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Nicklaus' H2H points fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups for hitters in Week 1 (2025) - March 31 through April 6. Free-agent hitters to add in points leagues.
Welcome RotoBallers to our H2H points fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups for hitters for Week 1 of the 2025 season. These fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups are for the week of March 31 - April 6, looking at players below ~50% rostered on ESPN or Yahoo points leagues.
We'll be doing this points league roundup every week here at RotoBaller because we know points players get neglected, and we're here to help. Player values can vary wildly from platform to platform, so we'll highlight where players are the best and worst fits, with waiver-wire targets being evaluated in terms of the different scoring systems on ESPN, Yahoo, CBS, Fantrax, and NFBC.
Position eligibility is taken from Fantrax, and players are grouped by their most valuable fantasy position, using a hierarchy of C > 2B > OF > 3B > 1B > SS. Stats and rankings are calculated using games through Saturday, March 29.
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Waiver Wire Caveats and APR Explanation
Roster% Thresholds
We use a combination of Roster% to assess who is in our target pool, relying mostly on Yahoo and ESPN. For some players, you'll notice a wide discrepancy between the two. This is because ESPN's Roster% is heavily weighted by points players, with guys who don't do well in their system (often because of an inflated K%) lagging behind the Yahoo Roster%.
For this reason, you'll sometimes see players (especially early) who might make you question my sanity in including them in a waiver-wire article, but don't worry, it's just a necessary glitch for coverage purposes.
APR stands for "Average Platform Rank" and is the average hitter rank between the four major point platforms: ESPN, Yahoo, CBS, and Fantrax. All player data is from FanGraphs and Baseball Savant, with injury information pulled from the Roster Resource section on the former.
Fantasy Baseball First Base Waiver Wire Pickups
Best Choices
Rhys Hoskins, MIL, 1B (Yahoo: 52%, ESPN: 19%) - More likely to be found available on ESPN (and their (-1) per K), his possible whiffery wouldn't be scaring me off. Hoskins gets seven games (vs KC, vs CIN) at the friendly dimensions of Miller Park, with some subpar pitching and three LHP currently on the schedule.
Spencer Torkelson, DET, 1B (Yahoo: 29%, ESPN: 19%) - Tork already has one bomb after hitting five in spring training while slashing .340/.389/.680, and is wooing the fantasy world again. Listen, even if this is all just yet another clever ruse that will suck us in only to inevitably end (again!) in Triple-A heartbreak*, you still have to find out if the former No. 1 overall pick has finally put it all together.
Say it with me now; prospects do not always have a linear progression...prospects do not always have a linear progression...prospects do no-.
*Leave me alone because I'm definitely not speaking from personal experience, okay???
Next Choices
Nolan Schanuel, LAA, 1B (Yahoo: 10%, ESPN: 3%) - I spent a lot of time recommending Schanuel for point leagues last season, and I expect I'll be doing it again this year. It's not that Schanuel is a budding superstar; his boring roto possibilities just happen to come with a very points-friendly profile. Especially considering all of the PAs he'll likely compile batting in the top-third of the Angels lineup.
The Angels have six games this week (@STL, vs CLE) and will only face one LHP.
Jeimer Candelario, CIN, 1B (Yahoo: 9%, ESPN: 8%) - May I interest anyone in a Jeimer Candelario renaissance? I mean, if you can't declare something a renaissance after three days, what are we even doing here? Regardless, the lightly-rostered Candelario gets seven games at good ballparks in Week 1, with three in Texas before coming home for four more against the Brewers.
Desperate Choices
Carlos Santana, CLE, 1B (Yahoo: 9%, ESPN: 19%) - What is dead may never die -- Santana will be useful in points until five years after he's dead. He'll get six games in Week 1 (@SD, @LAA), with two coming vs the left-handed pitchers that he still trucks.
Josh Bell, WSN, 1B (Yahoo: 9%, ESPN: 10%) - Nobody ever wants to start Josh Bell, but if you have to, he'll probably be at least boringly startable. Bell gets six games in Week 1 (@TOR, vs ARI), with only one coming vs an LHP.
Fantasy Baseball Second Base Waiver Wire Pickups
Best Choices
Otto Lopez, MIA, 2B (Yahoo: 20%, ESPN: 7%) - The world might not be making many Ottos anymore, but this one has been making its way into my heart since last summer.
Lopez quietly took over second base last season for the Marlins and never gave it back up, starting most games from May on and finishing with 434 PA in 117 games. He slashed .270/.313/.377, with just a 17.3 percent K rate, and while his lack of pop hurts him in Roto, there is no such necessary baggage in most point leagues.
Set for six games in Week 1 (vs NYM, @ATL), Lopez already has five hits in the young season, not to mention a stolen base with an ever-rare home run. Everything's turning up Otto, y'all -- get some while you can.
Counterpoint: He's a Marlin, named Otto; this is not generally a recipe for fantasy success.
Kyle Farmer, COL, 2B/3B (Yahoo: 1%, ESPN: 1%) - If we're not streaming Kyle Farmer in a week when there are three LHP on the menu and three games in Colorado, why are we even playing? Sure, he could go 0-for-Farmer, but these are exactly the streaming odds you're generally looking to play.
Next Choices
Gavin Lux, CIN, 2B (Yahoo: 7%, ESPN: 5%) - Who's ready for another season of all hype, no lasting production??? Longtime readers know I certainly am. Let me dust off my evergreen notes; ahh, yes, here they are:
"Your best-case scenario is that you're able to correctly guess the four weeks that Lux will be good, before he inevitably turns back into a Lux-shaped pumpkin who gets rage-dropped by all but the zealots."
Desperate Choices
Michael Massey, KC, 2B (Yahoo: 36%, ESPN: 33%) - This is a broken record: I've always loved Massey's skills, but the Royals simply have never shown much taste for letting him start vs LHP. Until that changes, his value remains limited beyond an excellent streamer in some weeks. Probably not this week, though, as the Royals will see LHP in two of their six games (@MIL, vs BAL).
Fantasy Baseball Third Base Waiver Wire Pickups
Best Choices
Eugenio Suarez, ARI, 3B (Yahoo: 90%, ESPN: 41%) - This is only for our ESPN laggards -- go pick up Suarez immediately, if he's somehow still around in your league. I get that he doesn't seem like a good fit in a full-point strikeout league like ESPN standard, but Suarez hits enough to out-produce his way through that negative wall.
For example, last season, when he finished as the No. 52 hitter on ESPN? Or maybe this pre-season, when ATC projected him to be a top-50 hitter, again? Or maybe in these first three games that he's gone full ham in, hitting four home runs and currently sitting in the No. 1 hitter spot?
Seriously, your league isn't really one of the ones where he's available, right? Go check!
Joey Ortiz, MIL, 3B (Yahoo: 25%, ESPN: 19%) - Projected by ATC to be a top-125 hitter on every platform except NFBC (#159), feel free to scoop up Ortiz, if available, if only to strongly bolster your bench. Ortiz gets seven games at home in Week 1 (vs KC, vs CIN), with three coming vs LHP.
Kyle Farmer, COL, 2B/3B (Yahoo: 1%, ESPN: 1%) - If we're not streaming Kyle Farmer in a week when there are three LHP on the menu and three games in Colorado, why are we even playing? Sure, he could go 0-for-Farmer, but these are exactly the streaming odds you're generally looking to play.
Next Choices
Jose Miranda, MIN, 3B (Yahoo: 4%, ESPN: 1%) - Miranda showed just how friendly his points profile can be, slashing .284/.322/.441 over 429 PA, with just a 15.4 percent K rate. The third base job is his for now, with Brooks Lee (back) and Royce Lewis (hamstring/being Royce Lewis) both on the IL; while it is, Miranda could be an excellent substitute.
The Twins have six games this week (@CHW, vs HOU), with two scheduled vs LHP.
Desperate Choices
Gio Urshela, ATH, 3B (Yahoo: 1%, ESPN: 0%) - If you know Nicklaus, you know I love me some good point profiles on bad teams. Urshela checks those boxes, as he's always had a very points-friendly profile and is definitely on our nomadic Athletics. He'll get three games at home against mostly mediocre Cubs starters before heading to the mountains of Colorado to hopefully do some Coors Field things.
Fantasy Baseball Shortstop Waiver Wire Pickups
Best Choices
Trevor Story, BOS, SS (Yahoo: 33%, ESPN: 10%) - I'm just as skeptical about Story's long-term health as the next person, but also, c'mon, people. He's still Trevor Story and still only 32 years old, batting in the middle of a good Boston lineup in a good hitters park; he probably shouldn't be on the wire.
While healthy, what are the realistic chances Story will only produce at a "waiver-wire level"? And what if he actually stays (relatively) healthy? That's probably found gold, baby -- best go pan it before he moves downstream.
The Red Sox have six games this week (@BAL, vs STL) and are scheduled to face one LHP.
Next Choices
Jacob Wilson, ATH, SS (Yahoo: 10%, ESPN: 2%) - You should probably just assume I'm going to recommend Wilson until he proves me really, really wrong. Maybe he doesn't end up being an excellent Roto asset, or maybe he ends up being Nick Madrigal -2.0 -- but Wilson has a very points-friendly skill-set and should get plenty of opportunity to showcase it for the hapless Athletics.
The A's of nowhere have six games in Week 1 (vs CHC, @COL), and three in Colorado is never a bad thing.
Desperate Choices
Geraldo Perdomo, ARI, SS (Yahoo: 4%, ESPN: 1%) - Every year, Perdomo is better than we think he should be and for longer, too. He might have fallen off big-time after being a near top-100 hitter in 2023, but was still a top-175 hitter on most platforms last season and was a sneaky-good streamer over stretches. He'll get six games in Week 1 (@NYY, @WSN), with three coming vs LHP.
Fantasy Baseball Outfielder Waiver Wire Pickups
Best Choices
Victor Robles, SEA, OF (Yahoo: 48%, ESPN: 11%) - Seattle has played three games (2 RHP, 1 LHP), and Robles has batted leadoff in all three -- I hereby declare that this is the year we officially proclaim that Victor is actually good. Huzzah! Don't expect him to be around your waiver for long, if he even still is. The Mariners have six games this week (vs DET, @SF) and will face LHP in two of them.
Next Choices
Jake Fraley, CIN, OF (Yahoo: 2%, ESPN: 1%) - Available virtually everywhere, Fraley gets seven games in favorable parks (vs TEX, @MIL) and the left-handed hitter will see RHPs in five of them.
Jordan Beck, COL, OF (Yahoo: 1%, ESPN: 1%) - Listen, I don't make the rules; Beck is a right-handed hitter who has three LHP on the upcoming schedule, with three games coming in Colorado. I have to recommend him; it's in the bylaws.
Desperate Choices
Sal Frelick, MIL, OF (Yahoo: 6%, ESPN: 1%) - Frelick is off to a banger, collecting three hits in his first two games, but also, they were all singles, so is that really a "banger"? Regardless, he'll pile up a bunch of PAs in his seven games this week, and even though three will come against his fellow lefties, Frelick's splits haven't shown much favoritism in that department at the beginning of his big-league career. The Brewers have a seven-game homestand in Week 1, with three scheduled vs LHP.
Tommy Pham, PIT, OF (Yahoo: 1%, ESPN: 1%) - Longtime readers know I'll rarely say a bad word about Pham, due to my underlying general fear that if I do, there is a non-zero chance he'll show up at my doorstep, looking to pop me right in the mouth.
Putting fear aside, however, Pham can be a useful fill-in at points, if getting plenty of playing time. Luckily, he's now in Pittsburgh, where generations of mediocre players have extended their starter careers well past when their ability says they should have been able to. Currently leading off(???), Pham should get plenty of playing time in the immediate future and has six games in Week 1 (@TB, vs NYY), with all scheduled vs RHP.
Fantasy Baseball Catcher Waiver Wire Pickups
Best Choices
Hunter Goodman, C, COL (Yahoo: 8%, ESPN: 2%) - A Colorado catcher with four games at home is almost always going to be interesting, and Goodman is actually playing at catcher, starting two of Colorado's first three games. He'll have three games against tough pitching in Philadelphia, but will then fly home to face the hapless A's in the thin air of home.
Next Choices
Jose Trevino, CIN, C (Yahoo: 1%, ESPN: 0%) - Oh, man, starting the year off with Jose Trevino as a Best Choice cannot be a good sign for the state of the position. Trevino has at least shown he can be useful for (small) stretches of time, plays in a friendly home park, and only has Austin Wynns pushing him for playing time. The Reds have seven games in Week 1 (vs TEX, @ MIL) and are scheduled to face two LHP.
Desperate Choices
Korey Lee, CHW, C (Yahoo: 0%, ESPN: 0%) - What did I tell you? We're already at the "have to recommend a catcher on the White Sox" portion of the proceedings...I hope none of your backstops suffer injury, or may Jeebus have mercy on your fantasy soul. Lee gets six games (vs MIN, @DET) in Week 1, with only one lefty (Tarik Skubal) and a whole mess of solid (okay, not terrible) RHP on the menu.
Fantasy Baseball Utility Waiver Wire Pickups
Best Choices
Joc Pederson, TEX, UT (Yahoo: 22%, ESPN: 10%) - For now, it looks like Pederson will be the Rangers' cleanup hitter when facing RHP, and that's all Texas has on the books in Week 1 (@CIN, vs TB). You have to bob-and-weave to get the value of Pederson, but in RHP-only weeks, the decision is easy.
Next Choices
Kyle Manzardo, CLE, UT (Yahoo: 28%, ESPN: 17%) - The young slugger with a prospect pedigree won't stay available for long if he keeps smashing -- Manzardo has gone 3-for-6 in his first two games with a home run, double, and triple. He'll get six games in Week 1, but two will come against fellow lefties.
Desperate Choices
Kris Bryant, COL, UT (Yahoo: 2%, ESPN: 2%) - Welp, we might as well use him until one of his soft tissues inevitably explodes. Bryant gets six games in very friendly hitter-parks (@PHI, vs ATH), and three of the six will come against LHP.
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