Eric Cross' Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups - Hitters and Pitchers (June 2 - June 8)

June 1, 2025

Eric Cross' top fantasy baseball waiver wire adds for Week 10 of 2025 (June 2 - June 8). His favorite free agent hitters and pitchers under 40% rostered.

It's hard to believe that the first two months of the season are in the books and we're already in the first week of June. Time flies when you're having fun, right? Well, hopefully you're having fun and finding some success this season. If not, it's time to hit the waiver wire to try and provide your fantasy team(s) with a needed boost at a position or in a particular statistical category.

The players below are all under 40 percent rostered on 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 Jordan Beck (COL), Ryan O'Hearn (BAL), Chase Meidroth (CHW), Nick Kurtz (ATH), Denzel Clarke (ATH), Noah Cameron (KCR), and Landen Roupp (SFG).

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Jose Caballero (2B/3B/SS - TBR)

26% Rostered on Yahoo

While most of baseball social media was bickering about the Chandler Simpson demotion, José Caballero has quietly been on a five-game hitting streak, in which he's picked up seven hits, four extra-base hits, six runs, six RBI, and four steals. For the season, Caballero is now hitting a respectable .257 with a .338 OBP and 19 steals, which is tied for the third most in baseball with the recently optioned Simpson.

With Caballero, you know what you're getting. The upside is limited with the bat, especially in the power department, but he has trimmed the chase rate by 8.6% this season while improving his contact rate by 2.9% and his walk rate by 4.8%. Even still, this is a below-average bat.

However, you're not targeting Caballero for his bat. No, you're targeting him if you need a middle infielder or your fantasy team(s) need a speed boost. Only Elly De La Cruz, Shohei Ohtani, and Brice Turang have more steals than Caballero since the start of 2024.

Max Muncy (3B - LAD)

36% Rostered on Yahoo

Remember him? Old friend Max Muncy is back to his old ways. After going homerless in his first 28 games and only having one dinger in his first 39 games, Muncy has smacked five longballs in his last 15 games, including two on Saturday in the Dodgers' 18-2 trouncing of the New York Yankees. Muncy is also slashing an impressive .298/.410/.638 during this 15-game stretch with 22 RBI and more walks (10) than strikeouts (seven).

ANOTHER MAX MUNCY MASH 😤

IT'S 14-1 @DODGERS pic.twitter.com/L2gL4FRfhk

— MLB (@MLB) June 1, 2025

Anyone who has rostered Muncy over the years knows what he's capable of. Muncy hit either 35 or 36 home runs in four of six seasons from 2018 to 2023 while ranking seventh in home runs, 19th in runs, and 14th in RBI over those six seasons. He was on pace for another 30-homer season in 2024 but was limited to just 73 games.

In 2025, Muncy is doing Muncy things with an 11.9% barrel rate, 90.7 mph AVG EV, and a career-best 51.6% hard-hit rate. All of that power gets maximized by Muncy's 19.7° average launch angle, 65.9% air rate, and 25.4% Pull-Air rate. He's also increased his zone contact rate from 76.2% to 81.3% and his overall contact rate from 69% to 75.8%. If you need a corner infielder or just some power, Muncy is your guy.

Addison Barger (3B/OF - TOR)

8% Rostered on Yahoo

For the month of May, Ohtani and Kyle Schwarber had the two best hard-hit rates among qualified hitters. Who was third at 62.7%? Addison Barger. Who should be rostered in WAY more than 8% of Yahoo leagues? Also Barger. In addition to the hard-hit rate, Barger also posted a 95.9 mph AVG EV and a 13.4% barrel rate to go along with a .292/.370/.517 slash line, eight doubles, and four home runs in 100 plate appearances for the month.

The power we've seen from Barger this season has been highly impressive, but he's far from an all-or-nothing hitter. Barger has only struck out in 20.3% of his plate appearances with an 83% zone and 76.6% overall contact rate, both of which are better than league average. Even if he doesn't provide many steals, Barger is worth picking up for the bat alone, and he should continue to be the Blue Jays' regular third baseman while he's hitting well.

Cole Young (2B/SS - SEA)

7% Rostered on Yahoo

After a rough April where he slashed just .200/.327/.274, Cole Young was a force to be reckoned with in May. In the 27 May games before he got the call to Seattle, Young was slashing a stellar .362/.464/.657 with 10 doubles, three triples, five home runs, four steals, and over double the amount of walks (17) to strikeouts (eight). Yup, that will get you promoted to the big club when you also play a position that has no locked-in option.

While Young isn't the flashiest prospect, he does many things well, which could bring value to fantasy teams moving forward. In Triple-A, Young had an 11.5% walk rate, 12.8% strikeout rate, 89.4% zone contact rate, and an 82% overall contact rate. Young has always been a good contact/approach hitter, but his power has been solid this season as well with a 44.3% hard-hit rate, 89.6 mph AVG EV, and an 8.5% barrel rate. He also could be a 10-15 steal guy over a full season.

Ryan Weathers (SP - MIA)

38% Rostered on Yahoo

How in the world is Ryan Weathers still under 40% rostered right now? I was flabbergasted, bamboozled, and befuddled when I saw that 38% roster rate on Yahoo when searching for players for this week's waiver wire article. In three starts since returning from the IL, Weathers has allowed just two earned runs in 15.2 innings with a 6.6% walk rate and a 24.6% strikeout rate. These weren't cakewalk outings either, as the first two were against the Chicago Cubs and the last against the San Diego Padres.

Ryan Weathers looked good in his 2025 debut yesterday.

5 IP, 2 H, ER, BB, 5 K

This was a pre-season draft darling in fantasy leagues and that talent hasn't gone anywhere...#MarlinsBeisbolpic.twitter.com/5j277ROzSM

— Eric Cross (@EricCrossMLB) May 15, 2025

Remember how buzzy Weathers' name was during draft season before he got hurt? Well, he's still the same guy many of us were excited about in the spring, and he didn't waste much time showing that. Weather' 4-seamer is up from 95.9 to 97.5 mph this season, and the pitch currently has a .185 BAA and .333 SLG allowed. Weathers will also mix in a sweeper around 84 mph and an upper-80s changeup. All three of his main offerings currently have a BAA under .190 and a SLG of .350 or below.

Is Weathers going to pitch to a sub-2.00 ERA all season? No, probably not. But his 2.77 xERA is encouraging, as is the above-average whiff rate and improved Quality of Contact allowed metrics. Weathers could easily return a Top-50 SP value over the remainder of the season, so there's no reason why he should be available in so many fantasy leagues right now.

Ryan Yarbrough (SP - NYY)

24% Rostered on Yahoo

A few days ago, I put a tweet out highlighting the BAA leaders for starting pitchers in the month of May. Ryan Yarbough was seventh on that list at the time and finished May tied for the seventh-lowest BAA at .169 for pitchers with at least 20 innings pitched. That surprised me a bit, but Yarbrough has been pitching very well since moving into the rotation for the Yankees on May 3rd. In four starts, Yarbrough has posted a 2.25 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, a 6.6% walk rate, and a 25% strikeout rate.

There have been some arsenal usage rate adjustments for Yarbrough this season with the Yankees. He's been using his sinker, sweeper, and 4-seamer less while going to his cutter and changeup more than he did in 2024. The results have been positive as Yarbrough has a .235 BAA or less on all five offerings right now, and three of his offerings have a whiff rate above 30%.

As a guy who tops out in the upper-80s, deception and sequencing are vital to Yarbrough's success. The 13° arm slot is hard for hitters to deal with, especially left-handed batters, and Yarbrough has shown that he will go to any of his five offerings in any count.

Daniel Palencia (RP - CHC)

37% Rostered on Yahoo

In case you've been focusing on all the Cubs' offensive firepower, there's a new closer in the Windy City who deserves your attention in fantasy leagues. Daniel Palencia is now up to five saves after securing another on Saturday, all of which have come in the last 11 days. For the season, Palencia is sporting a 1.74 ERA, 0.77 WHIP, 9% walk rate, and a 28.2% strikeout rate across 20.2 innings.

The Cubs needed someone to step up with Porter Hodge on the IL and Ryan Pressly pitching poorly, and Palencia rose to the occasion. With how he's pitched, it wouldn't surprise me if Palencia held onto the role for the rest of the season, even when Hodge returns to the bullpen.

Palencia certainly has the stuff to close out games with a 4-seamer which averages 99.2 mph, along with an upper-80s slider, both of which have a BAA under .200 right now. Palencia's 4-seamer has been one of the best 4-seamers in baseball this season with a .115 BAA, .212 SLG, and .197 wOBA.

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