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John's H2H points fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups for pitchers in Week 1 (2025) -- March 31 through April 6. Free-agent pitchers to add in points leagues.
Drafting's the best part of the year, I get it. It's tremendous and absolutely a ton of fun, but let's be honest -- fantasy baseball's won with in-season management. When the head honchos here at RotoBaller asked me to take on the points leagues SP waiver wire duties, I was honored -- there may not be a more critical element to championship acquisition. Look back on previous seasons, and you can almost bet blind that the league winner made a key free-agency add, which made a good team into a great team.
That said, there are just so many league types, sizes, and formats that it's nearly impossible to serve everyone at once. So, for my first swing at this, we'll start by taking a close look at my favorite available starting pitchers. These will generally be players I'm excited to roster with a chance to stick around for the entire season, barring an injury. Then, at the end, I'll just list any viable long-shot adds for the NFBC/deep league crowd. Desperation may be a stinky cologne, but it beats taking a zero.
There's also an element of roster construction worth discussing briefly before adding arms to the fantasy squad. This is where everyone differs, and it's truly a matter of preference, but also something I've personally had lots of success with in the past. I'd love to credit whoever coined the term "Team Streamer" -- I think it may be my buddy Paul Sporer over at FanGraphs, but I'm not sure. Either way, it's my new stylistic approach to fantasy baseball. The thinking's simple. Minimize bench bats for a plethora of pitching specs or hurlers you'd roster for a week, depending on matchups. That way, you can avoid the weekly SP waiver wire rush for two-start pitchers who frankly stink.
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Jack Leiter, SP, Texas Rangers
49% Rostered
That buzzing sound you hear means it's time for the market to wake from its prospect fatigue regarding Jack Leiter. Texas' post-post hype sleeper earned an Opening Day rotation spot and didn't waste it in a beautiful outing at home versus the Red Sox (5 IP; 4 K, 1 BB, 5 H).
While the former second overall pick featured a brand new 97 mph power sinker (28 percent use rate/.331 xSLG/30.8 percent whiff rate), it is the rest of the arsenal that stole the show -- Leiter had three separate pitches rate among Baseball Prospectus' best individual offerings on the full day's slate (image below).
The Rangers will provide plenty of offense this season for Leiter, especially if he continues to rein in the command and control issues plaguing his past.
I'd use a top waiver priority or whatever FAAB necessary to acquire Leiter on Sunday night -- even though you might consider benching him next Wednesday in Cincinnati's Great American Small Park.
Special shoutout to Jack Leiter (5IP 5H 1ER 1BB 4K) of the @Rangers who had 3 of the highest rated pitches thrown by a starting pitcher yesterday pic.twitter.com/R3t8Zm3MTp
— Baseball Prospectus (@baseballpro) March 29, 2025
Sean Burke, SP, Chicago White Sox
39% Rostered
Sometimes, it's all about the fantasy drumbeat. When a young starter with a career 29+ percent K MiLB rate makes the club, you take notice, regardless of sample size. Coming off a scoreless spring after excelling in the bigs shows why Chicago's Sean Burke caught lots of steam heading toward Opening Day in the high-stakes arena.
Despite just three strikeouts, the White Sox's new de facto ace blanked Los Angeles while filling up the zone (32.9 percent ball rate), inducing chases (37.5 percent O-Swing rate), and winning in-zone (75.0 percent zone contact rate).
Currently, the overall SP6 in Yahoo formats entering Saturday's action is credited to the all-important win (who would've thought it's possible in Chicago), another good start against Minnesota, and now Burke's headlining articles everywhere.
The matchup may look worse on paper than in reality as well -- Minnesota's striking out at nearly a 30 percent clip and batting just .235 as a team thus far.
Opening Day nod?
No problem for @whitesox rookie Sean Burke:
6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K pic.twitter.com/DCtno0XUy0
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) March 27, 2025
Jose Soriano, SP, Los Angeles Angels
36% Rostered
Probably the least repeatable of the bunch after going under the hood, Jose Soriano's still going to be a very popular add this weekend. Currently the SP2 (7 IP; 5 K, 2 BB, 2 H) after finishing behind only MacKenzie Gore's Opening Day masterclass, this may land closer inside the luck bucket than some may suggest.
Not only did he dominate a dreadful White Sox offense, but Soriano also allowed more 95+ mph hard-hit balls (six) than whiffs generated (five).
Sure, the 26-year-old righty filled up the zone with strikes in a plus matchup (image below), but that's probably the only time I'd look to start Soriano going forward -- his team context is suboptimal, and the entire arsenal dipped at least 1 mph across the board on the radar gun.
AJ Smith-Shawver, SP, Atlanta Braves
41% Rostered
For a minute, I started to get the feeling that AJ Smith-Shawver had disappointed me several times in the past, and while it may technically be true, it's also somewhat ridiculous. Why? AJSS has all of 29 2/3 IP in the majors, and he's only 22 years old. Goes to show you how impatient fantasy gamers can get, often losing the forest for the trees.
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous putting out a recommendation for a pitcher taking the hill after I submit this article, but before there's any time to delete it if he gets obliterated. Even if things go poorly this Sunday in San Diego, Smith-Shawver could still be worth adding in a buy-low spot since he's facing a pretty terrible Marlins offense at home next Friday.
If he builds off the inner-organizational hype and looks anything like he did this spring (16 IP; 21.2 percent K-BB, 14.5 percent swinging-strike rate, 0.0 HR/9), he could be the type of add that sticks around all season, considering the high win potential.
AJ Smith-Shawver's 8th K pic.twitter.com/kjHHq78ZCS
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 15, 2025
Honorable Mentions - Others To Prioritize
I wouldn't necessarily break the bank for any of these SPs, especially after Tier 1 -- but like I said before, sometimes desperation sets in, leaving us without a choice in the matter.
Ranks are in order of tier, except for the final stash section.
Rostering injured players depends on your situation and bench size/availability.
To that last point, be proactive! Never assume your team will stay healthy, and there's no point in adding players you currently have no intention of starting. Any player can break out, and unfortunately, injuries happen in waves.
So much can change from week to week in the fantasy streets, and my best advice is to keep your head on a swivel and constantly churn those final roster spots looking for the big score.
Tier 1: Team Streamers
Pitchers Who Could Stick Around, But We Need To See More From
- Ben Brown, CHC
- Cade Povich, BAL
- Matthew Boyd, CHC
- Richard Fitts, BOS
- Shane Smith, CHW
- Simeon Woods Richardson, MIN
Tier 2: Plus Matchup Only
One And Done
- Osvaldo Bido, ATH (Pitches in Coors next)
- Jack Kochanowicz, LAA
- JP Sears, ATH (Pitches in Coors next)
- Dean Kremer, BAL
- Mitchell Parker, WAS
- Tyler Anderson, LAA
- Logan Allen, CLE
Tier 3: Desperation Tier
You've Probably Made Some Bad Choices Already
- Valente Bellozo, MIA
- Andrew Heaney, PIT
- Trevor Williams, WAS
- Kyle Freeland, COL (Never start at home)
- Carson Spiers, CIN (Never start at home)
Tier 4: The Stashbox
Pitchers With Eventual Return Dates Who Are Better To Be Early Than Late On
- Bubba Chandler, PIT
- Zebby Matthews, MIN
- Hayden Birdsong, SF
- Lucas Giolito, BOS
- Kutter Crawford, BOS
- Cody Bradford, TEX
- Tobias Myers, MIL
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