Fantasy Baseball: Priority waiver wire pickups to make ahead of Opening Day

Unless you happened to draft your fantasy baseball squad this morning, you probably require a little light roster maintenance ahead of Opening Day. Today, we’re offering priority pickups at every standard roster position, each of them available in at least 60% of Yahoo fantasy leagues. If you have holes to fill, we have options. Let’s get to work.

Connor Wong, C, Boston Red Sox (31% rostered)

Wong is the rare catcher who can give you average with a dash of speed, which distinguishes him from the crowd of 18-HR, .220 hitters at this spot. He reworked his swing last offseason, resulting in meaningful gains in terms of his K-rate, contact percentage and, of course, batting average. Wong has swiped 16 bags over the past two seasons, so he’s not a liability in any standard category.

Christian Encarnacion-Strand, 1B, Cincinnati Reds (39%)

Here’s a classic post-hype sleeper coming off an encouraging spring. A wrist injury derailed the expected 2024 breakout, but his power seems to have returned:

Encarnacion-Strand is just one year removed from a monster half-season at Triple-A in which he slashed .331/.405/.637 with 20 homers in only 67 games, forcing his way onto the big league roster. It may feel as if CES has been on the fantasy radar forever, but he’s still only 25 years old.

Kristian Campbell, 2B, Boston Red Sox (29%)

It hasn’t been a perfect spring for Campbell, but a late surge at the plate earned him a spot on Boston’s Opening Day roster, presumably as the team’s starting second baseman. Campbell was simply a monster last season across three levels, hitting .330/.439/.558 with 20 bombs and 24 steals, vaulting up the prospect ranks and ultimately winning Baseball America’s Minor League Player of the Year award. He’s one of a trio of elite high-level Red Sox prospects who are likely to make noise in the big leagues this season. Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer won’t be far behind.

Cam Smith, 3B, Houston Astros (28%)

Smith was the centerpiece prospect involved in the Kyle Tucker trade with Chicago, and he simply has not stopped hitting since he first put on the Astros uniform. He’s had a cartoonishly good spring, launching four bombs while hitting for average and delivering an outrageous 1.130 OPS. He’s looking like Houston’s opening day right fielder, which means he’s about to gain multi-position eligibility in our game.

[Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Baseball league for the 2025 MLB season]

It’s important to note that Smith has only made 20 plate appearances at Double-A and none at Triple-A, so he is well ahead of his expected timeline. It wouldn’t be much of a surprise if he struggled when facing regular season MLB pitching for the first time. Still, considering his silly upside, he deserves consideration as a what-if pickup.

Tyler Fitzgerald, SS/OF, San Francisco Giants (31%)

The fantasy community does not seem to entirely buy Fitzgerald’s surface-level stats from last season, because, if we did, this man would be almost universally rostered. He cleared the fence 15 times last year for the Giants over 96 games, swiping 17 bases and slashing a respectable .280/.334/.497.

Fitzgerald had plenty of good fortune on balls-in-play, however (.380 BABIP), and the Statcast batting data tells a complicated story. But he was at the top of the charts in terms of sprint speed last year and he’s set to open 2025 as his team’s everyday second baseman. As long as he doesn’t completely face-plant at the plate, he’s a good bet to reach 30 stolen bases this season.

Victor Scott II, OF, St. Louis Cardinals (19%)

There are three essential details for you to know about Scott:

1. He stole 94 bases over 132 minor league games back in 2023;

2. He’s had a huge spring for the Cards, hitting four homers, swiping five bags and batting .349;

3. Scott will open the season as his team’s starting center fielder.

If you can’t use a guy with 90-steal speed … well, wow. Great work by you at your draft. Scott should really be of interest to someone in nearly every mixed league.

Landen Roupp, SP/RP, San Francisco Giants (3%)

Roupp earned the fifth spot in the Giants’ rotation to begin the season after delivering a near-flawless spring, striking out 14 batters over 12.0 innings, issuing eight hits and just one walk. His career minor league numbers are absolutely outrageous: 2.50 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 250 Ks in 172.2 IP. Walks have been an issue in the past, but he’s stingy in terms of hits allowed and there are no obvious weaknesses in his arsenal. Roupp will do his home pitching in a favorable environment, too.

José Soriano, SP, Los Angeles Angels (11%)

I have a long-established fondness for Soriano, a right-hander with easy triple-digit heat and the cruelest breaking stuff.

If we can get a full, healthy season from Soriano, he has the potential to finish as a top-25 starter. He’s a ground-ball specialist with multiple weapons-grade pitches in the repertoire. Soriano will open his season against the White Sox on Sunday, so you can’t really ask for a more favorable matchup if you’re looking to stream.

Luke Jackson, RP, Texas Rangers (2%)

Well, we’ve had a few interesting recent developments in the Texas bullpen:

I do, in fact, like to read into things, so this particular sequence of relievers is notable.

Bruce Bochy suggested in his postgame comments that Monday’s usage would be “pretty close” to what we’d see in the regular season. At this point, it certainly seems as if Jackson is the favorite for saves in Texas. We won’t make any guarantees about this team’s plans for the late innings, but Jackson has the traditional closer’s arsenal and experience in the role. He’s a priority for fantasy managers chasing saves.