
Welcome to the 2025 MLB season, RotoBallers, and welcome to the new Infield Waiver Wire Adds series! For your consideration, here are the best infield-eligible fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups for Week 1 - March 31 to April 6.
Every Sunday, this article will highlight a handful of infielders that will bolster your lineups as you vie for a fantasy championship. As the saying goes, pennies make pounds, and whether you compile stats in rotisserie or add up points in head-to-head, the numbers earned now will matter come September. A few days into the season, it is too soon to deem anyone a slow starter suitable for the chopping block.
But if you are already dealing with injuries or a spring training battle didn’t work out for one of your players (a special hello to my fellow Evan Carter drafters), then you can’t afford to sit idle and let that roster spot go to waste. Give yourself an early push by capitalizing on one (or more) of the following players.
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Waiver Wire Pickups For Shallow Leagues (30-50% rostered)
Luis Rengifo, 2B/3B, Los Angeles Angels (45% rostered)
Luis Rengifo hasn’t come out of the gates swinging, but he has a lot of potential. Rengifo is locked in as the Angels’ everyday second baseman, and while he’s been in the back half of the order to start 2025, he was slotted into the two-hole in more than half of his starts last year. If Nolan Schanuel can’t get the job done in that spot, Rengifo will likely find himself batting in the top third.
Last year, Rengifo’s season was cut short due to injury. In 78 games, he carried a .300 batting average and managed to swipe 24 bags. Manager Ron Washington likes his players to be aggressive baserunners. Based on last year’s showing, a healthy Rengifo could easily manage 30 steals in 2025.
Rengifo is not a power hitter by any stretch, but he can certainly square up on a ball. In 2022 and 2023, he hit 17 and 16 home runs, respectively. ATC projects a 14 HR season for the 28-year-old in 2025, a reasonable expectation that can be easily surpassed if he plays beyond his projected 129 games.
Tyler Soderstrom, 1B, Athletics (31% rostered)
Tyler Soderstrom made a splash to start the season by hitting two home runs on Opening Day. Through the first three games of 2025, he is 5-for-12 with two homers and three RBI. A wrist injury derailed a promising 2024 campaign and cost Soderstrom two months. In the 61 games he was available, he carried a .196 ISO and 14.6% barrel rate, demonstrating potential for a big 2025.
Another perk of picking up Soderstrom is that he has experience at catcher and might be in the mix behind the dish again this season. Picking up eligibility there would be a boon, especially for those playing in two-catcher leagues.
Soderstrom’s schedule for the week ahead looks promising at first glance. The Athletics host the Cubs in their first home series in West Sacramento to start and then travel to Coors Field for a series against the Rockies. Temper expectations for Soderstrom to catch fire, though. Both settings have inclement weather in the forecast, which would limit otherwise welcoming park factors. Soderstrom is still worth the pickup now, however, as he can be expected to do damage beyond Week 1.
Tyler Soderstrom launches one way beyond the center field fence 💪 #OpeningDay pic.twitter.com/HR9q1mD8QW
— MLB (@MLB) March 28, 2025
Waiver Wire Pickups For Deeper Leagues (10-30% rostered)
Spencer Torkelson, 1B, Detroit Tigers (27% rostered)
Spencer Torkelson’s 2023 breakout (31 HR, 88 R, 91 RBI) made him a popular middle-round target in fantasy baseball drafts in 2024. As it happened, Torkelson was ice cold, failing to hit his first home run until May 12 (his 38th game played) and hitting just three more before ultimately being sent to the minors at the start of June. By his demotion, he had four home runs, a .201 batting average, and was slugging .330.
After more than two months on the farm, Tork was welcomed back to Detroit and fared better. Down the stretch, he hit six more dingers, hit .248, and logged a respectable .781 OPS in 38 games played. To start 2025, Torkelson picked up where he left off and then some, drawing four walks and crushing a 423-foot home run against the Dodgers on Opening Day.
With the Tigers’ first three games now in the books, Torkelson is 4-for-9 at the plate with five walks, one home run, three runs scored, and a stolen base for good measure. Torkelson and the Tigers are on their way to Seattle next and then get to tee off against the White Sox in their home opener next weekend.
Spencer Torkelson had a great spring (55 PA, 5 HR, .340/.389/.680) and opens the regular season with another home run.pic.twitter.com/alY0UYc6Zv
— Eric Cross (@EricCrossMLB) March 28, 2025
Otto Lopez, 2B/SS, Miami Marlins (12% rostered)
Miss out on drafting Xavier Edwards? There’s another Marlin with a similar profile: Otto Lopez. Lopez entered the scene last year, stealing 20 bases, scoring 49 runs, and hitting .270 in 117 games played. Lopez logged a higher sprint speed and expected batting average than his teammate in 2024, giving reason to believe the 26-year-old can produce more in 2025.
Lopez also plays excellent defense. Last season, his 14 outs above average ranked in the 98th percentile. His prowess should keep him in the lineup in an everyday role. Through his first three games of 2025, Lopez has gone 5-for-11 with three walks, one home run, and one stolen base.
Waiver Wire Pickups For Even Deeper Leagues (Under 10% rostered)
Jeimer Candelario, 1B/3B, Cincinnati Reds (9% rostered)
Despite the Reds’ crowded infield, Jeimer Candelario made his way into the starting lineup in both of the team’s first two games in 2025. The switch-hitting Candelario has a lot to offer in the week ahead if that trend holds. The Reds have a full seven-game slate in Week 2, starting with a three-game set against the Rangers and then four games against the Brewers in hitter-friendly American Family Field. Candelario is 3-for-6 with two walks and three RBIs to open the season.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa, 2B/3B/SS, Pittsburgh Pirates (7% rostered)
The deeper the league, the more valuable positional flexibility becomes. Isaiah Kiner-Falefa has just that, being eligible at three of the four infield positions. His spot in the lineup has become more secure in the wake of Nick Gonzales’s (ankle) injury on Opening Day. IKF is no burner but still fares well as a base stealer, reaching double digits in each of the last four years. Likewise, his plate approach is nothing to write home about, but he is more likely to help than harm your team's batting average. He is 3-for-9 with two walks, a run scored, and three stolen bases in his first three games.
More Waiver Wire Pickups To Consider
- Christian Encarnacion-Strand, 1B, Cincinnati Reds (42% rostered)
- Kyle Manzardo, 1B, Cleveland Guardians (28% rostered)
- Jacob Wilson, SS, Athletics (10% rostered)
- Josh Bell, 1B, Washington Nationals (9% rostered)
- Jorge Polanco, 2B, Seattle Mariners (8% rostered)
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