Infield Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 5 (1B, 2B, 3B, SS) - April 28 to May 4

Dan's favorite infield-eligible fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups (1B, 2B, 3B, SS) for Week 5 of 2025 (April 28 - May 4). His top free-agent hitters to add.

Hello again, and welcome to the latest installment of the new Infield Waiver Wire Adds series. Every Sunday, this article will highlight a handful of players who are worth claiming before waivers run tonight if you require help at the infield positions. Before getting into this week’s list, I offer a reminder to do your due diligence when shopping the waiver wire.

Using a transaction trends list can give you an idea of who is riding a hot streak, but it won’t show everything you want to see. Navigating to the wire is a necessary step when adding a player, but don’t settle for the default sorting. Sort again by original rankings and percent rostered. This step will uncover the slumping stars that frustrated managers have kicked to the curb, but will be ignored by articles like this because they are still rostered in more than half of leagues.

In summary, make sure the player you think you want is the best player available for the job. Hopefully, the infielders in this week’s batch are suited to meet the needs of your roster. Without further ado, here are my favorite fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups for the infield for Week 5 - April 28 to May 4.

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• Who should I start? Fantasy baseball comparisons
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• Fantasy Baseball live scoreboard
• Fantasy baseball injury reports

Waiver Wire Pickups For Shallow Leagues (30-50 percent rostered)

Masyn Winn, SS, St. Louis Cardinals (50 percent rostered)

Masyn Winn’s 2025 got off to a cool, though perhaps not quite cold, start. Winn played in each of the Cardinals’ first 13 games and hit .222 with 16 strikeouts in 51 plate appearances. Back spasms sent Winn to the 10-day injured list on April 12. The combined effect has reduced Winn’s rostership to 50 percent, but now might be the perfect time to swoop in to grab him.

Since his activation on April 22, Winn has hit the ground running. In his first four games back, he was 5-for-14 at the plate, added three runs and two RBI to his totals, and logged his first stolen base of the season. St. Louis plays seven games in Week 5, four of which are in Cincinnati’s Great American Ball Park.

Maikel Garcia, 2B/3B, Kansas City Royals (46 percent rostered)

Maikel Garcia’s rostership has been creeping slowly upward over the weeks, thanks to a solid batting average and modest contributions to the counting categories. Garcia started the season hitting in the back third of the Royals’ lineup, but over the last two weeks, the team moved him up in the order. The result was mostly an empty batting average, with just three runs and three RBI going back to April 13.

If batting average is what your team needs, Garcia has been a steady source; he has good stolen base potential, and his run and RBI production should improve if he can stick in the top half of the order.

Nick Kurtz, 1B, Athletics (43 percent rostered)
Agustin Ramirez, C/1B, Miami Marlins (33 percent rostered)

This is the prospect call-up hype train section. Kurtz was included in last week’s write-up in anticipation of his promotion, which came on April 23. Kurtz had a base hit in his first at-bat and is now 3-for-13 with six strikeouts and three RBI in his first four games. The Athletics have a seven-game week coming up, each of them expected to be against a right-handed starter, which bodes well for the lefty Kurtz.

Agustin Ramirez stole the show this week. He was promoted on April 21, and the Marlins threw him straight into the heart of the lineup. He showed that he belonged there, going 7-for-10 with two walks, his first home run, two runs, three RBI, and one stolen base in his first four games. Ramirez’s potential at the plate could keep him in the lineup as a designated hitter, too.

Agustín Ramírez cracks his first major league homer!

The 23-year-old is 7-for-10 to start his career 👀 pic.twitter.com/0OFDndbIVS

— MLB (@MLB) April 26, 2025

Waiver Wire Pickups For Deeper Leagues (10-30 percent rostered)

Gavin Lux, 2B/OF, Cincinnati Reds (27 percent rostered)

The Reds are using Gavin Lux primarily as their left fielder, but he still qualifies at second base based on his use last year. Lux is most often seeing at-bats from fourth or fifth in Cincinnati’s order. He has an active 10-game hitting streak, during which he has gone 17-for-35, with one home run, nine runs scored, seven RBI, and one stolen base. Week 5 features a seven-game homestand for the Reds, giving Lux a whole week to benefit from his home stadium’s hitter-friendly park factors.

Noelvi Marte, 3B, Cincinnati Reds (25 percent rostered)

Speaking of Reds who are about to benefit from a seven-game homestand, Noelvi Marte is back in action. Marte had a quiet start to the season but roared to life last Sunday, going 5-for-7 with one home run, three runs, and seven RBI against the Orioles. In the week since, Marte added two more home runs to his tally and brought his season totals for runs and RBI to eight and 12, respectively. His hot bat is a welcome change from fellow third baseman Jeimer Candelario, whose batting average has sunk to .118.

116.7 MPH off the bat on this crush job by Noelvi Marte! 😳 pic.twitter.com/Tl0yRdep4K

— MLB (@MLB) April 22, 2025

Waiver Wire Pickups For The Deepest Of Leagues (Under 10 percent rostered)

Eric Wagaman, 1B/3B, Miami Marlins (9 percent rostered)

Eric Wagaman has been a regular fixture in the top half of the Marlins’ lineup for most of the young season. Given the state of Miami’s roster, that honor doesn’t carry much weight, but in the deepest of leagues, we need to grab hold of whatever semblance of fantasy potential we can find.

Wagaman was a slow starter this year, but something clicked on April 12. That’s when he got the first hit in what would become a 12-game hitting streak that was just snapped. Over the streak, Wagaman was 16-for-48 with two home runs, six doubles, and 11 runs scored. Miami has a tough start to the week with a set against the Dodgers, but will finish off against the softer staff of the Athletics.

Brooks Lee, 2B/3B/SS, Minnesota Twins (3 percent rostered)

As has been written here before, positional flexibility is a valuable asset in the deepest of leagues. Eligible at three infield spots, Brooks Lee brings flexibility to the table and offers assistance in batting average. After a quiet start following his April 13 promotion, Lee has warmed up in the last week. Lee has a five-game hitting streak going and registered multiple hits in three of those contests. The Twins have a full week of baseball ahead of them, giving Lee an extra chance to make his mark. He is a good pickup for teams trying to maintain their team batting average.

Brooks like another RBI for Lee! pic.twitter.com/7OCcVxNCAQ

— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) April 26, 2025

More Waiver Wire Pickups To Consider

• Zach McKinstry, 2B/3B/SS/OF, Detroit Tigers (39% rostered)
• Jorge Polanco, 2B/3B, Seattle Mariners (26% rostered)
• Josh Smith, 3B/SS/OF, Texas Rangers (20% rostered)
• Gabriel Arias, 2B/3B/SS, Cleveland Guardians (17% rostered)
• Ryan O'Hearn, 1B/OF, Baltimore Orioles (8% rostered)

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