Ryan Wormeli expressed strong interest in claiming Casey Mize as a waiver wire pickup, citing impressive pedigree as former consensus first overall pick. Now fully recovered from the injury that cost Mize all of 2023, Wormeli highlighted his strong initial outing (5.2 IP, earned first win) and noted he's adopting the trendy new sweeper pitch, which historically helps increase strikeouts—a current weakness in Mize's profile. Although cautious about overreacting to one start, Wormeli strongly believes Mize's pedigree and possible new sweeper pitch represent genuine upside worth speculating on immediately, especially given his minimal 15% roster rate.

Ryan Wormeli advocates aggressively targeting Heston Kjerstad off waivers following Colton Cowser's thumb injury, which may sideline him for two months and open playing time for Kjerstad. Wormeli believes manager Brandon Hyde has underestimated Kjerstad's ability to hit left-handed pitching. Emphasizing Kjerstad's impressive raw power potential, Wormeli strongly believes this newly opened everyday opportunity in Baltimore's lineup could allow Kjerstad to finally blossom. Kjerstad currently sits at just 7% rostered, and Wormeli strongly recommends immediate pickups to speculate on his breakout potential.

Ryan Wormeli highlighted Alek Thomas as an excellent deep league waiver wire addition, noting that despite being rostered in only 2% of leagues, Thomas has come out swinging with a fast start this season. Wormeli liked Thomas post-injury last season and is encouraged by his early production this year. Wormeli advises managers in deep formats to quickly add Thomas and potentially get outsized returns on minimal investment given his hot bat and extremely low current roster percentage.

Ryan Wormeli advised fantasy managers to sell high on Andres Gimenez right away, considering his unexpected early-season three home runs as an unsustainable power surge. Wormeli explained that Gimenez's historically poor Statcast metrics (consistently low barrel rate and exit velocities) do not support this sudden power gain. He also highlighted significant concerns regarding stolen bases; despite Gimenez previously stealing 30 bases in consecutive seasons, he's transitioned to Toronto, a team that ranks consistently low in stolen base attempts. Wormeli projected Gimenez to severely underperform his draft value unless stolen base volume dramatically increases.

Ryan Wormeli strongly recommended buying high on Adley Rutschman despite his good start and inflated price tag. Wormeli highlighted Rutschman's impressive underlying metrics, noting his current .286 batting average has room to improve with an expected batting average of .344. Wormeli pointed out Rutschman's powerful performance in Toronto, hitting two long home runs on opening day, demonstrating he's dialed in and healthy after last year's second-half injury struggles. Wormeli believes Rutschman will sustain and even elevate this early-season success, finishing as the top fantasy catcher in 2025 despite several lineup injuries for Baltimore.

Ryan Wormeli strongly advised rostering Casey Mize, citing substantial improvements seen early this season due to a significant pitch alteration. Mize has incorporated an effective slurve which has dramatically boosted his performance, including two excellent starts, one notably against the Yankees. Wormeli stressed Mize's availability remains surprisingly high at just 50% on Yahoo and 29% on ESPN while arguing that roster percentage should exceed 70-90% universally given the pitcher’s pedigree, new adjustments, and early-season success. He expressed full confidence in Mize's sustainability moving forward, making Mize an essential pitcher to check across all leagues immediately.

Ryan Wormeli advised selling high on Jackson Chourio following his explosive recent stretch, cautioning against several red flags. Despite Chourio batting .315 with power, his expected batting average is only .260, indicating significant regression likely ahead. Wormeli noted Chourio hasn't drawn a single walk yet this season, an alarming discipline issue, and currently has an extremely high strikeout rate of 29.1% compared to last year's already elevated 21.1%. Although his barrel rate and hard-hit percentage have improved, Wormeli emphasized that the inflated stats from his historic three-game span—matching narrow achievements by legends Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Shohei Ohtani—aren't sustainable. Wormeli stated clearly he's still very high on Chourio’s long-term outlook, expecting a potentially first-round caliber player next season, but emphasized managers in certain league formats, specifically points leagues counting strikeouts negatively and lacking walk support, should strongly consider trading Chourio for a proven stud, targeting players like Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Francisco Lindor, Gunnar Henderson, Mookie Betts, Fernando Tatis Jr., Corbin Carroll, or even high-end pitchers to secure steadier production.

Ryan Wormeli identified Brent Rooker as an appealing buy-low candidate following a slow start to the season. Wormeli highlighted Rooker's solid underlying metrics despite a low batting average, noting his BABIP is currently an unsustainably low .189 compared to .362 last year. While Rooker's barrel rate and hard-hit percentage remain close to his 2024 breakout form, his launch angle has notably decreased yet hasn't completely eroded production as evidenced by four home runs in 60 plate appearances. Wormeli expects positive regression to normalize Rooker's stats, potentially approaching 35+ homers and a batting average closer to .260. He also emphasized the newfound hitter-friendly environment in Oakland's Sacramento ballpark, further boosting Rooker's fantasy outlook.

Ryan Wormeli expressed significant regret over his preseason decision to trade Kristian Campbell straight-up for Cam Smith in a high-stakes fantasy league. Wormeli rationalized the initial move by noting third base scarcity, preseason uncertainty about Campbell making the Red Sox roster due to David Hamilton's potential competition, and Cam Smith appearing promising in spring training. However, early season outcomes have flipped this narrative dramatically—Campbell has started strong while Cam Smith has severely underperformed, leading Wormeli to label this decision as an early-season loss. Wormeli specifically emphasized the costliness of the league and the negative impact of this early misjudgment.

Ryan Wormeli lamented his early backing of Matt Shaw, whom he considered a valuable late-round fantasy asset due to positional eligibility, stolen base upside, and batting average potential. Wormeli acknowledged Shaw’s unexpectedly poor start (.170 average, just one home run, no stolen bases, .571 OPS), describing the performance explicitly as disastrous so far. Despite Shaw’s commendable 17.5% walk rate and strong speed metrics, his overall offensive output remains highly disappointing. Although Wormeli provided some leniency given Shaw's limited prior major-league exposure and increased pitching difficulty at the MLB level, he notably expressed regret over drafting and highly recommending Shaw, labeling this evaluation as an early-season loss.

Ryan Wormeli confidently took an early victory lap on Hunter Greene, highlighting his frustration at Greene’s shockingly low draft day ADP in the 90s. Greene, coming off a solid 2023, has impressively pushed his game higher, posting a 1.31 ERA over 20.2 innings and a sterling 0.63 WHIP, backed by 233 strikeouts considered excellent by Wormeli. Wormeli underscored Greene's elite underlying metrics, especially his exceptional Stuff+ numbers described as 'breaking the chart,' notably in line with his dominating spring training figures. Greene elevated his four-seamer usage from 55% to 62%, but has maintained generally similar pitch mix effectiveness. The only highlighted concern is a dangerously low groundball rate possibly problematic in Cincinnati’s hitter-friendly ballpark. Nonetheless, Wormeli believes strongly Greene will represent a substantial draft-day steal and likely fantasy league-winner given his draft spot.

Ryan Wormeli showed considerable concern about Nick Lodolo's puzzling start despite superficially strong results. Lodolo owns an eye-catching sub-1.00 ERA and sub-1.00 WHIP over his first three outings covering 18.2 innings. However, Wormeli pointed to alarming underlying numbers, specifically Lodolo's drastically reduced strikeout rate (down to an unsustainable 11.3%, well below his career norms of 24%-29%). His whiff rate is only 15th percentile and strikeout rate ranks in the 10th percentile early on, considerably worse than past seasons. While his walk rate is also down (a positive), Wormeli expressed genuine discomfort with Lodolo transforming into more of a 'pitch to contact' guy, which is not his typical successful strategy. Despite previously being optimistic about Lodolo entering the season, he now cautions fantasy managers to be wary regarding sustainability given these troubling metrics.

Ryan Wormeli expressed confidence in Robert Suarez's strong start (6-for-6 save opportunities, 0.00 ERA) as legitimate despite preseason concerns. Wormeli acknowledged a small sample size caution typically warranted for closers but highlighted Suarez's increased use of an effective fastball-changeup combination over previous seasons' heavier sinker usage. He expects Suarez's impressive early-season success will solidify his closer role psychologically with Padres management, leveraging Suarez’s talent and the Padres’ winning environment for sustained fantasy relevance.

Ryan Wormeli expressed strong optimism regarding Casey Mize as a legitimate breakout candidate due to noticeable pitch-mix changes and strong early-season performance. After solid outings versus both Mariners and Yankees (12 strikeouts combined), Mize has notably increased his slurve usage to 25%, effectively pairing it with his four-seam fastball. Despite slightly decreased fastball velocity, opponents' average against the pitch has drastically improved (.077 compared to .300 previously). Wormeli discussed the possibility of Mize intentionally altering speeds for improved pitch tunneling. He emphasized trusting breakthroughs from former first overall picks undergoing meaningful adjustments, firmly suggesting fantasy managers view Mize's strong start as sustainable rather than fluky.

Ryan Wormeli considers Max Meyer's hot start legitimate due to noticeable adjustments in pitch usage. Meyer notably reduced reliance on his four-seam fastball (24% down from nearly 40%) while incorporating sliders, sinkers, and change-ups more diversely. This diversified pitch mix has potentially enhanced his overall effectiveness and improved underlying metrics early in 2024. Wormeli highlighted Meyer's high draft pedigree and past hype as key reasons to believe in sustained breakout potential, despite mild concerns about elevated allowed exit velocity (93.5 mph).

Ryan Wormeli strongly recommended fantasy managers consider adding Kyren Paris after an incredible early-season start. Paris has exploded onto the scene with a .440 batting average, five homers, four steals, and 11 runs scored in a mere 25 at-bats. Wormeli noted Paris's sudden emergence—completely out of nowhere given a poor minor league track record—as potentially explained by significant offseason swing adjustments under Aaron Judge's personal hitting coach guidance. Wormeli underscored the urgency and regret after hesitating to add Paris earlier, highlighting Paris's current, unsustainable but tantalizing performance as vital for fantasy leagues needing immediate offensive production.

Ryan Wormeli selected Casey Mize as his preferred streaming option because of his two-start week, despite a tough matchup at home against the Yankees. Wormeli emphasized Comerica Park's pitcher-friendly environment compared to Yankee Stadium and highlighted Mize's second matchup against the Twins, a lineup that's off to a sluggish offensive start. He believes Mize is more than just a streamer and could become a long-term roster addition if successful in these starts.