Eric Cross' Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups: Hitters and Pitchers (Week 6)

May 2, 2026

Eric Cross' top fantasy baseball waiver wire adds for Week 6 of 2026 (May 4 - May 10). His favorite free agent hitters and pitchers under 40% rostered.

Well, the calendar has flipped over to May and 20% of the Major League season is in the books. Flew right by, didn't it? That's why attacking the waiver wire is so important in the early part of the season. Sure, you don't want to blow through all your available moves or FAAB budget, but you also don't want to miss out on players who can help your team in areas of need.

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: Mickey Moniak (COL), Miguel Vargas (CHW), Josh Jung (TEX), Carter Jensen (KCR) Ildemaro Vargas (ARI), Payton Tolle (BOS)

Carlos Cortes, OF, Athletics

27% Rostered on Yahoo

What if I told you that the American League player of the week for last week was still available in over 70% of Yahoo leagues? Not many hitters have been hotter than Carlos Cortes lately. In 78 plate appearances this season, Cortes is slashing a robust .391/.462/.667 with 10 extra-base hits and four home runs. On top of that, Cortes has more walks (8) than strikeouts (7).

Carlos Cortes decimates his second homer of the night 😮 pic.twitter.com/5s4mLBRoCW

— MLB (@MLB) April 25, 2026

The underlying metrics are impressive as well. Cortes is currently running a 14.5% barrel rate, 91.9 mph AVG EV, and a 50% hard hit rate, with a .600 xSLG and .459 xwOBACON. And not only is he hitting the ball hard, but Cortes is also making plenty of contact with a phenomenal approach as well. In addition to having more walks than strikeouts, Cortes has recorded an 85% zone contact rate, 82.8% overall contact rate, and a 23% chase rate.

He's going to continue sitting against many of the left-handed starters that the Athletics face, but there's plenty to like with Cortes right now. And don't forget, Cortes hit .309 with a .543 SLG and four home runs in 99 plate appearances last season. I'm not saying he's going to be a star, but Cortes is certainly worth an add in redraft leagues right now.

Cole Young, 2B, Seattle Mariners

25% Rostered on Yahoo

While many are waiting for Colt Emerson to get the call, another Seattle middle infielder is gaining some momentum at the Major League level. After going 2/4 with a double, a stolen base, and three RBI on Wednesday, Young entered play on Friday with a solid .283/.354/.416 slash line to go along with three home runs, two steals, 19 RBI, and 20 runs scored.

Sure, Young's power/speed upside isn't massive, but he's on a 15/10 pace right now while also being on pace for around 100 runs and 100 RBI. That's not too shabby for someone who wasn't even drafted in the vast majority of 12-team redraft leagues, and not many 15-team leagues either.

With Young, not many metrics under the hood stand out, but he also doesn't have any concerning metrics. His quality of contact metrics are around league average or slightly above average, headlined by a 9.3% barrel rate and 40.7% hard-hit rate. Young's ideal batted ball angles will help him maximize what power he does have, too, most notably, his 28.9% Pull-Air rate.

I'm sure Young won't be on a 100 run/100 RBI pace all season, but even a 75/15/75/10 season with a solid AVG and OBP would be a fine outcome for a player who is eligible at the worst offensaive position in baseball right now.

Daniel Schneemann, 2B/3B/SS/OF, Cleveland Guardians

29% Rostered on Yahoo

One of the sneaky-good starts to the season has come from Cleveland's Swiss Army Knife, Daniel Schneemann. In 89 plate appearances so far this season, Schneemann is slashing .313/.382/.550 with four home runs, two steals, 14 RBI, and 12 runs scored. And out in the field, he's been playing multiple spots, drawing starts at second base, third base, and center field in the last week, which gives him that long list of position eligibility that you see above.

Schneemann's quality of contact metrics have all been above average so far, with an 11.5% barrel rate, 90 mph AVG EV, and a 41.2% hard-hit rate. Having a 65.4% air rate, 48.1% pull rate, and a 25% Pull-Air rate has helped as well. Schneemann is also walking at a 10.3% clip with an 82% zone contact rate. However, his strikeout rate is just a hair under 30%, and he has registered a 35.1% chase rate and a 36% whiff rate.

The average will almost surely come down, but Schneemann is playing regularly, has eligibility at four positions, and could make a run at a 20/10 season.

Kyle Harrison, SP, Milwaukee Brewers

45% Rostered on Yahoo

I'm going to break my 40% roster threshold rule a little bit for this one. Over the years, I've generally been a bit lower than most on Kyle Harrison. However, since he got to Milwaukee, he's looked better than ever. The Milwaukee pitching wizards strike again!

In five starts for the Brew Crew, Harrison has recorded a 2.28 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 8.3% walk rate, and a 31.3% strikeout rate. He's also coming off perhaps the best start of his entire Major League career on Monday when he fired six shutout innings, allowing only one hit and one walk while striking out a dozen.

Kyle Harrison's 10th, 11th and 12th Strikeouts. 😮 pic.twitter.com/HSmrmc5i1q

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 26, 2026

Harrison is still predominantly a 4-seam/slurve guy, but he's been mixing in his changeup regularly to right-handed batters, using it 17% of the time. And overall, Harrison is missing more bats than he ever has, currently sporting a career-best 29.1% whiff rate, 33.8% chase rate, and the afforementioned 31.3% srtrikeout rate.

I'm not saying he's going to be a Top-25 pitcher or anything like that, but I do believe Harrison is trending in a positive direction and is worth rostering in 10-team redraft leagues or deeper.

Jared Jones, SP, Pittsburgh Pirates

28% Rostered on Yahoo

Remember Jared Jones? Of course you do. Well, he just made his first rehab outing and should be back with Pittsburgh later on in the month of May. Now is the time to stash him before someone else in your league does, as his roster rate has already jumped 12% in the last 24 hours. Oh yeah, Jones touched 101 mph in his first rehab outing down in Single-A, which is surely adding to the building hype surrounding him.

Back in Jones' rookie season in 2024, he flashed considerable upside. In 22 starts and 121.2 innings, Jones registered a 4.14 ERA, 1,19 WHIP, 7.7% walk rate, and a 26.2% strikeout rate. Jones was averaging 97.3 mpg on his 4-seamer that season, and his slider had a .207 BAA and a 37.3% whiff rate. Overall, Jones' 30.4% chase rate, 30.2% whiff rate, and 22.7% in zone whiff rate were highly impressive, especially for a rookie.

It's always hard to project how a pitcher will look after missing a full season due to injury. But what I can say with a high level of confidence, is that Jones' has the upside to be a Top-50 starting pitcher (or better) for the remainder of the season once he returns.

Jack Perkins, RP, Athletics

19% Rostered on Yahoo

We've seen several electric yet inconsistent top pitching prospects transition into impactful relievers over the last few seasons, and it looks like Jack Perkins could be the latest example of this.

On Thursday, Perkins picked up his third save in the last 10 days, with his shutout inning lowering his season ERA and WHIP to 2.70 and 1.05, respectively, in 13.1 innings. On top of that, Perkins has 17 strikeouts to only three walks. For someone who has dealt with inconsistent control for years, it's nice to see Perkins limiting the free passes so far this season with a 5.5% walk rate.

The lower walk rate is great, and definitely needed, but Perkins' 33.1% whiff rate and 44.6% chase rate will really get your blood pumping. It helps that Perkins has three offerings with a whiff rate above 33% to go with his 96 mph heater, which has a solid 25% whiff rate as well.

Perkins isn't the sole closer for the Athletics, but he's absolutely in the mix and should continue to see plenty of save opportunities as long as he's pitching this well.

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