would recommend taking some shares. If you’re after a multi-position player in deeper formats, Ernie Clement – 3B/SS, TOR (1% rostered) is starting to do what we thought he would do in spring, going 9-for-31 (.290) over his last 11 games with four runs scored and a steal. Clement is still starting four or five times a week and hit 12 home runs while stealing 12 bases in 139 games last year, so there is some low-end across-the-board value in deeper formats.

Kyle Manzardo – 1B, CLE: 24% rostered
(POWER UPSIDE, HOT STREAK COMING)

I understand that Manzardo hasn’t produced the way people wanted this season with a .194/.316/.500 slash line, but I like so much of what he’s doing process-wise. For starters, he has 19 strikeouts and 11 walks in 19 games with a sub-10% swinging strike rate, so we’re not concerned about his contact quality. If he’s anything, he’s maybe being a bit too passive on fringe strikes, but a 76% contact rate overall is fine. He has also raised his pull rate and his fly ball rate, and has a 20% barrel rate in 45 batted ball events. Now, we know it’s too early for those stats to stabilize, and I think some calibration needs to be done where Manzardo doesn’t need to lift the ball AS MUCH as he currently is. However, we have a young hitter who is not swinging and missing, understands the strike zone, and is getting to his barrel more often than in years past. That’s something I want to buy into, and I think Manzardo will likely end up having a better season than Matt Mervis – 1B, MIA (9% rostered), who has been on fire from a power standpoint of late with four home runs in his last 10 games. There has never been any doubt about Mervis’ power, and he was a fantasy darling back when he was on the Cubs a couple of years ago, but his minor league numbers didn’t carry over to the big leagues. He now has an everyday role in Miami, but also has a 40% strikeout rate and a 19.8% swinging strike rate, so the batting average is not going to be good even if his power and playing time remain.

Nick Kurtz – 1B, ATH: 24% rostered
(PROSPECT STASH, POWER UPSIDE)

I’ve had Kurtz in here for a couple of weeks, and his roster rate has climbed from 5% over those two weeks, so you may have missed the window on stashing him, but if you can, you should now. Kurtz was the fourth overall pick in last year’s draft and got an aggressive assignment to Triple-A after a strong spring training. Well, he’s hitting .348/.395/.738 in his first 16 Triple-A games with seven home runs and 22 RBI. The Athletics have been playing Brent Rooker in the outfield more often this past week, which tells me that a Kurtz call-up is brewing. Roman Anthony – OF, BOS (28% rostered) is another top prospect who may not be long for the minors. The Red Sox will need to clear up some space in the outfield for him, but he’s off to a strong start in Triple-A and should be up soon, especially if Ceddanne Rafaela continues to struggle to make good on his strong spring training. Rafaela could move into a super utility role with Jarren Duran in CF and Anthony in LF.

Pavin Smith – 1B/OF, ARI: 24% rostered
(COUNTING STAT UPSIDE, EVERY DAY JOB)

It’s tough to roster players like Smith, who sit every time a left-hander is on the mound, but if you’re playing in a daily moves league or a league that lets you change hitters mid-week, you should at least put him on your radar. Smith is somebody that I’m in on after he hit .270/.348/.547 with nine home runs and a .896 OPS in 158 plate appearances in a part-time role last year. This season, he’s gone 20-for-51 (.392) with three home runs and 10 runs scored. It’s early days, but he’s pulling the ball way more than he has before, which has led to more swing and miss but also more authoritative contact. If he starts lifting the ball more, then he should see the hot stretch continue. If you were looking for a first baseman who is going to play more often, then Nolan Schanuel – 1B, LAA (12% rostered) could be your guy. I had Schanuel on a few teams last year. He has good speed for a first baseman and a 91% zone contact rate, which highlights his overall batting average upside. So far in 2025, Schanuel has posted much better bat speed numbers and has hit the two hardest balls of his MLB career. Remember that he’s only 23 years old and debuted in the same season he was drafted. There is still some potential growth here, and it wouldn’t surprise me if Schanuel hit .275 with 15 home runs and 10 steals. That’s not bad for a deeper league corner infield target.

Kameron Misner – OF, TB (18% rostered)
(POWER/SPEED UPSIDE, CONSISTENT PLAYING TIME)

Misner found himself with a shot at a starting job thanks to an oblique injury that could keep Josh Lowe out for multiple months, and he has delivered, going .360/.404/.660 with three home runs and 10 RBI in 15 games. I know that there is a tendency to write this off as a fluke that will flame out soon, but a few interesting things are happening here. For starters, he’s added 2.8 mph to his bat speed, which is among the tops in baseball in the early going. Misner is pulling the ball less and also chasing far less, waiting for pitches he can drive to all parts of the field. That has led to a huge improvement in swinging strike rate and a really impressive 95.2% zone contact rate. Misner struggles to make contact on anything out of the zone when he does chase, but his chase rate has been cut to just 27%, so that might not hurt him as much as it used to. Remember that Misner was a former first-round pick, who hit .248/.360/.442 with 17 home runs and 30 steals in Triple-A for the Rays last season, and these new approach changes make me feel confident that at least some of this is real. Misner’s teammate Jake Mangum – OF, TB (11% rostered) is another option, especially if you’re in a deep league and looking for speed. Mangum makes more contact than Misner does, but is a far more aggressive hitter, so he won’t draw walks or hit for much power at all. He’s a good bet for a better average and more steals, so if those are the two categories you’re after, Mangum could be your guy.

Gabriel Arias – 2B/3B/SS, CLE: 16% rostered
(STARTING JOB, POWER UPSIDE)

It might be time to start taking note of what Arias is doing. The 25-year-old won the starting second base job for the Guardians and has gone 17-for-61 (.279) with four home runs and 10 RBI to start the season. Arias added 1.3 mph to his swing as well and now has an average bat speed of 75.7 mph, which is 15th-best in all of baseball, right around Elly De La Cruz, James Wood, and many other high-upside power hitters. Guardians manager Stephen Vogt talked up Arias in spring training and has used him at 2B, 3B, and SS already this season. He could be a solid bench add in deeper formats, but we need to acknowledge that his 22% swinging strike rate is an issue. Some aggressive hitters can sustain a certain level of success even when they swing and miss more than normal, but 22% is super high. It’s a bit of an issue.

Austin Hays – OF, CIN: 12% rostered
(EVERYDAY ROLE, COUTING STAT UPSIDE)

Last week, we talked about Austin Hays as a stash while he was nearing his activation off the IL. He has come off the IL and started as the clean-up hitter in every game while going 8-for-22 with three home runs and seven RBI. We know who Hays is as a hitter, and he’s not going to set the world on fire. However, he’s a .262 career hitter, who has shown 20+ home run power in Baltimore and could run into 20-25 home runs in Cincinnati. Hitting every day behind Elly De La Cruz and Matt McLain should help his counting stats too. If you’re looking for an outfielder in deeper leagues, I think it’s time to roll the dice on Alek Thomas – OF, ARI: 2% rostered, who was once a top prospect in the Diamondbacks organization but battled injuries and could never seem to transition his minor league ability into MLB success. Thomas has also started four of the last five games in center field and seems to have wrestled away the starting job from Jake McCarthy pretty firmly for now. Thomas is just 24 years old and is a former top prospect, so it makes sense for Arizona to continue to give him a chance to play full-time. So far, he’s hitting .292/.364/.438 in 55 plate appearances with 10 RBI and two steals. He seems to have a slightly more aggressive approach this season, pulling and barreling the ball more often, which could make him an intriguing fantasy asset for batting average and steals.

Caleb Durbin – 2B/SS/3B, MIL: 9% rostered
(CALL-UP, EVERY DAY JOB SPEED UPSIDE)

Caleb Durbin is yet another rookie getting a starting job this week. The Brewers have said Durbin is their 3B for the foreseeable future, so you’ve got a bit of job security here. Durbin had emerged as an intriguing prospect for the Yankees over the last two years and was the central piece in the offseason trade for Devin Williams. So far this season, Durbin was hitting .278/.316/.482 at Triple- with two home runs and three steals. He’s never shown much power in the minors, but he has 30 stolen base upside and has rarely ever had a strikeout rate over 10%. He’s gonna make a ton of contact and reminds me a bit of his teammate Sal Frelick with slightly more power. He’s an option if you, like me, lost Matt Shaw in some leagues. A less exciting third base option would be Eric Wagaman – 1B/3B, MIA (1% rostered). Wagaman came up for me on a random search of players who are making solid swing decisions, making a lot of contact, and making authoritative contact. He’s always made a fair amount of contact and doesn’t lift the ball a lot, which will limit his home run upside, but his strong understanding of the strike zone means he gets his pitch often and has the chance to run a decent batting average with 15 HR power. He’ll just need to hit to keep getting at-bats. With Jonah Bride now gone and Griffin Conine injured, Wagaman has a chance to carve out some playing time at 1B/3B/DH. I’d only take gambles in deep leagues, but it might be worth a shot.

Luke Keaschall – 1B/2B/OF, MIN: 7% rostered
(CALL-UP, BATTING AVERAGE UPSIDE)

Luke Keaschall came onto our redraft radars this spring when he showed up to spring training healthy enough to swing a bat and with Twins beat writers suggesting he could push for the 2B job by summer. It seems that summer has come early. Keaschall is a 2023 second-round pick who hit .303/.420/.483 in 102 games between high-A and Double-A before undergoing Tommy John surgery last year. He’s a smart hitter who doesn’t get himself out and will take advantage of a pitcher’s mistakes and has the speed to swipe some bags when he gets on. He’s not gonna hit for tons of power, and the Twins infield could get crowded with Keaschall, Brooks Lee, Edouard Julien, Willi Castro, and Carlos Correa when everybody is healthy. He has a bit of a similar profile to Chase Meidroth – 2B/3B/SS, CWS (4% rostered), who is another multi-position option in deeper leagues. Chase Meidroth was one of the central components that came over to the White Sox in the Garrett Crochet deal. Despite the batting average not being great in spring training, he showed elite plate discipline and then went down to Triple-A and hit .267/.450/.600 with three home runs, two steals, and 11 runs scored in nine games. Now, he’s getting a shot with the White Sox and will most likely be an everyday starter now that he’s up. He’s unlikely to hit double-digit home runs, but he can steal 10+ bags and hit .250-.260 while producing a solid on-base percentage. That may not have much shallow league value because of the poor lineup around him, but he’s firmly on deep league radars.

Brooks Lee – 2B/SS/3B – MIN: 4% rostered
(PLAYING TIME OPPORTUNITY , BATTING AVERAGE UPSIDE )

Lee has gone just 2-for-15 with a home run and two RBI since coming off the IL. But with Willi Castro banged up, Lee could see regular playing time. He was sidelined by a back strain late in spring training, but figured to play every day for the Twins. He didn’t have a great spring and is not much of a power/speed threat, so I think he’s a better real-life player than a fantasy player. Another player who would benefit from a playing time boost is Thomas Saggese – 2B, STL (1% rostered). He hit .253/.313/.438 with 20 home runs and nine steals in 125 games at Triple-A last year, and is off to a strong start in 2025, going 13-for-30 (.433) with one home run and five RBI. Even with Masyn Winn hurt, the Cardinals seem intent on not playing Saggese every day and continuing to run Nolan Gorman out there. In deeper formats, I’m OK adding Saggese and seeing if the performance leads to more at-bats.

Edgar Quero – C, CWS (1% rostered)
(BATTING AVERAGE UPSIDE, STARTING JOB)

It’s catcher’s corner over here. The 22-year-old Quero is the 62nd-ranked prospect in baseball and the 6th-ranked prospect in the WHite Sox organization, so him getting the call is something to keep an eye on. Quero was off to a strong start in Triple-A, going 17-for-51 with one home run in 15 games. Quero has always been a high contact rate hitter in the minors and has never posted high fly ball rates, which tends to limit his power upside. He should hit for a decent average, but he won’t steal bases and is unlikely to hit for much power right away, which makes him more of a target in two-catcher formats for right now. As will Dillon Dingler – C, DET (8% rostered) in Detroit with Jake Rogers hurt. Dingler has gotten off to the best start of the group, going 16-for-53 (.302) with two home runs and nine RBI, and he was a top prospect in the Detroit system, so he’s worth a shot as well in case any of these early gains stick.

Tirso Ornelas – OF, SD (0% rostered)
(CALL UP, STARTING JOB)

The last prospect to get called up is probably the most under-the-radar, but Ornelas figures to be the everyday left fielder (at minimum against right-handed pitchers) with Jason Heyward on the 10-day IL with knee inflammation. Ornelas became a favorite in the fantasy community after a strong spring training and started the year in Triple-A by hitting 281/.418/.359 with three steals, 17 runs scored, one home run, and seven RBI in 79 plate appearances. He’s definitely more of a deep-league option, but he hit 23 homers in the minors last season, has a good feel for the strike zone, and makes a fair amount of contact, so he could be worth a gamble.

Waiver Wire Pitchers

Emilio Pagan – RP, CIN: 36% rostered
Despite my initial doubts that he could hold this job down, Pagan is clearly “the guy” for saves in Cincinnati right now, and his velocity is up, but we’ve kind of seen this from him in the past. We know Pagan can go through hot stretches, but he can also give up lots of hard contact and home runs, as he did on Thursday. That makes me a little nervous, even if he has Terry Francona’s trust right now. I honestly have more confidence in Tommy Kahnle – RP, DET (28% rostered) since he’s looked good so far and Detroit has no problem running out a closer who doesn’t have elite strikeout upside or a big fastball. Kahnle has four saves and a 1.17 ERA in seven appearances so far this year, so I’m scooping if he’s available.

Hayden Wesneski – SP, HOU: 37% rostered
I covered Wesneski in my Starting Pitcher News column a few weeks ago, so I’d encourage you to check that out to see how Houston is changing his pitch mix and what my expectations are for Wesneski this season.

Grant Holmes – SP, ATL: 37% rostered
I was in on Grant Holmes at the start of the season thanks to Eno Sarris and Nick Pollack, who talked him up, but the weather threw his schedule into chaos, and he was really hard to roster in shallow formats early on. Now that he’s gotten a few starts under his belt, it’s easy to see why we were in on him to begin with.

David Bednar – RP, PIT: 36% rostered
Now, may be the time to stash Bednar if you need saves. The veteran has only allowed one hit in five innings at Triple-A while striking out seven and walking nobody. If the Pirates wanted a reset, it’s happened. There’s no reason for Bednar to remain in Triple-A any longer. Perhaps I’m biased because I have Bednar in a few places, but I watched those first few outings, and I think his defense let him down on several occasions, which helped make those outings seem worse than they truly were. Nobody in Pittsburgh has really staked a claim to the closer’s role, so I expect Bednar to get it back soon. BEDNAR WAS CALLED UP ON SATURDAY, SO IT MIGHT ONLY BE A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE HE’S CLOSING GAMES AGAIN.

Andrew Heaney – SP, PIT: 25% rostered
We’ve seen Andrew Heaney do this before, but you’ve also wanted him on your team when he’s running hot like this. There’s nothing he’s doing that makes him seem different from the Heaney we’ve come to now, but he’s throwing strikes, the slider looks good, and he gets the Angels next time out. Just roll with this until the wheels start to wobble.

Andrew Abbott – SP, CIN: 24% rostered
Abbott had a tremendous last start, striking out 11 Orioles. In some ways, he’s a little different in 2025, leaning into his changeup more and adding a little more arm-side run. He’s also shortened up the break on his curve to have it tunnel better with his slider. I still hate the home ballpark, and I don’t love that his fastball velocity is down, so I wouldn’t say I’m “in” on Abbott, but I can see taking a chance in deeper leagues.

Eduardo Rodriguez – SP, ARI: 22% rostered
E-Rod is an interesting case because a 4.09 ERA and 1.36 WHIP through four starts doesn’t seem all that great; however, he also has 29 strikeouts to just six walks in 22 innings and is among the league leaders in K-BB%. Early in the season, I like using K-BB% to identify pitchers because it tells me who’s missing bats and also has command of the strike zone. That’s usually a good indicator of who could have longer-term success. He’ll also get a weak Rays offense at home next week, so I like that start.

Zebby Matthews – SP, MIN: 19% rostered
Matthews was one of my favorite late-round picks early in spring training, and he has been cruising in Triple-A, pitching to a 1.80 ERA, 0.73 WHIP, and 20 strikeouts in 15 innings in his first three starts. We thought Matthews would get a chance when Pablo Lopez went down, but that doesn’t appear to be the case. However, Simeon Woods-Richardson now appears to be hurt, David Festa has struggled to pitch deep into games, and Chris Paddack has been underwhelming, so there are a few options for the Twins to give Matthews a shot if they wanted to.

Brayan Bello – SP, BOS: 16% rostered
It’s finally time. Last week, I mentioned Bello if you needed an IL stash, and now it seems that he’s going to make his season debut for the Red Sox next week against the Mariners. I understand his overall stats in the minors haven’t looked great, but his velocity has been good, and he’s getting tons of swinging strikes. When veterans are in the minors on rehab assignments, they’re just working on different things with their mechanics and trying to stretch out and remain healthy, so I urge against looking too much into surface-level stats for guys on rehab assignments.

Tyler Anderson – SP, LAA: 9% rostered
Tyler Anderson is in a similar situation to Heaney. We’ve seen him be a solid fantasy starter in the past when he’s changeup is working, and it’s certainly working right now as the veteran has started the year with a 2.08 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, and 21 strikeouts in 21.2 innings. Anderson also gets the Pirates in his next start, so I’m happy to roll with this here.

Robert Garcia – RP, TEX: 9% rostered
This is just a bet on my continued lack of faith in Luke Jackson. I know Jackson is the closer in Texas and has been good, but I just don’t buy it. Garcia is a solid reliever who will pick up the odd save here and there as a left-hander, which will make him valuable even if Jackson continues to pitch well. But it Jackson struggles, Garcia will likely enter a clear closer committee, so why not roll the dice now? Justin Slaten – RP, BOS (10% rostered) is in the same boat. Slaten got the first save of the season for Boston, and people scooped him everywhere, but then he had one bad outing, and he was dropped in most places. Yet, he has looked legit since then and notched a save on Wednesday night in a dominant innings. Aroldis Chapman is the main closer in Boston, but Slaten will mix in when Chapman needs a rest or is needed against tough lefties in the 8th inning. That’s worth a roster spot in a lot of formats. You could also add Luke Wever – RP, NYY (30% rostered) since Devin Williams simply doesn’t look right in New York right now.

Abner Uribe (5% rostered) or Nick Mears (1% rostered) – RP, MIL
I know Trevor Megill is still pitching through his knee injury, but anybody who needs to get a second opinion on a knee injury is somebody I’m worried about. Pair that with declining fastball velocity, and I’m willing to add some other relievers in Milwaukee and see what happens. Both Mears and Uribe have earned a save, but they have also both repeatedly entered a game in the 6th inning. I have no idea how Pat Murphy is running his bullpen, but these are the two names I think would be in the saves mix if this Megill injury becomes relevant.

Quinn Priester – SP, MIL: 4% rostered
The Quinn Priester trade returned lots of value for Boston, but they revamped his arsenal and then shipped him off to succeed elsewhere. Since getting Priester from Pittsburgh, the Red Sox added a cutter, tightened up his slider, and narrowed the wide movement gaps in his pitch mix, which creates better tunneling and deception in the zone. So far, he’s allowed one run in 10 innings for the Brewers while striking out eight. This has a real Tobias Myers feel for Milwaukee.

STREAMING STARTER PITCHERS

(ranked in loose order)

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