2023 Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: Bailey Ober Among Priority MLB Waiver Additions

Published: May 08, 2023

Updated: May 08, 2023

If you like prospects being called up MLB, this was a great week. There tends to be a period in every season when an influx of rookies get the call to the Major League and it makes the fantasy baseball waiver wire see big bids and that will be the case for pickups this weekend. Matt Mervis, Bryce Miller, Brandon Pfaadt, Louie Varland, and Maikel Garcia were among the rookies called up. People love to spend on the shiny new toy, although not all will be great. Gavin Stone was brought up by the Dodgers and he made a start, but he was sent back down to the minors. The percentages are a guideline and should be adjusted based on your roster and needs.

Top Waiver Wire Hitters

Matt Mervis, 1B Chicago Cubs, 10-15%

Mervis has been tearing up Triple-A and finally got the call to the Cubs to try and boost a struggling offense. Mervis was slashing .286/.402/.560 with six home runs and 27 RBI with a 19:18 K:BB ratio. Mervis hit 36 home runs in the minors last season, including a .977 OPS at Triple-A in 57 games. Mervis has nothing left to prove in the minors after posting a .981 OPS with 42 home runs and 146 RBI over 161 games at Triple-A between last year and this year. Mervis made his debut Friday and went 1-for-4 with one RBI.

LaMonte Wade Jr., 1B/OF San Francisco Giants, 6-8%

Wade is flying under the radar. He's playing nearly every day, has started to see time against left-handers, and he’s been leading off. Wade is slashing .256/.442/.551 with 12 runs, six home runs, nine RBI, and one stolen base with a .993 OPS. Wade has a 21.7% walk rate and is in the 86^th percentile of barrel rate.

Nick Senzel, 3B/OF Cincinnati Reds, 6-8%

Senzel has been mentioned the last few articles and he's still available in some formats. Health has been the main issue for Senzel and he started the season on the injured list. Senzel is healthy now and added third base eligibility. He is slashing .288/.356/.455 with 14 runs, three home runs, 12 RBI, and two stolen bases in 66 at-bats.

Ezequiel Duran, 3B Texas Rangers, 6-8%

Duran is getting the playing time with Corey Seager out with a hamstring injury and there's talk Duran could move to the outfield when Seager is back. Duran is slashing .324/.351/.507 with eight runs, three home runs, 14 RBI, and two stolen bases in 71 at-bats. Duran has a six-game hitting streak in which he's hitting .416.

Maikel Garcia, SS Kansas City Royals, 4-6%

Garcia got the call to the big leagues with Nicky Lopez sidelined due to appendicitis. He started the first three games at third base and is 6-for-15 with three runs, three RBI, and a stolen base. Garcia had 39 stolen bases between Double-A and Triple-A last season and can help with speed in deeper formats.

Top Waiver Wire Pitchers

Bailey Ober, Minnesota Twins, 20-25%

Ober couldn't crack the starting rotation to open the season, but injuries to Tyler Mahle and Kenta Maeda have given him an opportunity. He has made three starts and was great in his last one on Friday. He pitched seven scoreless innings and allowed three hits, one walk, and struck out six. In 18.1 innings, he has allowed ten hits, and two runs with a 16:6 K:BB ratio. Ober made 11 starts last season with the Twins and had a 3.21 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 22.5% strikeout rate, and 4.8% walk rate.

Bryce Miller, Seattle Mariners, 15-20%

Miller was impressive in his Major League debut, even if it came against Oakland. He was perfect through five innings and pitched six innings, allowing two hits, one run, walked none, and struck out ten. Like most rookies, he will go through struggles but he's worth adding.

Jason Adam, Tampa Bay Rays, 15-20%

The Rays placed Pete Fairbanks on the injured list with forearm inflammation and Adam has picked up three saves since. He struck out the side while allowing one hit on Tuesday in a scoreless inning and he allowed one walk, a hit, and two unearned runs with three strikeouts on Thursday. On Friday, he pitched a scoreless inning to get the save against the Yankees. Adam has a 1.35 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, and a 17:5 K:BB ratio over 13.1 innings.

Brandon Pfaadt, Arizona Diamondbacks, 10-15%

Pfaadt made his Major League debut on Wednesday and it didn't go well. He went 4.2 innings and allowed nine hits, seven runs, four home runs, walked one, and struck out three. Between last year and this year at Triple-A, Pfaadt pitched 87 innings with a 104:20 K:BB ratio. His next matchups are against the Marlins and Giants.

Louie Varland, Minnesota Twins, 8-10%

Varland will get to stay in the starting rotation for a while with Tyler Mahle and Kenta Maeda out with injuries. The right-hander's velocity is up on his fastball and he has been missing a lot of bats. He has made two starts and has a 29.8% strikeout rate and 6.4% walk rate. In his first start against the Yankees, he went six innings and allowed six hits, three runs, walked one, and struck out eight, but he allowed three home runs. He wasn't as good in his last start against the White Sox, lasting 4.2 innings allowing seven hits, four runs, two walks, and struck out six.

Michael King, New York Yankees, 6-8%

King could find his way into getting some saves with Clay Holmes struggling. King has pitched 19 innings and has a 1.42 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 28.2% strikeout rate, and 5.6% walk rate. King has saves in each of his last two appearances, going 1.2 innings and 2.1 innings to finish the game. Holmes has a 4.50 ERA, 1.60 WHIP and a 10.4% walk rate.