The Major League Baseball season doesn’t really heat up until May and accordingly, neither does the fantasy baseball season. We’re only just getting to the point where teams solidify who their key contributors are, and that means there are tons of valuable players available on the waiver wire that the mass fandom just hasn’t yet sniffed out.
Week 7’s list features a little bit of everything, from known prospect commodities getting their first run in the big leagues to unheralded players making the most of their opportunities at different stages of their careers. And as luck would have it, two of them play for the Chicago Cubs. So when this sage advice pans out perfectly, get ready to watch a lot of day baseball at Wrigley Field when you’re supposed to be working this summer.
Every moment spent reading is a moment you could be putting in that waiver claim, so let’s not tarry any further. Here are the top waiver wire pickups for week 7 of the 2024 fantasy baseball season!
Every player on this list is owned in 20 percent or less of ESPN fantasy baseball leagues.
Hayden Wesneski, Cubs SP/RP
This is the steal of the century. Hayden Wesneski isn’t just a valuable waiver add for struggling fantasy pitching staffs this week; he’s developing into a bona-fide top-of-the-rotation arm for the Cubs. He had filled a long relief/spot starter rotation position early on in his Cubs career, but in his most recent start against the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday, he went a season-high 6.1 innings and punched out eight batters, lowering his season ERA to a sparkling 0.54 in the process.
Wesneski’s sweeper is one of the nastiest individual pitches in the game. It generated a .196 expected batting average last season, the best of any individual pitch thrown at least 500 times, and that number has dropped all the way down to .121 in 2024. He can tunnel his four-seam fastball off that sweeper so perfectly that he only needs his other two offerings sparingly, and he now seems to be poised to pitch deeper into games. If he can do that consistently, the 26-year-old is a potential future All-Star.
Christian Scott, Mets SP
Christian Scott made an electric debut for the New York Mets on Saturday, tossing 6.2 innings of one-run baseball with six strikeouts against the Tampa Bay Rays, an offense that had just gone ballistic the night before against the Mets’ Opening Day starter José Quintana. The Mets’ number five prospect enters a banged-up rotation where he’ll get to continue making starts as long as he produces, and the early returns insinuate he’s got the stuff to do just that.
The 6-foot-4 Scott has more than enough heat to miss bats with his fastball, but it’s his control that really makes him stand out. A former reliever on a loaded University of Florida pitching staff, Scott became a starter in the minors and has wowed the Mets with his increased command of all three of his main pitches, posting a superb 1.03 career WHIP in three MiLB seasons. Limiting free passes leads to success at all levels of pitching, and Scott looks like he’s got that part of the formula on lock.
Jo Adell, Angels OF
You have to be a risk-taker to go after Jo Adell, since he’s burned optimistic fantasy owners and Los Angeles Angels fans alike before. The former star prospect saw his share of struggles at the big league level prior to 2024, but he’s turned that on its head this season and locked down the Angels’ starting right field job in the process.
With four home runs and an .850 OPS in his 66 at-bats, Adell is showing the promise of the player the Angels always hoped he could be when they drafted him with the tenth overall pick in 2017 MLB Draft. At 25 years old, he’s still got tons of time to grow as a player as long as he doesn’t suffer any more injuries or career setbacks. Yes, he’s been caught stealing an MLB-leading five times already, which is a bit of a concern, but he’s clearly got speed, so ideally, he’ll develop into a true stolen base threat rather than be shut down completely.
Mike Tauchman, Cubs OF
It makes absolutely no sense how Mike Tauchman is still only ten percent owned at the moment, given the fact that he’s fully been one of the best outfielders in the National League this season. With an .865 OPS, Tauchman would rank 27th in baseball if he had enough at-bats to qualify and he soon will, since the Cubs have been batting him in the two-hole consistently against right-handed pitching.
Since Tauchman made his return from the Korean Baseball Organization to play for the Cubs midway through 2023, he’s been an on-base king. His OBP is at .372 in the 137 games he’s played with Chicago and it’s up to .406 in the new season alone. And he’s in the 80th percentile of xwOBA, meaning Statcast’s batted ball measurements don’t think what he’s doing is a fluke at all.
Tauchman may not hit for the power of your highest-drafted players, but he’ll get on base enough to make him well worth your add on the waiver wire. The Cubs have realized the value he brings with his consistency and soon, the fantasy baseball community will as well.
