Eric Cross' Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups - Hitters and Pitchers (Week 11)

June 8, 2025

Eric Cross' top fantasy baseball waiver wire adds for Week 11 of 2025 (June 9 - June 15). His favorite free agent hitters and pitchers under 40% rostered.

With the weather heating up, so are the standings in fantasy leagues. We now have over two months of data to work with, so at this point, you should have a good idea of where you need to improve your team. There are three ways to improve your teams: via trade, via the waiver wire, or by crossing your fingers and hoping for the best. The last way isn't a recommended course of action.

The players below are all under 40 percent rostered in Yahoo! leagues. Some of them might already be rostered in your leagues, but if they're available, I'd recommend considering them to see if they could be good fits for your fantasy teams.

Last week's recommendations were Jose Caballero (TBR), Max Muncy (LAD), Addison Barger (TOR), Cole Young (SEA), Ryan Weathers (MIA), Ryan Yarbrough (NYY), and Daniel Palencia (CHC).

Kyle Teel, C, Chicago White Sox

9% Rostered on Yahoo

If you're struggling at the catcher position and looking to spice things up, I'd give Kyle Teel a look this week. Teel has been considered one of the best catching prospects in baseball since the Red Sox drafted him in 2023, and he now gets to showcase his skills in the Majors for the other Sox team after the White Sox called him up for his Major League debut on Friday. Teel had a single and two walks in his debut.

MLB's No. 26 prospect Kyle Teel picks up his first big league knock in his @whitesox debut! pic.twitter.com/gpfWQ5jZPC

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) June 7, 2025

In 50 games for Triple-A Charlotte before getting called up, Teel was slashing .295/.394/.492 with 10 doubles, eight home runs, and seven steals. Teel has consistently demonstrated the ability to walk and get on base at a high rate, boasting a career 14.3% walk rate and a .401 OBP in the minor leagues. He also possesses above-average power and showed that in Triple-A this season with a 42.2% hard-hit rate and a 9.4% barrel rate.

Trevor Larnach, OF, Minnesota Twins

17% Rostered on Yahoo

Trevor Larnach was one of my favorite late-round outfield targets in drafts this season. After a slow start that saw him slash .223/.311/.331 through his first 36 games, Larnach has been much better at the plate over the last month. In his last 25 games, Larnach has picked up 12 extra-base hits, five home runs, and a .307/.340/.535 slash line in 106 plate appearances.

Larnach is coming off a 2024 season where he hit 15 home runs in 400 plate appearances, and he looks to be set to blow past that mark and set new career highs across the board offensively this season. While his barrel rate and AVG EV have dipped a bit, both marks are still above league average, and he's also sporting a solid 45.3 hard-hit rate and a league average zone contact rate. As of June 7, Larnach is currently on pace for 26 home runs, 80 RBI, and 90 runs scored.

Ernie Clement, 2B/3B/SS, Toronto Blue Jays

20% Rostered on Yahoo

After a sluggish start to the season, Ernie Clement has been hitting well over the last month. Over his last 26 games, Clement is slashing .337/.386/.500 with six doubles, three home runs, 12 RBI, and 15 runs scored while only striking out in 11 of his 102 plate appearances.

For the season, Clement has excelled at simply putting the ball in play. He's currently running a 92.4% zone and 84.4% overall contact rate while only striking out 12.4% of the time. And while his power is below-average, he hits the ball at ideal angles and has a 25.5% Pull-Air rate this season. The upside is limited, but Clement can provide you with a little of everything with a good average and multi-positional eligibility. Remember, not every waiver wire pickup has to be sexy.

Nick Kurtz, 1B, Athletics

23% Rostered on Yahoo

It sounds like Nick Kurtz will return to the Athletics lineup as early as Monday after missing the last two weeks with a hip flexor strain. The overall .245/.315/.447 slash line might not stand out for Kurtz, but he was really heating up in May before landing on the IL, racking up seven hits and four home runs in his final five games.

Even through the inconsistent start to his Major League career, Kurtz has been hitting the ball hard with a 13.1% barrel rate, 92 mph AVG EV, and a 47.5% hard-hit rate. He's also walked at a 10.2% clip with a better-than-league-average 25.6% chase rate. However, the contact rates were below average, and Kurtz was striking out 33.3% of the time. Everything was starting to trend in the right direction, though, and Kurtz could provide Top-10 value at the first base position over the remainder of the season.

Christian Encarnacion-Strand, 1B, Cincinnati Reds

15% Rostered on Yahoo

After missing the last month and a half with a back issue, Christian Encarnacion-Strand was activated from the IL on Friday and inserted back into the Cincinnati starting lineup at first base. Encarnacion-Strand was hitting well on his rehab assignment, slashing .318/.400/.636 with six doubles and two home runs in 12 games. His underlying metrics were even more impressive with an 86.5% contact rate, 50% hard-hit rate, and a 21.4% barrel rate.

Christian Encarnacion-Strand sends a 418-foot missile through the rain to tie the game on #FridayNightBaseball 🚀 pic.twitter.com/PgprDgKD3O

— MLB (@MLB) June 7, 2025

While the 2024 season was a disappointing one for Encarnacion-Strand, he still has the power and upside to be an impact player at first base, and maybe even provide Top-15 value at the position over the remainder of the season. With how well he looked on his rehab assignment, I'd be willing to take a flier on CES to see if that success can carry over to the Majors. Encarnacion-Strand cranking a home run in his first game back is certainly encouraging.

Landen Roupp, SP, San Francisco Giants

26% Rostered on Yahoo

It's a bit surprising to see Landen Roupp available in so many leagues right now. Yes, he has an underwhelming start to the season with a 4.89 ERA through his first seven starts, but Roupp has really turned his season around over the last month. In his last five starts, Roupp has posted an impressive 0.99 ERA with a 1.17 WHIP and 7% walk rate. However, he's only striking out 19.1% of the batters he's faced during this span.

For the season, Roupp is now down to a 3.18 ERA and a 3.37 xERA in 12 starts. He's done a great job at limiting hard contact, ranking in the Top-8% of pitchers in hard-hit rate allowed, along with an 87.3 mph AVG EV allowed. I'm also not expecting the recent below-average strikeout rate to stick. Roupp goes to his curveball 39.3% of the time, which has a 41.1% whiff rate, and he also has a 32.9% whiff rate on his changeup, which is his third most used offering.

Chad Patrick, SP, Milwaukee Brewers

29% Rostered on Yahoo

With the Milwaukee Brewers' rotation in shambles to open the season, Chad Patrick stepped into the rotation and has quietly been putting together a highly productive season so far. This guy was drafted in just 21 of the 1590 drafts conducted on NFBC this past offseason. Look at him now. In his first 69.2 innings this season, Patrick has posted a 2.84 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, and a respectable 14.6% K-BB rate.

Patrick has been even better of late, allowing just four earned runs combined in his last four starts (21.1 IP) while having at least six strikeouts in all four starts. Patrick's most used and biggest strikeout pitch is his cutter, which has been money for him lately with a .224 BAA and .284 SLG allowed in May while accounting for 17 of his 35 strikeouts last month. While I'm not anticipating the sub-3.00 ERA to stick all season, Patrick is certainly worth a look in all leagues where he's available.

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