Weekend Waiver Wire Rankings: Fantasy Baseball Pickups for Week 7

May 16, 2026

Weekend fantasy baseball waiver wire rankings for Week 7 (2026). Free-agent hitters and pitchers to add include Zebby Matthews, Kyle Harrison, JJ Bleday, Colt Emerson, and Ryne Nelson.

Welcome back, RotoBallers, to another waiver wire rankings article. Amazingly, we are already in the middle of May and almost at the end of Week 7 of the MLB season. For fantasy leagues that allow daily moves, we are back with our weekend fantasy baseball waiver rankings for Week 7 -- May 11  through May 17.  The list ranks the top 100 hitters and pitchers. Below, you will find key players such as Logan Henderson, Ryan Waldschmidt, Henry Bolte, Zebby Matthews, Carson Benge, A.J. Ewing, Caleb Kilian, and Ben Brown listed in our waiver wire ranks. 

There are key performances, prospect promotions, and injuries to watch for this week. The Twins promoted Zebby Matthews from Triple-A St. Paul to the big leagues on Thursday. Matthews was excellent in his season debut against the Marlins, allowing four hits and one walk while striking out five in seven scoreless innings. Rockies right-hander Chase Dollander was removed from Thursday's start in the second inning with right arm tightness. The 24-year-old will undergo additional tests and is considered day-to-day for now. 

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 later-week rankings list should help you keep track of players emerging in the weekend before we reach Sunday night waivers. 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 Zebby Matthews, Kyle Harrison, JJ Bleday, Colt Emrson, Ryne Nelson, and more. Read some of the waiver wire outlooks below:

Zebby Matthews, SP, Minnesota Twins

Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Zebby Matthews will get the call for the Twins on Thursday afternoon in their series finale against the Marlins. Matthews picked up the win in his season debut against the Marlins, allowing four hits and one walk while striking out five in seven scoreless innings. The 25-year-old righty went 5-6 with a 5.56 ERA last year in 16 starts, but his 3.79 FIP and 10.0 K/9 indicate he has the potential for even more fantasy production going forward.

In seven starts in Triple-A this year, Matthews had a 4.72 ERA with 33 strikeouts in 34 1/3 innings. He remains an intriguing talent with high strikeout potential, but his results have been very inconsistent in the majors last year and at Triple-A this year. He's a high-risk waiver pickup in standard-sized leagues, but he does have the potential to produce.

As part of Thursday's roster moves, the Twins also optioned struggling lefty Matt Wallner, who posted a .167/.259/.292 slash line with a 39 percent strikeout rate. The slugger could return later in the summer if he gets going, but he can be dropped in most leagues for now. Mathews holds intriguing streaming potential in deeper 12+ team leagues given his strikeout potential.

Kyle Harrison, SP, Milwaukee Brewers

Milwaukee Brewers left-hander Kyle Harrison continued his breakout season in 2026 with the Brew Crew by picking up his fourth win of the season in Thursday's series finale at American Family Field against the punchless San Diego Padres. Harrison tossed five shutout innings with five hits allowed, no walks, and seven strikeouts to lower his season ERA to 2.09.

The 24-year-old southpaw hasn't gone beyond six innings in any of his eight starts so far this year, but he has tapped into his potential in his first year in Milwaukee and has become a reliable starting pitcher in the majority of fantasy leagues after the San Francisco Giants gave up on him and traded him to the Boston Red Sox last year.

Harrison doesn't overpower hitters with velocity, but he came into Thursday's start in the 88th percentile in hard-hit rate, keeping hitters off balance and avoiding barrels. Surprisingly, he also entered Thursday's game in the 88th percentile in strikeout rate.

His expected ERA sits at 3.52, so Harrison is likely facing some regression, but he also has a solid .299 xwOBA. After another strong start on Thursday, Harrison has become more of a waiver priority. He's rostered in less than 70% of Yahoo leagues currently.

JJ Bleday, OF, Cincinnati Reds

Cincinnati Reds outfielder JJ Bleday has looked like a different hitter since joining the Reds this year, as he came into Thursday's action with a .292/.443/.646 slash line, a 1.088 OPS, four home runs, 12 RBI, and eight runs scored in just 15 games played.

The former fourth overall pick by the Miami Marlins in 2019 out of Vanderbilt kept it going in Thursday's 15-1 blowout win over the visiting Washington Nationals, going 3-for-5 at the plate as the designated hitter with two home runs, six RBI, and a strikeout to raise his season average to .321 and his OPS to 1.210. The left-handed-hitting outfielder now has six long balls in his first 52 at-bats since joining Cincy, which should have fantasy managers taking notice in all formats.

Bleday won't be able to keep this pace up all season, but his pedigree as a top draft choice makes him more intriguing as a potential waiver-wire star in 2026 who is clicking with a change of scenery in a very hitter-friendly home ballpark. Bleday is only rostered right now in 18% of Yahoo leagues and should deserve more attention.

Colt Emerson, SS, Seattle Mariners

Seattle Mariners infield prospect Colt Emerson stayed hot on Wednesday, clubbing his seventh home run of the season and collecting four RBI in a 2-for-5 day at the plate. The Mariners' top-ranked prospect is slashing .300/.333/.520 in 11 games in May, and owns a .257/.342/.478 slash line for the season with seven home runs and nine steals through 35 games at Triple-A Tacoma.

The former first-rounder has the makings of a potential five-category producer for fantasy, and despite being just 20 years old, appears likely to be the next highly-rated MLB prospect (MLB No. 6 overall) to make his major league debut this season.

With no current holes on the major league roster, a promotion is not imminent, but it could happen before the end of the month or shortly thereafter, so fantasy managers looking for a fantasy-friendly infield bat should consider Emerson as one of the top hitters to stash ahead of his eventual call-up.

Ryne Nelson, SP, Arizona Diamondbacks

Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Ryne Nelson is becoming an intriguing fantasy pickup after posting back-to-back strong outings. On May 8, Nelson tossed 6.2 innings, allowing one earned run while striking out seven batters in a no-decision against the New York Mets. The right-hander continued that success during Wednesday's outing against the Texas Rangers.

Nelson threw seven innings, allowing three earned runs while recording a season-high eight punchouts. The 28-year-old has thrown back-to-back quality starts and has a favorable matchup against the San Francisco Giants coming up this week. Fantasy managers in need of a possible streaming option should consider adding Nelson this week.

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

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Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire Rankings

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Closer/Reliever Waiver Wire Rankings

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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 Logan Henderson, Zebby Matthews, A.J. Ewing, Henry Bolte, Ryan Waldschmidt, Gregory Soto, Rico Garcia, Ryne Nelson, Kyle Harrison, JJ Bleday, Christian Scott, Bryce Miller, Ryan Zeferjahn, Colt Emerson, Ben Brown, Edwin Arroyo, Mark Vientos, and Garrett Cleavinger. 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 Logan Henderson, Zebby Matthews, A.J. Ewing, Henry Bolte, Ryan Waldschmidt, Gregory Soto, Rico Garcia, Ryne Nelson, Kyle Harrison, JJ Bleday, Christian Scott, Bryce Miller, Ryan Zeferjahn, Colt Emerson, Ben Brown, Edwin Arroyo, Mark Vientos, and Garrett Cleavinger: