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Mike's starting pitcher (SP) fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups for Week 1 of 2025 (March 31 - April 6). His top free-agent pitchers to add and stream.
Welcome, everyone, to our starting pitcher fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups for Week 1 of the 2025 season (March 31 - April 6). In this weekly piece, we search for starting pitchers rostered in less than 50 percent of Yahoo! leagues. If you are like most players, you will be perennially looking for pitching.
Each week, we will try to help you find undervalued pitchers who can help your team that week and during the rest of the season. This is an interesting piece each week because you never know what you will find in your research. From back-end fillers to up-and-coming young aces, we will cover you each weekend and give you several starting pitchers to chase down in your fantasy baseball league waiver wires.
Some will be streamers, and some will be players you can keep rostered for several weeks. Remember that you may disagree with these picks, and that's the joy of fantasy baseball. We can all have different opinions and will build our teams accordingly. Let's dive in and take a look.
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Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire Pickups for Shallow Leagues
Recommendations for leagues of any size rostered between 30-50 percent on Yahoo!
Jesus Luzardo, Philadelphia Phillies (rostered in 49 percent of leagues)
Luzardo feels like a bit of a forgotten man after his trade to the Philadelphia Phillies this spring. Are we willing to give the 27-year-old southpaw another mulligan? Don't let the fact that he may have burned you in the past blind your vision to how he can help your roster.
Luzardo made only 12 starts last year, and the results were poor: three wins, a 5.00 ERA, and only 58 strikeouts. Lest we forget, in 2023, he has 10 wins and 208 strikeouts and was a fantasy darling. Health has evaded him, but the stuff and the command are usually there when he is available.
He's worth the risk while joining a dominant Phillies team to see what happens. As a reminder, this is what he can do when he's healthy:
Kumar Rocker, Texas Rangers (rostered in 49 percent of leagues)
Rocker made the Rangers' Opening Day roster, and why not? The 25-year-old looks like he is ready to contribute to the team. With injuries across their rotation, Rocker should have some staying power.
Our ATC projections show a good season for Rocker: 22 starts, seven wins, a 3.86 ERA, and 124 strikeouts in 118 innings. A small investment here could pay dividends all year. Why not go for the upside rather than speculate on the health of some veteran starter?
Jack Leiter, Texas Rangers (rostered in 44 percent of leagues)
Almost the same note for Leiter as Rocker, just above him in this piece. Leiter features a blazing fastball but seemingly lacks a strikeout upside. Nevertheless, he will get a chance to be in the rotation as injuries have taken a toll in Texas on Jon Gray and Cody Bradford.
Keep expectations realistic, and Leiter could be a great streaming option at the very least.
Luis Severino, Athletics (rostered in 44 percent of leagues)
There is nothing flashy about what Severino does. He gets hitters out and does more with guile now than with pure stuff. Gone is the 220+ strikeout guy he was six years ago. But he is still a very usable pitcher and is the ace on an Athletics team that will be better than most people think.
Last year, he won 11 games with a 3.94 ERA, adding in 161 strikeouts. He's an excellent filler for the back end of your rotation. Severino threw everything but the kitchen sink in his first 2025 start. See below:
Jeffrey Springs, Athletics (rostered in 40 percent of leagues)
Springs went six innings and struck out nine in his Athletics debut this week. Health has been the biggest culprit for the lefty over the last two seasons.
Springs is still worth considering if you need someone to fill out your rotation. Springs made seven starts from the end of July through September, and the results are in the chart below.
Justin Verlander, San Francisco Giants (rostered in 39 percent of leagues)
This comes down to how much gas you think the wily veteran has in the tank. I think he's still worth a shot, especially in deeper leagues. It seems like much to ask for a 42-year-old to become healthy again, yet Verlander continued to tout his health this spring.
He started five games, covering 21 innings, and posted an excellent 3.43 ERA and a usable 8.14 K/9. It won't take long to find out if he can help fantasy teams this year.
Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire Pickups for Deeper Leagues
Recommendations for leagues of any size rostered less than 30 percent on Yahoo!
Dustin May, Los Angeles Dodgers (rostered in 36 percent of leagues)
May earned the fifth spot in a stout Dodgers rotation with a solid spring: two wins, a 3.60 ERA, and 12 strikeouts in 10 innings. May has battled some freakish injuries in the past two seasons, including UCL revision and a torn esophagus.
Healthy again, May should be a good source of ratio help and wins while limiting hard contact. May is worth a dart throw in deep leagues.
Jose Soriano, Los Angeles Angels (rostered in 21 percent of leagues)
Soriano is the No. 2 starter in Los Angeles, yet he is rostered in less than 25 percent of Yahoo leagues at this time. A converted reliever, Soriano has shown that he is at least a capable streamer. On Saturday, Soriano started his 2025 season with a seven-inning gem against the Chicago White Sox, striking out five hitters while scattering two hits and two walks. He is worth taking a look at in deeper leagues immediately.
Soriano pairs a 98 mph sinker with a power curveball, resulting in a whopping 60 percent ground-ball percentage. He won't get a ton of strikeouts but will help with your ratios. Take a look at Soriano and check out that ground-ball percentage by month in 2024 below.
Sean Burke, Chicago White Sox (rostered in 15 percent of leagues)
Some may call this a homer pick, as I am a die-hard Chicago White Sox fan, but Burke has potential and a job. The Opening Day starter, Burke, went six scoreless innings against the Los Angeles Angels. He only nabbed three strikeouts but worked through trouble and looked like a veteran.
Burke may not win many games, but the stuff is there for him to be a competitive starter on a rebuilding White Sox team. He gets the Minnesota Twins at home next week. He is one to watch as the biggest issue in his career has been injuries.
Other Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire Options
- Tylor Megill, New York Mets (rostered in 9 percent of leagues)
- Casey Mize, Detroit Tigers (rostered in 8 percent of leagues)
- Zack Littell, Tampa Bay Rays (rostered in 4 percent of leagues)
- Osvaldo Bido, Athletics (rostered in 3 percent of leagues)
Happy hunting for starting pitchers this weekend! If you have questions, you can always message me on X @mdrc0508. You can even tell me you hate these picks. Remember that fantasy baseball is supposed to be fun above everything. Enjoy it!
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