Eric Cross' Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups - Hitters and Pitchers (May 26 - June 1)

Eric Cross' top fantasy baseball waiver wire adds for Week 9 of 2025 (May 26 - June 1). His favorite free agent hitters and pitchers under 40% rostered.

In the blink of an eye, we're already near the end of the second month. The fantasy season is 1/3 over for those of you in roto leagues and more than 1/3 over if you're in a head-to-head league. Don't wait too long to make the necessary moves in your leagues or you'll dig yourself an even bigger whole to dig out of. Or if you're currently high in the standings, don't get content, because that can all change in the blink of an eye.

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 Miguel Vargas (CHW), Hyeseong Kim (LAD), Jake Cronenworth (SDP), Addison Barger (TOR), Trevor Larnach (MIN), Zebby Matthews (MIN), and Nick Martinez (CIN).

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Jordan Beck (OF - COL)

34% Rostered on Yahoo

It surprised me to see that Jordan Beck is only 34% rostered on Yahoo right now. The 24-year-old outfielder had his third straight multi-hit game on Friday night to push his season slash line to .271/.329/.542 in 158 plate appearances with eight home runs, six steals, and 26 runs scored. Not much is going right out in Colorado, but Beck has settled in as the Rockies' leadoff hitter against both RHP and LHP.

✨ another ✨ home run for the timeline pic.twitter.com/9W7Si9jscn

— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) May 18, 2025

Beck's quality of contact metrics have been solid so far with an 89.7 mph AVG EV, 41.4% hard-hit rate, and a 16.2% barrel rate. He's also been running a healthy 23.2% Pull Air rate and 63.6% overall air rate, both of which are encouraging to see from someone who plays half of his games in Coors Field.

The power and 86th percentile sprint speed are both legit, but if you pick up Beck, I'd expect more of a .250 average moving forward than a .270 one as he's making contact at a 75.7% clip in zone and 68% overall, along with a 29.1% strikeout rate. But even as a .250 guy, Beck should be rostered in more leagues given his 25/15 upside.

Ryan O'Hearn (1B/OF - BAL)

22% Rostered on Yahoo

It's been a disappointing season in Baltimore, but not because of anything Ryan O'Hearn is doing. O'Hearn has been the one consistently good hitter in Baltimore's lineup and leads the Orioles in wRC+, wOBA, WAR, AVG, and OBP this season. And this is on a team with Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman, and plenty of young talent. But even though O'Hearn has been hitting well this season, he's still only 22% rostered on Yahoo. That rate needs to rise.

Yes, O'Hearn doesn't start regularly against left-handed pitchers and only has 29 plate appearances against them this season, but this was the case last season and he still managed to accumulate 494 plate appearances, which is roughly the pace he's on this season as well. As I've mentioned before, we don't need to shy away from these players as they can still provide decent value to our fantasy teams if used properly.

In 159 plate appearances this season, O'Hearn is slashing .317/.403/.511 with 19 runs, seven home runs, and 16 RBI. The counting stats have been kept in check by Baltimore's lackluster offense around him, but we're still talking about a player who is hitting over .300 and on pace for 23 home runs this season. The performance isn't fluky either as O'Hearn is running an 88.1% zone contact rate, 79.5% overall contact rate, and above-average approach and quality of contact metrics.

Chase Meidroth (2B/3B/SS - CHW)

27% Rostered on Yahoo

While he's far from flashy, Chase Meidroth brings enough to the table to provide value to fantasy teams in a variety of ways. In his first 109 Major League plate appearances, Meidroth is slashing .309/.385/.381 with 15 runs scored and eight stolen bases without getting caught. Meidroth is far from a burner, but he's one of the smartest players around and knows where and when to pick his spots on the basepaths.

With Meidroth the contact skills and approach are as elite as you'll find in any prospect debuting in the Major Leagues. He has posted an exceptional 92.8% zone and 87.6% overall contact rate so far with the White Sox with an 11% walk rate and 14.7% strikeout rate. And while he's probably capped at 15 home runs annually, Meidroth isn't a zero in the power department, and has recorded a 39.5% hard-hit rate in the Majors. He's also eligible at two or three positions, depending on your league's eligibility thresholds.

Nick Kurtz (1B - ATH)

22% Rostered on Yahoo

After going hitless in his previous six games, Nick Kurtz has picked up five hits in his last four games with four of those being home runs. Even with the ups and downs from Kurtz so far, his quality of contact metrics have been impressive with a 13.6% barrel rate, 92.4 mph AVG EV, and a 47.5% hard-hit rate. Those metrics rank 3rd, 1st, and 3rd among all rookies with at least 100 plate appearances so far this season.

Nick Kurtz homers have become appointment viewing 📺

425 ft | 104.3 mph for the @Athletics' top-ranked prospect on his 5th big league roundtripper: pic.twitter.com/PeAUIkAU6K

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) May 24, 2025

However, the issues for Kurtz so far have stemmed from his lower contact rates and higher strikeout rate. In his first 103 Major League plate appearances, Kurtz is striking out at a 34% clip with a 73.3% zone contact rate and 66.2% overall contact rate. These have all improved over Kurtz's last eight games though as he's striking out just 24.2% of the time during this span with a 12.1% walk rate, 88% zone contact rate, and a 79% overall contact rate.

We need to remember that most rookies experience peaks and valleys during their rookie season. It's natural and not a reason to panic. There's a reason why Kurtz was considered one of the best prospects in the game by many (myself included) when he was called up, and I still have him as a Top-5 prospect right now.

Denzel Clarke (OF - ATH)

1% Rostered on Yahoo

If you're looking for an outfielder or a speed boost in general this week, consider giving Denzel Clarke a look. The Athletics recently underwent a bit of a roster shakeup with several being called up or sent down to Triple-A, and Clarke should get some run as the Athletics' center fielder moving forward. Clarke was off to a solid start to the 2025 season in Triple-A Las Vegas, slashing .286/.436/.419 with 11 extra-base hits and seven steals in 31 games.

But unfortunately, none of those 11 extra-base hits cleared the outfield fence. But that's not an area I'm overly concerned with as Clarke posted a 90 mph AVG EV and 51,4% hard-hit rate in Triple-A. The problem was that 68.1% of his batted balls were pounded into the ground. Even if he's not hitting a ton of home runs initially, Clarke is a plus runner with 30-steal potential over a full season, and the improvements he's made with his approach this season have been encouraging.

After having an 8.2% walk rate and 29.9% strikeout rate last season in Double-A, Clarke has improved those to 17.2% and 21.8%, respectively, this season, along with an 81% zone contact rate. For now, he's more of a deep league target, but the upside is here to work his way into mixed-league relevance this season.

Noah Cameron (SP - KCR)

26% Rostered on Yahoo

You couldn't ask for a better first three Major League starts from Noah Cameron. After allowing just one earned run in 6.2 innings with eight strikeouts on Friday night, Cameron now has a 0.93 ERA and 0.67 WHIP through his first three starts with the Royals. This coming after having a solid 3.31 ERA in seven Triple-A starts before his promotion to Kansas City.

Noah Cameron built an ark and filled it with strikeouts ⛵️

The @Royals' No. 5 prospect strikes out 8 and boasts an 0.93 ERA through three MLB starts. pic.twitter.com/SfAMRG8ras

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) May 24, 2025

Cameron has been working with all five of his pitches so far, with all five having a usage rate between 13.6% and 31%. He'll use at least four of them to both right-handed and left-handed batters too, with the lone exception of his changeup against lefty hitters. This is an important part of Cameron's profile as he doesn't blow anyone away with his 91.4 mph fastball. However, Cameron has always demonstrated above-average command and control in the minors and can miss bats with his secondary offerings.

That has been the case so far in the Majors as well with Cameron having a  47.8% whiff rate on his slider, 32.1% on his cutter, and 26.9% on his changeup so far. The Royals have been able to maximize another softer-throwing left-hander in Kris Bubic, so they know how to work with an arm like this.

Landen Roupp (SP - SFG)

22% Rostered on Yahoo

After having a 5.10 ERA in April, Landen Roupp has been much better here in May, allowing just four earned runs in 22 innings total after back-to-back outings of six shutout innings in his last two starts against the Athletics and Nationals. For the season, Roupp now has a 3.63 ERA in 10 starts, but the 1.40 WHIP leaves a bit to be desired. However, that mark has come down to 1.09 in May.

Roupp works primarily with a sinker and curveball, which combined for 81% of his pitches thrown. The curveball has been Roupp's best offering so far this season with a .179 BAA and 41.8% whiff rate while accounting for 31 of his 49 strikeouts overall.

Roupp's upside is limited as he's never been a big bat missed as a sinker ball arm, but he's pitching well right now with a better than league average walk rate and does a phenomenal job at limiting hard contact. He's worth a look in non-shallow formats right now.

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