Hidden Bounties: Waiver Wire Adds for Week 3

Featuring Cam Smith, Colt Keith, and Mark Vientos

By Justin May · April 8, 2026 · Updated October 12, 2026

{"template":"baseball-waiver-wire-picks","weekNumber":3,"weekDates":"","intro":"We're two weeks in and there's already a lot of baseball to dissect. 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. Also just a reminder that some players from previous articles are still under-owned: TJ Rumfield, Joe Boyle, Nolan Gorman. All guys who I believe can be difference makers ","adds":[{"playerName":"Cam Smith","team":"HOU","position":"OF","rosteredPct":"36%","blurb":"I had Cam Smith featured here initially but his roster % jumped 15% overnight. So while he doesn't fit my criteria anymore of less than 25% rostered, I wanted to give him a shoutout here anyway as a bonus name - since the current ownership rate is still too low. The breakout is here. I've been a fan of him since he was drafted and was targeting him heavily in dynasty FYPDs last year. 2025 was a roller coaster of a season - the highs of breaking camp with the Astros and the lows of an abysmal 2nd half mired by the atrocious K rate. The elite bat speed and sprint speed with plus defense gave us some hope for what we're seeing now, but it took a long adjustment period. If you go back and watch clips of him hitting, it seems like every month last year he had a different stance or swing - just constant adjustments being made. It makes sense since he didn't have any time to iron out these issues in the minors, but this year he looks different in the box. He's level, staying back on the ball, and the timing of his leg kick seems to be working well. We know he has bat speed for days to be able to fight off tough pitches, but he just had to get his timing right. The metrics are solid through this insanely small sample (.372 xwOBA, 78th percentile barrel rate) and I feel like he's got a 30/30 season in the tank. Whether it happens this year remains to be seen. We're not technically out of the woods yet, but when I see a hitter making the right adjustments, I'm buying in. ","espnId":"5080766","matchups":"","headshotUrl":"https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/headshots/mlb/players/full/5080766.png"},{"playerName":"Colt Keith","team":"DET","position":"1B, 2B, 3B","rosteredPct":"24%","blurb":"Keith barely makes the cutoff as this week apparently isn't too spicy. But I had to include him after he started the year hitting nearly .400. Still no HRs, which is odd - but with a 95 mph average EV and above-average 20% pull-air rate, the homers should come. He has hit just 13 HRs in each of the past two seasons, so some may scoff at the lack of power upside. But the story for Keith has been development year over year. From 2024 to 2025, he improved his average EV over 2 mph, his barrel rate by over 3%, reduced his chase rate by 4% and improved his walk rate by 4%. We're seeing even better metrics this year even though the sample is small. He's still just 24 years old and the consistent improvement ever since his rookie year is an encouraging sign. The platooning with him is an annoying hindrance - but he makes up for that a bit with his positional eligibility. There isn't endless upside like some of the other names I've had here, but there's a lot of fantasy teams out there who could use a steady contributor like what Keith can be. ","espnId":"4683384","matchups":"","headshotUrl":"https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/headshots/mlb/players/full/4683384.png"},{"playerName":"Joey Cantillo","team":"CLE","position":"SP","rosteredPct":"23%","blurb":"I included Cantillo in my late round SP targets article before the season, and after a solid showing so far, he needs to be rostered in more leagues. His changeup hasn't matched the gaudy 49% whiff rate from last season so far, but it's still one of the best offspeed pitches in the league. His fastball is also surprisingly effective despite the lower velo (elite extension helps here), and we hope that his slider can continue to take a step forward (6 whiffs on 16 swings in his two starts this year) He still needs to keep the walks down, and I don't love the 49% first pitch strike rate so far. His stuff is certainly good enough, so I'm hoping we see him go after hitters more often instead of nibbling. He had an insanely good September in terms of control, reducing his walk rate to 5% - so we know he has it in the tank. Fortunately he seems entrenched in the rotation this year so I'm willing to bet he can help a lot of teams out there. ","espnId":"42488","matchups":"","headshotUrl":"https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/headshots/mlb/players/full/42488.png"},{"playerName":"Mark Vientos","team":"NYM","position":"1B, 3B","rosteredPct":"15%","blurb":"Vientos is another player I heavily bought into for dynasty, but 2025 was…not great. He cut down on his bat speed in early 2025 to try to make better contact, and the results were terrible - a .640 first half OPS with just 6 HRs. For a guy who needs great power numbers in order to see the field, that was not a good sign. A red-hot .988 OPS August likely saved him from being DFA'd, but he still entered 2026 with playing time uncertainty after the acquisition of Jorge Polanco and the 2025 rise of Brett Baty. I was avoiding him in drafts due to the playing time concerns, and after he didn't start for the first 4 games of the season, he was looking like a clear bench bat for the Mets. He then started in Baty's place on 3/31, and has since made six straight starts, hitting .450 with a 1.200 OPS in 22 PAs. If he keeps raking, he'll keep playing every day, it's that simple. The elephant in the room is when he cools off, his lack of defensive value could see him losing time - but I'm a believer in his barrel control as a hitter - so we're hoping he can hit for enough power and provide enough clutch hits to stick in the lineup even with a cold stretch that will absolutely happen at some point. He's still gonna chase pitches, and the strikeouts will make him a streaky player - but 30 HR upside is tough to find on waivers, so he's an add for any teams looking for power. ","espnId":"41034","matchups":"","headshotUrl":"https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/headshots/mlb/players/full/41034.png"},{"playerName":"Foster Griffin","team":"WSH","position":"SP","rosteredPct":"2%","blurb":"Griffin came back to the MLB after pitching 3 seasons in the NPB. He profiled as a back of the rotation arm with a deep arsenal and good control. That's held true so far but he's surprised me with his strikeouts through 2 starts. He currently has 11 Ks in 10 innings with his cutter leading a 7 pitch arsenal. I went back and watched his Sunday start against the Dodgers, and he has some nasty breaking pitches that are difficult for both righties and lefties to pick up. He won't be able to carve lineups with just his fastball so there could be some bumps in the road, but he's a crafty guy and his execution was on point. Based on his NPB track record I'm inclined to believe that the command will be there more often than not - and it's tough to get a read on a guy with an arsenal this deep until hitters have faced him a bunch of times. This isn't a guy with league-winning upside or anything - but he's a solid ratios arm with a surprising amount of K upside so far. There's likely some teams out there who could use a consistent arm after pitching injuries have started to pile up. ","espnId":"33773","matchups":"","headshotUrl":"https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/headshots/mlb/players/full/33773.png"}],"drops":[{"playerName":"Bryan Abreu","team":"HOU","position":"RP","rosteredPct":"51%","blurb":"Abreu has had a rough start to the year, allowing 8 runs in just 2.2 innings. It looks like he's losing ground to Bryan King - so while I hate overreacting to a couple of bad outings, with bullpens you have to sometimes. He's been an elite SVHD option in the past, so this isn't Joe Schmo that you're dropping - but to me he was overdrafted because he started the season with the closer role while Hader is out. But now he's losing his grip on that and Hader will return relatively soon. His fastball velo is also down, so just too much has to go right for Abreu to reclaim fantasy value. I'd rather take a shot with someone on waivers. ","espnId":"41208","matchups":"","headshotUrl":"https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/headshots/mlb/players/full/41208.png"},{"playerName":"Roki Sasaki","team":"LAD","position":"SP","rosteredPct":"42%","blurb":"Roki struggled with his command all spring, but the Dodgers stayed confident in him and kept him in their season-opening rotation. He survived 4 innings in his first start against the Guardians, but a 58% strike percentage wasn't very encouraging. He then struggled mightily against the Nats on Sunday, allowing 6 runs in 5 innings. His outings so far have confirmed suspicions that he's not yet ready to hold down a starting role. His ceiling is still sky high for dynasty purposes, but it's going to take him a couple of years of tinkering and finding out what works. Reminder he's still just 24. Roki will figure it out eventually, but I'm not holding out hope in redrafts. ","espnId":"5134638","matchups":"","headshotUrl":"https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/headshots/mlb/players/full/5134638.png"},{"playerName":"Griffin Jax","team":"TB","position":"RP","rosteredPct":"41%","blurb":"Jax is another guy who, like Abreu, was a great SVHD option in the past. He's struggled so far by allowing 8 runs in 4 innings, and appears to have lost the closer gig to Bryan Baker. The Rays are also notorious for playing matchups with their bullpen arms, so while it was assumed that Jax would waltz into the closer role with Fairbanks gone, it was never a guarantee. Now of course he's got a giant hill to climb to reclaim it. He also had some rough ratios (4.23 ERA and 1.29 WHIP) last year, so despite the insane K rates in the past, I'm questioning the overall ceiling. I'm not saying he won't recover in some capacity - but to me the potential payoff isn't worth burning a roster spot. ","espnId":"42604","matchups":"","headshotUrl":"https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/headshots/mlb/players/full/42604.png"},{"playerName":"Alejandro Kirk","team":"TOR","position":"C","rosteredPct":"37%","blurb":"Kirk was terrific last year for the AL champs, and for fantasy teams. 15 HRs and great ratios from a catcher that you likely claimed off waivers was huge. He was dealt a tough blow recently, as he suffered a broken thumb and will be out for six weeks. Kirk is a nice high floor catching option, but he's still a low-end option despite what happened last year. Most teams are starting to see their IL fill up, and I'd rather stash a starting pitcher or a higher ceiling bat who could help our teams later in the year. ","espnId":"42081","matchups":"","headshotUrl":"https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/headshots/mlb/players/full/42081.png"}]}