FANTASY BASEBALL WAIVER WIRE PICKUPS
Caleb Durbin (3B Red Sox): Rostered in 20 percent of Yahoo leagues
Durbin was a surprising trade target for the Red Sox after they failed to re-sign Alex Bregman and struck out on acquiring Isaac Paredes from the Astros. Coming off a surprisingly successful rookie season in Milwaukee, he figured to be a keeper for the thrifty Brewers. Probably the fact that they made him available in the first place should have been a red flag. Just two weeks in, getting Kyle Harrison and David Hamilton for him already looks like a bit of a heist.
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Admittedly, this isn’t reading as much of a recommendation so far. But while Durbin’s future as a major league regular should be in some doubt, the Red Sox are going to give him an extended opportunity here. Durbin’s big issue this year is that he’s been hitting too many grounders, something that hasn’t been a problem previously. Once he solves that, he and the Green Monster should become fast friends. Durbin can’t hit 400-foot flies with any regularity, but 340-360 foot shots to left should be pretty common. He was in the 68th percentile in pulled fly ball rate last year, and as rarely as he strikes out, getting back to that make for a bunch of doubles.
The Red Sox offense has been dreadful so far, but this still projects to be an above average group. While Durbin was dropped from sixth to seventh in the lineup on Monday, he might just wind up batting second once he heats up some; the Red Sox need a right-handed hitter there and he’s certainly better suited than Trevor Story for the spot. He’ll have a decent enough average in the end and probably swipe 15-20 bases. He’s not someone who should be sitting on the waiver wire in standard leagues.
Garrett Mitchell (OF Brewers): Rostered in 15 percent of Yahoo leagues
The strikeout-prone Mitchell remains a flawed player, and it sounds like he might have been sent down this spring if it had been manager Pat Murphy’s choice (though he might have gotten his spot back anyway with Jackson Chourio hurt).
Since the season started, however, Mitchell has been a beast, hitting .333 with a homer and three steals in nine games. He’s currently tied for first in the majors with 13 RBI. Mitchell has struck out 41 percent of the time, but eight of his 15 balls in play have been hard hit, with six of those topping 106 mph off the bat.
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In the long run, Mitchell is going to strike out too often to hit for quality average. However, the power is certainly legit, as is his basestealing ability. He’s struggled mightily to stay healthy since first arriving in Milwaukee in 2022, but he has a career 116 OPS+ and is 26-for-32 stealing bases in 150 games. Even though he’ll probably need to be dropped at some point, there’s no way he should be unrostered in 85 percent of leagues right now. Pick him up and enjoy it while it lasts.
Caleb Kilian (RP Giants): Rostered in one percent of Yahoo leagues
Very little was made of Kilian returning to the Giants organization in December, 4 ½ years after he and Alexander Canario were traded to the Cubs for Kris Bryant in a deadline deal. Kilian was a fine rotation prospect at the time, but he never mastered Triple-A and then missed much of the last two seasons before showing some ability in a stint in the Iowa down the stretch. He was averaging 96 mph with his fastball then, up about one mph from his peak as a starter and 2.5 mph from his couple of appearances with the Cubs in 2024. When he arrived this spring, he was up to 97.5 mph, and he’s maintained that velocity in throwing 4 2/3 scoreless innings to start the season.
With his fastball working so well, Kilian’s cutter has at least temporarily vanished from his arsenal. It was his most used pitch this year, and he was still throwing it regularly this spring. However, he’s taken to featuring his curve as his No. 2 pitch, and it’s easy to see why.
Kilian is probably a big injury risk, given his recent shoulder problems and the velocity spike. He also hasn’t actually pitched with a lead yet in his five appearances, though he got into his biggest situation yet in Monday’s loss and fared well. Still, he has the best stuff in a lousy Giants bullpen. Manager Tony Vitello has already showed he’s not married to Ryan Walker in the closer’s role, and that’s probably for the best, especially with Walker’s velocity down one mph from last year; he’s thus far gotten one whiff on 30 swings. If Kilian doesn’t have to be snatched up in mixed leagues just yet, he’s well worth keeping an eye on. If he gets a chance and turns in a couple of scoreless eighth innings and Walker remains shaky, he might quickly become the man for the Giants.
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Waiver Wire Quick Hits
– The White Sox didn’t call up prospect Sam Antonacci to replace the injured Austin Hays on Tuesday, but maybe they would have had Hays waited another couple of weeks to strain his hammy. Antonacci is still learning left field after playing exclusively in the infield prior to this year, but he’s opened up 9-for-26 with two homers and a 3/8 K/BB in seven games for Triple-A Charlotte. He’s also 4-for-4 stealing bases after going 48-for-58 last year. The power probably isn’t going to be there in the majors, but if he gets a chance to start regularly for the White Sox, he might steal enough bases to be pretty useful.
– Off to the hotter start in Triple-A, Juan Brito (.314/.405/.457) got the nod over Travis Bazzana (.212/.316/.394) to serve as Gabriel Arias‘s replacement in Cleveland. Neither are options at shortstop while Arias is out, so that wasn’t a factor. With Bazzana locked in at second base for Columbus, Brito had started six games at third and two at first to begin the year. Brito, a switch-hitter, looked like he might be the Guardians’ long-term second baseman before Bazzana was drafted first overall two years ago. He’s an iffier prospect now after missing most of last year, but his great approach helps make up for his lack of power potential. He’s probably not going to be much of a factor in fantasy leagues this time around.