Fantasy Baseball 2019 Week 1 Waiver Wire Picks

There are plenty of players that need to be added to fantasy baseball teams. Despite no games being played yet, here’s your Week 1 Waiver Wire report.

Opening Day is here. There are two games in the books with the rest of the league starting on March 28. If you haven’t had your fantasy baseball draft yet, get on it. For the other 99 percent of players, maybe you want to shake things up already or drafted an injured player, the waiver wire pool is deep.

Depending on the size of your league, there should be a decent amount of talent available to you. Whether it’s a platoon player, fifth starter or a middle reliever, every player has value. It just depends on how you value them. Do you need power or contact, strikeouts or quality starts?

Before the official Opening Day, here are my five waiver wire picks for the first week of the fantasy baseball season. Each player will have an ownership percentage no higher than 40 percent in ESPN leagues.

Ryan McMahon

McMahon was supposed to be the Colorado Rockies first baseman of the future. However, with a poor 2017 season and the addition of Daniel Murphy, McMahon entered spring training competing for the second base job.

More from FanSided

• Thunder projected lineup and rotations heading into 2023-24 season
• NWSL Challenge Cup news: Courage ruthless against Washington, Racing remain perfect
• 2023 Women’s World Cup: Ary Borges and Brazil showed the entire world what they are about
• Trea Turner’s rough season goes from bad to worse
• Brewers attempt to troll Elly De La Cruz backfires 456 feet

After the spring he had, .424/3 HR/14 RBIs, McMahon is slotted as the Rockies starting second baseman. Garrett Hampson will spell him on some days but it’s McMahon’s job. Hitting in Coors Field will help his power numbers. He’s owned in just 11.7 percent of leagues.

Kendrys Morales

Morales’ fantasy value is hindered because he is DH only. So, unless you have a free UTIL spot, Morales won’t attract many fantasy owners. He started the spring hot but settled with a .213 average, one home run and seven RBIs.

The AL East has two hitter-friendly parks in Yankee Stadium and Oriole Park with Fenway Park not too far behind. The Toronto Blue Jays have a decent lineup. Morales is projected to hit sixth, behind Justin Smoak and Kevin Pillar. He’ll have plenty of chances to drive in 65 runs with a .255 average. Morales is available in 75 percent of leagues.

Adam Frazier

The sky is the limit for Frazier entering into the 2019 season. He had a .277/.342/.456 slash line in 352 plate appearances last season. He is projected to hit leadoff for the Pittsburgh Pirates as their starting second baseman.

The Pirates offense has been bitten with the injury bug, especially in the outfield, over the last couple of seasons. If they can stay healthy, Frazier has the potential to score 80 runs. He had a good spring and will translate that into success in his age-27 season. Frazier is owned in 39.8 percent of leagues.

Matt Strahm

While everyone is on the Chris Paddack bandwagon, Strahm is going undrafted. He is available in 78 percent of ESPN leagues. Over 20.0 innings this spring, he had a 2.25 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and a 25:5 K:BB ratio.

The San Diego Padres improved their offense with Manny Machado. The starting rotation doesn’t have the same name value but there is potential. Strahm will make his first start on April 1 against the Arizona Diamondbacks at home. A good ballpark with a good matchup, Strahm’s ownership percentage will rise over the season.

Ryan Brasier

For a World Series contender, the Boston Red Sox have handled their bullpen interestingly. Not bringing back Craig Kimbrel and letting Joe Kelly go leaves the closer job wide open. Matt Barnes seems to be getting more attention, but Brasier will be in the mix. He’s owned in just 9.2 percent of leagues.

Roster Resource lists them both as co-closers. The Red Sox are good enough to have both closers get at least 20 saves each. I like Brasier’s K:BB numbers. Though, he doesn’t have the extensive playing time Barnes does.

Barnes has a career 4.14 ERA. He strikes out a lot of batters but averages 30 walks per season. Not what you want from a potential closer.

Depending on your league, these players may not be available on the waiver wire. The good thing is it’s a long season and plenty of players will make their value known. I’ll have another five players ready for Week 2. Good luck!