The 16 Premier MLP teams have now entered the last period for waivers of 2025.

 

Each team submitted a list of their four starters, who are all protected from the waiver process. The remaining two players on each team are now eligible to be claimed on waivers by other teams. 

 

The list of protected players contained a couple of surprises. Carolina chose to protect Brandon French over Collin Johns. Carolina likely figured (I think correctly) that no one would want their team to experience the lack of energy Collin brings with him, so I expect him to go unpicked. SoCal exposed Judit Castillo and Roscoe Bellamy and protected Irina Tereschenko, Jalina Ingram, and Ryan Fu instead. 

 

Teams now have until Thursday at noon to submit waiver requests. The actual moves will be revealed Monday. Which teams should make a move to upgrade their rosters?

 

Half of the teams are set and will not make moves. That group includes Dallas, St. Louis, New Jersey, LA, Brooklyn, Columbus, Texas, and Utah. The other eight teams could make a move. Let’s see if we can predict who will and won’t make a change.

 

Atlanta: Possible drops would be Todd Fought (2025 record of 6-24) or Victoria DiMuzio (5-19). Fought is a high effort player. I could see them thinking about Roscoe Bellamy (4-6). DiMuzio is all potential, although that potential has not yet shown through. Prediction: No moves.

 

Carolina: I have long said they should never have drafted Collin Johns (9-11). He has bad energy for MLP and brings the team down. He is still capable of high end play, but not at the level he was in 2024. As I would not have picked him, I would certainly drop him now. Tammy Emmrich (9-19) tries hard, but is probably better suited for Challenger. Prediction: No moves. If I was in charge, I would drop Johns for AJ Koller, and I would drop Emmrich for Christa Gecheva (1-1). Koller is a veteran who should be able to relate to Ben Johns and is tough enough to tell Ben to pick up his effort. His talent level is equal to Collin, at least. Gecheva has played well in women’s doubles with Kaitlyn Christian in PPAs. Teams are limited to one move per waiver period and I would have dropped Collin Johns last waiver period. Now, they are probably stuck with him and should prioritize getting Gecheva because of her synergy with Christian.

 

Chicago: Possible drop would be Max Freeman (8-20). I would not have drafted Freeman as his doubles game is not there yet. He’s improving, but there are better options. Prediction: No moves. They should drop Freeman for Erik Lange or Roscoe Bellamy.

 

Miami: Possible drop is Mya Bui (10-20). I did not have her as a draftable Premier player at the start of the year. She has played slightly better than I thought she would, but I still see better options. Prediction: No moves. If I was Miami’s GM, I would drop Bui for Rachel Rettger (1-5 this year, but had a great record in 2024), or Helena Jansen (3-1). I would talk to Milan Rane (Miami’s other woman) about whether she would prefer to play left or right side. Rettger is better on the right, Jansen on the left. Whatever Rane told me would influence my decision on who to pick up.

 

New York: Possible drops are Dominique Schaefer (6-16), Lingwei Kong (3-13) and Donald Young (5-9). Schaefer has started to play better, so probably is kept. Young has a lot of raw talent and his style fits well with Zane Ford. Kong would be the possible drop. Prediction: No moves. I would rather have Rettger or Gecheva than Kong.

 

Orlando: Possible drop is Samantha Parker (13-17). Parker is another player I did not think should be drafted this year in Premier. She has played fairly well, although she got off to a fast start against weak competition but has now started to come back to the pack. They likely stick with her and hope she improves. Lacy Schneemann needs to play the left, so Miami could consider Rachel Rettger or Christa Gecheva. Prediction: No moves.

 

Phoenix: Possible drops are Jack Sock (7-21) and Genie Bouchard (4-22). Yes, Jack Sock. He was the worst player statistically in MLP 2024 and this year he is not much better. I like watching Sock as much as anyone, but at some point we have to admit he is what his record says he is. As for Bouchard, she’s not even a Challenger level talent. Prediction: No moves, as Phoenix does not appear to be prioritizing winning. If I was in charge, I would drop Sock for Bellamy (who would pair well with McGuffin), and would drop Bouchard for Helena Jansen, as she would pair well with Jessie Irvine. As teams can only make one move per waiver period, Phoenix is now stuck with Sock and needs to prioritize dropping Bouchard.

 

SoCal: Possible moves would be to drop Ryan Fu (4-24) or Irina Tereschenko (8-9). Tereschenko played pretty well at MLP Phoenix, but is often injured. Fu is not a Premier level player and I have never understood why he was drafted. SoCal exposed Roscoe Bellamy instead of Fu to the waiver pool. Did they really think someone was going to pick up Fu, the second lowest rated starter on any Premier team? Bellamy is quite simply better than Fu, both at doubles and singles. This move made no sense at all. Prediction: No moves. If they exposed Bellamy instead of Fu, it means they are keeping Fu. I don’t get why, but dropping Fu when you could keep Bellamy would be illogical. What SoCal should do is drop Fu, and pick up Pat Smith (2-0). Smith would be a great veteran presence to balance the youth and energy of Blaine Hovenier. I think Erik Lange is slightly better than Smith, but I love combining Smith with Hovenier.

 

In summary, there are a lot of possible moves, but do not be surprised if there end up being very few moves. If a team does a waiver move, it is sort of an admission that the team made a bad draft pick in April and teams do not like to admit mistakes. But if your emphasis is winning, you make moves that improve your team. Nearly half the teams should make a move, but most will not.

 

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