Fantasy baseball waiver wire targets, Week 7: Brandon Woodruff owners scrambling

Another week, another injury to a big name that throws fantasy baseball owners into a tizzy. This time it's Brandon Woodruff, who was placed on the IL this week after a downright alarming drop in velocity — like, "sitting in the mid-80s" alarming — during his most recent start. Woodruff, for his part, insists there's nothing structurally wrong, but ... well, the radar gun doesn't lie, especially considering that the righty's performance had been slowly dipping even before this latest red flag.

Of course, if you drafted Woodruff, you're certainly not dropping him just yet, not if you have IL spots to play with. But you'll need someone to replace him in your rotation in the meantime, and preferably someone with some potential longevity in case Woodruff doesn't bounce back the way we hope. Luckily, we've got you covered, along with waiver wire recommendations at every other position ahead of Week 7 in fantasy baseball.

Catcher: Moises Ballesteros, Chicago Cubs

• Yahoo ownership: 31%
• ESPN ownership: 12.2%

Catcher has been a much, much better position so far this season than it has been in the recent past, and as a result some players who would've touched off bidding wars not so long ago now threaten to fall between the cracks. Ballesteros is a former top-100 prospect who's posted a combined .931 OPS over his first 149 big-league plate appearances across 2025 and 2026. He's been so good this season, hitting .324 with five homers, that he's slowly worked his way up into the heart of what has become a very productive Cubs lineup.

We know that Ballesteros can hit; he's hovered around .300 basically from the moment he stepped foot in professional baseball. He's hitting the ball in the air and to the pull side much more to start this season, though, raising the possibility that there could be 20 homers to go with that uncommon average and counting stat production for his position.

Deeper leagues: Gabriel Moreno, Arizona Diamondbacks

First base: Nathaniel Lowe, Cincinnati Reds

• Yahoo ownership: 6%
• ESPN ownership: 4.1%

It feels like just about every year Lowe is an afterthought during draft season, only to somehow find his way to regular playing time and surprising RBI production in the heart of some team's order. It was the Red Sox last season, and in 2026 it's the Cincinnati Reds, who have turned to the veteran amid an injury to Eugenio Suarez. And boy, has he responded: Lowe is tearing the cover off the ball right now, making a ton of hard contact in the air (five homers in 62 PAs!) while slashing his K rate to career-low levels.

Is this just a hot hand? Most likely, yes. But 1) there's a chance that it's something more, given the change in his batted-ball profile and 2) you could do a lot worse than riding the hot hand in the middle of a lineup that plays in one of the most hitter-friendly parks in baseball.

Deeper leagues: Casey Schmitt, San Francisco Giants

Second base: Travis Bazzana, Cleveland Guardians

• Yahoo ownership: 31%
• ESPN ownership: 18.4%

Word that Cleveland was finally promoting Bazzana, its top prospect, broke on Monday night, past the waiver window for those of you in weekly leagues. He's gotten off to a slow start in his big-league career, but don't read too much into that: He's already showing the plate discipline and solid all-around skills that made him a consistent 20-20 threat in the Minors.

The ceiling here isn't as high as other elite middle-infield prospects like JJ Wetherholt or Kevin McGonigle; he doesn't have the same physical tools, and he hasn't shown the sort of raw pop we expected when the Guards took him No. 1 overall in 2024. But he's going to play every day, likely toward the top of the lineup if starts to hit, and he should at least help you in all five categories even if he's not a stand-out in any of them.

Deeper leagues: Cole Young, Seattle Mariners

Third base: Nolan Gorman, St. Louis Cardinals

• Yahoo ownership: 5%
• ESPN ownership: 4.8%

Lord help me, I'm ready to get hurt again. We've been through this so many times with Gorman, a former top prospect who burst onto the scene in St. Louis but has since struggled to make enough contact to get his prodigious power into games on a consistent basis. He's been given a long leash as the every-day third basemen for the Cards, though, and he's been heating up of late, with two homers and an .839 OPS in his last 37 plate appearances. Maybe that'll once again prove to be a mirage, but it's worth noting that he's making more contact (especially in the strike zone) and striking out less than we've seen in the past. If it clicks, there's real upside here in a sneakily strong lineup.

Deeper leagues: Sam Antonacci, Chicago White Sox

Shortstop: Nick Gonzales, Pittsburgh Pirates

• Yahoo ownership: 9%
• ESPN ownership: 3.1%

There isn't the same sort of upside to dream about with Gonzales; despite plus speed, he's never been the most aggressive runner on the bases, and he doesn't do enough damage on contact to dream on anything more than double-digit homers. But he's been stinging the ball for the Pirates of late, strengthening his hold on the every-day third base job alongside Konnor Griffin at short and Brandon Lowe at second. This is former top-10 overall pick who hit .270 while putting up seven homers and five steals across a 94-game stretch as recently as 2024. His defense (and a lack of alternative options) should keep him in Pittsburgh's lineup on a daily basis, and his speed and contact skills should make him a real boost to your batting average.

Deeper leagues: Ronny Mauricio, New York Mets

Outfield: Carlos Cortes, Athletics

• Yahoo ownership: 27%
• ESPN ownership: 26.9%

What a run it's been for Cortes, who's launched three homers in his last 10 games while sporting a Statcast page that has enough red to make Shohei Ohtani blush. Caveats apply here, as you'd expect from a guy sporting a 1.113 OPS right now: Cortes never plays against lefties, making him a tough fit in weekly leagues, and there's very little track record to fall back on here. Still, a disciplined plate approach with strong contact skills and the ability to hit the ball hard is an enticing package, even if you'd like more of that contact to come in the air (and to the pull side) in order to sustain the sort of power surge we've seen recently. In Sacramento's band-box of a ballpark, he's worth a flier.

Deeper leagues: Cam Smith, Houston Astros; Spencer Steer, Cincinnati Reds; Trent Grisham, New York Yankees

Starting pitcher: Logan Henderson, Milwaukee Brewers

• Yahoo ownership: 12%
• ESPN ownership: 2.3%

Even with a rash of injuries, the Brewers have no shortage of options to replace Woodruff in their rotation. It sure feels like Henderson is the most enticing, though: The borderline top-100 prospect burst onto the scene with a 1.78 ERA in a five-start cameo last season, and he's been mostly biding his time at Triple-A ever since. He comes with injury concerns, and there are questions about how long a leash Milwaukee will give him; they've yet to push him beyond 67 pitches this year, with plenty of public comments in the spring about how keeping him healthy would be the priority. His upside makes him worth an add, though, even if he'll rarely give you more than five innings. The stuff is that good.

Deeper leagues: Connor Prielipp, Minnesota Twins

Closer: Jack Perkins, Athletics

• Yahoo ownership: 22%
• ESPN ownership: 7%

It's been a bloodbath for those looking for reliable sources of saves in the early going, between inconsistency from the biggest names and the general trend of teams moving toward closers by committee. In Sacramento, though, a potential savior emerges: Jack Perkins has been nails of late, with three saves in the last 10 days and an excellent profile (1.71 FIP, 25.5 K-BB rate, 33.1 percent whiff rate, 44.6 percent chase rate) under the hood. The A's sure seem for real, which should mean plenty of opportunities moving forward.

Deeper leagues: Antonio Senzatela, Colorado Rockies

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