Hidden Bounties: Waiver Wire Adds for May 4th-May 10th

Reviewing top waiver options for this week

By Justin May · May 4, 2026

{"template":"baseball-waiver-wire-picks","weekNumber":6,"weekDates":"May 4th-May 10th","intro":"Welcome back to another week of waiver hunting! Staying active on waivers is key at this time of year. The tough part about this being a weekly article, is that sometimes it's published a few days after a player's big breakout game. That's why I try to post instant updates on Twitter/X if there's something notable happening in that night's games as well. We'll look at some recommended waiver adds for this week, and of course some of you may need to decide on a couple of drops - so we'll cover those as well. These recommendations are mainly intended for redraft leagues, but some could be out there in dynasty leagues. Before we get started, I'd like to review some past recommendations from a month ago. I'll be doing this every week just as a personal audit, to see how these play out a month later. Adds from 4/1: Nolan Schanuel: Since I called him an add, he has just 1 HR and a .614 OPS. Despite making a ton of contact, it hasn't been good contact - he just hasn't been helpful enough. L Randy Vasquez: He's made 3 good starts and 2 poor starts since the add recommendation. I think he'll continue to be helpful ROS as the velocity has been steady and he's still getting whiffs. Up to 60% owned now - I'd call this a win Miguel Vargas: 5 HRs and 4 SBs with a .766 OPS in the past month is a helpful player, especially with 3B being shallow. W Nolan Gorman: Just a .617 OPS and 3 HRs isn't helping any teams. The K rate has also been too high yet again. I'll take my L here as a sad Cardinals fan. Joe Boyle: Had 1 good game and 1 bad game before hitting the IL with an elbow injury. He should get a rotation spot when he returns due to Pepiot now being out for the year, so I do think he'll be a helpful arm ROS - we'll call it a draw due to injury. Season record for adds: 4-4 (2 draws) Drops from 4/1: Carlos Estevez: Still on the IL and while Erceg has been better lately, it's no guarantee he keeps the closer role from Estevez ROS. He still needs the velocity to come back so there's likely a long road ahead - I'll call this a draw because of injury Andrew Vaughn: Hasn't played since this drop recommendation, but is likely returning soon and should regain the starting 1B role - but it remains to be seen if his power will be down after the injury. Call this one a draw. Xander Bogaerts: Hitting .283 with an .822 OPS, 5 HRs and 4 SBs since this recommendation. Oof. Bad call by me as Xander has been a good asset so far. Season record for drops: 4-1 (2 draws) Now let's get to this week ","adds":[{"playerName":"Logan Henderson","team":"MIL","position":"SP","rosteredPct":"21%","blurb":"Henderson was one of my SP sleepers entering the year, but he didn't join the rotation right away after being slowed by elbow soreness in March. He was being built up and only pitching 3-4 innings per start in AAA this year, but he finally earned the call back to the bigs this week. His fastball/changeup is a great combo and he was great in a 5 start MLB stint in 2025, pitching to a 33% K rate and an 8% walk rate. I'm a big believer in K/BB being one of the best predictors for future success - and him being solid throughout the minors gives me hope that he's legit. The Brewers are still limiting his pitch counts, but he was able to produce a quality start with 8 Ks on just 76 pitches on Sunday. The pitch limit makes it tough for QS leagues, but he's also an efficient guy and doesn't walk many hitters. He can help a lot of fantasy teams out there regardless of limits concerns. ","espnId":"4917878","matchups":"","headshotUrl":"https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/headshots/mlb/players/full/4917878.png"},{"playerName":"Robby Snelling","team":"MIA","position":"SP","rosteredPct":"9%","blurb":"Arguably the top non-debuted pitching prospect currently, Snelling has been tearing up AAA. He's got an insane 40% K rate in 29 innings so far, and he has a history of great command. The walks have crept up a bit this year, but I'm not making anything of it yet - he's a guy who could make an immediate impact in the rotation and has as high of a floor as any pitching prospect out there. He's not getting the call quite yet - but it has to be soon. Chris Paddack just allowed 7 more runs on Sunday and his ERA sits at 7.63 on the year. Janson Junk has been better but I'd be shocked if he kept his ERA in the low 3s all year. Snelling is currently better than both and has nothing left to prove in the minors. I know Snelling will get his chance this year, but with Braxton Garrett being on the 40 man and Snelling not, I'm expecting Garrett to get a shot first. But based on Garrett's poor K/BB and miniscule .073 BABIP so far in AAA, he's been fortunate to keep his ERA so low. I haven't been a believer in the past and he's now 28 and coming off of elbow surgery - I'm skeptical how long either he or Janson Junk can hold off Snelling from claiming a rotation spot. Snelling is likely up in the first half. ","espnId":"5080753","matchups":"","headshotUrl":"https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/headshots/mlb/players/full/5080753.png"},{"playerName":"Sam Antonacci","team":"CHW","position":"2B, 3B, OF","rosteredPct":"7%","blurb":"I wasn't the highest on Antonacci for dynasty purposes since I didn't believe the ceiling was worth it, but he's been putting together good ABs since being called up in April. He has just a 7% K rate in 17 big league games, and the contact metrics to back it up. That shows that he hasn't been overwhelmed by MLB pitching right away, which is important for potential rookie breakouts. He also never had a K rate above 15% in any minor league season, so we know his hit tool is legit. I normally temper expectations for players without much raw power, but the good news is, power doesn't have to be a big part of his game. His speed should lead to 20+ steals which can be helpful for teams seeking speed. Even though he has no steals in the bigs yet, his speed grades out well (79th percentile sprint) and he did steal 48 bases last year. There might not be a crazy high ceiling here but good ratios + speed and multi position eligibility make him a nice asset. ","espnId":"","matchups":""},{"playerName":"Joe Mack","team":"MIA","position":"C","rosteredPct":"1%","blurb":"Last week was catcher week with Basallo and Ballesteros, but now we have another interesting option who was just called up from AAA in Joe Mack. He is known for his defense behind the plate so he'll get every opportunity to start, but he has some power potential as well. He has a max EV of 110 mph and also lifts and pulls the ball well. He hit 21 HRs last year and 24 the season before that. The power hasn't shown up this year but he has improved his contact rates. He's still lifting and pulling the ball and is producing similar EVs, so there doesn't seem to be any loss of raw power despite the contact improvements. The hit tool is still questionable but these are adjustments we like to see. He can certainly be a solid starting catcher for a lot of teams out there and is worth a flier if you're currently starting a low-end option. FYI - Agustin Ramirez was also optioned to AAA in a corresponding move. I had him in the drops section last week, and I don't see a reason to hold him in redraft leagues. ","espnId":"4872695","matchups":"","headshotUrl":"https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/headshots/mlb/players/full/4872695.png"},{"playerName":"Yohendrick Pinango","team":"TOR","position":"OF","rosteredPct":"0%","blurb":"This is probably more of a deeper league recommendation, but I was a big fan of Pinango as an underrated prospect and after his solid first week I felt I should include him here. He was called up from AAA on 4/25, and he's gone 6/13 so far while absolutely stinging the ball every time he hits. He already has a 111 mph max EV on just 10 batted balls, and most hits have been over 100 mph. No homers yet, but his bat speed would be among the best in the league at 76 mph, so the power will show up once he gets more playing time. The hard hits aren't a surprise based on his minor league numbers. He had a max EV of 115 mph in both 2025 and 2026 in AAA, all while posting strong contact numbers. Big power potential without the strikeouts is essentially Pinango, and that's hard to find. The one knock on him is he swings so hard that he can have issues squaring up the ball - and not all contact is good contact. This made his ground ball rate too high in the minors, but he did improve his approach this year - reducing the ground ball rate in AAA to 39%. As for playing time, as of now he's being platooned, and isn't guaranteed to have a roster spot once Barger or Lukes are healthy. However, it's interesting that they had him batting leadoff on Sunday, and also kept him in to face a lefty reliever (he hit a single), so it seems like he's gaining more trust. He never had platoon concerns in the minors so I'm curious how that will play out if he does get more chances. It's worth noting that Barger and Lukes have minor league options remaining and neither were playing very well before their respective injuries - so while I don't expect Pinango to unseat them yet, he does have a chance to keep a starting role if he keeps hitting. And if he is sent down once Barger returns (possibly this week), he's at least made an impression and may get another shot soon. At the very least he's someone to monitor on waivers. ","espnId":"","matchups":""}],"drops":[{"playerName":"Ceddanne Rafaela","team":"BOS","position":"2B, OF","rosteredPct":"69%","blurb":"Admittedly I've never really bought into the hype with Rafaela. I know some folks see 20/20 potential but he just doesn't have much power or the best approach to maximize it. Even last year his bat speed was on the lower end and his metrics across the board were poor. The strikeouts are too high for a guy with his profile and the walk rate is too low to help his stolen base potential. I usually hate throwing this much cold water on someone but it seems like a lot of teams are relying on his production. His defense will keep him on the field, but he also hits near the bottom of the order in a struggling lineup, so the counting stats will be limited. Even if he improves a bit I just think there's other players available who are worth betting on. ","espnId":"4987382","matchups":"","headshotUrl":"https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/headshots/mlb/players/full/4987382.png"},{"playerName":"Daylen Lile","team":"WSH","position":"OF","rosteredPct":"57%","blurb":"Lile was a popular breakout pick who also had some detractors given the risks with his profile. He was a contact hitter who found success due to a good approach, so there was risk of him becoming a one or two category contributor. So far he's had a rough start with a .681 OPS, just 3 HRs and 1 steal. His zone contact rate is down, and his chase rate is way up, which is causing the K% to rise. He's not squaring up the ball as often despite still pulling and lifting the ball well, and he needs every one of those areas to be solid in order to produce any power in games. On a positive note, his defense has improved so the risk of losing playing time has lowered, but he just hasn't been hitting the ball enough. Including Lile here isn't me saying I'm out on him forever - I'm still holding strong in dynasty. But for redraft leagues, there's just likely a better option out there instead of waiting on a player who doesn't have the highest ceiling even if he turns it around. ","espnId":"4917889","matchups":"","headshotUrl":"https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/headshots/mlb/players/full/4917889.png"},{"playerName":"Merrill Kelly","team":"ARI","position":"SP","rosteredPct":"43%","blurb":"Ugh. After a 4th straight rough start that raised his season ERA to 9.95, he finds himself on the drop list. I'm all for cutting bait in dynasty leagues as well, as I'm about to do the same. If a guy's ERA looks like a price seen in an infomercial, I think it's time to move on. The metrics are ugly as well, and while I want to give him time to figure it out because he's been solid for so many years, I just can't find anything to cling to for hope. At least his velocity is the same and the whiff rates are actually up on most of his pitches compared to last year? That's about it. He's a guy who typically beats his expected stats, but this also isn't a guy with immense K upside. He's a ratios/QS arm who gave helpful volume in the past, but with him now being 37 and struggling out of the gate, I just don't see him worth holding while he irons out these issues. ","espnId":"32968","matchups":"","headshotUrl":"https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/headshots/mlb/players/full/32968.png"}]}

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