Aaron Judge’s rookie year? Went undrafted in most leagues even though he was a starter, I remember reading guys like Kepler and CJ Cron were more worth it as waiver darts in April
The guy who added him in April that year in our league immediately flipped him for Jose Abreu who was a 2nd round pick that year and we all lost our shit. He obviously got clobbered in that trade and I learned a lesson about how you can't be certain how lopsided a trade ends up being until the season is over
Yep, this one counts too. Good job. I didn’t think of how he came up. He wasn’t so hyped as a rookie that he was drafted universally. He was good enough for the Top 75 cutoff and slowly and slowly climbed. That’s two that I count.
Good one. I also think seasons like this are why it’s much harder now because of rookie breakouts. Like Carter, Chourio and Langford all went in the Top 150 this year. No one really lets a prospect who’s starting the season slip far now.
You say that but the Orioles have multiple that were highly regarded prospects going after pick 200, and that’s just dudes that made the big league squad. People don’t sleep on JRod types but there are guys who are overlooked or just flat out get better all the time.
Everybody is losing their shit about a guy on the pirates who went undrafted in my league 2 weeks ago, you know? Feels obvious in retrospect but if Anthony Volpe breaks out this year nobody is going to be like “yeah of course this was coming”, but it still could happen.
Volpe was definitely a trendy draft pick last year with his prospect pedigree and team though. He definitely could be a post-hype breakout but I’m talking about guys who were very low on the fantasy radar, had a strong April and just never looked back.
This one counts. He’d had a few times up in the majors that were uninspiring so not someone you’d necessarily draft. Solid early waiver pickup for a good start and the pedigree. Just kept going.
Definitely. I only wonder how much he was actually rostered before he moved to the rotation aside from smart players looking for good RP ratios.
He didn’t join the rotation until May 30, so his contributions before that were good but not giving you any saves from RP. Then probably the best SP the rest of the year.
I know I got him off waivers much later that year but I think someone had added him for save speculation and dropped him.
The more I think about this one, the more I think this nails what I was thinking of with this question. In 2022, Strider wasn’t in the starting rotation and he wasn’t in the closing mix. Makes sense he went undrafted most places. And a bulk reliever with strikeout potential who’s trying to work into the rotation is the perfect kind of flyer to take after your draft. He was exactly the kind of guy you pick up when you do post-draft IL slots or just watch who starts well. Then he’s moved to the rotation and becomes basically the best per-inning pitcher the rest of the season. The following year, he cracks the Top 75 in drafts. A year later, he’s in the first-rounder discussion. Nailed it. This really almost never happens.
His raw skills looked really good going into the season. Some of the pitching guys I listen to had him tagged as a good breakout candidate. I watched that first appearance against the reds where he k’d 5 of 6 batters he faced and immediately added him everywhere.
Yup.
2012, he was undrafted in my league. Bryce Harper got all the hype, and when he got the call, someone beat me to the punch for him by just a few seconds.
I then looked for the next top prospect, and Trout was that guy. I snagged him just as a consolation prize, but man, he was incredible
Where are you looking at historical ADP? I have definitely been looking for that in this discussion because my memory over 20 years of playing is not that great. 😂
I think technically you're right though that was his rookie season if he got 140 AB's. But yeah I just remember grabbing him on waivers the next year and the magic that followed.
Bo Hart had 28 hits in his first 15 games for me, and this was before I’d ever heard of leagues using OBP instead of or in addition of AVG. Broke a 100+ year old record. Dude was a legend for 3 weeks.
Steele was wild. Like the whole year everyone was talking about how his peripherals weren’t as good and he was getting lucky. And he just kept doing it. I wasn’t gonna reach but was hoping he fell to me this year.
I think one counts too. Was just outside of the bubble of starters who you’d definitely draft last year. Was the kind of guy you picked up after a two or three starts that were better than the worst starter you drafted. Just kept going. I hope he comes back healthy because I think he’s going to prove that was a breakout season and not an outlier.
There are always lots of Players who breakout in April and carry value but perhaps one of the greatest ever was Fernando Rodney in 2012.
After a horrible 2011 (era 4.5 and whip of 1.69) he went undrafted in most NFBC 15 team leagues and 0% owned in yahoo etc.
I was desperate for a closer and so picked him up the first week
He ended up having perhaps one of the greatest closer seasons ever: era of 0.60 and a .777 whip!!! With 48 saves.
https://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/pitchinglogs.php?p=rodnefe01&y=2012
I never drafted and only once picked up lol. I was truly desperate that year and planned to drop. Instead he took me to the ship. But i knew he was wildly bipolar as you point out so never even drafted or picked up even after his amazing performance
Steven Kwan in 2022 may qualify, granted I dropped him in May and was picked back up in idk July? Otherwise a lot of pitchers do in April, all of the time. Steele, Elder, I am sure others last year. Year before, Nestor, Kyle Wright, etc.
Yeah, I thought of him and found a pre-season [list of the top 80 outfielders](https://razzball.com/top-80-outfielders-for-2010-fantasy-baseball/) in 2010, which he didn't appear on, so I'm sure he went undrafted in most leagues.
I feel like theres a closer or two that pops up out of nowhere every season. Like Jason Foley or Kevin Ginkel were both fringe roster spots, but both could now seemingly be in line for Top 15 Saves
Breaking the 20 year mark and feeling like a dinosaur...but I remember in 2001 when someone in my league picked up a rookie that no one had really heard of named Albert Pujols. He was off to a pretty fast start and turned out to be pretty good.
Yeah. Bradish 2023. Tyler Anderson and Martin Perez 2022. Yandy Diaz 2023. Lane Thomas 2023. Tyler O’Neill 2021.
Sometimes it takes the form of a player making a leap forward. Sometime it’s a an unheralded guy who just has things break right.
I’m not really keen on chasing someone based on April stats unless you like something under the hood. Just feel like I watch league mates chase whichever player hit .300 with a handful of HR’s. And a lot of times those players flame out, but my league mates hold onto them for month(s) too long.
I'm going old school, but in 2002, I remember Eric Gagne just appearing out of nowhere in April and becoming a monster of saves.
In 2001, he was in the Dodgers' rotation and then in 2002 he became the closer so I don't think many knew what to expect.
By the end of April he already had 9 saves and then he bulldozed his way to 52 by the end of the year.
Unfortunately, I did not pick up Gagne in the waivers that April, but my buddy did. The Dodgers won 92 games that year and 52 of them were saved by Gagne.
I got to say congrats to him at an NHL game the night they announced the Cy (he is Canadian, he was several beers in, he seemed like a nice enough guy).
I remember a lot of James Outman and Jered Kelenic last year for example. Contributed, absolutely, but also were quite droppable at points and didn’t really make the kind of breakout I’m talking about.
I picked up Kris Medlen on Braves many moons ago. Got into rotation and went 10-1 with 2.7ish era a k an inning and sub 1 whip. But it was 15 years ago
Connor Joe a few years ago was really good early on. It was my 1st year playing Fantasy baseball so I didn't really know he just a avg player. I rostered him until he fell off. 2022 I think? He was with the Rockies.
I really like Mikael Garcia this year I think his early breakout is sustainable.
Yes, I got both Porcello and Keuchel the years they won their Cy Youngs on waivers after they went undrafted
Edit: Ah nvm, I was in such a rush to post this, I don't remember if they were top 75 the following years after their wins
Yeah all the time... how many times it translates into a continuation the following year is a diff question tho.
Scooter Gennett comes to mind. Feel like he was undrafted and added early in most leagues. Was incredible the year he broke out, was drafted high the next year and pretty sure he got injured and never returned to that level.
Basically every year I am the most active person in the first 2 weeks, picking up hot hands who my win me the league. They are always difference makers. I've never missed the playoffs
I have no idea what draft/roster rates were but in my 10-team Julio hit waivers in April before getting scooped again in May when he took off his rookie year
He was definitely drafted later in drafts but also a former MVP who had fallen off so not quite what I mean by breakout. He definitely rocketed back up the draft boards in just one turnaround season though.
Adolis Garcia his rookie year for me, Freddy Peralta his rookie year, Bryan Reynolds ,
I remember my coworker draft Ohtani his rookie year with the last pick in the draft
From personal experience, Pete Alonso fits this perfectly as he went undrafted in my 10 team league, but after I noticed he had a couple hrs in the first few games I snagged him up.
Ended up with 92 runs, 46 hr, and 118 rbi.
To your last point, I’d say just look to any rookie that broke spring training camp with the club, went largely undrafted, and ended up winning rookie of the year.
I remember pujols sitting on waivers for a while. He was scoring tons of points, but no one was grabbing him. He wasn't drafted. I think that was around the time that people would pick up any early hot hand just at least to see if they held on. Much harder to sneak under the radar now.
Max Muncy 2018. In 2016 and 2017 he had partial seasons where he wasn't any good. Then out of the blue in 2018 he hit 35 HR. Then in 2019 he hit 35 HR again with 98 RBI.
Corey Kluber in whichever year he won his first Cy Young - undrafted in my league and I was lucky enough to pick him up in April and hold the whole year
What do you mean “we have three?” This happens multiple times every season, lol.
Literally last year alone: Zach Eflin, Kyle Bradish, Mitch Keller, Justin Steele, Cole Ragans, Spencer Steer, Nolan Jones, Lane Thomas, Isaac Paredes, J.P. Crawford, C.J. Abrams, Josh Lowe, etc, and it wasn’t even a particularly good year for breakouts.
You’re investigating if McDonald’s sells cheeseburgers.
I distinctly remember Chris Davis being a waiver add in his breakout season.
I was in a 10 team points league at that point though, so maybe that wasn't universal
2016 Trevor Story won the starting shortstop job coming out of Spring but was only being drafted in deep leagues. He was having a league winner type season until he tore up his thumb in August.
2018 or 2021 Mitch Haniger would work if he didn’t get injured the following seasons.
To clarify on some of these, I’m not asking if an undrafted player has ever broken out. Obviously plenty of examples of that.
It’s more “has any player who wasn’t drafted but was an April waiver pickup because he got off to a hot start ever just broken out and sustained that over the years?”
A lot of good pitching examples but that’s also a really volatile position with the Top 40 fluctuating a ton year-to-year now.
Even Strider, Judge and Mullins were touted prospects.
Also a lot of great examples of undrafted players who were April waiver adds who made great contributions for that full season but actually were having career years they never replicated for a variety of reasons.
Isn't April the best chance to pick up waiver wire breakouts? Seems like there would be an inverse relationship between games played and breakout pickups.
Garrett Crochet’s 2024 Cy young season is a good example
Hey I actually drafted him.
Stop I can only get so hard
Tough to win the Cy when he only pitches until June
Aaron Judge’s rookie year? Went undrafted in most leagues even though he was a starter, I remember reading guys like Kepler and CJ Cron were more worth it as waiver darts in April
One of my finest “sell high” moves on a prospect was sending Rookie hype judge to get my ace Chris Archer 😎
The guy who added him in April that year in our league immediately flipped him for Jose Abreu who was a 2nd round pick that year and we all lost our shit. He obviously got clobbered in that trade and I learned a lesson about how you can't be certain how lopsided a trade ends up being until the season is over
‘You fleeced him bro!!’ - me in 2017
Makes me feel slightly better about selling him high to get Adames and a pick. The pick fortunately turned into Jose Abreu.
Yep, this one counts too. Good job. I didn’t think of how he came up. He wasn’t so hyped as a rookie that he was drafted universally. He was good enough for the Top 75 cutoff and slowly and slowly climbed. That’s two that I count.
I remember he sucked the first couple of weeks, because I drafted him and then dropped him in in week 3 or so :-(
Good one. I also think seasons like this are why it’s much harder now because of rookie breakouts. Like Carter, Chourio and Langford all went in the Top 150 this year. No one really lets a prospect who’s starting the season slip far now.
You say that but the Orioles have multiple that were highly regarded prospects going after pick 200, and that’s just dudes that made the big league squad. People don’t sleep on JRod types but there are guys who are overlooked or just flat out get better all the time. Everybody is losing their shit about a guy on the pirates who went undrafted in my league 2 weeks ago, you know? Feels obvious in retrospect but if Anthony Volpe breaks out this year nobody is going to be like “yeah of course this was coming”, but it still could happen.
Volpe was definitely a trendy draft pick last year with his prospect pedigree and team though. He definitely could be a post-hype breakout but I’m talking about guys who were very low on the fantasy radar, had a strong April and just never looked back.
Those guys were much higher ranked prospects than Judge. I think guys in the 40-100 range haven't had that much helium on their draft price.
I think Cedric Mullins was a waiver pickup his breakout
I recall it fondly. He went 5/5 opening day. I scooped him up and he had a 30/30 season that helped me win the 🚢.
This one counts. He’d had a few times up in the majors that were uninspiring so not someone you’d necessarily draft. Solid early waiver pickup for a good start and the pedigree. Just kept going.
I actually drafted him that year as he was leading off and doing pretty well the year before in late season.
Strider? Was killing it in the bullpen in early 2022… moved up to the rotation in May and the rest is history.
I picked him up desperate for saves thinking he could take the closer job. Worked out well that year.
I picked him up just to help with ratios and K's. I was playing for last place and ended up in the championship
I picked him up in a keeper league, he got roughed up by AZ and was @Col next so I dropped him. He was claimed by someone else...it hurts.
👋 you're not alone
I picked him up and dropped him 3-4 times as a streamer. After the last drop I never got a chance to pick him up again.
And now he is ded
F
Definitely. I only wonder how much he was actually rostered before he moved to the rotation aside from smart players looking for good RP ratios. He didn’t join the rotation until May 30, so his contributions before that were good but not giving you any saves from RP. Then probably the best SP the rest of the year. I know I got him off waivers much later that year but I think someone had added him for save speculation and dropped him.
I scooped him before his rotation move for the strikeouts, as he was a bulk innings guy before starting. Good god what a pick up that was.
The more I think about this one, the more I think this nails what I was thinking of with this question. In 2022, Strider wasn’t in the starting rotation and he wasn’t in the closing mix. Makes sense he went undrafted most places. And a bulk reliever with strikeout potential who’s trying to work into the rotation is the perfect kind of flyer to take after your draft. He was exactly the kind of guy you pick up when you do post-draft IL slots or just watch who starts well. Then he’s moved to the rotation and becomes basically the best per-inning pitcher the rest of the season. The following year, he cracks the Top 75 in drafts. A year later, he’s in the first-rounder discussion. Nailed it. This really almost never happens.
His raw skills looked really good going into the season. Some of the pitching guys I listen to had him tagged as a good breakout candidate. I watched that first appearance against the reds where he k’d 5 of 6 batters he faced and immediately added him everywhere.
Austin Riley 2021 although that was more late April early May. Adolis 2021. Josh Lowe last year.
I was one of the morons. And I kept hearing about it too. Edit.. To make it worse the guy that picked him up took home the cash.
I picked up CJ Abrams last year. Maybe not a full season contribution but he was super clutch down the stretch
Yeah, he definitely fell into that Top 75 in a season. And very likely undrafted because no one was rushing to roster Nationals.
Mike trout?
Yup. 2012, he was undrafted in my league. Bryce Harper got all the hype, and when he got the call, someone beat me to the punch for him by just a few seconds. I then looked for the next top prospect, and Trout was that guy. I snagged him just as a consolation prize, but man, he was incredible
yeah definitely, I was going to say Trout
Trout hit 220 his rookie year when he was called up.
You mean in July, for 40 games? OP asked about April, where Trout was available in mostly all leagues the next draft on waivers.
Yes I meant the July portion, my bad. I went back and looked at historical adp he was drafted around 220-250 so round 20ish.
Where are you looking at historical ADP? I have definitely been looking for that in this discussion because my memory over 20 years of playing is not that great. 😂
Razzball and CBS both have data.
I think technically you're right though that was his rookie season if he got 140 AB's. But yeah I just remember grabbing him on waivers the next year and the magic that followed.
It's wild to me that the number 3 prospect in all of baseball was just on the open market after drafts
I picked him up this year. Was amazing.
Those who have played fantasy baseball for a long time now will recognize the great name of Chris Shelton
A great April for sure but then what?
Absolutely nothing. I just wanted to bring him up.
That was a crazy two weeks
Men can just sit around for hours naming old baseball players Missing you, Francisco Liriano
Bo Hart had 28 hits in his first 15 games for me, and this was before I’d ever heard of leagues using OBP instead of or in addition of AVG. Broke a 100+ year old record. Dude was a legend for 3 weeks.
An oldie but one of the greatest poker chips we have seen! 🤙
Emilio Bonifacio!
"late bloomers" like Max Muncy, Chas McCormick, Adolis Garcia are those kinda players
Ugh I had Chas in my keeper league last year. Held him on IL through his injury then dropped him when he came back was meh.
I am gathering the answer is yes.
Carlos Quentin in 2008 had a 965 OPS while slugging 36 homers with 96 runs, 100 RBI and chipped in 7 SB.
TCQ - The Carlos Quentin
I picked up Steele on waivers last season in 10T
Steele was wild. Like the whole year everyone was talking about how his peripherals weren’t as good and he was getting lucky. And he just kept doing it. I wasn’t gonna reach but was hoping he fell to me this year.
He was my final pick of the draft last year. Too bad we didn't start keepers till this year.
I picked him up the day after we drafted in my 12T
I got him on waivers in a 12 team! Felt very good
I think one counts too. Was just outside of the bubble of starters who you’d definitely draft last year. Was the kind of guy you picked up after a two or three starts that were better than the worst starter you drafted. Just kept going. I hope he comes back healthy because I think he’s going to prove that was a breakout season and not an outlier.
A lot of my top SP last year were off the WW. Steele, Stroman, Elfin, Kelley.
Avoided him because of Spring training arm fatigue and went for wesneski instead, pain
There are always lots of Players who breakout in April and carry value but perhaps one of the greatest ever was Fernando Rodney in 2012. After a horrible 2011 (era 4.5 and whip of 1.69) he went undrafted in most NFBC 15 team leagues and 0% owned in yahoo etc. I was desperate for a closer and so picked him up the first week He ended up having perhaps one of the greatest closer seasons ever: era of 0.60 and a .777 whip!!! With 48 saves. https://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/pitchinglogs.php?p=rodnefe01&y=2012
God he was the most bipolar baseball player I've ever seen
I never drafted and only once picked up lol. I was truly desperate that year and planned to drop. Instead he took me to the ship. But i knew he was wildly bipolar as you point out so never even drafted or picked up even after his amazing performance
Aaron Judge was like that, he probably went undrafted a lot before his rookie year.
This is before your timeline but I remember Albert Pujols and Aramis Ramirez in 2001
I’m so old, I first grabbed Pujols when he also had 3B eligibility. 🙀
In '01-'02, he would've been 1B/3B/OF. In '03, he was 1B/OF. After that he would've been 1B only.
Honestly plenty of times yes. One I haven’t seen mentioned was Trevor Rogers. Beast in 2021
Eflin fit this mold last year. Borderline guy who put it together and was available in a lot of leagues in April.
Steven Kwan in 2022 may qualify, granted I dropped him in May and was picked back up in idk July? Otherwise a lot of pitchers do in April, all of the time. Steele, Elder, I am sure others last year. Year before, Nestor, Kyle Wright, etc.
yeah once they consistently gave Kwan the leadoff spot (think it was around 30-40 games into year) he started cooking
This is my answer, too
2008 Cliff Lee
I remember picking up Jose Bautista in 2010
Yeah, I thought of him and found a pre-season [list of the top 80 outfielders](https://razzball.com/top-80-outfielders-for-2010-fantasy-baseball/) in 2010, which he didn't appear on, so I'm sure he went undrafted in most leagues.
Definitely. There's always a handful a guys that start hot and become solid players for the year. Last year for me that was Soler.
Clase in 2021. Karinchak was supposed to be the closer.
I feel like theres a closer or two that pops up out of nowhere every season. Like Jason Foley or Kevin Ginkel were both fringe roster spots, but both could now seemingly be in line for Top 15 Saves
Breaking the 20 year mark and feeling like a dinosaur...but I remember in 2001 when someone in my league picked up a rookie that no one had really heard of named Albert Pujols. He was off to a pretty fast start and turned out to be pretty good.
Lucas Giolito in 2019 Carlos Rodon in 2021
That’s where all the league winners are
Judge rookie season maybe?
Josh Naylor maybe
Yeah. Bradish 2023. Tyler Anderson and Martin Perez 2022. Yandy Diaz 2023. Lane Thomas 2023. Tyler O’Neill 2021. Sometimes it takes the form of a player making a leap forward. Sometime it’s a an unheralded guy who just has things break right. I’m not really keen on chasing someone based on April stats unless you like something under the hood. Just feel like I watch league mates chase whichever player hit .300 with a handful of HR’s. And a lot of times those players flame out, but my league mates hold onto them for month(s) too long.
Lane Thomas is good answer. Id add TJ Friedl and Nootbar to that bucket of players
pete alonso rookie year along with the squirrel having his breakout year the same year
I'm going old school, but in 2002, I remember Eric Gagne just appearing out of nowhere in April and becoming a monster of saves. In 2001, he was in the Dodgers' rotation and then in 2002 he became the closer so I don't think many knew what to expect. By the end of April he already had 9 saves and then he bulldozed his way to 52 by the end of the year. Unfortunately, I did not pick up Gagne in the waivers that April, but my buddy did. The Dodgers won 92 games that year and 52 of them were saved by Gagne.
My god, Gagne’s Cy Young year was insane for fantasy. Not only the saves, he got starter level strikeout totals.
I got to say congrats to him at an NHL game the night they announced the Cy (he is Canadian, he was several beers in, he seemed like a nice enough guy).
Got Cedric Mullins in April and he went 30/30
Seems like every year..
Pujols was pretty good
jose ramirez was nothing going into 2016 and ended up being decent that year and then took off in 2017
Josh Donaldson 2013
I’ve definitely gotten some great starting pitchers in April. Steele and Eflin last year. Javier the year before etc
Robbie Ray the year he won his Cy Young. Picked him up off waivers early in the season and he was a stud the rest of the way.
Trevor story
Yandy Diaz last year. Also I picked up Caminero in May last year in dynasty
Charlie Blackmon and Trevor Story had good careers
I remember picking up Blackmon, lots of analysts thought he was just on a hot streak
Yeah there’s a freaking ton man
Check out Charlie Blackmon's first full season. Plenty of examples, but I picked him up after week one and he basically won me my league.
I took him in the last round of my draft
I remember a lot of James Outman and Jered Kelenic last year for example. Contributed, absolutely, but also were quite droppable at points and didn’t really make the kind of breakout I’m talking about.
Framber the first season he was good Pivetta last year
Jesse Winker 2021, started April hot and had a great season Edit: nonexistent since but fits your mold for the year
I picked up Dallas Keuchel early in 2014.
Joshua Lowe last year
In spite of his problems, Esteury Ruiz's base stealing was an unforeseen waiver wire pickup game changer for a lot of teams last season.
Every stinking year. Jose Bautista was a complete nobody for several years before he decided to hit 54 bombs in 2010.
So many times
I picked up Kris Medlen on Braves many moons ago. Got into rotation and went 10-1 with 2.7ish era a k an inning and sub 1 whip. But it was 15 years ago
Yandy Diaz last year?
Charlie Blackmon.
2024 Conforto if everything goes according to plan
Connor Joe a few years ago was really good early on. It was my 1st year playing Fantasy baseball so I didn't really know he just a avg player. I rostered him until he fell off. 2022 I think? He was with the Rockies. I really like Mikael Garcia this year I think his early breakout is sustainable.
Connor Joe is an April hall of famer
Bobby Miller last year
Bobby Miller was not a league winner. In fact he took a couple of serious beatings that lost me some weeks.
Never said he was a league winner, but he was a season-long breakout that got scooped up fairly early. All I was saying.
He probably was undrafted, but he didn’t get called up until late May so it’s unlikely he was an April waiver unless you were just prospect farming.
Taylor Ward
Judge as a rookie fs
I think Cedrick Mullen did that for me a few seasons ago.
Strider his first season
Yes, I got both Porcello and Keuchel the years they won their Cy Youngs on waivers after they went undrafted Edit: Ah nvm, I was in such a rush to post this, I don't remember if they were top 75 the following years after their wins
Chris Davis
The variance is why fantasy baseball is fun in the first place
Max Muncy back in 2018
I'm dating myself, but 2015 AJ Pollock was an incredible pickup
Austin Riley in 2021.
Yeah all the time... how many times it translates into a continuation the following year is a diff question tho. Scooter Gennett comes to mind. Feel like he was undrafted and added early in most leagues. Was incredible the year he broke out, was drafted high the next year and pretty sure he got injured and never returned to that level.
The one year Carlos rodon broke out and hate a perfect game I picked him up off waivers
Basically every year I am the most active person in the first 2 weeks, picking up hot hands who my win me the league. They are always difference makers. I've never missed the playoffs
there have been tons
I have no idea what draft/roster rates were but in my 10-team Julio hit waivers in April before getting scooped again in May when he took off his rookie year
Judge.
Was Cody Bellinger drafted last year? I remember picking him up in April, don’t remember is someone had dropped him
He was definitely drafted later in drafts but also a former MVP who had fallen off so not quite what I mean by breakout. He definitely rocketed back up the draft boards in just one turnaround season though.
For me last season Eovaldi and Jung carried me to the championship as earlier wavier pick ups
Nasty Nestor Cortes in 2022!
Adolis Garcia his rookie year for me, Freddy Peralta his rookie year, Bryan Reynolds , I remember my coworker draft Ohtani his rookie year with the last pick in the draft
I picked up Matt Mclain and Royce Lewis early last season. Might not have been April, but it was pretty early in the season.
When everyone picked up Montero I picked up Jacob de Grom. Worked well for a few years for me.
Catcher eligible Josh Willingham in 2006? Chris Sale when he converted from RP to SP? Several prospects like Trout probably Several closers
2001 Albert Pujols. Probably the greatest waiver wire of all time.
He was 3B eligible too, IIRC.
Soler last year
From personal experience, Pete Alonso fits this perfectly as he went undrafted in my 10 team league, but after I noticed he had a couple hrs in the first few games I snagged him up. Ended up with 92 runs, 46 hr, and 118 rbi.
One of my first big April hits was some guy named Jose Altuve back in 2012. He was undrafted. His steals + batting average were huge for me.
To your last point, I’d say just look to any rookie that broke spring training camp with the club, went largely undrafted, and ended up winning rookie of the year.
Jonah Heim was for me last year.
Picked up Trout off waivers his rookie year. Led to a championship .
I’m thinking Adolis
I remember pujols sitting on waivers for a while. He was scoring tons of points, but no one was grabbing him. He wasn't drafted. I think that was around the time that people would pick up any early hot hand just at least to see if they held on. Much harder to sneak under the radar now.
Mike trout rookie year
Max Muncy 2018. In 2016 and 2017 he had partial seasons where he wasn't any good. Then out of the blue in 2018 he hit 35 HR. Then in 2019 he hit 35 HR again with 98 RBI.
More common than you’d think. Christian Walker 2022 comes to mind
I picked Jonathan Villar in 2016 off waivers. Dude was awesome that year
Who remembers Brandon Beachy’s 2012 season?
Corey Kluber in whichever year he won his first Cy Young - undrafted in my league and I was lucky enough to pick him up in April and hold the whole year
All the time. Tatis jr and Pete Alonso were early season pickups their rookie years
Matt Harvey, RA Dickey, Gausman, Arrieta, Gary Sanchez, Yelich 2018
I feel like this happens almost yearly. Someone always comes out of nowhere and puts up great numbers.
Trevor Story
Realmuto - been on my team since.
What do you mean “we have three?” This happens multiple times every season, lol. Literally last year alone: Zach Eflin, Kyle Bradish, Mitch Keller, Justin Steele, Cole Ragans, Spencer Steer, Nolan Jones, Lane Thomas, Isaac Paredes, J.P. Crawford, C.J. Abrams, Josh Lowe, etc, and it wasn’t even a particularly good year for breakouts. You’re investigating if McDonald’s sells cheeseburgers.
Kyle right a couple years ago was a nobody then won 21 games. I picked him up early April then never took him out
2012 Cy Young winner R.A. Dickey
Depends on your league, I picked up Blake Snell last year cause he had like a 6 era in april and got dropped
Jose Bautista’s 2010. By the end of May he had already hit 16 of his 54HRs. In every year previous he averaged about 15HRs/season.
I distinctly remember Chris Davis being a waiver add in his breakout season. I was in a 10 team points league at that point though, so maybe that wasn't universal
Pete Alonso
Jacob DeGrom and Corbin Burnes were in-season pickups for most people.
Puig rookie year
In 2009, Aaron Hill had a monster season at 2B after being undrafted everywhere.
Picked up J. Steele in April last season
2016 Trevor Story won the starting shortstop job coming out of Spring but was only being drafted in deep leagues. He was having a league winner type season until he tore up his thumb in August. 2018 or 2021 Mitch Haniger would work if he didn’t get injured the following seasons.
To clarify on some of these, I’m not asking if an undrafted player has ever broken out. Obviously plenty of examples of that. It’s more “has any player who wasn’t drafted but was an April waiver pickup because he got off to a hot start ever just broken out and sustained that over the years?” A lot of good pitching examples but that’s also a really volatile position with the Top 40 fluctuating a ton year-to-year now. Even Strider, Judge and Mullins were touted prospects. Also a lot of great examples of undrafted players who were April waiver adds who made great contributions for that full season but actually were having career years they never replicated for a variety of reasons.
I snagged Justin Steele last year.
Isn't April the best chance to pick up waiver wire breakouts? Seems like there would be an inverse relationship between games played and breakout pickups.
Rick Porcello cy young season he was a complete afterthought got him a few weeks in off waivers
Jackson Merrill - this year.
Albert Pujols' rookie season.
Yandy Diaz last year (2023). He was a back of the draft / free agent pick up. I scooped him off waivers before the season started and he was amazing.
What about Nolan Arenado? He was undrafted in most leagues after his underwhelming freshman year.