A new week has arrived, as it’s time to get ready for Week 6 of the 2025 fantasy baseball season. Injuries have opened the door for some, and one of those names is on our Week 6 waiver wire pitcher target list, as well as several other under-the-radar arms.
Best Week 6 pitchers to target
- SP Matthew Boyd (Cubs)
- SP Griffin Canning (Mets)
- SP/RP Ben Casparius (Dodgers)
- SP Lance McCullers Jr. (Astros)
- SP Michael Wacha (Royals)
It’s an all-starter edition of our weekly waiver wire check into pitching.
I’ll start with the low-hanging fruit. Michael Wacha will face the White Sox on May 7, an advantageous matchup on its own. It also helps that Wacha’s been good of late, as he struck out nine and posted a 2.19 ERA over his last 12.1 IP.
Wacha loves the changeup, and he continues to keep hitters off balance in his 13th season in the Majors.
The other sneaky option is Ben Casparius, who will make his second career MLB start on May 5 against the Marlins. Casparius was a starter in the Minors and at UConn but has been used as a multi-purpose reliever with the Dodgers, either to throw one or multiple innings.
Casparius has a starter’s arsenal, and what is interesting about the 26-year-old is that everything moves with the righty. His fastball has heavy glove-side action to it, as does, unsurprisingly, the cutter. Casparius will pair those pitches with two breaking balls, one of those being a slider with hard glove-side action.
He excelled as a reliever but now, he’ll get a chance to help a depleted Dodgers rotation.
Matthew Boyd will face the Giants on May 5, and then likely face the Mets this upcoming weekend. It makes Boyd a highly interesting option in weekly leagues with locks on Monday, especially when taking into account that Boyd has been reliable — even in situations where he gets himself in trouble with walks.
Boyd struck out at least five batters & conceded two or fewer runs in four of his six starts this season.
Griffin Canning, meanwhile, gets the Diamondbacks in Arizona on May 5. Canning was one of 11 pitchers from April 26-May 3 who threw five or more innings and gave up no earned runs, continuing a strong stretch that’s seen him win four games already, and own a 2.61 ERA overall.
Now, the 1.39 WHIP is high, and it’s the lone blemish on his ledger this season. Canning has been an impressive pitcher to say the least since joining the Mets, as he’s increased the usage of his good gyro slider that he’s had for years. And, his changeup is getting about five inches more of sink compared to 2024.
He’s walking batters at a high clip of 10.1%. However, Canning is more judicious, working both up and down and avoiding the miss in the zone.
Lastly, Lance McCullers Jr. made his first MLB start since 2022 on May 4, 2025, against the Chicago White Sox. He pitched fine, as McCullers Jr. struck out four over 3.2 frames but did see the pitch count rise significantly thanks to three walks.
McCullers Jr. didn’t induce many whiffs; just six of the 38 swings were whiffs. That, coupled with his usually high WHIP rates, makes McCullers Jr. not as desirable as the others. But, he’s an option given his pedigree and past production.
Overview of Week 5
Lastly, a look at how we did in Week 5.
Luke Weaver picked up a save on May 2 as he continues to be the main option for the Yankees in the ninth inning. And, Brayan Bello and Tony Gonsolin pitched well, with the latter getting his first win since 2023.
Check out more of our fantasy coverage.