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Dan's favorite infield-eligible fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups (1B, 2B, 3B, SS) for Week 7 of 2025 (May 12 - May 18). His top free-agent hitters to add.
Another Sunday brings another edition of the weekly Infield Waiver Wire Pickups. Here are the best infield-eligible fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups for Week 7 -- May 12 to May 18.
As I compiled this week’s roster, I realized I hit upon an unintentional theme: positional flexibility. Players who are eligible for more than one spot in a fantasy lineup make things easier on the manager. The ability to use a player in more than one way helps prevent logjams at a given position and ensures that a lineup can be filled in fully.
It is also a nice perk for those players who are added to cover a slumping or injured starter. Once the starter recovers, in one way or another, the replacement can stay on (provided a more deserving cut is made elsewhere) and contribute from another place in the lineup. Juggling the players on a fantasy baseball roster can get complicated quickly. The flexibility offered by the following infielders might smooth out your lineup management.
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Waiver Wire Pickups For Shallow Leagues (30-50% rostered)
Ceddanne Rafaela, 2B/SS/OF, Boston Red Sox (48% rostered)
Ceddanne Rafaela has patrolled center field for the Red Sox all season long, but retains infielder eligibility depending on which platform you use. The 24-year-old seems locked into the nine-hole in Boston’s lineup but is still having a quietly productive season. Through 36 games played, Rafaela has 22 runs scored, two home runs, 15 RBI, seven stolen bases, and a .246 batting average.
Rafaela is hitting the ball harder than ever (13.5% barrel rate and 45.8% hard-hit rate) and is holding down his strikeout rate for the third straight season (17.8% K%). His defensive value will keep him in the lineup nearly every day.
Rafaela has four two-hit games in the last six played. He has not stolen a base in over a week, but we know the speed is there. He stands a good chance of adding to his season total in the back half of Week 7, when Boston takes on Atlanta. As a team, the Braves have allowed the fourth-most steals in the majors.
Ceddanne Rafaela went 2-for-5 with a double (6) and a triple (2) in tonight's 10-1 Boston Red Sox win. The 24-year-old centerfielder has been hot of late slashing .357/.379/.571 over 30 PA in the month of May. https://t.co/U0ZuY5mzjr
— Beyond the Monster (@BeyondtheMnstr) May 11, 2025
Jonathan India, 2B/3B/OF, Kansas City Royals (46% rostered)
Expectations were set fairly high when Jonathan India was traded to the Royals in the offseason. The hype train was derailed by an early season swoon, however. In April, India slashed .186/.297/.244 and scored just five runs. Despite his struggles at the plate, he managed to hold onto his spot at the top of the lineup.
Things have improved as of late, with India maintaining a batting average north of .300 and scoring 10 runs over the last two weeks. A look under the hood indicates the turnaround is for real. India’s contact rates are well above league averages, and he is walking at a 12.7% clip. A climbing batting average and generous walk rate will put India in a position to score runs in droves while hitting in front of Bobby Witt Jr. and Salvador Perez.
He will look to continue pulling out of his early slump in Week 7, first against the Astros and then in an intrastate series against the Cardinals. On May 17, India is projected to face Miles Mikolas, against whom he has eight hits (including three home runs) and two walks in 25 plate appearances. India comes with the added benefit of being eligible for multiple positions.
Waiver Wire Pickups For Deeper Leagues (10-30% rostered)
Josh Smith, 3B/SS/OF, Texas Rangers (28% rostered)
It is high time I give Josh Smith the nod in this column. Even though Smith sits behind his teammates on the Rangers’ depth chart, he has played in 34 of the team’s 40 games.
He has also worked his way to the top of the order, hitting leadoff in seven of his last eight games. Already eligible at two infield positions, Smith just made his fifth appearance at first base, which might be enough to unlock another position for him, depending on where you play fantasy baseball.
Smith is mainly a batting average play but is on base enough to chip in to the runs category, too. He has some pop and some speed, but not enough to make him a reliable contributor of home runs or steals. Heading into the last game of Week 6, Smith is riding a six-game hitting streak. In Week 7, he will try to extend it in a three-game set against the Rockies, followed by a four-game series against the Astros.
Ryan O'Hearn, 1B/OF, Baltimore Orioles (28% rostered)
It’s time to get Ryan O’Hearn in here, too. For too long, I let the stink of his platoon role prevent me from endorsing him, but no more. Yes, he is going to sit against lefties, but the damage he is doing when he does play is hard to ignore. In 114 plate appearances, O’Hearn has seven home runs, a .303 batting average, and a .950 OPS. Baltimore is projected to see five right-handed starters in its six games in Week 7.
Waiver Wire Pickups For The Deepest Of Leagues (Under 10% rostered)
Jose Caballero, 2B/3B/SS/OF, Tampa Bay Rays (8% rostered)
After stealing 26 bases in 2023 and 44 last season, Jose Caballero is already up to nine in 2025. It is hard to trust Caballero, though, given his poor track record at the plate. Last year’s successes on the basepaths were offset by a .227 batting average. In 2023, it was .221.
Caballero’s inclusion in Tampa’s starting nine is hard to predict, but Week 7 is as good a time to bet on him as any. The Rays start the week with three games against the Blue Jays and then move on to Miami, where he should make his mark. The Marlins have allowed the most stolen bases (66) by far (second most are the Rays themselves, with 47). Caballero’s positional flexibility should make it a bit easier for managers to work him into lineups, too.
Brett Baty, 2B/3B, New York Mets (2% rostered)
Brett Baty was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse on May 5 and then went 0-for-4 two days later in his first game action since rejoining the Mets. Baty is finishing Week 6 of the fantasy baseball calendar in stellar form, though.
On Friday night, Baty went 2-for-4 with a solo shot, and then on Saturday, he hit another two home runs and tallied five RBI. Baty’s numbers this season are underwhelming at best, but if this is the beginning of a post-hype breakout, then I want to buy in now in my deepest leagues.
Brett Baty in his last 10 games at Citi Field:
.321 AVG
1.209 OPS
4 HR
9 RBIIs the Brett Baty breakout actually here?? pic.twitter.com/o8qCcVQQZr
— MetsMuse (@MetsMuse) May 11, 2025
More Waiver Wire Pickups To Consider
- Daniel Schneemann, 2B/3B/SS/OF - Cleveland Guardians (27% rostered)
- Trey Sweeney, SS - Detroit Tigers (8% rostered)
- Ke'Bryan Hayes, 3B - Pittsburgh Pirates (5% rostered)
- Miguel Andujar, 3B/OF - Athletics (2% rostered)
- Matt Mervis, 1B - Miami Marlins (2% rostered)
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