Eric Cross' Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups: Hitters and Pitchers (Week 5)

April 24, 2026

Eric Cross' top fantasy baseball waiver wire adds for Week 5 of 2026 (April 27 - May 3). His favorite free agent hitters and pitchers under 40% rostered.

It's hard to believe the season is already approaching the one-month mark. And while we can still utter the phrase "It's early", look how quickly this first month has flown by. Before we know it, two months will have passed, and we'll be approaching the one-third mark of the season. So don't think there's any urgency to make the necessary moves to improve your team in the areas that need it. Make the moves.

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: Luke Raley (SEA), Jake Bauers (MIL), Xander Bogaerts (BOS), Andres Gimenez (TOR), Noah Schultz (CHW), Reid Detmers (LAA)

Mickey Moniak (OF - COL)

34% Rostered on Yahoo

While he got a late start to the season, Mickey Moniak is doing his best to make up for lost time. In his first 72 plate appearances, Moniak has slugged eight home runs and five doubles with a .324/.347/.750 slash line. He's also currently rocking an eight-game hitting streak with three home runs in his last four games.

Mickey Moniak rockets out his second homer of the game! pic.twitter.com/KS4BYcbTyc

— MLB (@MLB) April 23, 2026

Given that Moniak is coming off a season where he produced 24 home runs and nine steals in just 461 plate appearances, I'm a bit surprised that he's not rostered in more fantasy leagues. Moniak is providing solid quality of contact metrics with a 13.2% barrel rate, 90.7 mph AVG EV, and 41.5% hard-hit rate, along with his usual ideal batted-ball angles for maximizing power, highlighted by a 32.1% Pull-Air rate.

On top of that, Moniak is running a 91.9% zone contact rate, 78.4% overall contact rate, and has trimmed his strikeout rate to a career-best 22.2%. Keep in mind that he's not going to play a ton against left-handed pitchers, but Moniak can provide a nice power boost and throw in a stolen base here and there as well.

Miguel Vargas (1B/3B - CHW)

36% Rostered on Yahoo

Miguel Vargas was one of my favorite pre-season draft targets around pick 300, and while the surface stats haven't been great so far, he's starting to heat up lately. For the season, Vargas is slashing just .195/.336/.425, but he's picked up six hits in his last four games, and his underlying metrics are highly encouraging. In fact, those metrics are the primary reason why I'm recommending him as a waiver wire target this week.

Vargas is hitting the ball harder than he ever has this season, with a career-best 13.9% barrel rate and 45.8% hard-hit rate. He's also walking more than he's striking out (15.9% to 15%) while running an 83.3% zone contact rate, 83.6% overall contact rate, and a 17.3% chase rate.

You can chalk up a good chunk of that sub-.200 average to an anemic .179 BABIP so far. Vargas' metrics are above-average or better nearly across the board offensively, and he's even on a sneaky 32/32 pace. Once the BABIP stabilizes, Vargas' average will climb, and you'll be happy that you added him off the waiver wire this week.

Josh Jung (3B - TEX)

25% Rostered on Yahoo

It's fair to say that the last few seasons for Josh Jung haven't exactly gone according to plan, but there are some reasons to be optimistic right now. In 88 plate appearances this season, Jung is slashing .304/.364/.519 with three home runs, 11 RBI, and 10 runs scored. He's been especially potent at the plate since the calendar flipped to April, slashing .387/.451/.661 in 71 plate appearances this month after going hitless in four March games.

Josh Jung smacks one the opposite way to put the @Rangers ahead! pic.twitter.com/giCS9e4Sqo

— MLB (@MLB) April 23, 2026

There are some encouraging metrics under the hood for Jung as well. While he's only recorded one barrel so far, he's running a solid 90.9 mph AVG EV and a career-best 52.3% hard-hit rate. He's also improved his walk and strikeout rates to a career-best 8% and 17%, respectively, while recording a 91.8% zone contact rate and 81.6% overall contact rate.

The issue is that his batted-ball angles aren't the best. But even so, Jung is worth a look in all 10-team leagues or deeper right now.

Carter Jensen (C - KCR)

36% Rostered on Yahoo

If you're looking to make a change at the catcher position in any of your fantasy leagues, Carter Jensen is a name to look at this week. For the season, Jensen is slashing .275/.354/.565  with six home runs, 14 RBI, and 11 runs scored. He's one of the few Kansas City hitters actually hitting well right now, but I'd expect the lineup around him to pick up the pace moving forward. There's simply too much talent there for this offense not to get it going.

As has been the status quo for Jensen, he's hitting the ball hard this season with a 14.6% barrel rate, 91 mph AVG EV, and 45.8% hard-hit rate. He's also walking at a solid 10.1% clip. But on the other side, his strikeout rate has ticked up to 27.8%, and both his zone and overall contact rates are below average right now.

With that said, I'm not terribly worried about the contact and strikeout rates due to Jensen's power and decent chase rate. As long as the contact rates don't fall too low, he should be fine.

Ildemaro Vargas (1B/2B - ARI)

30% Rostered on Yahoo

One of the early-season surprises on the hitting side has been Arizona's Ildemaro Vargas. Due to various injuries, Vargas has been thrust into an everyday role for the Diamondbacks this season, and he's certainly done his best to capitalize on the situation. In 73 plate appearances, Vargas is slashing .357/.375/.671 with five home runs, 16 RBI, and 14 runs scored.

And as mentioned, he's been starting every day between first base and second base, which gives him some helpful dual eligibility.

When you pop the hood on Vargas' metrics, you'll find middle-of-the-road quality of contact metrics and a tiny 2.7% walk rate, but there are plenty of positives too. Vargas has maximized his quality-of-contact metrics thanks to a 45.9% pull rate and a 31.1% pull-air rate. And while he's an aggressive hitter with a 41.1% chase rate, Vargas makes plenty of contact, currently sporting an 88.9% zone contact rate, 82.5% overall contact rate, and a 12.3% strikeout rate.

While he might not be the most exciting waiver wire pickup, Vargas is hitting well, playing regularly, and is someone you can plug in at multiple spots.

Payton Tolle (SP - BOS)

36% Rostered on Yahoo

Do me a favor and run to your waiver wire to pick up Payton Tolle. Actually, you'll be doing yourself a favor as Tolle can make a sizeable impact on your fantasy team(s). The top pitching prospect opened the season in Triple-A Worcester, where he posted a 3.00 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, and a 24.6% K-BB rate in three outings.

Once Sonny Gray went on the IL with a hamstring strain, Tolle was summoned to face the New York Yankees on Thursday, where he struck out 11 in six innings while allowing just three hits, one walk, and one earned run.

Welcome back to the bigs, Payton Tolle!

MLB's No. 15 prospect (@RedSox) racks up 18 swings-and-misses and becomes the first rookie to notch 11 K's in a start this season: pic.twitter.com/aFRNMeyYIL

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) April 23, 2026

Tolle has become a more well-rounded pitcher this season, throwing fewer 4-seamers in favor of more cutters, changeups, curveballs, and a newly-added sinker. He generated 18 whiffs in his 2026 debut on Thursday, with 15 of those coming on his 4-seamer and curveball.

With all of that said, there's a chance he returns to Triple-A once Gray returns from the IL sometime in the early part of May. But if Tolle continues to pitch well and Brayan Bello continues to struggle, it's possible that Tolle won't be the one getting bumped from the Red Sox rotation.

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