Mid-Week Waiver Wire Rankings: Fantasy Baseball Pickups for Week 5

April 30, 2026

Mid-week fantasy baseball waiver wire rankings for Week 5 (2026). Free-agent hitters and pitchers to add include Louis Varland, Travis Bazzana, Cade Cavalli. Tanner Scott, and Moises Ballesteros.

April will be in the books soon, and we will have a full month of stats for the 2026 MLB season. There is still plenty of baseball to be played and time to turn things around if your fantasy baseball team is at the bottom of the standings. At RotoBaller HQ, we are back with our mid-week fantasy baseball waiver rankings for Week 5 — April 27 through May 3 — to help fantasy managers in daily leagues. This list covers the top 100 hitters and pitchers to add off the waiver wire. Below you will find where key free agents such as Louis Varland, Tanner Scott, Mickey Moniak, Josh Jung, Payton Tolle, and Travis Bazzana.

There are key performances, prospect promotions, and injuries to watch for this week. Marlins closer Peter Fairbanks was placed on the injured list due to nerve irritation in his right hand. Miami will likely use a committee between Tyler Phillips, Anthony Bender, Calvin Faucher, and Andrew Nardi while Fairbanks is on the injured list. Phillips was the first to handle the closer role and notched the save on Tuesday. The Guardians called up top infield prospect Travis Bazzana on Tuesday, and he batted seventh in his MLB debut against the Tampa Bay Rays. 

Stay on top of our weekly waiver wire rankings and turn on MLB news alerts in our free mobile app to stay ahead of the curve. Once you're done here, check out our fantasy baseball prospects articles for the latest names to stash and pick up.

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups List

Since many fantasy baseball leagues have daily waiver-wire moves or multiple waiver-wire runs per week for adding players, this early-week rankings list should help you keep track of players emerging in the middle of the week before we reach Sunday. This article will guide you through our weekly ranking of the relevant waiver-wire pickup options, including how to prioritize them for your league (depending on the league size).

Waiver wire pickup options, including how to prioritize them for your league - depending on the league size:

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Outlooks

Some of the top waiver wire names include Louis Varland, Moises Ballesteros, and more. Read some of the waiver wire outlooks below:

Louis Varland, RP, Toronto Blue Jays

Toronto Blue Jays right-handed reliever Louis Varland picked up his fourth save of the year in the team's 3-0 shutout win over the visiting Boston Red Sox on Tuesday and is positioning himself as the team's primary closer after right-hander Jeff Hoffman was recently demoted from the closer's role due to his ongoing struggles.

Varland, 28, struck out the side in his inning of work to close things out at the Rogers Center on Tuesday. The former 15th-round pick by the Minnesota Twins in 2019 out of Concordia University in Minnesota came into Tuesday's action with a microscopic 0.60 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 23 strikeouts, and only four walks in his 15 innings of work out of the bullpen.

So far, Varland has been a perfect 4-for-4 with his save opportunities. With Hoffman not guaranteed to reclaim the closer role if he begins to turn things around, Varland is absolutely worth a waiver-wire pickup for fantasy managers in need of saves. He's only rostered in 53% of Yahoo leagues right now.

Moises Ballesteros, C, Chicago Cubs

Chicago Cubs catcher/designated hitter Moises Ballesteros has been the Cubs' primary DH in the early portion of the 2026 season, but it doesn't involve him playing every inning, every day. But with Ballestero's early-season offensive exploits, the team is "accelerating the catching program for Ballesteros," who received his first start behind the plate in Monday's loss to the San Diego Padres, according to Patrick Mooney of The Athletic.

In the series-opening loss at Petco Park, the 22-year-old Venezuelan hit a grand slam in a losing effort, and he is now slashing a ridiculous .364/.419/.667 with a 1.086 OPS, five home runs, 16 RBI, and 12 runs scored in 66 at-bats over his first 26 games in 2026. Ballesteros only played in 20 games a year ago in his MLB debut, but he hit well in that small sample size, too, going 17-for-57 (.298) with two homers and 11 RBI.

He needs eight more appearances behind the plate to gain catcher eligibility in fantasy, which will make him much more attractive. Ballesteros is a young player on the rise, and he's only rostered in 27% of Yahoo leagues, so he's widely available if you need some run production at catcher.

Tanner Scott, RP, Los Angeles Dodgers

Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Tanner Scott pitched a strong seventh inning for his team against the Marlins on Monday, needing 17 pitches to navigate the inning with one walk and three punchouts. Scott came into a game the Dodgers were trailing 4-2 at the time and kept the Marlins off the board before L.A. rallied for three runs to win in the ninth.

With Edwin Díaz (elbow) out until the second half of the season, the Dodgers' bullpen will be a very important one for fantasy managers to watch since save opportunities should be available. Scott is part of the closer-by-committee approach that manager Dave Roberts will use, but he could also be used earlier in the game, as he was on Monday, depending on how the game script unfolds.

It was actually Jake Eder who pitched the ninth and got the win on Monday. Scott remains one of the Dodgers' options for the end of the game, but don't count on him to be the only source of saves on the team.

Cade Cavalli, SP, Washington Nationals

Across 24 2/3 innings (six starts) so far this season, Washington Nationals starting pitcher Cade Cavalli has posted a 0-1 record with a 4.01 ERA, 1.66 WHIP, and 28 strikeouts. While the 27-year-old's numbers don't necessarily jump off the page, he's coming off an impressive 10-strikeout performance against a strong Atlanta Braves lineup in his most recent appearance.

Cavalli's elevated WHIP is largely due to his elevated 10.3% walk rate. However, he hasn't allowed a walk in either of his last two outings. The former top prospect is averaging 96.6 mph on his fastball and owns a solid 24.1% strikeout rate. Cavalli could be worth targeting on the waiver wire as a solid streaming starting pitcher with upside.

Travis Bazzana, 2B, Cleveland Guardians

First Base Waiver Wire Rankings

Pickups are in priority order:

Second Base Waiver Wire Rankings

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Third Base Waiver Wire Rankings

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Shortstop Waiver Wire Rankings

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Outfield Waiver Wire Rankings

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Catcher Waiver Wire Rankings

Pickups are in priority order:

Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire Rankings

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Relief Pitcher/Closer Waiver Wire Rankings

Pickups are in priority order:

Who Should I Pickup Fantasy Baseball Tool

Trying to decide who to pick up off the waiver wire? Check the Who Should I Pickup tool:

Who Should I Pickup?

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2026 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players such as Louis Varland, Cade Cavalli, Travis Bazzana, Moises Ballesteros, Tanner Scott, Bryan Baker, Mickey Moniak, Payton Tolle, Chase Dollander, Jorge Soler, Noah Schultz, Jack Perkins, Jacob Latz, Jake Bauers, Anthony Volpe, Phil Maton, and Sam Antonacci. These are some common searches for 2026 fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups.

Using The Tool. This is a simple tool but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player's name. In the second box, search for the second player's name. Compare up to four MLB players at once, and then click the Who To Pickup? button to see who the recommended waiver wire pickups are based on fantasy baseball rankings, projections, and more.

Improvements For Who Should I Pickup? You may have noticed, our Who Should I Pickup? tool has gotten an overhaul. We've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win on the waiver wire in 2026. You'll see MLB player tiles with stats, projections, and a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!

How It Works. Our RotoBaller staff puts together their weekly fantasy baseball waiver wire rankings and projections based on their research, and updates them constantly throughout the week. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players who are ranked.

Popular Player Comparison Searches - Who To Pickup

Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Pickup tool for 2026 for players like Louis Varland, Cade Cavalli, Travis Bazzana, Moises Ballesteros, Tanner Scott, Bryan Baker, Mickey Moniak, Payton Tolle, Chase Dollander, Jorge Soler, Noah Schultz, Jack Perkins, Jacob Latz, Jake Bauers, Anthony Volpe, Phil Maton, and Sam Antonacci: