Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire 2025: Matthew Liberatore, Austin Hays - Week 6

It’s almost May, ya’ll. We’ve now collected basically a full month of data that we can build off and there are a LOT of players trending in the right direction that are just sitting on your fantasy baseball waiver wire RIGHT NOW! YES, I’M YELLING! GO PICK THEM UP! We’ll, before you do that, read the column below to find out who those players actually are because there’s a lot to like. Let’s dive into the top fantasy baseball Week 6 waiver wire additions.
Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pitchers
Matthew Liberatore, SP, RP, St. Louis Cardinals
ESPN: 14% / Yahoo: 24%
FAAB: 9-11%
Lookie lookie. Matthew Liberatore, former top prospect, looks really good in a role that he’s been finally allowed to settle into. His 3.19 ERA is attached to a 3.06 xERA, 2.97 SIERA, and 2.69 xFIP. Two things trending in the right direction are his K-rate (career-high 23.1%) and BB-rate (career-low 1.7%.)

As you can see, the stuff has never been the concern. All of it is plus stuff and he’s showing it off in 2025. He has an elite ground ball rate to boot, which I love to see because he’s going to keep the ball in the yard.
Camilo Doval, RP, San Francisco Giants
ESPN: 8% / Yahoo: 33%
FAAB: 5-7%
So we’re just suddenly going to thrust Camilo Doval back into a high leverage role and think you’re going to get away with it? Doval has had a three save week and is up to five saves on the year, which is tied with Ryan Walker for the team lead. The strikeouts are way, way, way down, but he still has an 11% swinging strike rate so the punchouts will come. He’s not walking nearly as many batters either after issuing out nearly six BB/9 down to 3.75. With Doval back in high leverage situations, elite pitching park, and available in nearly all formats, he’s a must-add if you’re looking for saves.
Eury Perez, SP, Miami Marlins
ESPN: 5% / Yahoo: 23%
FAAB: 6-8%
We haven’t seen Eury Perez since 2023 but the young fireballer is returning from Tommy John surgery for the first time this weekend as he makes a rehab start for the Marlins Single-A affiliate. Perez, back in 2023, notched a 10.6 K/9, 3.15 ERA, and 28.9% K-rate. Also..look at this masterpiece:

That’s a LOT of red, and the more red the better. He’s the perfect stash if you have the available bench spots or if you can put him on IL. If you prefer the wait and see approach on how he gets out of his rehab starts, you don’t have to wait long; he pitches today (Saturday, April 26th.)
Cade Smith, RP, Cleveland Guardians
ESPN: 26% / Yahoo: 37%
FAAB: 2-4%
This is an interesting one because Emmanuel Clase is working his way back from shoulder discomfort, but he threw a bullpen so is obviously nearing a return. One of the league’s best closers, if not the absolute best, over the past few seasons has struggled when he’s been out there this season. When Clase’s been out there, he’s pitched to a 7.84 ERA, his ground ball rate is a career-low and his walks are up too. Cade Smith has picked up two saves this week and has NOT struggled, so if/when Clase returns and continues to struggle, could Smith steal the job away? It’s very possible. Smith has been a robot on the mound pitching to a sub 2-ERA last year and is doing it again this year while striking out over 12 batters per nine innings.
Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Infielders
Agustin Ramirez, C, 1B, Miami Marlins
ESPN: 8% / Yahoo: 31%
FAAB: 7-11%
The talented catcher has popped at the major league level in his short time since being called up and Agustin Ramirez seems to be in this for the long haul. His first career home run came in Seattle, which has been the worst hitting environment over the last three seasons according to Baseball Savant. Ramirez’s bat has really popped at the minor league level over the last two seasons and obviously this start to the year isn’t sustainable but his ability to be slotted in at C and 1B on both ESPN and Yahoo!
Jorge Polanco, 2B, 3B, Seattle Mariners
ESPN: 17% / Yahoo: 24%
FAAB: 7-10%
He’s had a few good seasons this year, but Jorge Polanco looks incredible this year. At least from the left side. He still can’t swing from the right side, so he’s actually not even maximizing his potential. With that being said, look at this beautiful page:

Everything looks great and everything looks real, too. Obviously he plays in an awful ballpark for offense, but thus far he’s hitting .333 with a .908 OPS to boot. Amongst all second baseman, Polanco is tied for third in home runs, second in RBI, second in AVG, and hits in a premium lineup position to boot. I’ll keep adding him to the waiver wire column until he’s properly rostered around fantasy baseball leagues.
Noelvi Marte, 3B, Cincinnati Reds
ESPN: 8% / Yahoo: 18%
FAAB: 8-10%
After popping for PEDs, Noelvi Marte’s stock took a dive and he just simply wasn’t good. This is a player that was a consensus 60 prospect from 2022-’24 and he was top-30 mostly everywhere that put on prospect lists. He was raking at Triple-A before his callup and has done quite well since being recalled as well.
He heads into the weekend with an OPS north of 1.000, a series in Coors Field, and plays his home games at Great American Ballpark. Marte’s recent play has pulled me all the way back in and I’m a buyer.
Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Outfielders
Austin Hays, OF, Cincinnati Reds
ESPN: 18% / Yahoo: 35%
FAAB: 8-10%
For years, we’ve known Austin Hays has been a lefty-masher, but he’s completely flipped that script and has become a complete player through his first 10 games of 2025. He’s mashing against everyone. He doesn’t qualify on Baseball Savant, but all the underlying stuff looks great:

Since returning from the injured list, Austin Hays has hit fifth once and fourth in nine games. No lower than fifth and a majority of his at-bats are hitting behind Elly De La Cruz. Not to mention, he plays his home games in Great American Ballpark, which per Baseball Savant, they’re the third best offensive park in the league over the last three years and number one in home runs.

Jordan Beck, OF, Colorado Rockies
ESPN: 1% / Yahoo: 4%
FAAB: 2-5%
I’m not sure what to make of this three game stretch for Jordan Beck but it simply cannot be ignored. He has back-to-back two home run games and has five over his last three games combined. In 170 at-bats last year, Beck hit three home runs for the Rockies and he’s almost doubled that number in three days. Although this is the first stretch of Beck’s young career where he’s really done anything offensively, he was drafted with a 55 power tool, 45 hit tool, and 55 speed tool, so there was a lot to like. If you’re in need of outfield depth, it’s worth taking a shot on a player this hot, playing his home games in Coors Field.
Trevor Larnach, OF, Minnesota Twins
ESPN: 2% / Yahoo: 4%
FAAB: 1-3%
Power! Home runs! More Power! More home runs! That’s what Trevor Larnach is providing right now. He’s belted four bombs in seven games and that’s what he’s known for; home run pop. He’s hitting fourth daily and is pacing for his second straight season of at least a .330 OBP. He strikes out a lot and doesn’t do a lot else but hit homers, so if you’re looking for an influx of home runs, Larnach is a decent fantasy baseball waiver wire addition.
Player News
J.P. Crawford singled in the winning run in the bottom of the 11th as the Mariners edged the Yankees 2-1 on Tuesday.
Crawford was 0-for-4 with three strikeouts before his liner to left barely dropped into fair territory and plated the automatic runner in the 11th. It gave him his first RBI in nine games. He’s currently hitting .271/.378/.364 for the season.
Bryan Woo blanked the Yankees for 6 1/3 innings in a no-decision Tuesday.
Woo has come up big for the Mariners in pitching at least six innings every time out this season and going 4-1 with a 2.84 ERA. The 1-0 lead he left with tonight didn’t hold up, but the Mariners did prevail in extra innings to move to 6-2 in Woo’s starts. He’ll face the White Sox next time out.
Andrés Muñoz was charged with a blown save after giving up an unearned run in the ninth Tuesday against the Yankees.
Muñoz created his own trouble by hitting Paul Goldschmidt to start the ninth, but that was the only mistake he made as a pair of grounders went on to score pinch-runner Pablo Reyes. Muñoz still hasn’t given up an earned run this season.
Max Fried allowed one run over five innings before being lifted against the Mariners on Tuesday.
Fried needed 91 pitches to get his 15 outs, so he didn’t come back out for the sixth. Still, he was effective in allowing four hits and striking out five. He’ll take a 1.11 ERA into his next start, which will likely come Sunday against the Mets.
Devin Williams pitched a perfect 10th in a tie game Tuesday against the Mariners.
Williams followed Luke Weaver, who worked flawless eighth and ninth innings before the game went to extras. It’s Williams’ third straight scoreless appearance and sixth in seven games since he was pulled from the closer’s role. Weaver hasn’t had any issues, either, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Williams get a save chance sometime soon.
Robbie Ray allowed three runs over six innings and struck out nine in the Giants’ 10-6 win over the Diamondbacks on Tuesday.
Ray joined Max Fried as the only pitchers off to 6-0 starts thus far this season, and the Giants have gone 9-0 in his outings. His peripherals are significantly worse than his 3.04 ERA, but he’s definitely performed better in his last four starts than he did in his first five, when he seemed more lucky than good. He’ll pitch at home against the Royals next time out.