Are Mitchell Parker and Brady Singer Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pitchers Worth Keeping?

After looking at some fantasy baseball waiver wire hitter options, let's check out some pitchers maybe worth adding.

A few of these guys appear in our daily fantasy baseball streaming article today, but I'll look at them as more long-term additions. As always, you can find more waiver wire options on FantasySP.

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Should You Add Andrew Heaney?

Heaney has been great in his first two starts. His next start is on Saturday against the Reds, which is a great matchup for him, so it makes sense to see him on waiver wire lists a day early.

Heaney doesn't have a win or loss yet despite sporting a 1.50 earned run average. He's allowed two runs on nine hits and two walks over 12 innings, while also striking out 12 batters.

He's in his first season with the Pirates, and has looked fantastic early on. Heaney's first start was against a weak-hitting Miami team, but he was great in his second outing of the season against the New York Yankees. He allowed a run on four hits and a walk, while striking out two Marlins. Heaney punched out 10 Yankees, while allowing a run on five hits and a walk over seven innings.

If a pitcher can shut down a high-profile lineup like the Yankees, you can bet they'll be added in plenty of leagues before their next start. Heaney probably should be at least streamed in all deeper leagues for this upcoming start against the Reds.

I wouldn't even mind throwing Heaney into the mix in some standard leagues, but I wouldn't say he's a must-add waiver pitcher.

He's got a career 4.42 ERA, but averages 9.5 strikeouts per nine innings too, so he's got some sneaky fantasy value. Until Heaney cools off on the hill, I'd be fine giving him a roster spot in deeper leagues. If he's able to keep his ERA below 4, he could be a standard league keeper.

Should You Add Taijuan Walker?

Walker has been unscored upon in his first two starts of the season, so it also makes sense to see his own percentage on the rise.

He's 1-0 and has worked 10 2/3 innings so far. Walker has surrendered eight hits and four walks, while striking out nine batters.

Walker tossed six scoreless frames against the Rockies to open his season. He allowed three runs and a walk, while punching out four. In his most recent start against Atlanta, Walker allowed five hits and three walks, but five punchouts helped him get through 4 2/3 innings.

He's got a career 4.16 ERA, but averages just 7.8 strikeouts per nine innings, so his fantasy value is a bit limited. Walker has delivered good fantasy seasons in the past, but usually isn't consistent enough to roster in all formats.

For now, I'd only consider keeping him in deeper leagues - his next start is likely to come against the Giants, which probably isn't what you want to test out in anything but deeper leagues. He'll get more streaming starts after how he's looked in the early going, but I'd temper expectations and only add Walker if I had a roster spot to play with.

Should You Add Mitchell Parker?

Parker is making a start against the Marlins on Friday, which is why he's atop the FantasySP waiver wire list today. He's been really good in the early going though, and could be worth holding onto for the long haul in some leagues.

Parker is 2-0 with a 0.73 ERA across his first two starts of the season. He's allowed a run on nine hits and six walks, while striking out seven. 

Parker hasn't faced weak lineups either, shutting down the Phillies and Diamondbacks. He allowed seven hits and two walks, but no runs over 6 1/3 innings against Philly - he struck out five in that contest. Parker had just two strikeouts over six innings against Arizona, while giving up a run on two hits and four walks.

Parker had some strong stretches of pitching in 2024 as well, when he had a 7-10 record and 4.29 ERA, along with 7.9 strikeouts per nine innings. This is just his second MLB season, and he's 25 years old, so a little improvement on his 2024 numbers isn't that crazy.

He's not going to keep pitching as well as he has this season for a full year, but Parker is definitely worth adding and utilizing in deeper leagues right now. I'd do what I could to get him on my roster in deeper leagues.

I think he's also worth a streaming spot in standard leagues for his start today. If he excels again, I'd do my best to keep him on my team in any format too. Parker will likely face the Pirates after this, and that's another streaming opportunity.

So this waiver wire add could basically be a 2-for-1, and you might end up with a long-term fantasy keeper, so I'm all for adding Parker.

Should You Add JP Sears?

Sears is another pitcher who is starting on Friday. He's got a tough matchup against the Mets, but has started the season pretty well.

In his first two outings, Sears has a 1-1 record and 3.46 ERA. He's allowed five runs on 11 hits and two walks, while punching out nine over 13 innings.

He allowed two runs on five hits over 6 2/3 innings against Seattle, while striking out seven and walking none. Sears surrendered three runs on six hits and two walks over 6 1/3 innings against Colorado, while striking out two.

Those are slightly above-average numbers, with the innings covered really being his biggest fantasy value. The Mets are going to present a challenge for him, and that makes him a risky streaming option, in my eyes.

I'd only consider starting Sears against New York in a deeper league. If he excels in this start, he should be picked up in most deeper leagues, and then he'd maybe be a streaming option in standard leagues for his next start.

Sears has a career 4.33 ERA and averages just 7.4 strikeouts per nine innings, so he's likely to top out as a deep-league asset with standard league streaming value when he's pitching well and has good matchups.

Should You Add Eduardo Rodriguez?

Rodriguez has a start against the Brewers on Friday night - that's a pretty average matchup on paper, and maybe even a slightly below-average test for him.

He's given up seven runs on eight hits and four walks in his first 10 1/3 innings. Rodriguez has 17 strikeouts over those two starts, so his 6.10 ERA and 0-1 record would probably be worse without those punchouts.

He struck out five Cubs over 5 1/3 innings in his first start. He allowed three runs on three hits and three walks. Rodriguez punched out 12 Nationals in a five-inning start in his last appearance. He gave up four runs on five hits and a walk though.

I'd call him a middling streaming option against Milwaukee, at best. He's maybe worth some starts in deeper leagues because of his strikeout potential, but I wouldn't consider Rodriguez in any standard leagues this start.

He's got a career 4.09 ERA and is coming off a 2024 season in which he had a 5.04 ERA across 10 starts. Rodriguez is going to have to deliver a couple strong starts before I'd really want to add him as a streamer, or keeper, in any league types.

Should You Add Brady Singer?

Singer starts Friday against the Pirates, which sets up favorably for him. He's also been great in his first two starts.

He's 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA across 12 innings so far. Singer has allowed five runs (but three earned) on 10 hits and three walks. He's punched out 15 batters.

He tossed seven scoreless innings against the Rangers in his first start, allowing a hit and two walks while striking out eight. Singer had seven punchouts over five innings against Milwaukee in his next outing - he allowed all his runs so far on nine hits and a walk.

Singer is coming off a really good 2024 in which he had a 3.71 ERA over 32 starts for Kansas City. He went 9-13 though, while averaging 8.5 strikeouts per game.

Singer is going to regress in several stats as this season progresses, but while he's pitching well and striking a bunch of batters out, he's a good fantasy asset to utilize. I'd call him a must-start in deeper leagues against the Pirates, and someone I'd be fine streaming in standard leagues too.

I'd hold Singer in all leagues until his fantasy numbers start dropping. He's going to be rosterable all season in deeper leagues most likely, while being a pretty good streamer in standard league for every start too.