Eric Cross' Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups - Hitters and Pitchers (April 7 - April 13)

Eric Cross' top fantasy baseball waiver wire adds for Week 2 of 2025 (April 7 - April 13). His favorite free agent hitters and pitchers under 40% rostered.

We're barely a week into the 2025 season, but it's never too early to improve your fantasy rosters. I'm sure many of you reading this already have an injured player or two you're looking to replace or a late-round pick off to a slow start who could easily be replaced on your roster.

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 giving them a look to see if they could be good fits for your fantasy teams.

Last week's recommendations were Spencer Torkelson (DET), Tyler Soderstrom (ATH), Kyle Manzardo (CLE), Otto Lopez (MIA), Lars Nootbaar (STL), Sean Burke (CHW), Jose Soriano (LAA), and Seth Halvorsen (COL)

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Ben Rice (1B - NYY)

28% Rostered on Yahoo

With Giancarlo Stanton dealing with not one but two elbow issues, Ben Rice has had the chance to start regularly for the Yankees to open the 2025 season and has taken advantage of those opportunities so far. In his first 30 plate appearances of the season, Rice is slashing .320/.433/.640 with two home runs and even two steals for good measure.

It gets even more exciting when you pop the hood and look at Rice's metrics this season.

Ben Rice joins the home run party at Yankee Stadium! pic.twitter.com/PVZPwwG3sD

— MLB (@MLB) March 30, 2025

Rice already has six barrels (33.3 percent) and has posted a 72.2 percent hard-hit rate and 97.5 mph AVG EV so far this season. Both the hard-hit rate and AVG EV are among the highest marks in baseball, with Rice ranking third in hard-hit rate and sixth in AVG EV. He also has an elite 33.3 percent Pull-Air rate along with a 16.7 percent walk rate.

Even if the average is more in the .250 range, Rice hitting 25-30 home runs this season is absolutely within reach.

Jung Hoo Lee (OF - SFG)

27% Rostered on Yahoo

Coming into the season, Jung Hoo Lee was one of my favorite late-round outfield targets, and he's showing why so far this season. With three hits yesterday, Lee is now slashing .321/.387/.500 in his first 31 plate appearances with nine runs and three stolen bases.

Per usual, Lee is excelling in the contact department with a 93.3 percent zone and 85.7 percent overall contact rate, but he's not just a slap hitter. Lee is hitting the ball hard this season as well with an 8.7 percent barrel rate, 90.8 mph AVG EV, and a 47.8 percent hard-hit rate. If he can stay healthy, a run at 15-20 home runs and 15-20 steals with a high AVG is a possibility this season.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa (2B/3B/SS - PIT)

19% Rostered on Yahoo

Not every waiver wire move needs to light the world on fire. Some moves are more about adding depth and flexibility to our fantasy rosters. That's exactly what Isiah Kiner-Falefa brings to the table and why he's being mentioned here this week.

While he's far from a burner, Kiner-Falefa has already swiped four bags and is hitting .321 with a .424 OBP in his first 33 plate appearances.

It's unfortunate that he's hitting ninth, and I wouldn't expect more than 10 home runs given his poor quality of contact metrics, but Kiner-Falefa can provide a decent AVG and OBP thanks to his elite contact skills (97 percent zone, 91.4 percent overall) and solid approach. He's also eligible at two or three positions, depending on the platform you play on.

Jordan Walker (OF - STL)

16% Rostered on Yahoo

As a big Jordan Walker guy over the last few years, I really want this breakout to happen in 2025. In his first 26 plate appearances this season, Walker has a home run, two steals, and a .318/.423/.455 slash line. After seeing his strikeout rate increase to 28.1 percent in 2024, Walker has dropped it back down to just 19.2 percent this season while also increasing his walk rate from 5.6 percent to 11.5 percent in the early going.

JORDAN WALKER! 🚀

419 FEET TO THE BATTER'S EYE! pic.twitter.com/A3jOsAFWzU

— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) April 2, 2025

Walker's quality of contact metrics were good in 2024, but he's already set his new career-best max EV (116.5 mph) this season and has a 93.2 mph AVG EV so far.

However, the ground-ball rate is still over 50 percent and Walker's poor batted ball angles have limited him to just one barrel in his first 17 batted balls. This is an issue that still needs to be corrected, but there are other improvements happening that have me intrigued and looking to add Walker in all formats right now.

Michael Conforto (OF - LAD)

19% Rostered on Yahoo

Many questioned why the Dodgers brought in Michael Conforto this offseason, given all their young outfield options, but he's off to a strong start to the 2025 season. In his first 31 plate appearances, Conforto is slashing .308/.419/.692 with a pair of home runs.

He's started in eight of the Dodgers' first 10 games and has slotted into the cleanup spot against right-handed pitchers with Freddie Freeman on the IL with an ankle issue.

Conforto has been hitting the ball hard this season with a 52.6 percent hard-hit rate and 21.1 percent barrel rate so far. He's also walked at a 16.1 percent clip and continues to keep the strikeout rate in check at 22.6 percent. There's always fantasy intrigue for any regular starter in this Dodgers lineup, but Conforto gets a short-term boost given his lineup spot until Freeman returns.

Even after Freeman is back, Conforto could still provide solid back-end value in 12-team leagues.

Sean Murphy (C - ATL)

16% Rostered on Yahoo

Not much is going right in Atlanta this season but they'll be getting their starting catcher back this week with Sean Murphy nearing activation from the IL. It was a rough season for Murphy in 2024, slashing just .199/.284/.352 in 264 plate appearances, but he also hit 10 home runs and remains one of the best power options at this catcher position.

The Murphy we saw before 2024 was a no-doubt top 10 fantasy backstop, and I believe Murphy can get back to that level this season. Back in 2023, Murphy hit 21 home runs in 438 plate appearances with a 16.1 percent barrel rate, 45.8 percent hard-hit rate, and a .251/.365/.478 slash line.

You have to wonder how much his two injuries impacted the overall performance in 2024 as well. Murphy suffered an oblique strain in late March and then had an elbow issue in early June. If you need a catcher right now, Murphy is available in over 80 percent of Yahoo! leagues.

Jordan Hicks (SP - SFG)

32% Rostered on Yahoo

It was a roller coaster of a season for Jordan Hicks in 2024 who finished with a 4.10 ERA and shifted to the bullpen mid-season due to his inconsistencies in the rotation. But Hicks is back in San Francisco's rotation to open the 2025 season and I'm definitely intrigued after Hicks' first start of the season where he tossed six shutout innings and struck out six.

But the box score line isn't the reason why I'm looking to add Hicks in fantasy leagues right now. After averaging 94.5 mph on his sinker in 2024, Hicks sinker averaged a whopping 98 mph in his first outing with 16 called strikes. He also got five whiffs on his sweeper in this outing.

It's only one start, so it's too early to overreact too much, but the increased velocity is huge for Hicks and makes him an intriguing target to add in fantasy leagues this week where he's available. He'll receive his second start on Sunday against Seattle's sluggish offense.

Chase Dollander (SP - COL)

14% Rostered on Yahoo

Oh no, a Colorado pitcher? I'm sure many of you are thinking that, but this isn't your normal Colorado pitcher. This is Chase Dollander, who is the best pitching prospect the Rockies have ever produced. He'll be making his MLB debut on Sunday against the Athletics. In 23 starts last season in the minors, Dollander posted a 2.59 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 9.4 percent walk rate, and a 33.9 percent strikeout rate.

As one of the best pitching prospects in the game, the intrigue is definitely there for fantasy purposes. Dollander has always missed bats at a high clip thanks to three above-average or better offerings, including an elite fastball.

I'd be willing to give him a look in 12-team leagues or deeper due to the upside, but I wouldn't deplete my FAAB budget on a rookie pitcher who has to deal with Coors Field.

Jose Alvarado (RP - PHI)

21% Rostered on Yahoo

Through the first week of the season, both Jordan Romano and Jose Alvarado have picked up saves for the Phillies, and this looks like a potential timeshare moving forward between the two. Romano was brought in to pitch late in games, but Alvarado is one of the most electric left-handed bullpen arms in the game and should get plenty of save opportunities as well, especially when there are some left-handed hitters due up in the ninth

Through his first four outings of the season, Alvarado has allowed one earned run while striking out 10 of the 18 batters he's faced. His sinker is averaging 99.8 mph so far, which is up a full two ticks from 2024, and he's been missing bats with his cutter (53.8 percent whiff).

Even if he's sharing the role with Romano, Alvarado could still grab 15-20 saves this season and has plenty of value in leagues that value holds.

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