Welcome to Pickup of the Day, where every weekday we’ll pick an under-the-radar player whose immediate value is on the rise. The idea here is to identify a starter who can give you some solid innings off the scrap heap, a talented backup who’s been given a chance because of a starter’s injury, an unheralded regular with a favorable matchup, or a potential breakout player who’s starting to put it together. Unlike regular waiver-wire advice, Pickup of the Day is geared more towards interim success, but hopefully we’ll have the intuition to help you snag a waiver-wire gem a few times this season.
Chris Young lasted just one inning on Opening Day before aggravating a quad injury, but the outfielder is healthy now and slated to be activated from the disabled list on Friday. With Juan Lagares (hamstring) landing on the DL, Young should be in the Mets’ lineup on a regular basis. The batting average probably isn’t going to help you, but there’s some power/speed potential that is usually hard to come by on the waiver wire.
