Fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups to patch your damaged lineups

Even the best fantasy rosters can use a little enhancement. Today we bring you a few approved pickups, each of them available in a majority of Yahoo leagues. Let's get adding ...

Nathaniel Lowe, 1B, Texas Rangers (43%)

After raking throughout the spring (11-for-32, 2 HR), Lowe hasn't really slowed down. With a dozen games in the books, he's hitting .396/.431/.458 and riding a seven-game hitting streak. He's batting just behind Marcus Semien, Corey Seager and Mitch Garver for Texas, which is obviously a prime RBI spot. Lowe cleared the fences 18 times last season while drawing 80 walks and delivering a .357 OBP. If you play in a league with a CI spot or multiple Utils to fill, there should be a home for him on someone's roster.

Nicky Lopez, 2B/SS, Kansas City Royals (17% rostered)

Lopez opened the season batting ninth for KC which, of course, is not ideal for fantasy purposes. But after getting out to a blistering start, he's found himself hitting at or near the top of the lineup in each of his last three games. Lopez is now slashing .324/.361/.412 through 11 games and he's well-positioned to pile up runs. He hit .300 last year while reaching base at a .365 clip and swiping 22 bags, so he can help across multiple categories. The dual-position eligibility is a nice bonus.

Elias Diaz, C, Colorado Rockies (18%)

We're just gonna keep promoting Diaz until he reaches a more acceptable roster percentage. (He's been my preferred pickup in leagues in which I just lost Tyler Stephenson to the 7-day concussion IL.) Diaz has hit for average so far this season (.297), which is unexpected and probably not likely to continue. But he did hit 18 homers last year and he's a good bet to produce a similar total in 2022. He'll also have a nice stretch of games at Coors Field beginning next weekend, as the Rockies are at home for 15 of 21. Add if you're looking for a power boost.

Joc Pederson, OF, San Francisco Giants (28%)

Do you like cleanup hitters with proven 30-homer pop? Well, here you go. We don't need to speculate about Pederson's power potential because he's already given us four separate seasons with 25 or more bombs, including a career-high 36 back in 2019.

He's off to an excellent start with three early bombs, plus he's slashing a respectable .297/.333/.568. Pederson is an absolute lock to help us in HR and RBIs.

Josh Lowe, OF, Tampa Bay Rays (40%)

OK, no, it's not as if Lowe is off to a scorching start for Tampa (8-for-40), but he's at least treading water and he delivered a pair of multi-hit games in his last series. He's batting fifth for the Rays on most nights, a friendly spot for run production. Lowe homered 22 times at Triple-A Durham last season while stealing 26 bases (in as many attempts) and slashing .291/.381/.535. So he's a potential all-category fantasy contributor.

Jorge Lopez, SP/RP, Baltimore Orioles

Look, we're not about to tell you that it's gonna be a smooth ride at all times with Lopez, a pitcher with a career WHIP of 1.54. But it's not as if velocity and movement are lacking ...

... and he's converted two save chances so far. Having a closer with SP-eligibility is a sneaky fantasy cheat code, too.

Taijuan Walker, SP, New York Mets (19%)

Walker is currently on the injured list, so he presents us with an opportunity to make a useful add without a corresponding drop. He landed on the IL with shoulder discomfort after throwing two perfect innings in his season debut and he's on track to return soon.

Walker just threw three scoreless frames in an extended spring outing, striking out seven. This is a guy who produced a 1.18 WHIP and 8.3 K/9 last year over 159.0 innings, so he can definitely help in our game when he's healthy.