There’s no better way to start the weekend than by detonating a slice of your fantasy baseball roster. For those preparing to tweak lineups, today we offer a collection of preferred pickups, each available in a majority of Yahoo leagues.
Hunter Goodman, C/OF, Colorado Rockies (26% rostered)
Goodman’s roster percentage is scandalously low. Let’s please fix this situation. As soon as it became clear that Goodman was going to be an everyday player, either at catcher or DH, he should have been scooped up nearly everywhere. All he needed was a path to playing time.
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He has a pair of 30-homer seasons on his minor league resume and he’s already cleared the fence twice this year (without yet playing a game at Coors Field). He occupies a prime spot in the heart of the order for the Rockies, so his setup is exceedingly fantasy-friendly. Colorado is at home for 15 of 24 remaining games this month.
Victor Scott II, OF, St. Louis Cardinals (43%)
What, exactly, are we waiting for, people?! Scott has hit safely in five straight games, going deep once and swiping four bags in as many attempts. This year’s opening week is not last year’s opening week. Scott stole 94 bases in the minors back in 2023, so he’s a potential category leader. In all likelihood, Scott will no longer be eligible for this feature next week, so this will serve as last call.
Jordan Walker, OF, St. Louis Cardinals (15%)
It turns out the Cardinals outfield is home to multiple post-hype sleepers. Walker has opened the year going 7-for-18 with a homer, one steal and three walks. We’ll remind you that he was a consensus top-five prospect not so long ago and he’s still only 22 years old. He very clearly possesses 20/20 upside, because he was that sort of player in the high minors at age 20. Let’s not give up on Walker just yet.
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[It’s not too late — join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Baseball league for the 2025 MLB season]
Gavin Sheets, 1B/OF, San Diego Padres (14%)
Sheets was non-tendered by the worst team in the history of baseball over the winter, which would have to be a low point for any player. It’s the sort of indignity that might have derailed other careers, but this man was undeterred. Sheets got back in the lab, developed a new scientifically formulated swing, and produced a monster spring for his new team (6 HR). He’s off to a terrific start (8-for-18) as the strong side of a platoon-ish DH situation in San Diego. He definitely has the look of a player who should continue contributing in the power categories.
Brady Singer, SP, Cincinnati Reds (41%)
Singer is coming off a season in which he struck out 170 batters and didn’t destroy your fantasy ratios, so he should already have been on your radar as a streaming option in most formats. He was flipped to Cincinnati last November in the Jonathan India deal, then delivered an excellent spring for the Reds (17.2 IP, 21 K, 5 R).
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Singer is one of this year’s New Pitch Guys, having added a cutter during the offseason — and he was cooking with it in his Cincy debut. Last Sunday, he shut out the Rangers over 7.0 one-hit innings, striking out eight and issuing only two walks. He’s worth a test drive in his weekend start at Milwaukee.
Kris Bubic, RP, Kansas City Royals (27%)
Bubic spent last season in Kansas City’s bullpen following Tommy John surgery in 2023, and he pretty clearly benefited from the experience. He enhanced and reshaped his four-seam fastball and the early returns this season have been plenty encouraging. Bubic earned a win against the Brewers in his first start of the year, striking out eight over 6.0 scoreless frames. He seems to have held the velocity gains he made as a reliever, too. If you don’t quite feel ready to trust him in the upcoming start against Baltimore … well, OK, fine. But he’s a breakout candidate who appears to be breaking out, so he certainly deserves attention.
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José Soriano, SP, Los Angeles Angels (34%)
It is fully my intention to devote a blurb to Soriano in every pickups feature until he clears the 50% roster threshold. He toyed with the White Sox in his first start this season (predictably), earning a win with 7.0 unblemished innings in which he struck out five batters and induced a dozen outs via ground-ball. Soriano offers triple-digit heat and evil secondary pitches, including a vicious split and knuckle-curve. When he’s dealing, he’s a party.
Emilio Pagán (Reds), Dennis Santana (Bucs), Tommy Kahnle (Tigers), RP, (17%, 18%, 9%)
We have our first wave of sketchy closers replacing other sketchy closers, and these are the names. It should go without saying that you can’t fully trust any of these guys, but each appears to now be their team’s leading candidate for saves. Luke Jackson (42%), Camilo Doval (23%) and Anthony Bender (3%) have closed games recently as well. Go make these adds if you are chasing saves. This is the life we chose, folks.
