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

April 5, 2026

Eric Cross' top fantasy baseball waiver wire adds for Week 2 of 2026 (April 6 - April 12). His favorite free agent hitters and pitchers under 40% rostered.

We're only one week into the 2026 major league season, but chaos has already unfolded. Plenty of names that we didn't expect are off to hot starts, a few of which are included in my waiver wire recommendations below.

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 waiver wire recommendations: Carson Benge (OF - NYM), Justin Crawford (OF - PHI), Brett Baty (2B/3B - NYM), Dominic Canzone (OF - SEA), Jack Leiter (SP - TEX), Matthew Liberatore (SP - STL), Jordan Romano (RP - LAA).

Jake Burger, 1B, Texas Rangers

34% Rostered on Yahoo

After two straight seasons in the 30-homer range, Jake Burger only connected on 16 long balls in 103 games last season with a .236/.269/.419 slash line. That was the lowest slugging percentage and on-base percentage he's ever had in a single season. Subsequently, Burger's ADP this spring was fairly low, and he's still only rostered in around one-third of Yahoo leagues after the first week of the season.

Pummeled off the pole! #AllForTX pic.twitter.com/2jRmOD1kAi

— Texas Rangers (@Rangers) March 28, 2026

It was an impressive first week for Burger, smashing two home runs in six games with a .346/.370/.615 slash line. But at the same time, he also struck out in 11 of his 27 plate appearances, which is certainly a concern moving forward. However, Burger has never been one to provide a high batting average. You're targeting him for the power and ability to eclipse 30 home runs. He's off to a great start in that regard, with eight of his first 15 batted balls being hard-hit.

If you need power or a first baseman, I suggest you order the smash burger.

Mickey Moniak, OF, Colorado Rockies

11% Rostered on Yahoo

After missing the first week of the season, Mickey Moniak has been activated from the injured list by the Rockies and should step right back into their starting lineup on most days. It's not often that you're not going to find this much upside in a player rostered in only 11% of Yahoo leagues. In 461 plate appearances last season, Moniak racked up 24 home runs and nine steals with a .270/.306/.518 slash line.

Under the hood is a mixed bag with Moniak, but the pros are finally starting to outweigh the cons. He registered a 13.8% barrel rate and 45.3% hard-hit rate last season while improving his zone contact, overall contact, and strikeout rates to career-best marks of 81.9%, 71.8%, and 23.9%, respectively. But the cons are a lower 4.8% walk rate, a higher 38% chase rate, and a .222/.283/.315 slash line against southpaws.

But even if Moniak is in a strong-side platoon role, his 25/10 upside is worth rostering in 12-team leagues or deeper.

Liam Hicks, C/1B, Miami Marlins

38% Rostered on Yahoo

What in the world has gotten into Liam Hicks so far? In his first 19 plate appearances this season, Hicks has already cranked three home runs with a .467/.526/1.133 slash line and only one strikeout. I'm not entirely sure what his roster rate was on Yahoo before the season, but I'd bet a sizeable amount of money that it was under 10%, probably even under 5%. Now, he's nearly at 40% and climbing quickly.

It's still very early, and he only has 15 batted ball events so far, but Hicks is hitting the ball much harder than he did last season, currently sporting a 93.5 mph AVG EV and 60% hard-hit rate. And on top of that, Hicks has been hitting in the cleanup spot every game he's played so far, and has only been on the bench for one game.

If you need a catcher or first baseman, I'd be fine with giving Hicks a shot to see if this is the beginning of a breakout season.

Kyle Harrison, SP, Milwaukee Brewers

30% Rostered on Yahoo

The Brewers' pitching lab always seems to come out smelling like roses with most arms they acquire from other organizations. It's only been one start, but Kyle Harrison might be the latest success story for the Brew Crew. Harrison was highly impressive in his 2026 debut on Monday, allowing just four hits, one walk, and one earned run over five innings while striking out eight.

As a former top pitching prospect, Harrison's major league performance certainly hasn't been bad, but it's safe to say he's been a bit underwhelming when compared to expectations. In each of his first three seasons, Harrison has had an ERA between 4.04 and 4.56 with a strikeout rate just a hair above the major league average.

In his first outing on Monday, Harrison's fastball averaged 95.1 mph with an additional 2.1 inches of induced vertical break when compared to last season. He's also throwing a harder and more frequent sinker to right-handers. The upside is still intriguing with Harrison, enough to warrant a pickup in non-shallow formats.

Eric Lauer, SP, Toronto Blue Jays

30% Rostered on Yahoo

Back in draft season, Eric Lauer was a pitcher I targeted frequently after pick 250. He was coming off a solid 3.18 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, and 17.8% K-BB rate across 104 2/3 innings last season, and figured to factor into the mix in Toronto's rotation with several arms on the IL.

Eric Lauer, K'ing the Side in the 1st. pic.twitter.com/ONKWMo7y6i

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 29, 2026

Trey Yesavage (shoulder) should be back in the next couple of weeks, but we're probably not going to see Jose Berrios (stress fracture in elbow), Shane Bieber (elbow inflammation), or Cody Ponce (knee) for a while. That means Lauer should stick in the rotation for the foreseeable future.

Lauer pitched well in his 2026 debut last weekend, striking out nine in 5 1/3 innings of two-run ball. He's far from a hard thrower, averaging around 91 mph on his 4-seamer, but Lauer commands the pitch well and will mix in four other offerings to keep hitters off balance. The upside might not be terribly high, but Lauer can provide solid back-end SP value in a fantasy league as long as he's in the rotation.

Taj Bradley, SP, Minnesota Twins

24% Rostered on Yahoo

Remember all the hype surrounding Taj Bradley a few years ago? Well, if his first two starts are any indication, Bradley might finally have the season many thought he was capable of back in his Tampa Bay days. In Bradley's first two starts of the season, he's struck out 12 in 10 1/3 innings with a 0.87 ERA and 1.16 WHIP. It's just two starts, but this is the highest his strikeout rate has been since his 2023 rookie season.

It wasn't like Bradley was facing bad offenses either, as he squared off against the Baltimore Orioles and Kansas City Royals in his first two outings. In his start on Friday against the Royals, Bradley tossed six shutout frames.

We're seeing a different Bradley through the first two starts. He's throwing his four-seamer a full tick harder while using it 10% more often than last season. He's also ditched his sinker and has a whiff rate above 33% on all three of his secondary offerings, including 52.9% on the splitter. I'm certainly intrigued.

Gregory Soto, RP, Pittsburgh Pirates

9% Rostered on Yahoo

While he's yet to pick up a save, Gregory Soto was the reliever warming up on two separate occasions to come in for the save opportunity before the Pirates scored to push the game out of a save situation. So, for now, it appears that Soto is ahead of Dennis Santana in the saves pecking order in Pittsburgh.

Soto has looked really good during his first four appearances of the 2026 season, striking out eight in 4 1/3 innings without allowing an earned run. And just like last season, Soto is generating whiffs at an elite clip with both his sweeper and slider, which he has combined to throw 49.2% of the time so far.

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