The calendar has turned to May and it’s time to stop ignoring the standings and see if your fantasy teams are contenders and if there are glaring needs. It’s important to remain active and consistently look for Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups. Keep a particular eye on saves and the percentage categories. Most of the counting stats can be attacked via trades, though bad ratios could be hard to recover from without blockbuster trades for superstar pitchers.
Some good fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups and sleepers are in this space. Keep mining the bad teams who might have some hidden gems that are being ignored by league mates. Add pitchers on good teams, even if they’re off to rough starts, as they could provide some help either in spot starts or potentially turn things around altogether and get a good stretch of pitching. So much is still possible in the next five months. It’s time for some deep sleepers.
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Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups: Week 7
Let’s dive into our top Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups for the coming week.
John Means (SP – BAL): 18%
John Means has been a pitcher I’ve stashed on some teams since early in the season and he just was activated from the injured list (IL). Since he hasn’t had a full starter’s workload since making 26 starts and throwing 146.2 innings in 2021 — to the tune of a 3.62 ERA and 1.03 WHIP — it might be too much to ask for him to anchor a fantasy staff.
If competent pitching is what you’re looking for, Means is a good dart throw at this point in the season, especially for fantasy rosters beset with pitching injuries. Keep in mind Means is pitching for the Baltimore Orioles, a team that catches the ball well and is tied with the Braves and Brewers for the fourth-most runs in the majors. That’s a good combo for some wins as long as Means pitches competently.
Graham Ashcraft (SP – CIN): 13%
In four of his six starts, Graham Ashcraft has given up two earned runs or less. Coincidentally, those four starts were all on the road. At Great American Ball Park, he’s allowed five earned runs in each game, though he did come away with victories in both games. This is a trend that needs to be followed.
In Ashcraft’s last start, he gave up two unearned runs in San Diego and got the no-decision. Now comes a return home next week against the Diamondbacks. Fantasy managers who add him may start him just in road games if the home/road splits continue.
Andrew Heaney (SP, RP – TEX): 9%
Yes, Andrew Heaney is 0-4 and has allowed three or more earned runs in three of his six starts. But in his last two, he’s struck out 11 batters without walking anyone. He did throw seven innings of one-run ball in his last outing against the Nationals. If that’s any indication he’s turning a corner, looking ahead to his next start he’ll take on the A’s in Oakland. If he pitches well there, his next start could be in Colorado (don’t risk it) or at home against the Guardians. At the very least, Heaney is worth streaming for the Oakland start.
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