2025 NFBC 15-Team Waiver Wire (4/20 – Week 5) Part 2

Every Sunday, the free-agent pool has a moving range of value based on each player's success and any injury news. For late updates, I will post them in the notes area on my Substack site.

Note: If I’m in a league with someone, I will be aware of what I've written and pay closer attention to your bids if I believe you may be looking for a similar player in a particular week. At the same time, our free agent spending during the year will have different paths. If I’m aggressive early and a competitor is not, they will have the advantage of buying power as the season progresses and vice versa. I’ll do my best to list all players of interest, but there will be times when waiver thread lines are backfilled with low-dollar players to ensure an unwanted or injured player is released and replaced.

Note: When I was doing the infielders, the Reds game was in about the seventh inning, I updated Noelvi Marte’s stats for the game on my site, but it doesn’t push that info via emails.

Based on his late surge, Marte will draw bids over $100 in some leagues as talent added with success on the field draws in more eyeballs.

Outfield

Chandler Simpson, TB (74.0%)

For fantasy teams needing a stolen base boost, the Rays called up Simpson this weekend. Across his last 242 minor league games over four levels, he hit .319 with 190 runs, zero homers, 67 RBIs, and 204 stolen bases in 967 at-bats, drawing 102 walks while striking out 95 times. His Judy profile—elite speed, minimal power—leaves gaps in homers and RBIs.

On Saturday, Tampa batted him leadoff; he went 1-for-5 with a run and an RBI, followed by a 1-for-3 game with his first steal.

Jose Lowe began throwing Friday and may swing soon, hinting at a faster-than-expected return. Johnny DeLuca, the Rays’ starting centerfielder to open 2025, has missed 12 games with a right shoulder injury, with no recent updates on his two-to-four-week recovery timeline.

Rating: Simpson will draw triple-digit bids in some main events by fantasy managers looking to do one-stop shopping and fix their weakness in stolen bases.

Mickey Moniak, COL (19.0%)

The Rockies have given several young players at-bats to start 2025, but few have delivered impactful stats. Moniak, however, is on a four-game hitting streak heading into Sunday, going 6-for-15 with six runs, two homers, and five RBIs, while cutting his strikeout rate to 19.1%—a sharp improvement from his 31.7% over the prior three seasons.

With Colorado facing three left-handed pitchers in their first four games next week, Moniak is likely to sit out those contests. His hot streak, improved approach, and hitter-friendly home park make him tempting in deep leagues, but he’ll require careful, game-by-game management.

Rating: Last week, Moniak was added to seven main events with a high of $11. His unfavorable schedule points to below E-class token bids this waiver period in the main event.

Trent Grisham, NYY (46.0%)

Over his last 16 games, Grisham has been a helpful bat for the Yankees and fantasy teams. He is 14-for-44 with nine runs, six home runs, and 13 RBIs despite not having a clear path to start at-bats. Ben Rice suffered a minor elbow injury on Saturday, giving Grisham a chance to continue his better-than-expected power.

Rating: Last week, he was added in eight mains with a high of $30 and a low of $7, but 13 other teams launched him back into the player pool. His bidding should fall in a similar range this week.

Alex Verdugo, ATL (0.0%)

The Braves traded Bryan De La Cruz this week to make room for Verdugo, who signed a $1.5 million deal in March after no other teams pursued him. Last season with the Yankees, he hit .233 over 559 at-bats, with 74 runs, 13 homers, 61 RBIs, and two stolen bases.

In 2025, Verdugo played nine AAA games, hitting .207 (6-for-29) with eight runs, two homers, four RBIs, and one steal. Atlanta slotted him into the leadoff spot Saturday and Sunday, where he went 5-for-9 with two runs and an RBI, bouncing back from a 0-for-5 Braves debut.

With Ronald Acuna nearing a rehab assignment, only one outfield spot remains, pitting Verdugo against Jarred Kelenic for playing time. Verdugo’s approach is steady but offers limited power and speed.

Rating: The lineup chaser will add Verdugo this week, hoping to catch a playing-time ride. I could see him drawing between $30 and $20 bids due to a number of teams in the main event trying to fix the backend of their outfield.

Javier Sanoja, MIA (0.0%)

Coming into Sunday’s action, Sanoja had nine hits over 23 at-bats with two runs, one RBI, and one stolen base while not starting in four of the Marlins’ previous seven games. Injuries to Griffin Conine and Derek Hill led to him having a big game against the Phillies (3-for-4 with two runs, one home run, and five RBIs). Over the past two years in the minors, Sanoja hit .291 with 116 runs, 11 home runs, 133 RBIs, and 54 stolen bases over 1,024 at-bats.

Rating: His lack of power is a strike, but he does have age (22) on his side. I would be careful not to overpay for one game, but Sanoja does make sense as a possible backend outfield upgrade in the main event. His bids should be under $20 in most leagues this week.

Starting Pitching

AJ Smith-Shawver, ATL (74.0%)

After the Braves sent Smith-Shawver back to AAA, some impatient fantasy managers dropped him in the main event. His April 12th start for Atlanta showed progress (two runs, eight baserunners, seven strikeouts in five innings), and he followed with a similar AAA outing (three runs, five hits, zero walks, eight strikeouts over 5.2 innings).

Bryce Elder has struggled, allowing 12 runs, 23 baserunners, and five homers over 15 innings with 10 strikeouts in three straight poor starts.

Rating: Last week, Smith-Shawver was dropped in 18 leagues and added in three main events ($52, $31, and $19). He also drew two high runner-up bids ($37 and $20). He should be added in most leagues this week due to the Elder struggles. His pricing this week should be similar to last week.

Joe Boyle, TB (29.0%)

The Rays called up Boyle for a spot start against Atlanta last Sunday, where he threw five no-hit, scoreless innings with two walks and seven strikeouts. Tampa promptly sent him back to the minors, but in his next AAA start on Saturday, Boyle delivered six more no-hit, shutout innings with two walks and seven strikeouts.

Developed in Oakland’s system, Boyle was tough to hit despite command struggles. The Rays have refined his strike-throwing, making him a more promising pitcher.

Rating: His trajectory suggests a buy-and-hold in fantasy, as Tampa will likely find a rotation spot for him soon. I would go above D-class token bids ($35) if my main event had questionable pitching depth.

Jake Irvin, WAS (47.0%)

This week, Irvin had two favorable pitching matchups against Pittsburgh and Colorado, and he rewarded his supporters with 13.1 winning innings (seven baserunners, two runs, and 15 strikeouts). Last year, Irvin helped fantasy teams over his first 22 starts (3.44 ERA, 1.083 WHIP, and 111 strikeouts over 128.1 innings), supporting his success in 2025.

Rating: Eight fantasy teams were buyers last week, while eight others dumped him back into the free agent pool. His top bid was $53, followed by $21 and $13. His rebound in success should lead to more bids in the $30 range in the main event this week.

Randy Vazquez, SD (33.0%)

Vazquez will be a popular double starter add this week in the main event, after opening the season with success in ERA (1.74) over his first four starts. Despite success, he has more walks (14) than strikeouts (8), leading to weakness in his WHIP (1.35).

Rating: Vazquez was added in seven main events last week, with a high of $25 and a low of $3. Chasing double-start comes with a price in fantasy baseball, and I expect him to give back some of his early gains this week (@DET and TB). Temper your bids as Vazquez doesn’t offer long-term value.

Logan Henderson, MLW (23.0%)

Over the last two seasons in the minors, Henderson went 11-9 with a 3.04 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, and 210 strikeouts over 160.0 innings. His command (10 walks) backed up over his first 14.0 innings this year at AAA, but he dominated in his first major league start on Sunday (one run and three hits over six innings with nine strikeouts).

Henderson works off a league-average fastball (93.3 mph) while featuring a winning changeup and serviceable cutter.

Rating: Last week, seven main event managers added Henderson, with six bids coming in at $5 or lower. His high investment was $28. He was also dropped in seven other leagues. The starting rotation for the Brewers has a lot of moving parts, with Tobias Myers and Brandon Woodruff expected back over the next couple of weeks. Tempting arm due to his command, but will the Brewers keep him in their starting rotation? His bids will be high in some leagues. Let’s go D-class market value ($65) for the fantasy teams looking to fix their starting rotation.