Hidden Bounties: Waiver Wire Adds for April 20th-26th

Jung, Peraza, and Kremer highlight this week's targets

By Justin May · April 21, 2026

{"template":"baseball-waiver-wire-picks","weekNumber":1,"weekDates":"April 20th-26th","intro":"We're now a few weeks in and there's still plenty of targets out there. Obviously the samples are small, but it's still time to be active on waivers to avoid missing breakout players. The tough part about this being a weekly article, is that sometimes it's published a few days after a player's big breakout game. That's why I try to post instant updates on Twitter/X if there's something notable happening in that night's games as well. We'll look at some recommended waiver adds for this week, and of course some of you may need to decide on a couple of drops - so we'll cover those as well. These recommendations are mainly intended for redraft leagues, but some could be out there in dynasty leagues. ","adds":[{"playerName":"Josh Jung","team":"TEX","position":"3B","rosteredPct":"17%","blurb":"I was out on Josh Jung in the past due to poor plate discipline, and the injury issues didn't help. He seemed like a guy who would never make good on his power potential. Something feels different this year though - his contact rates are up substantially (8% increase in zone contact) and he's cut down on chasing slightly, by 2%. That has helped his K rate get reduced to an above average 18%. He's still hitting the ball hard as well, with a 92nd percentile hard hit rate. He's hitting the ball on the ground too often so we're not out of the woods yet - but there's enough positive changes here to make a speculative add. This is a guy who we know had power potential in the past, so it may have just taken him a bit longer to realize that upside. ","espnId":"42437","matchups":"","headshotUrl":"https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/headshots/mlb/players/full/42437.png"},{"playerName":"Oswald Peraza","team":"LAA","position":"1B, 2B, 3B, SS","rosteredPct":"16%","blurb":"Peraza is off to a red hot start - putting up 4 homers and 3 steals along with an .880 OPS in 20 games. He couldn't get things going with the Yankees but appears to have found a groove in Anaheim. He's reduced his groundball rate to a respectable 42%, and with that, his pull-air% is an above average 19.1%. The raw power is solid - he popped a 112 mph EV last year and a 110 mph max this year. So based on all those factors we know he's capable of doing damage. He's been a near everyday player for them at either 2B or 3B recently, although the return of Jorge Soler casts some doubt on his playing time. But if he keeps up anything close to this pace, he'll continue to get opportunities. After all, Adam Frazier and Yoan Moncada aren't insurmountable hurdles to leap in his competition for playing time. It also helps that he has eligibility at every infield position for Yahoo leagues. He's a nice bench bat for a lot of teams out there - with the possibility for more if he keeps hitting like this. ","espnId":"42479","matchups":"","headshotUrl":"https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/headshots/mlb/players/full/42479.png"},{"playerName":"Dean Kremer","team":"BAL","position":"SP","rosteredPct":"15%","blurb":"Kremer has put together a solid couple of starts since being called back up to join the rotation. He's struck out 16 hitters in 11 innings, and his whiff rate is up to 35% (it was 23% last season). His ERA looks a bit rough due to being burned by homers on a few bad pitches - but there's enough here to get excited about. The reason he's on here despite the small sample is that there's a reason for his success. He's been throwing his splitter a lot more - up to 42% usage compared to 21% in 2025. His splitter is his best pitch by far - last season it generated a 39% whiff rate and a .218 xwOBA, and this year so far it's up to a 46% whiff rate and a .132 xwOBA. Those numbers would make it one of the best secondary pitches in baseball. Cutting down his 4-seam fastball usage seems to be helping so far, as being selective about how he deploys it can keep hitters off balance - since he always has that splitter in his pocket to generate whiffs or soft contact when needed. He's embraced the \"throw your best pitch more often\" mentality that has helped other pitchers improve. Kremer has been a decent innings eater in the past - he doesn't walk people and gives you a chance at a QS each time out - but a significant jump in K rate can help improve his fantasy upside. The injury to Zach Eflin appears to have opened the door for Kremer to stick in the rotation for as long as he continues to pitch well. This is a guy who could be helpful ROS for any teams in need of pitching. ","espnId":"38295","matchups":"","headshotUrl":"https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/headshots/mlb/players/full/38295.png"},{"playerName":"Kyle Teel","team":"CHW","position":"C","rosteredPct":"11%","blurb":"Teel is starting a rehab assignment this week after missing the start of the season with a hamstring injury. He's got some power potential but is also a good source of OBP. He popped a 113.7 mph maxEV in the majors last year, and his approach helps him get to that power in games. When I watched his ABs last year, I was impressed with how well he worked the count. He was a tough out and didn't chase, while also taking walks at an above average clip (12.5%). So the power and OBP should be there, and he has double digit steals in back to back seasons to chip in some speed. This is just a notice that it's a good time to pick him up before news of his return gets louder. He's a top 12 catcher for me, so there's at least one team in most leagues that could benefit from a catching upgrade. ","espnId":"4743772","matchups":"","headshotUrl":"https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/headshots/mlb/players/full/4743772.png"},{"playerName":"Lourdes Gurriel Jr.","team":"ARI","position":"OF","rosteredPct":"4%","blurb":"Similar to Teel above, this is more of a notice of \"he's returning from injury, pay attention to him now\" blurb. Gurriel Jr. made his season debut over the weekend after recovering from a torn ACL that he suffered in 2025. There isn't anything to draw conclusions from numbers-wise in 2026 of course, but this is a guy who's been a steady OF option for years and can definitely help some teams out there. He avoids strikeouts well, so he generally hits for a good AVG, and he is good for roughly 20 HRs over a full season. 20 bombs with good ratios is a helpful 4th or 5th OF in 12 teamers, and obviously more valuable than that in deeper leagues. Still in his prime at just 32 years old, I don't expect anything different production-wise this year, despite the lightning-quick ACL recovery. ","espnId":"36040","matchups":"","headshotUrl":"https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/headshots/mlb/players/full/36040.png"}],"drops":[{"playerName":"Shane Baz","team":"BAL","position":"SP","rosteredPct":"57%","blurb":"This one may be a bit bold since there's a lot of people still hanging on, but after taking a step back and examining the entire body of work, I just don't think holding Baz is worth it. He might have name value in deeper leagues but we've been waiting for a breakout for years now. Some thought it would happen with the change of scenery, but my thoughts are that if the Rays' vaunted pitching lab couldn't help him, then the O's are really gonna be the ones to unlock him? His overall workload and K totals were nice in 2025, despite no pitch of his getting a 30% or higher whiff rate (red flag). His ratios were ugly though - a 4.87 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. He may have been a bit unlucky, but he still walked too many batters and allowed too many hard hits. This year it's been more of the same, and nothing has changed under the hood aside from throwing his 4-seam slightly less. It hasn't helped unlock any more K upside, as still none of his pitches have crossed the 30% whiff barrier and his K rate is 33rd percentile so far. For a guy who some folks tout as having ace upside, I just don't see it. Normally we hold onto these poor ratio arms because they can provide Ks, since Ks are hard to find on a per-start basis. Baz just doesn't provide enough in that area to be worth holding until he figures it out. ","espnId":"39639","matchups":"","headshotUrl":"https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/headshots/mlb/players/full/39639.png"},{"playerName":"Alec Bohm","team":"PHI","position":"1B, 3B","rosteredPct":"43%","blurb":"Bohm is off to a slow start, with a .133 AVG and .401 OPS so far. The metrics don't paint a picture of better days ahead, and he was always going to have a tough time replicating his .780 OPS from 2024. He just doesn't hit the ball hard consistently, and his best asset is not striking out. He has some value in points leagues with a harsh K penalty because of this, but having a low K rate and fielding well just aren't valuable for fantasy, especially at 3B where you typically need some power. Dropping Bohm for Jung as your 3B feels like a no brainer move, and it's one that a lot of folks can make based on roster % ","espnId":"41169","matchups":"","headshotUrl":"https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/headshots/mlb/players/full/41169.png"},{"playerName":"Jordan Romano","team":"LAA","position":"RP","rosteredPct":"39%","blurb":"Romano has been among the worst relievers in baseball so far, posting a 7.11 ERA with a couple of blown saves already. He's still rostered because he began the year as the Angels' closer due to multiple injuries in their pen, but he's looking like someone who will lose the job soon. My thing is that he also wasn't very good numbers-wise for the past couple of seasons. So I think too many people are wishcasting old school Jays Romano returning - but he's just not that guy anymore. His K numbers are great, which is a positive, but his walk and hard hit rates are awful. Kirby Yates is returning soon from the IL, so Romano may lose the closer role as soon as this week ","espnId":"36380","matchups":"","headshotUrl":"https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/headshots/mlb/players/full/36380.png"},{"playerName":"Masyn Winn","team":"STL","position":"SS","rosteredPct":"39%","blurb":"This one was tough as a Cards fan, but Winn just isn't much of a fantasy asset. Back in 2024 he hit 15 HRs and stole 11 bases as a 22 year old, so he got people excited for the future. We expected those 2024 numbers to be his floor, excited for what could lie ahead. However it's looking more and more like those numbers are his ceiling, as he's struggled at the plate since. He's a great defender so he'll stay in the lineup every day, but aside from the playing time and premium position, there just isn't enough here to get excited about fantasy-wise. He's not providing power or speed at the rates that would make him startable, and he was always a glove-first prospect. I just don't see a sudden boom happening, especially with his slow start this year. ","espnId":"4683365","matchups":"","headshotUrl":"https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/headshots/mlb/players/full/4683365.png"}]}

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