As April winds down, there are still potential league winners to be found on the waiver wire. While I wish I could include them all, there are a few names more intriguing than others. Below are two hitters and two pitchers I’m keeping on my radar as potential waiver-wire additions. As I mentioned last week, pay attention also to who is being dropped by other owners in your league, as we find ourselves around the time that impatience grows too large with capable players having slow starts.
Waiver-Wire Targets:
Pittsburgh Pirates OF Jack Suwinski — I included Suwinski as an honorable mention in last week’s waiver-wire piece after he went on a home run tear. While he has not homered since, he flipped the script on us and stole his first four bases of the season in the past week, matching his total from last season. He is riding a modest five-game hitting streak and has reached base safely in 15 straight, posting elite percentile rankings in both walk rate and barrel percentage, among other categories. The Pirates currently have the best record in the National League, and Suwinski has been a big part of why they have been so fun to watch in the first month of the season.
Boston Red Sox OF Jarren Duran — Since being recalled from Triple-A Worcester on April 17, Duran has been on an absolute heater, posting multi-hit games in five of his nine starts. It’s a far cry from the lackluster performance we have seen from Duran in his limited opportunities during the previous two seasons, and his 12:3 strikeout-to-walk ratio leaves much to be desired, but the quality of contact has been exceptional as he already has six extra-base hits and an OPS over 1.000. There is risk with Duran, whose success may be short-lived, but it’s a fun stretch to ride at the moment.
Baltimore Orioles RHP Tyler Wells — Just a week ago, there was talk about the Orioles possibly moving Wells back to the bullpen, but he has put those thoughts to bed with a pair of exceptional starts in the past week. He followed up seven scoreless innings against Detroit with another near-quality start, as he was a dropped foul tip away from a six-inning, one-run performance with a career-high eight strikeouts before Justin Turner took advantage of his new life with an RBI single, knocking Wells from the game. The 6-foot-8 righty boasts a 2.79 ERA on the season with a major-league-leading 0.72 WHIP.
Cleveland Guardians RHP Tanner Bibee — In this spot last week was Rays’ recent call-up Taj Bradley, and I’m continuing that trend with Bibee, who dazzled in his major league debut, surrendering just one run in 5.2 innings with eight strikeouts and no walks. The hype is real, as Bibee posted a 2.13 ERA across 148 minor league innings with 186 strikeouts to just 35 walks. It appears the Guardians hope to keep him in the big leagues for now, and as such, I’m grabbing him wherever I can.
Honorable Mention:
Oakland Athletics OF Brent Rooker
Los Angeles Angels INF Brandon Drury
Toronto Blue Jays LHP Yusei Kikuchi
Pittsburgh Pirates RHP Vince Velasquez