Pickups To Push You To The Top

I hope you enjoyed my first edition of The Fantasy Baseball Experience last week and had a great Father’s Day weekend. This week, I will be focusing on players you should add to your team.

Last week, I talked about draft strategy and how my dad and I went hitter-heavy. What I left out was how hard it was to build a pitching staff throughout the season. We were forced to scrap together a rotation mainly through waiver-wire pickups. Our biggest pitching waiver pickups were a combination of four players: Javier Assad, Clarke Schmidt, Tobias Myers, and Kirby Yates.

Javier Assad was a fine reliever going into the year but switched to a starting role in 2024 and finished with a 3.73 ERA. He was, for sure, one of our overall best waiver pickups.

Clarke Schmidt was a solid player in 2023 but never really broke out. In 2024, he started 16 games and posted a 2.85 ERA with a 1.18 WHIP.

Tobias Myers was a rookie in 2024 who we took a chance on by picking him up off the waiver wire. He started 25 games, posting a 3.00 ERA for us.

Finally, Kirby Yates was supposed to be a setup man in 2024, but after Jose Leclerc started to struggle at the beginning of the season, the Rangers decided to try Yates in the closer role. That’s when my dad and I jumped on him, and he racked up 33 saves while posting a 1.17 ERA.

Through the help of those four pickups and others, we managed to scrap together a solid rotation.

Now that I have told you about my pickups from last year, it’s time to help you with your current pickups. If you went hitter-heavy like I did last year, I will give you three pitchers you should consider picking up. But if you went pitcher-heavy, I will also suggest three hitters you should consider adding.

Pitchers Jacob Misiorowski (SP) Sandy Alcantara (SP) Chase Burns (SP)

Jacob Misiorowski was a top prospect for the Brewers with nasty stuff but questionable control and durability. His durability has been questioned because of how hard he throws. He was called up a couple of days ago and made his first start.

He looked dominant over five innings, giving up no runs and striking out five. He did walk four batters, though, so if you pick him up, be very cautious about his control and especially his health. Sandy Alcantara has been one of the best pitchers in the league over the past few years but came into the 2025 season struggling badly. He managed to put together a really good start a couple of days ago and looked like his old self, pitching six scoreless innings while striking out six. If he truly is returning to his old form, then he is definitely worth picking up. However, there is still a risk that he continues to struggle, so be cautious.

Chase Burns is MLB Pipeline’s No. 11 overall prospect. He was just called up to Triple-A and has been dominant in the minors to start the year. Even though he isn’t in the majors yet, it might be smart to jump on him early. The only things to be cautious about are how young and unpredictable he is and the possibility that he doesn’t get called up soon.

Hitters Alejandro Kirk (C) Jeff McNeil (2B) Evan Carter (OF)

Alejandro Kirk has shown success in years past and has been tearing it up at the plate recently. The only risk I can think of is that he cools off. With how thin the catching position can be in fantasy baseball, I think the risk of Kirk cooling off is worth taking. Jeff McNeil has certainly shown success before, winning the 2022 National League batting title while also earning a Silver Slugger Award that same year. Since then, McNeil has cooled off considerably and has struggled at the plate. However, he has been on a really good stretch lately, and he might be worth looking into based on how good he has been in the past.

Evan Carter is my final hitter recommendation. In a short span of 22 games in 2023, he batted .306 with five home runs, and that success continued into the playoffs that year. After his breakout in 2023, he struggled in 45 games during 2024 after a back injury kept him off the field for most of the season. In 2025, he started the year in Triple-A before being called up and almost immediately injuring his hand. He returned a week ago and has been on fire ever since. The only cautions I would give are that he is still young and could fall into a slump like he did in 2024.

Hopefully these waiver-wire pickups help, and I hope to see you next week for my third edition of The Fantasy Baseball Experience.