If you don’t succeed at first, try, try again.

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7:30	Jeff Zimmerman:

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In the article, I cover the players using CBS’s (about 40% or less initial roster rate) and Yahoo’s ADD/DROP rates. Both hosting sites have the option for daily and weekly waiver wire adds. CBS uses a weekly change while Yahoo looks at the last 24 hours. Yahoo is a great snapshot of right now, while CBS ensures hot targets from early in the week aren’t missed. The players are ordered for redraft leagues by my rest-of-season preference, grouped by starters, relievers, and hitters.

Thanks for putting up with a limited list last week with my son at the state track meet. He performed as expected and it was great to see my family who came to see him.

Batters

Addison Barger: Over the past week, he’s batting .300/.364/.900 with 4 HR.

Trevor Larnach: Solid, steady approach by hitting .260/.324/.430 with 10 HR and 2 SB.

Matt Wallner: Just four starts in six games since returning from the IL. Over that time frame, he’s batting .235/.381/.588 with 2 HR.

Wenceel Pérez: Off the IL with eight starts in nine games. So far 25-year-old is batting .323/.364/.710 with 3 HR. Add now to see if a breakout is occurring.

Ryan Ritter: In AAA, the 24-year-old hit .305/.413/.635 with 16 HR and 3 SB. With Colorado inflated Steamer600 projections, he could be worth a dart throw.

Ronny Mauricio: The 24-year-old was batting .323/.384/.508 with 3 HR and 6 SB in AAA. Since being recalled, he has 12 PA where pitchers are not throwing him fastballs (37% seen). It’s tough to know how long he’ll start. I ranked him high on upside, but he might get demoted in a week when Vientos returns.

Willi Castro: El Fuego. Over the past week, he’s batting .385/.500/.885 with 4 HR and 1 SB. He was unrosterable until that point, so the hope is that he keeps the production going.

Abraham Toro: Started in nine of the last 10 games while batting .319/.333/.514 with 3 HR (career .249 BABIP, .339 BABIP in ’25).

Carlos Santana: Boring but steady (.256/.358/.389, 7 HR).

Isiah Kiner-Falefa: Started 13 straight at shortstop while batting .303/.348/.383 with 1 HR and 9 SB.

Giancarlo Stanton: Stanton is supposed to return in a week or so. I expect him to be fantasy irrelevant due to low production when he plays. If my team were searching for power, I would add Wallner instead.

Parker Meadows: Strong-side platoon bat with an .800 OPS and 1 SB since returning from the IL.

Jesús Sánchez: Continues to sit against lefties but batting fine otherwise (.265/.353/.391, 4 HR, 6 HR).

Mike Tauchman: Likely a platoon, but he’s leading off for the White Sox while batting .321/.435/.554 with 2 HR.

Thairo Estrada: Batting second since coming off the IL. No stolen bases or home runs so far, but hitting .273 AVG.

Andrew Benintendi: He starts every game and not much else (6 HR, .246 AVG).

Ernie Clement: So far, he is batting .281/.322/.395 with 3 HR and 2 SB. Clement’s playing time may take a hit with Andrés Giménez off the IL.

Jo Adell: Compared to previous seasons, few steals (2 SB) and ratio-killing batting average (.210). He is only providing home runs (9 HR).

Josh Bell: Struggling to get hits (.186 AVG, .189 BABIP) but does have 9 HR.

Tyler Freeman: Started four straight games while providing some batting average (.291 AVG) and stolen bases (4 SB) in 63 PA.

Jacob Melton: Four straight starts since being promoted. An .423 OPS so far after in the majors (.880 OPS in AAA). He is struggling with groundballs (90% GB%, -21 LA) and contact (35% K%).

Cole Young: So far, MLB pitchers are eating him up with a 40% K% and .153 OPS. They are doing it with 57% fastballs.

Denzel Clarke: Starting in centerfield but struggling to make contact (56% K%, .217 AVG). A .500 is the only thing keeping him in the majors. Additionally, he’s dealing with a shoulder injury.

Dominic Smith: Two starts at first base for the Giants with a career .717 OPS

Jorge Mateo: Only five starts in the last 10 days while batting .180 with 14 SB.

Hyeseong Kim 김혜성: Unrosterable with just four starts in the last 14 games.

Catchers

Dillon Dingler: Solid (6 HR, .293 AVG) while maintaining a hold on the job.

David Fry: He’d be the easy #1 if he were going to play more. For now, the plan is for him to be the short side of a DH platoon.

Kyle Teel: He was hitting great in AAA (.295/.394/.492, 8 HR, 7 SB), but the playing time will be up in the air with two catchers already on the MLB team.

Carlos Narváez: Starting most games and hitting (.284/.359/.451, 5 SB)

Alejandro Kirk: Continues to be a source of batting average (.304 AVG) and nothing else.

Hitting Prospects

Colby Thomas: In AAA, the 24-year-old is batting .302/.365/.566 with 14 HR and 2 SB in 260 PA.

Brady House: In AAA, the 22-year-old is batting .300/.353/.526 with 12 HR and 0 SB in 252 PA.

Starting Pitchers

Mick Abel: A must add in all leagues, even with just the possibility of a few more starts. So far, he hasn’t shown any weakness.

Landen Roupp: I’m a little surprised Roupp was still this lowly rostered with his stats (3.18 ERA, 3.63 xFIP, 1.38 WHIP, 8.8 K/9).

Ben Casparius: The 26-year-old righty has been great this year, moving between starting and relieving (2.54 ERA, 2.83 xFIP, 0.90 WHIP, 10.2 K/9). With an injury to Tony Gonsolin, it seems like Casparius will join the rotation next week.

Colton Gordon: A .370 BABIP inflated his ERA to 5.11 while his ERA estimators have him as a 3.50 ERA talent. His 91 mph fastball is suspect, but his 21% K%-BB% ranks 29th of 97 starts with at least 20 IP.

Sawyer Gipson-Long: He got hit around in his debut with 5 H and 3 ER in 3 IP. Both STUPH models were in love with him (70 botOvr, 112 Pitching+), especially the cutter. Roster to see if the grades hold up.

Kyle Harrison: Day-to-day with an elbow injury. The 23-year-old has a 2.5 mph increase in fastball velocity and a 4.5% SwStr% increase. His ERA estimators are in the mid-to-high 3.00’s.

Charlie Morton: Over his last five games, he has a 1.64 ERA (3.01 xFIP), 9.8 K/9, and 2.1 BB/9. All the improvement was from not walking as many batters. Before this stretch, he had a 6.3 BB/9 and 9.38 ERA (5.39 xFIP).

Ryan Yarbrough: The magical 88-mph fastball keeps it going with the career-high 8.7 K/9.

Adrian Houser: While the 1.48 ERA will regress upward, the regression points to him being average ( 3.62 xFIP, 6.9 K/9, 0.98 WHIP). His fastball is up about 2 mph.

Edward Cabrera: The walks are at a career-low 3.8 BB/9, and he still has a 1.47 WHIP. With the 9.6 K/9, he’s a 4.00 ERA talent. His WHIP is a major drag in roto leagues.

Chad Patrick: He has suppressed home runs so far (0.7 HR/9), but even with expected regression, he should be near 4.00 ERA talent.

Chris Paddack: I’m not sure the .245 BABIP will hold, and everything points to him being a low-4.00 ERA pitcher. Streaming option.

Cade Povich: A .338 BABIP has inflated his 5.11 ERA and 1.47 WHIP. Even with some downward regression to each, he’s at best a 4.00 ERA talent.

Stephen Kolek. Almost an identical twin to Paddack. My only issue would be if Kolek gets demoted once Darvish comes off the IL.

David Festa: Tons of strikeouts (11.3 K/9) but nothing else (5.40 ERA, 3.8 BB/9, 1.50 WHIP, 1.6 HR/9, .357 BABIP). He’s always gotten hit around with a career 1.3 HR/9 and .327 BABIP. I want him to be better, but it hasn’t happened yet.

Luis L. Ortiz: The 4.6 BB/9 leading to 1.40 WHIP. The WHIP does as much ratio damage as a 4.93 ERA. Better in a points league.

Ryne Nelson: He got lit up on Saturday with 7 ER, 3 K, and 4 BB in 3 IP. Even with the blowup, he remains a streaming option.

Bryce Elder: The positive part of his game is generating ground balls (51%). Every other aspect is below average, making him a below-average arm.

Bailey Falter: Among the 80 qualified starters, his 5.3 K/9 is the third lowest. Once his 0.8 HR/9 regresses to his career 1.3 HR, his ERA will jump a point or more.

Landon Knack: In AAA and not worth holding for a later date.

Miles Mikolas: A 0.6 HR/9 (with a lower GB%) is suppressing his ERA. A solid 5.00 ERA talent.

Paul Blackburn: Even though he had 0 ER in his first 2025 start, he’s moving to the bullpen.

Relievers

David Bednar: Good reliever who is the closer.

Robert Garcia: Average reliever who is the closer.

Calvin Faucher: Average reliever who is the closer.

Tommy Kahnle: Average reliever who is sharing the closer duties.

Kirby Yates: Good reliever whose role is unknown. He could be sharing the closer duties or a few steps away from closing.

Zach Agnos: Below-average reliever who is the closer.

Randy Rodriguez: Great reliever who is the backup closer.

Alex Vesia: Good reliever who is a backup closer.

Abner Uribe: Good reliever who is the backup closer.

Reed Garrett: Good reliever who is the backup closer.

Ronny Henriquez: Good reliever who is a couple of steps away from closing.

Craig Kimbrel: Designated for assignment by the Braves.

Daily SP Chart archive

The chart includes their performance for 2025, their opponent’s wOBA rank versus the pitcher’s handedness from this year so far, my general start/sit recommendation for 10-team, 12-team, and 15-team (or more) leagues, and then a note about them. Obviously, there are league sizes beyond those three so it’s essentially a shallow, medium, deep. If a pitcher only has an “x” in 15-team, it doesn’t mean there’s no potential use in 10s and 12s, but it’s a much riskier stream for those spots.

These are general recommendations, and your league situation will carry more weight whether you are protecting ratios or chasing counting numbers. This is for standard 5×5 roto leagues. The thresholds for H2H starts are generally lower, especially in points leagues so I thought there would be more valuable focusing on roto.

ICYMI last night: Probably gonna be board-only pieces the rest of the week as I head out to Charlotte to catch a Savannah Bananas game with a couple friends and link up with our very own Jason Collette as well! I think I’m gonna make the Saturday and Sunday boards with the current probables and load them into the WordPress so I don’t have to do it on my laptop and then I will make any changes in-place meaning I won’t remake the boards. So let’s say a 1-x guy gets moved out and a stud is moved up in his place, I would put the 3-x stud in that 1-x guy’s row as it’s much easier on short notice during a vacation… so I’m choosing convenience over style in that case. But that’s only if there are changes.

Saturday and Sunday boards included here, so keep scrolling to find Sunday’s! I’ll try to sweep Sunday’s board tonight for changes, but please feel free to comment if you see something amiss as that’ll help me a lot!

Saturday AM Edit: Yarbrough was supposed to be a 2-x. He’s been great and I don’t mind giving him a shot in a lot of spots.

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American League

Angels

• Second and third base aren’t set with Kevin Newman (.451 OPS), Chris Taylor (.325 OPS), Luis Rengifo (.507), and Scott Kingery (.472) splitting time over the last three games. Read the rest of this entry »

Below are the latest playing time changes for pitchers in the past week, highlighted by AJ Smith-Shawver’s season-ending injury that increases the importance of Grant Holmes and Bryce Elder in Atlanta’s rotation.

Daily SP Chart archive

The chart includes their performance for 2025, their opponent’s wOBA rank versus the pitcher’s handedness from this year so far, my general start/sit recommendation for 10-team, 12-team, and 15-team (or more) leagues, and then a note about them. Obviously, there are league sizes beyond those three so it’s essentially a shallow, medium, deep. If a pitcher only has an “x” in 15-team, it doesn’t mean there’s no potential use in 10s and 12s, but it’s a much riskier stream for those spots.

These are general recommendations, and your league situation will carry more weight whether you are protecting ratios or chasing counting numbers. This is for standard 5×5 roto leagues. The thresholds for H2H starts are generally lower, especially in points leagues so I thought there would be more valuable focusing on roto.

ICYMI last night: Probably gonna be board-only pieces the rest of the week as I head out to Charlotte to catch a Savannah Bananas game with a couple friends and link up with our very own Jason Collette as well! I think I’m gonna make the Saturday and Sunday boards with the current probables and load them into the WordPress so I don’t have to do it on my laptop and then I will make any changes in-place meaning I won’t remake the boards. So let’s say a 1-x guy gets moved out and a stud is moved up in his place, I would put the 3-x stud in that 1-x guy’s row as it’s much easier on short notice during a vacation… so I’m choosing convenience over style in that case. But that’s only if there are changes.

Friday’s board is paper-thin, especially for a 30-arm slate!! Not only is it light on studs, but many of them are facing tough teams: Skubal v. CHC, Sonny v. LAD, Senga at Coors (COL sucks, but always a dangerous park), and Lodolo v. ARI.

NOTE: for board-only days I’m going to put a “W” in the box to indicate a Win-chase, someone you’re using because you think they’re team can support them enough to get a Win even if they give something like a 5 IP/4 ER start. This will be used as almost a half-x as I’m only advocating for them in a specific case so if you don’t care as much about the Win potential, you can ignore the reco.

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American League

Astros

• Jacob Melton will not play every game, and when he does, it’ll be against righties.

“We’re taking it a little slow with the groin. We were playing [Jacob Melton] four days a week in the minor leagues and it kind of fits here,” Brown told the team’s pregame radio show.

“He’s probably going to come up here and face right-handers, gives us that left-hand bat we’ve been looking for. We don’t have to play him here every day, but we’re gradually going to break him in and see what he can do.”

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Every week, I look through my rostered pitchers noting the worst ones and churn them out next week. This week, the Yusei Kikuchi stood out. Someone with a 3.06 ERA and his ERA estimators around 4.50. It was his ERA estimators throwing red flags, but I have other pitchers worse. It was his 1.52 WHIP, third worst among qualified starters behind Kyle Freeland (1.63) and Jack Kochanowicz (1.56). With WHIP being its own Roto category, it has as much weight as ERA but ERA is the mentioned multiple times more often than WHIP. I’m just going to create a simple WHIP to ERA conversion to put both on the same scale.

To get the conversion equation, I used the overall rankings for the NFBC’s Main Event (15 team) and Online Championship (12 team). With them, I ranked the WHIP and ERA values separately. I removed the the first and last 10% of values because the change for them isn’t linear.

With the tails removed and plotted the best remaining WHIP with the best remaining ERA. I did that for each one. Here are the plotted results.

The correlation is nearly perfect, so the correlation equations can be used to convert a WHIP to an ERA equivalent. Here is conversion table.

The results for the two league types are close so I’ll only use the Main Event information going forward. Besides the above table, I have created a public Google Sheet (copy by going to File -> Make a Copy) where a WHIP can be entered and an equivalent ERA is spit out.

Kikuchi’s 1.52 WHIP would be equivalent to a ~5.50 ERA. No one is starting/rostering a pitcher with a 5.50 ERA this deep into the season. The high WHIP can’t be ignored and I’m likely to move on where I can find decent options.

Besides Kikuchi, Here are the qualified pitchers who have a WHIP that does as much ratio damage as a 4.50 or worse ERA.

Gavin Williams and José Soriano have been devastating managers’ in the WHIP category but it doesn’t seem as bad with sub-4.00 ERA.

WHIP is probably one of the most misunderstood categories and hopefully I made it easier to understand an expectable value.

Daily SP Chart archive

The chart includes their performance for 2025, their opponent’s wOBA rank versus the pitcher’s handedness from this year so far, my general start/sit recommendation for 10-team, 12-team, and 15-team (or more) leagues, and then a note about them. Obviously, there are league sizes beyond those three so it’s essentially a shallow, medium, deep. If a pitcher only has an “x” in 15-team, it doesn’t mean there’s no potential use in 10s and 12s, but it’s a much riskier stream for those spots.

These are general recommendations, and your league situation will carry more weight whether you are protecting ratios or chasing counting numbers. This is for standard 5×5 roto leagues. The thresholds for H2H starts are generally lower, especially in points leagues so I thought there would be more valuable focusing on roto.

Probably gonna be board-only pieces the rest of the week as I head out to Charlotte to catch a Savannah Bananas game with a couple friends and link up with our very own Jason Collette as well!

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