The waiver wire is where fantasy baseball championships are won. Unless you are a psychic and have a perfect draft, the waiver wire is the key to getting those players who will push your team over your opponent each week. Whether it’s a high-upside arm or a forgotten hitter putting on a power show, here are four perfect waiver wire pickups for your fantasy baseball team in the sixth week of the regular season.
This article is part of a weekly waiver wire series. Check back throughout the season for the latest players to target as fantasy baseball league-winners.
Must Adds for Week 6
Eric Wagaman
(1B, Miami)
Percent Rostered (Fantrax): 40%
Drafted in 2017, Wagaman made 74 trips to the plate in his debut season last year. Over that span, we saw that he hit the ball very hard but struggled to make use of his power. Despite a 91.7 MPH average exit velocity (per Baseball Savant), Wagaman barreled the ball in just 5.5% of plate appearances.
This season, Wagaman has pulled the ball in the air more often. After hitting said batted balls 12.7% of the time in 2024, that number is now up to 20.3%. And his production has increased because of it; this season he’s boasting an expected slash line of .319/.369/.555 (.924 xOPS).
Wagaman’s strikeout rate has also been excellent in the majors after striking out only 14 times in 107 appearances in Triple-A. This year, the Marlins first baseman has K’d at a 15.7% clip – which is the 82nd percentile among big leaguers.
Wagaman is a great option at first base in deep leagues for fantasy baseball managers in need of power. He’s already notched three home runs this year, and his expected numbers back up his performance.
Fernando Cruz
(P, New York Yankees)
Percent Rostered: 34%
Much has been made in recent days about Cruz’s splitter. After having a conversation with Yankees bullpen coach Mike Harkey during spring training, he revamped the offering and has seen tremendous success with it so far.
Hitters have a batting average on Cruz’s splitter of just .088, and they’ve whiffed at over 50% of the ones they’ve swung at. Per Aaron Boone, in the same article referenced above:
“I’ve never seen so many bad swings in my life from good hitters, looking like they’ve never swung. It’s unbelievable. I wish we were keeping count.”
Luckily for Boone – and for the rest of us – Statcast has been keeping count. Statcast defines a “competitive swing” as “the fastest 90% of a player's swings, plus any 60+ MPH swings resulting in an exit velocity of 90+ MPH.” Hitters have taken competitive swings on just 76.3% of Cruz’s pitches this season.
That’s the lowest rate among all qualified MLB pitchers, and it reflects how uncomfortable hitters are in the box against the Yankees right-hander.
His splitter has helped Cruz post video game numbers so far this season. He has 0.93 WHIP and 1.93 ERA in 14 innings to go with 21 strikeouts and a 97th-percentile xBA of .156. Cruz’s 38.9% strikeout rate is good for the 99th percentile.
With Devin Williams struggling lately in the closer role, Cruz could have higher-leverage opportunities in the weeks to come. Whether he is the closer or not is still undecided, but his strikeout potential every night makes him a valuable fantasy baseball arm to have in deep leagues.
Dalton Rushing, LAD
(C, Los Angeles Dodgers)
Percent Rostered: 55%
Rushing – who is currently ranked as the Dodgers’ 2nd-best prospect (behind Roki Sasaki) and the #28 overall prospect in baseball – could make his debut this season in Los Angeles. According to his MLB Pipeline scouting report, the Dodgers have been getting him reps in the outfield in the minors as a path to playing time in Los Angeles.
When he does make it to Chavez Ravine, Rushing could have a major impact in fantasy baseball leagues right away. According to his scouting report:
“Rushing is a well-rounded hitter with a short, quick left-handed stroke and a patient approach. He makes consistent hard contact and naturally launches balls in the air to his pull side without swinging for the fences. He can drive the ball out of the park to the opposite field as well and pairs his solid power with on-base ability to match, showing a knack for drawing walks and getting hit by pitches.”
Unlike many other Top 100 prospects, Rushing not only has the tools but also the stats to show for it in the minor leagues. After tearing up Rookie and A-Ball in 2022 to the tune of a 1.262 OPS in 104 at-bats, Rushing progressed from High-A to AAA from 2023 to 2024 and has three home runs already this season in Oklahoma City.
Rushing is the perfect pickup for rotisserie league managers. His raw power will drive up his home run totals, and the Dodgers’ stacked lineup should have no problem driving him in when he gets on base.
Chase Burns
(P, Cincinnati)
Percent Rostered: 51%
Burns is a freak of nature, a 6’3, 210 right-hander with an electric fastball and devastating slider. After setting an all-time Wake Forest record by striking out 191 batters in a single season in 2024, he went second overall in the MLB draft to the Cincinnati Reds.
Burns didn’t stop there; so far this season he's tossed 15.2 innings with a 2.87 ERA, a .182 opponent batting average, and 25 strikeouts. If he continues dominating the minor leagues, he’ll be in Cincinnati in no time.
Burns has a remarkable fastball-slider combination that mimics the effectiveness of some of the best big-league starters. Jacob deGrom and Spencer Strider, for example, have both thrived throughout much of the last few years on an elite fastball and slider mix.
Burns’ fastball gets up to 102 MPH, and his slider plays perfectly off it. His MLB Pipeline scouting report says that “his upper-80s slider is one of the best secondary pitches in any system, one that elicited a 64 percent miss rate last year.
When Burns gets called up to Cincinnati, he’ll instantly be a must-add in every fantasy baseball league. Get ahead of the wave now and you’ll be thankful you have one of the nastiest starting pitchers in baseball.
This article is part of a weekly waiver wire series. Remember to check back throughout the season for the latest players to target as fantasy baseball league-winners.