Fantasy baseball free agent pickups: Rookies and relievers lead the way

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsIt's a good week for speculating on recent top prospect promotions, as well as up-and-coming arms who have seemingly secured roles at the back end of their respective bullpens.We'll begin with the prospects -- everyone loves prospects! -- where two of Kiley McDaniel's top 60 from his preseason list were recalled during the past week, both of whom are best known for their hitting. Both are available in more than 80% of ESPN leagues and, considering their long-term ceilings, are worth a stash in the hopes they'll quickly adapt to MLB competition.Travis Bazzana, 2B, Cleveland Guardians (18.0% rostered): The No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 amateur draft, Bazzana was summoned by the Guardians on Tuesday, but bear in mind that he was a legitimate candidate to claim the team's Opening Day second base role after looking the part during spring training (.381/.435/.857 rates, three home runs in eight Cactus League games).Although he had a relatively quiet first week in the majors -- his most notable headline, perhaps, was his being intentionally walked with two outs in the ninth inning of his Tuesday debut -- he exhibited the same elite plate approach and above-average speed he was known for in the minors. Bazzana's skill set is ideal for fantasy baseball points-league play, full of walks, doubles and contact, and he plays one of the tougher positions to fill in our game.Bryce Eldridge, DH, San Francisco Giants (6.8% rostered): The Giants, now last in baseball in runs per game (3.12), HR rate (1.5% of their trips to the plate) and walk rate (5.6%), plan to recall the slugging Eldridge on Monday for their first of a three-game home series against the San Diego Padres. To be clear upfront, it is not a move designed to leave struggling Rafael Devers (.562 OPS, 30.7 K%) on the sidelines, but rather the two should operate in a 1B/DH partnership, relegating Casey Schmitt to a more suitable middle-infield/defensive replacement role.Scouts have questioned how high Eldridge's power and on-base percentage ceilings truly might be, but while they came at Sacramento's hitter-friendly home environment, his .274/.360/.495 rates and 23 homers in 104 career games at that competitive level are enticing. He's well worth a stash, but be prepared to quickly move on if he exhibits similar struggles adapting to big-league pitching as he did in his 10-game stint last year (.107/.297/.179 rates, 35.1 K%).Arms for the pitching poorShifting to the bullpens, the following two young newcomers to the AL West are worth picking up, as they seemingly emerge as their team's go-to finishers.Jack Perkins, RP, Athletics (8.6% rostered): It's hard to believe that he didn't even break camp with the team, considering he's currently a top-50 relief pitcher in terms of fantasy points (54). Perkins seemed like more of a rotation consideration at the onset of spring training, but his four-pitch repertoire has played well thus far in relief, particularly his three secondary pitches (sweeper, changeup, cutter) that all have generated at least 33% whiff rates. He has notched three of the Athletics' past four saves, emerging from what was a clear committee to begin the season. Plus, he's worked in a more traditional one-inning role over the past week.Jacob Latz, RP/SP, Texas Rangers (8.3% rostered): Another "woulda thunk him a starter" pitcher at the season's onset, Latz's four-pitch repertoire has played excellently in short relief, and he has notched each of the Rangers' past three saves. Most notable was his two-inning save on Wednesday, in a 3-0 victory over the New York Yankees that the Rangers effectively needed to win. He faced each of the Yankees' top five hitters while allowing merely a ground-ball single to Ben Rice. Manager Skip Schumaker has said he'll retain the option to summon Latz at any critical moment in the game, but he's very clearly the team's current top relief option, meaning he'll likely get the ninth inning with regularity.I'm still sayin'...Players recommended in this article over the past two weeks who remain ESPN standard league-relevant, yet are still available in a large number of leagues.Ivan Herrera, C, St. Louis Cardinals, 41.0% rosteredLouis Varland, RP, Toronto Blue Jays, 51.7% rosteredTwo-start pickupJanson Junk, SP, Miami MarlinsA 30-year-old currently with his sixth professional organization, Junk is probably perceived by many as a journeyman rotation fill-in -- hardly a relevant piece in fantasy leagues. His dedication to improving his game over the past year-plus is paying dividends, however, as this season he's throwing his four-seam fastball faster (career-high 94.2 mph average) and with more break, and using the sneaky-good changeup he reintroduced last season more than he ever has before (19.4% usage).Junk's name belies the quality of his raw stuff, and while his matchups this week against the Philadelphia Phillies (29 runs over the past week) and Washington Nationals (sixth in runs per game for the season) look somewhat scary, they'll come in his pitchers'-heaven home venue, LoanDepot Park. He's well worth the pickup for those two assignments, and he's rostered in only 6.5% of ESPN leagues.Deeper-league pickupsDeep (12-team mixed): Jasson Dominguez, OF, Yankees (6.6% rostered): He somewhat belongs in the top section, as a hitting-oriented youngster recently recalled by his team, but what differentiates Dominguez from Eldridge and Bazzana is a more uncertain path to playing time. Giancarlo Stanton (calf, 10-day IL) will almost assuredly recapture his DH role once healthy, but why can't Dominguez, who had two doubles and a home run on Sunday, stick around as a prospective left fielder?The Yankees might have 22 million reasons to keep playing Trent Grisham regularly, but sandwiching his 34-HR 2025 are three seasons in which he hit sub-.200 with sub-.400 slugging percentages, arguably making him more of a defensive than offensive consideration. Dominguez is worth the stash to see how this outfield shakes out.Deeper (15-team mixed): Griffin Canning, SP, Padres (4.5% rostered): He made his 2026 debut on Sunday after missing the season's first month while recovering from an Achilles injury, and he looked pretty good in it, fanning seven out of the 19 Chicago White Sox he faced across five solid innings. Canning's repertoire doesn't scream "fantasy baseball star," but he gets enough whiffs with both his slider and changeup that he's at least capable of contributing on a matchups basis. Considering his new team, the Padres, call one of the game's most pitcher-friendly environments their home, there should be a good number of solid matchup opportunities.Deepest (AL- and NL-only leagues): Brice Matthews, 2B/OF, Houston Astros (1.6% rostered): Considering he has hit just .200 with a .264 OBP over parts of the last two seasons, it might feel like eons ago that Matthews (still only 24 years old and with just 39 games of MLB experience) was considered the Astros' top prospect at the time of his July 11, 2025, debut. His free-swinging ways -- he has a terrifying 40.3% career strikeout rate -- need be reined in for him to truly flourish, but he offers good pop (16.1% Barrel rate) and is seeing enough time across three positions (2B, LF, CF) to warrant a pickup in AL-only and perhaps even 15-team leagues.