Eric Cross' Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups - Hitters and Pitchers (May 19 - May 25)

Eric Cross' top fantasy baseball waiver wire adds for Week 8 of 2025 (May 19 - May 25). His favorite free agent hitters and pitchers under 40% rostered.

It's already the middle of May, and the 2025 Fantasy Baseball season is more than 25% done. This is the point of the season where you should have a good idea of where your team's strengths and weaknesses are and where you need to be looking on the waiver wire to improve in the areas of weakness.

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 Daniel Schneemann, Trent Grisham, Colt Keith, Trey Sweeney, Ryan McMahon, Cade Horton, and Will Vest.

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Miguel Vargas, 3B/OF, Chicago White Sox

Rostered in 4% of Yahoo Leagues

It's been a rough last couple of seasons for Miguel Vargas, who went from a top prospect with the Los Angeles Dodgers to just another disappointing name on the Chicago White Sox. But is Vargas finally showing signs of life? In 54 May plate appearances, Vargas is slashing .292/.370/.625 with four doubles, four home runs, and more walks (six) than strikeouts (five). Now this is the Vargas we expected to see back when he was a Top-25 overall prospect in baseball.

Miguel Vargas gets the Sox started! pic.twitter.com/2theppN3Bw

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) May 16, 2025

Vargas has made some improvements under the hood this season, which has me encouraged as well. He's dropped his strikeout rate from 24.1% to 17.4%, increasing his zone contact rate by 3% and overall contact rate by 2%. Vargas' quality of contact metrics have also ticked up this season with a 6.5% barrel rate, 89.5 mph AVG EV, and a 39% hard-hit rate.

Given his improvements this season, former top prospect status, and success lately, I'd be willing to give Vargas a look in non-shallow formats.

Hyeseong Kim, 2B, Los Angeles Dodgers

Rostered in 30% of Yahoo Leagues

Since being called up from Triple-A Oklahoma City, Hyeseong Kim has slashed .452/.485/.581 in 33 plate appearances with a home run, three steals, five RBI, and nine runs scored. When it comes to the Dodgers, basically anyone starting regularly for them is fantasy relevant, even someone hitting in the ninth spot in the lineup, as Kim has every game since getting the call to the Majors.

If you're targeting Kim this week, you likely need some speed or middle infield help. There's not a ton of power upside here with Kim, who has a 30.8% hard-hit rate with the Dodgers so far. But Kim brings solid speed to the table (83rd percentile sprint speed), and his high contact abilities from South Korea have transferred over to the Majors with an 89.7% zone contact rate and only a 15.2% strikeout rate so far.

Jake Cronenworth, 1B/2B, San Diego Padres

Rostered in 33% of Yahoo Leagues

After missing a month due to a fractured rib, Jake Cronenworth has been hitting very well since returning to the Padres' lineup. In seven games since his activation from the IL, Cronenworth is slashing .348/.484/.652 with a home run, stolen base, five runs, five RBI, and twice as many walks (six) as strikeouts (three). For the season, Cronenworth has three home runs, 10 RBI, and 12 runs scored in 19 games, along with a .293/.440/.552 slash line.

Cronenworth has always kept his strikeout rate on the lower end, below 20% every season so far, but has been walking more than ever with an 18.7% walk rate so far this season. He's also been showing solid power with an 89.5 mph AVG EV and 40.4% hard-hit rate, both of which are up from last season. All while running his usual elite contact rates with a 93% zone and 84.7% overall contact rate. It also helps that Cronenworth has increased his Pull-Air rate from 14.7% to 27.7% this season.

Addison Barger, 3B/OF, Toronto Blue Jays

Rostered in 5% of Yahoo Leagues

After an underwhelming showing during his rookie season stints with the Toronto Blue Jays, it looks like Addison Barger might finally be finding his footing at the Major League level. In 74 plate appearances so far this season, Barger has cranked two home runs with a .250/.311/.441 slash line. I know those numbers don't exactly scream "pick me up off the waiver wire", but the under-the-hood metrics have me encouraged as well.

Addison Barger got all of that one 😤

📺: Rays vs. Jays on Sportsnet pic.twitter.com/XmVVh5SFNm

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 15, 2025

First and foremost, Barger is hitting the ball hard this season with a 14.8% barrel rate, 94.3 mph AVG EV, and a 51.9% hard-hit rate, all of which are up considerably from his 2024 rookie season. Barger has also dropped his strikeout rate from 26.7% to 18.9% and his chase rate from 31.5% to 20.6% while improving his overall contact rate to a solid 75.9%.

Barger has been starting regularly since Andrés Giménez went on the IL with a strained quad, and he could continue to stick in the starting lineup between the hot corner or left field even after Giménez returns if he's still hitting well at that time.

Trevor Larnach, OF, Minnesota Twins

Rostered in 13% of Yahoo Leagues

After a slow start to the season which saw him slash .180/.301/.197 through his first 18 games, Trevor Larnach has been cranking up his production over the last month. In his last 26 games, Larnach is slashing .275/.333/.520 with seven home runs, 19 RBI, and 16 runs scored. He's recorded hits in 11 of his last 13 games and has 10 hits, three home runs, and three doubles in his last eight games.

None of this production should be surprising, as Larnach had solid metrics last season, too, which is why I was targeting him late in drafts this spring and scooping him up as much as possible in deeper formats. For the season, Larnach has posted an 87.2% zone contact rate with a 90.1 mph AVG EV and 42,9% hard hit rate while continuing to show a solid approach at the plate with a better-than-league-average walk and strikeout rate.

Larnach will get the day off against a tough southpaw for the most part, but he's not in a strict platoon and has been starting regularly near the top of the order for a good Minnesota offense. If you need an outfielder, Larnach is worth a look right now.

Zebby Matthews, SP, Minnesota Twins

Rostered in 24% of Yahoo Leagues

It looks like Zebby Matthews will be recalled by Minnesota and make his 2025 Major League debut on Sunday against the Milwaukee Brewers, taking Simeon Woods Richardson's spot in the rotation. Don't let the 6.69 ERA in nine starts with the Twins last season scare you off of Matthews, as he's still one of the best pitching prospects in the game with a bright future ahead of him. Plus, he still had an 18.1% K-BB mark in his time with the Twins last season, which is impressive for a rookie arm.

Zebby Matthews appears to be getting recalled for Sunday.

2025 in AAA: 32.2 IP, 1.93 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 6.7% BB, 27.5% K

Solid add in 12+ team leagues.pic.twitter.com/asfoas78LL

— Eric Cross (@EricCrossMLB) May 15, 2025

In seven starts for Triple-A St. Paul this season, Matthews has posted a 1.93 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 6.7% walk rate, and a 28.1% strikeout rate across 32.2 innings. He got hit too hard last season as he was over the heart of the plate too frequently, but Matthews doesn't hurt himself by allowing too many walks, and had two offerings with a whiff rate above 30% in his slider and changeup. I'm expecting a better second stint with the Twins this season, and Matthews is worth a look in 12-team leagues or deeper.

Nick Martinez, SP, Cincinnati Reds

Rostered in 31% of Yahoo Leagues

Nick Martinez is quietly putting together a solid season that isn't getting talked about much. After seven shutout innings on Friday, which was his fourth straight quality start, Martinez now has a 3.66 ERA and 1.16 WHIP through his first nine starts this season.

While Martinez hasn't been striking out a ton of batters (19.2%), he continues to do a great job limiting hard contact and has only walked 5.3% of the batters he's faced this season. There's also a path to a strikeout rate increase here, as Martinez has a 34.9% whiff rate on his changeup and a 40.5% whiff rate on his slider. If he were to increase the usage rate on those offerings (34% combined), Martinez's whiff and strikeout rates overall could begin to tick up.

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