Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Picks: MLB Free Agents for April 28, 2025
As the 2025 fantasy baseball season heats up, it’s essential to stay on top of the latest developments and adjust your roster accordingly. Injuries, role changes, and streaking performances can quickly turn a player’s value on its head. In this article, we’ll focus on three pitchers who, based on recent performance and team news, are must-adds in all formats.
According to ESPN, the key to success in fantasy baseball is being quick to react and adjust your roster. With this in mind, let’s take a closer look at Max Meyer, Andrew Heaney, and Luke Weaver, who are all available in a significant number of leagues.
Max Meyer, SP, Miami Marlins
Meyer is the quintessential example of a "juice the orange" player, as described by ESPN. Despite struggling with injuries, Meyer has looked excellent so far this season, particularly with his slider, which Statcast grades as the fourth most-valuable pitch overall. If he can improve his command of his four-seam fastball, Meyer could quickly soar into the upper tiers of the starting pitcher rankings. With a 33.1% strikeout rate, he’s well worth the pickup.
As ESPN notes, Meyer’s slider has a 7.0 Run Value, a 50.0% whiff rate, and a .123 BAA, making him an attractive addition to any fantasy roster. With a strong performance, Meyer could become a top-tier starting pitcher.
Andrew Heaney, SP, Pittsburgh Pirates
Heaney is coming off a brilliant performance, with a nine-strikeout, one-hit shutout against the Los Angeles Angels. According to ESPN, this marks the third time in his past three outings that he has exceeded 20 fantasy points. Heaney’s success is largely due to his ability to mix up his pitches, hit his spots, and vary his arm slot. With the Pirates playing 25 of their next 40 games at home, which is one of the game’s most HR-suppressing ballparks, Heaney is well worth adding to exploit the early streak.
As ESPN points out, Heaney’s Pirates play in a ballpark that should help him limit home runs, which have been a historical problem for him. With a two-start Week 6, including both turns at PNC Park, Heaney is a solid addition to any fantasy roster.
Luke Weaver, RP, New York Yankees
Manager Aaron Boone’s announcement that Devin Williams has been removed from the closer role thrusts Weaver back into the role in which he enjoyed much success deep into the postseason. According to ESPN, Weaver had eight saves, two holds, a 1.03 ERA, and a 41.7% strikeout rate from the date of his first save last September 6 through the conclusion of the World Series. With 14 shutout innings, two saves, six holds, and the 11th-most fantasy points among pure relief pitchers, Weaver is an easy top-10 closer.
As ESPN notes, even if this switch is temporary, Weaver is a top-20 fantasy reliever of any type, even in a setup role.
Rotisserie-style player to add
David Bednar, RP, Pirates
After a nightmarish spring training and a similarly poor opening regular-season weekend, Bednar was removed from the closer role and demoted to Triple-A Indianapolis. However, he quickly straightened himself out with five scoreless appearances and a 43.8% K rate. According to ESPN, since his April 19 recall, Bednar has been stellar, with four scoreless outings, culminating in his getting the save on Friday. With his fastball velocity seeing a slight uptick in recent weeks, Bednar appears to be back in the role in which he saved 39 games and finished fourth at his position in fantasy points in 2023.
Deeper-league pickups
Jordan Beck, OF, Colorado Rockies
Beck has been displaying some power for the Colorado Rockies, homering in three consecutive games over the past week, including two multi-HR contests. According to ESPN, Beck’s skill set is good enough to justify the add in any league at least as deep as 12-team mixed. With a power/speed type who had 25 homers and 20 steals combined in the minors in 2023, Beck shapes up as a solid future regular for the Rockies.
Andy Pages, OF, Los Angeles Dodgers
Pages is shaping up as the Dodgers’ everyday center fielder, which isn’t that bad a thing on an offense that should be one of baseball’s best all year long. According to ESPN, he’s hitting .500 (15-for-30) with three homers across his last eight games, although he’ll need to boost what has been only a 30.0% hard-hit rate if he’s going to sustain that pace.
Fernando Cruz, RP, Yankees
Cruz is a critical piece in the Yankees’ bullpen, with a 1.80 ERA, 39.7% K rate, and .154 BAA, thanks mostly to a filthy splitter that has generated a 53.4% whiff rate. According to ESPN, he’s currently tied for 13th among pure relief pitchers in fantasy points (66) despite doing most of it in a setup capacity. With Weaver being the top priority, Cruz should also be stashed everywhere.
