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RotoBaller staff's fantasy baseball Week 5 waiver wire pickups for 2026. Expert advice for waiver wire hitter, pitcher, and closer targets from Eric, Joey, and Andy.
With another week of MLB action behind us, it's time to look to the waiver wire to improve our fantasy team. Given the numerous players who were placed on the injury list this week, including Edwin Diaz and Francisco Lindor, managers likely have ample open roster spots to find a replacement.
This week will highlight two prospect pitchers who made their season debuts and immediately flashed high-end upside for fantasy. We will also look at three new loser situations that could provide us with an opportunity to bolster our save totals.
Who should we look to pick up this week? Let's dive in!
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Hitter Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups
Leodary Taveras, OF, Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles outfielder Leody Taveras has hit the ball well to start the 2026 campaign. He is batting .304 with two home runs, three doubles, 14 RBI, and one stolen base in 22 games and has found a spot in Baltimore's lineup almost every day. As a result, those fantasy managers in 15-plus team leagues should look to pick him up ahead of Week 5.
Taveras has shown to be a sneaky fantasy option in the past. He hit 14 home runs and stole 14 bases with the Texas Rangers in 2023 and then hit 12 homers and stole 23 bases with the same team in 2024. That's enough reason to add him in deeper leagues. The switch-hitting outfielder has an elite expected batting average (.294) and a top expected slugging (.503) early on.
- Joey Pollizee
Mickey Moniak, OF, Colorado Rockies
While he got a late start to the season, Mickey Moniak is doing his best to make up for lost time. In his first 72 plate appearances, Moniak has slugged eight home runs and five doubles with a .324/.347/.750 slash line. He's also currently rocking an eight-game hitting streak with three home runs in his last four games.
Mickey Moniak rockets out his second homer of the game! pic.twitter.com/KS4BYcbTyc
— MLB (@MLB) April 23, 2026
Given that Moniak is coming off a season where he produced 24 home runs and nine steals in just 461 plate appearances, I'm a bit surprised that he's not rostered in more fantasy leagues. Moniak is providing solid quality of contact metrics with a 13.2% barrel rate, 90.7 mph AVG EV, and 41.5% hard-hit rate, along with his usual ideal batted-ball angles for maximizing power, highlighted by a 32.1% Pull-Air rate.
On top of that, Moniak is running a 91.9% zone contact rate, 78.4% overall contact rate, and has trimmed his strikeout rate to a career-best 22.2%. Keep in mind that he's not going to play a ton against left-handed pitchers, but Moniak can provide a nice power boost and throw in a stolen base here and there as well.
- Eric Cross
Carter Jensen, C, Kansas City Royals
The Royals backstop has continued to hit for high power and remains the primary target at the catcher position ahead of Week 5. Despite hitting his sixth home run of the young season this week, Jensen still sits under 40% rostered in all Yahoo leagues. Over his first seven gams, Jensen showed some growing pains, posting a low .118/.118/.294 line with a modest .452 OPS.
During this stretch, the rookie hit just two hits, with only one of them going for extra bases (a home run) while striking out nine times.
However, over his last 16 games, Jensen is looking like his 2025 self, posting an elite .327/.417/.654 slash line with two doubles, five home runs, and a 13:7 K:BB. He has led 12 RBI during these games and scored another 10 while batting in the heart of the Royals lineup.
Last summer, Jensen made his MLB debut late in the second half and flashed similar upside, posting a .300/.391/.550 line with three home runs over a brief 20-game stint. While it is still early in the season, Jensen is generating strong underlying marks that suggest he could be in store for a massive first "full" season in the majors.
Under the hood, Jensen has generated a .349 xwOBA with a 14.6% barrel rate and a 75.0 mph average bat speed, all of which place him in the upper tier of hitters. He has also drawn walks at a 10.1% rate, which helps offset his higher 27.8% K%. Even in leagues where you roster an elite No. 1 catcher like Drake Baldwin or Shea Langeliers, Jensen has shown enough upside to warrant adding and relying on him as your weekly utility option.
Jensen has 20+ HR upside, seeing an everyday role in the starting nine.
- Andy Smith
Miguel Vargas, 1B/3B, Chicago White Sox
Miguel Vargas was one of my favorite pre-season draft targets around pick 300, and while the surface stats haven't been great so far, he's starting to heat up lately. For the season, Vargas is slashing just .195/.336/.425, but he's picked up six hits in his last four games, and his underlying metrics are highly encouraging. In fact, those metrics are the primary reason why I'm recommending him as a waiver wire target this week.
Vargas is hitting the ball harder than he ever has this season, with a career-best 13.9% barrel rate and 45.8% hard-hit rate. He's also walking more than he's striking out (15.9% to 15%) while running an 83.3% zone contact rate, 83.6% overall contact rate, and a 17.3% chase rate.
You can chalk up a good chunk of that sub-.200 average to an anemic .179 BABIP so far. Vargas' metrics are above-average or better nearly across the board offensively, and he's even on a sneaky 32/32 pace. Once the BABIP stabilizes, Vargas' average will climb, and you'll be happy that you added him off the waiver wire this week.
- Eric Cross
Ildemaro Vargas, 1B/2B, Arizona Diamondbacks
The 34-year-old may not be the flashiest player on the waiver wire, but he is producing at an elite level, and is well-worthy of a pick up this weekend. Throughout the first 18 games of the campaign, Vargas has posted a .357/.375/.671 line with a strong 1.046 OPS. During this stint, Vargas has gone deep five times, added five doubles, and held a 9:2 K:BB.
He has tallied 16 RBI and scored another 14 runs, proving to be a strong four-category contributor. However, given that Vargas appeared in just 38 MLB contests last summer and posted a .270/.292/.383 line, managers do not appear to be turning this late-career bloom.
Under the hood, Vargas has generated a stellar .411 xwOBA, .369 xBA, and a .572 xSLG, all of which indicate that not only his high-end contact is sustainable, but also his power numbers. The 34-year-old has begun optimizing his swing, which has been the driving force behind his power breakout.
Per Baseball Savant, Vargas has generated a 41.0% LA Sweet-Spot% with an incredible 31.1% Pull AIR%. While this high Pull AIR% is likely to be unusable, even if it drops a handful of points, it will still be the highest of its career. This has allowed him to tap into his home-run upside without hitting the ball hard, as shown by his below-average 39.3% hard-hit rate and 8.2% barrel rate.
Vargas has the skill set to hit for over .300 while pushing for a potential 15-20 HR campaign.
Ildemaro Vargas goes deep AGAIN!
He's homered in three consecutive at-bats 😮 pic.twitter.com/CQwE18bmI5
— MLB (@MLB) April 23, 2026
- Joey Pollizze
Brayan Rocchio, 2B/SS, Cleveland Guardians
Cleveland Guardians infielder Brayan Rocchio is a nice waiver target in some 12-team leagues heading into Week 5. He has been on another level at the plate across the past two weeks, hitting an absurd .428 (15-for-35) with two home runs, two doubles, nine RBI, and one stolen base since April 13. Those all-around numbers should firmly put Rocchio on fantasy radars.
While the switch-hitting shortstop won't contribute much in the home run department, he has the potential to carry a solid batting average with double-digit stolen bases. Rocchio has a .275 expected batting average to start the season to go with a .346 xwOBA and a 51st percentile expected slugging (.398). Given how well he has hit the ball recently, the 25-year-old is worth a look in some formats.
- Joey Pollizzee
Josh Jung, 3B, Texas Rangers
The potential has always been there for Texas Rangers third baseman Josh Jung to be a fantasy star. That was on display in his rookie campaign in 2023 when he batted .266 with 23 home runs and 70 RBI across 122 games. But injuries have held back Jung from reaching his full potential in each of the past two seasons. Now that the 28-year-old is fully healthy again, he's becoming a consistent fantasy option once again.
Jung is batting .301 with three home runs, eight doubles, and 12 RBI in his first 23 games this season. He has 21 hits over his last 54 at-bats (.389 batting average) and has the hitting tools to continue this strong stretch into the summer months. The Rangers third baseman ranks in the top 12% in expected batting average (.299), hard-hit rate (52.3%), and squared-up rate (31.8%). That's enough reason to pick him up in 12-plus team leagues.
- Joey Pollizzee
Pitcher Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups
Chase Dollander, SP, Colorado Rockies
While Tolle may have stolen the "breakout" pitcher headlines this week, do not sleep on the Rockies' bidding arm, Chase Dollander. The former ninth-overall pick out of Tennessee had a rough rookie campaign back in 2025, posting a 6.52 ERA over 98 innings. As a result, Dollander went undrafted in nearly all standard leagues as his place in the Rockies rotation was not even solidified.
While the Rockies have kept Dollander in a "long-relief" role, he has been extremely effective and worthy of an add in 12+ team leagues. Through his first six outings of the 2026 season, the second-year pitcher has posted a 2.88 ERA with a 1.00 WHIP. He has struck out 32 batters over his 25 innings of work while limiting walks at a 6.7% rate.
This is a drastic improvement compared to the 11.1% walk rate he posted last season. Under the hood, Dollander has shown other massive improvements, generating a 2.81 xERA, .188 xBA, and a 53.2% ground-ball rate. His primary pitch, his four-seamer, is up to 99.0 mph (from 98.0 mph last season), and has been an elite pitch, boasting a 30.5% whiff rate and a .243 xwOBA.
His top whiff pitches (slider, changeup, and curveball) have all posted a high rate above 29.0%, with his changeup and curveball posting a .272 and a .128 xwOBA, respectively.
While his somewhat limited workload as a long reliever will keep his strikeout totals lower (relative to other starts), his high-end 30.8% K% will keep his fantasy value high, despite the lower innings count. Pitching in Coors Field does add some volatility to his profile, but the underlying metrics suggest he is on a breakout trajectory.
After diving in, I'm fully buying into Chase Dollander.
Not only do the numbers look great:
2.63 SIERA
28.7 K% (+10.1%)
7.5 BB% (-3.6%)
14.3 SwStr% (+4.5%)
109 Stuff+ (+12)
55.1 GB% (+12.4%)The pitch mix has changed:
He's throwing his four-seamer much less. It's up 1.1 MPH… pic.twitter.com/NxkW5otRF6
— Frank Ammirante (@FAmmiranteTFJ) April 20, 2026
- Andy Smith
Payton Tolle, SP, Boston Red Sox
Do me a favor and run to your waiver wire to pick up Payton Tolle. Actually, you'll be doing yourself a favor as Tolle can make a sizeable impact on your fantasy team(s). The top pitching prospect opened the season in Triple-A Worcester, where he posted a 3.00 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, and a 24.6% K-BB rate in three outings.
Once Sonny Gray went on the IL with a hamstring strain, Tolle was summoned to face the New York Yankees on Thursday, where he struck out 11 in six innings while allowing just three hits, one walk, and one earned run.
Welcome back to the bigs, Payton Tolle!
MLB's No. 15 prospect (@RedSox) racks up 18 swings-and-misses and becomes the first rookie to notch 11 K's in a start this season: pic.twitter.com/aFRNMeyYIL
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) April 23, 2026
Tolle has become a more well-rounded pitcher this season, throwing fewer 4-seamers in favor of more cutters, changeups, curveballs, and a newly-added sinker. He generated 18 whiffs in his 2026 debut on Thursday, with 15 of those coming on his 4-seamer and curveball.
With all of that said, there's a chance he returns to Triple-A once Gray returns from the IL sometime in the early part of May. But if Tolle continues to pitch well and Brayan Bello continues to struggle, it's possible that Tolle won't be the one getting bumped from the Red Sox rotation.
- Eric Cross
Noah Schultz, SP, Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox prospect Noah Schultz has made two career starts so far. He gave up three earned runs (four runs) with four walks and four strikeouts across 4 1/3 innings against the Rays in his MLB debut and then threw five innings of one-run ball with six strikeouts against the Athletics in his most recent start. That outing against the Athletics is why fantasy managers should be picking him up.
Schultz has the potential to be a strong fantasy contributor in his rookie campaign. He looked comfortable in that start against the Athletics and has plenty of strikeout upside. It might be a small sample size, but the southpaw has a 2.58 expected ERA, a .183 expected batting average against, a 0% barrel rate, and a 30.4% hard-hit rate across his first two starts. That should get fantasy managers excited to pick him up.
- Jeey Pollizzee
JR Ritchie, SP, Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves called up pitching prospect JR Ritchie earlier this week to start against the Washington Nationals. He then threw seven innings of two-run ball with five hits, two walks, and seven strikeouts. That strong performance has earned Ritchie more starts in the big leagues, as Braves manager Walt Weiss said the rookie will remain with the team for now.
7 K's in 7 IP!
MLB's No. 79 prospect JR Ritchie mixes in his four-seamer with filthy offspeed stuff to twirl a quality start for the @Braves in his big league debut. pic.twitter.com/wnIV1UtthD
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) April 23, 2026
Therefore, Ritchie is worth a look in some leagues. He posted elite numbers down at Triple-A Gwinnett to start the season (0.99 ERA across 27 1/3 innings pitched) and has the potential to be a consistent force in Atlanta's rotation for the foreseeable future. The Braves' No. 2 overall prospect has a six-pitch mix that keeps hitters off balance.
- Joey Pollizze
Brad Keller, RP, Philadelphia Phillies
Given the number of high-end relievers on the injured list, I wanted to highlight two closers in this week's edition. Sitting at the top of this group is Brad Keller, who now projects to see the save opportunities while Jhoan Duran (oblique) is on the shelf. While Duran is not expected to miss more than a month of play, Keller has the path to being a must-start option for the next several weeks.
Last season, Keller was an elite setup option for the Cubs pitching behind Daniel Palencia. Across 69 2/3 innings, Keller posted a 2.07 ERA with a 0.96 WHIP. The right-hander struck out 75 batters while earning 26 holds and chipping in three saves. While his start to his time in Philadelphia has been a bit shaky (allowing five earned runs over 10 1.3 innings), Keller has the experience to pitch in high-leverage situations.
Currently, Keller holds a strong 2.60 xERA with an elite 56.7% ground-ball rate and a 3.3% barrel rate, suggesting he has gotten quite unlucky in the early going. When looking for saves, Keller should be a priority target.
- Andy Smith
Tanner Scott, RP, Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Tanner Scott is technically rostered in over 40% of Yahoo! leagues, so he's above the 40% threshold that we set earlier. However, I wanted to point him out in this week's edition after it was announced that Edwin Diaz will miss roughly three months due to an elbow injury. That opens up the door for Scott to earn more saves moving forward.
Although manager Dave Roberts said the team will use a committee for the closer role, Scott is the favorite to see a bunch of those save opportunities. He closed out the Dodgers' 3-0 win over the San Francisco Giants on Thursday and should earn plenty of saves until Diaz returns. So, make a move for the left-hander in all formats.
- Joey Pollizzee
Louis Varland, RP, Toronto Blue Jays
The second reliver we will spotlight is more of a high-end handcuff. The right-hander has been operating in a high-leverage role for the Blue Jays, typically being deployed in the seventh and eighth frames.
Entering Tuesday's contest (his most recent appearance), Varland logged 12 1/3 innings with a 0.00 ERA and a 0.89 WHIP. He struck out 19 batters while allowing just three walks and earning three holds. However, on Tuesday, Varland entered the game in the ninth inning in a save situation.
While the primary close, Jeff Hoffman, entered the contest as expected, the right-hander struggled once again and loaded the bases. However, Varland not only got out of the jam but also sealed the victory, earning his first save of the season. While the Blue Jays coaching staff has continued to express their trust in Hoffman as a closer, they may opt to ease his high-leverage work as he works through these struggles.
Currently, the 28-year-old sits in the 98th percentile in xERA and has yet to allow a barrel. He has generated groundballs at a high 58.3% rate and limited free passes at a 6.5% rate. If Varland were to slide into the ninth-inning role, he may not give it up.
- Andy Smith
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