Andre Ethier could be a solid add during this stretch of increased playing time

With injuries, call-ups and the natural course of a season in baseball, the waiver wire is your friend. We’re a month into the season and without question, now is the time to grab players while they’re still available. It should be no surprise that there are players on the waiver wire that are still outproducing players on your roster.

To help pinpoint which of those players you should consider adding, we’ve enlisted the help of the experts to name their under-the-radar pickups. Below, you’ll find 9 names to consider adding to your roster. All of these players are owned by less than 25% of Yahoo leagues. Read on for the pundits thoughts.

Q1. What hitter should owners look into picking up that is owned in less than 25% of Yahoo Leagues?

Andre Ethier (OF, LAD) – 13% Owned
“If having love for a veteran player in an explosive offense who has a clear route to consistent playing time due to a pair of injuries is wrong, then I don’t want to be right. Don’t forget that he is a lifetime .285 hitter and he is a must start with a righty on the bump (and that’s roughly 75% of the league). His slash over the past three seasons vs. RHP (.292/.375/.467) isn’t much different than Adrian Gonzalez‘s (.297/.351/.488).”
– Kyle Soppe (RotoExperts)

“With both Yasiel Puig (hamstring) and Carl Crawford (strained oblique) sidelined, Ethier has a place in the Dodgers lineup for at least a couple weeks. This could even turn into an opportunity for the Dodgers to move Ethier in trade once everyone’s healthy.”
– David Gonos (DavidGonos.com)

David Freese (3B, LAA) – 16% Owned
“Freese has hit 4th or 5th for the Angels all season. While his average of .210 is terrible, his BABIP is almost 100 points under what it was last season and it’s more than 100 points under his career average. Hitting behind Mike Trout and Albert Pujols should provide ample opportunities for RBI and plenty of value in mixed leagues. Despite his bad luck with his batting average, he’s still currently ranked 183 in Yahoo 5×5 leagues.”
– Justin Klein (The Fake Baseball)

C.J. Cron (1B, LAA) – 4% Owned
“With Josh Hamilton out of the picture and Albert Pujols a bit gimpy, Cron is in line​ to finally get a chance at full-time at-bats. ​He hit 11 HRs in 242 ABs in 2014, so 25-plus bombs is not a pipe dream. The average may not be pretty and he needs to do a better job against right-handed pitchers, but his power is legit. Mark Canha is getting plenty of love now. Cron will be the better hitter before 2015 is over.”
– Doug Anderson (FNTSY)

Jimmy Paredes (3B, BAL) – 25% Owned
“Paredes has absolutely been raking since his call up a couple weeks ago, hitting .385 with three home runs, nine RBI and 10 runs. He is hitting so well that manager Buck Showalter has had no choice but to move him up in the lineup and we have seen him hit 2nd. Anybody batting atop the Orioles powerful lineup is valuable, especially somebody hitting as well as Paredes.”
– Joe Bond (Fantasy Six Pack)

Q2. What pitcher should owners look into picking up that is owned in less than 25% of Yahoo Leagues?

J.A. Happ (SP, SEA) – 19% Owned
“Happ is owned in only 19% of Yahoo leagues despite the fact that he has 2 wins and 18 Ks to go with his 2.30 ERA and 1.06 WHIP. I don’t expect the numbers to be this good, but they should be decent and Happ plays in a soft division with a great home park.”
– Justin Klein (The Fake Baseball)

Kyle Hendricks (SP, CHC) – 14% Owned
“Hendricks was excellent in 2014, but got no love in 2015 drafts. Now, outside of a poor start in Colorado to open the year, he’s been solid again. He relies on command more than stuff, but so far this year his strikeouts have ticked up and his control has been as advertised. There are probably flashier names out there, but Hendricks makes the perfect sixth or seventh starter on a top fantasy staff.”
– Doug Anderson (FNTSY)

Jesse Chavez (SP,RP, OAK) – 23% Owned
“He got a little knocked around this past start against the Angels, but let’s not forget that he had a very usable 3.45 ERA and 8.38 K/9 before getting sent to the bullpen following the A’s trades for Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel. Even with the rough start, he still sports a 2.55 ERA and 1.13 WHIP with a 9.17 K/9. Especially for those who lost Adam Wainwright, you could do much worse than Chavez off your waiver wire.”
– Joe Bond (Fantasy Six Pack)

Jon Niese (SP, NYM) – 16% Owned / Tom Koehler (SP, MIA) – 6% Owned
“I picked two names because what I like about them is the same: they pitch in the NL East and should see the majority of their starts this month come against their weak hitting division. Neither is a great pitcher, but both are good enough to produce in the short-term, thus helping you now and potentially inflating their value to the point where you can sell them and profit down the road.”
– Kyle Soppe (RotoExperts)

Joe Kelly (SP, BOS) – 23% Owned
“I’ve always been a fan of Kelly from his time in St. Louis, when at one point he was considered one of the candidates, along with Trevor Rosenthal, to replace injured closer Jason Motte. Kelly’s slider and fastball are improved from a season ago, and Boston’s lineup ranks third in the majors in runs scored, but they should climb even higher by season’s end.”
– David Gonos (DavidGonos.com)

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Thank you to the experts for taking the time to evaluate potential under-the-radar waiver options. For more from the experts, be sure to follow them on Twitter.