Welcome to the 2023 Fantasy Baseball Week 1 Waiver Wire.
Kicking off the Major League Baseball season with five top candidates to add in Fantasy Baseball leagues. Below those five are an additional 20 players that are the best of the rest.
Opening day was one of the most exciting in recent memory, and I couldn't help but scavenge the waiver wire in my Fantasy leagues. It might be early, but a Fantasy Baseball manager must be active from the beginning to build a championship contender.
This article will be completely free this first week, but after this week some of it be hidden so only our All-Access members can view it. Become a member today to unlock this, plus tons of other great content including our weekly Pitching Planner, Hitting Planner, MLB Betting tools and MLB DFS Projections!
2023 Fantasy Baseball Week 1 Waiver Wire
Become an All-Access Member to get access to the Most Accurate Fantasy Baseball Rankings, DFS Projections, Customized Advice on Discord and more.
If you are already a member, sign in.
Top Waiver Adds
Nolan Gorman, 2B, St. Louis Cardinals
2-out hitting! pic.twitter.com/RCimPYBx1w
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) April 1, 2023
Just a season ago, Nolan Gorman was a top 50 prospect in baseball. This was primarily due to his power, but there were some concerns during his rookie season in 2022. Playing time, strikeouts, and on-base percentage were the three most significant.
Thus far, only strikeouts will be an issue this season. Gorman has locked down the designated hitter role for the St. Louis Cardinals, and his performance through two games indicates he'll keep it. On top of this, Gorman has been getting on base at an excellent rate and has already walked four times in just two games.
I'm banking on Gorman being the real deal due to his talent and prospect pedigree.
Jorge Mateo, SS, Baltimore Orioles
Jorge Mateo is the 8th player since at least 1901 with multiple SB in each of his team’s 1st 2 games of a season, joining:
2020 Tommy Pham
1999 Eric Young Sr
1996 Kenny Lofton
1989 Rickey Henderson
1982 Lonnie Smith
1965 Maury Wills
1913 Danny Moeller— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) April 1, 2023
Jorge Mateo finished 2022 with the second most stolen bases (35), but he is out to win the gold medal in the category this season. He leads Major League Baseball with four steals through two games.
This will be where Mateo gets almost all of his Fantasy production, but it's all he needs to do. If Mateo gets on base, he will increase his Fantasy value with the stolen bases.
Oscar Colas, OF, Chicago White Sox
Oscar Colas with a single through the IF. He's 2-4 today. #WhiteSox pic.twitter.com/UdO2u6kN4h
— White Sox Daily (@dailywhitesox) April 1, 2023
Oscar Colas received a fair share of hype and attention this spring training but was overshadowed by fellow prospects Anthony Volpe and Jordan Walker. This led to Colas being rostered in just 19% of leagues, according to FantasyPros. If Colas is still on the waiver wire, he must be added immediately.
Michael Kopech, SP, Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox starter Michael Kopech is the top pitcher to claim off the waiver wire this week. He is a two-start pitcher with favorable matchups against the San Francisco Giants and Pittsburgh Pirates.
Kopech is a perfect early season add that can pay dividends in the short term and all season long.
Charlie Blackmon, OF, Colorado Rockies
CHUCK NAZTY BLASTY pic.twitter.com/41zT0hjf0Y
— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) April 1, 2023
The 36-year-old veteran has started the 2023 season on fire. He's reached base in eight out of 14 plate appearances with a home run and two doubles. Blackmon has also produced four runs and three runs batted in.
Although Blackmon is on the tail end of his career, he is still a reliable Fantasy asset. Blackmon has slashed .297/.355/.489 in his career with a 111 wRC+ through 5927 plate appearances. Even if Blackmon can't keep this pace the entire season, Fantasy managers should add the outfielder while he's hot.
Best of The Rest
Batters
- Josh Jung, Texas Rangers
- Travis d'Arnaud, Atlanta Braves
- James Outman, Los Angeles Dodgers
- Seth Brown, Oakland Athletics
- Austin Meadows, Detroit Tigers
- Gio Urshela, Los Angeles Angels
- Wil Myers, Cincinnati Reds
- Tony Kemp, Oakland Athletics
- Jose Siri, Tampa Bay Rays
- Trayce Thompson, Los Angeles Dodgers
- Spencer Steer, Cincinnati Reds
- Will Brennan, Cleveland Guardians
- Joey Wiemer, Milwaukee Brewers
Pitchers
- Michael Grove, Los Angeles Dodgers
- Hunter Brown, Houston Astros
- Hayden Wesneski, Chicago Cubs
- Cal Quantrill, Cleveland Guardians
- Roansy Contreras, Pittsburgh Pirates
- German Marquez, Colorado Rockies
- Jack Flaherty, St. Louis Cardinals
The @DapScout Approved FAAB Pick of the Week
Brice Turang, SS, Milwaukee Brewers
The former 2018 1st-round draft pick is finally in the majors. He played SS, 2B, 3B, and CF during his five seasons in the minors. Right now, his position is 2B, but the Brewers could move him around the field to give other players a day off. Last year in AAA, he hit .286/.360/.412 with a 19.6 K% and 10.3 BB%. The two things that stand out were his 13 home runs and 34 steals.
This player should lead off for the Brewers and hit in front of Adames. However, the Brewers are doing the opposite, putting Turang in the 9th spot on opening day and then having him come in as a pinch runner for Winker in Saturday’s game. There is almost no competition at the 2B position in the lineup (Owen Miller? Yuck!), so he should get regular at-bats. With his speed and lack of strikeouts, I think he quickly moves up the order and provides, at the very least, a 15 HR 30SB season while hitting .260/.350/.380. That is Turang’s absolute floor if he gets enough plate appearances. Go pick him up now and send me a bunch of thank-you tweets later.
Opening weekend is finally here! Check out the rest of the Fantasy Baseball content.
