Baseball and Memorial Day go together like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. It signals the beginning of summer and week eight of the fantasy baseball schedule. Truly, there are more than a few players that are on the injured list or who haven’t come close to meeting expectations. Clearly, those players need to be replaced on the roster to make it completely healthy. To do so begs the question: who on the waiver wire is worthy to be picked up? That is where this fantasy baseball top waivers Memorial Day edition comes in. Let’s not waste another second and dive right in and find those worthy candidates.

Top Position Player Pickups

Hunter Dozier, 1B/3B/OF/DH, Kansas City Royals, 22.8% Owned

Without question, the Kansas City Royals have been a horror show so far this season. After this weekend, they find themselves in last place in the A.L. Central, a full 12 games behind Minnesota. However, that won’t stop one of their players from beginning this waiver pickups list. His name is Hunter Dozier. While his team has sunk to the bottom, Dozier is heating up at the plate. He enters the holiday on a four-game hitting streak. Even better, he had three hits on Saturday and two more on Sunday against the Twins. He drove in a run in all three games of the series.

That performance just caps a seven day stretch in which Dozier has been red hot. In his last seven games, he is hitting .348 with a .444 OBP. Further, he had eight hits, a homer, five RBIs and four runs scored. Best of all, Dozier put up 21 fantasy points during that span. For the season, Dozier is hitting .281-5-17 while scoring 21 runs. Thus far, his OPS is the second highest of his career and his OPS+ is the best he has ever produced. His best ability, though, may be his availability. Dozier has played in 43 of the Royals 46 games this year. He plays every day and is eligible all over the diamond. It’s no wonder that Dozier is at the top of this fantasy baseball top waivers Memorial Day edition.

Kole Calhoun, OF, Texas Rangers, 18.6% Owned

Recommended last week, Kole Calhoun makes the cut once again due to his blazing bat. All of the stats reported in that article were only improved upon this week. Calhoun had two or more hits three times, during which he is hitting a robust .375. During that time, he scored nine of the 20 runs he has amassed so far in 2022.

Even better, Calhoun had 24 of his 73 fantasy points in his last seven games. In truth, Calhoun has shown no signs of slowing down, but his ownership percentage hasn’t changed much. Go ahead and add one of the hottest hitters in all of MLB and enjoy the benefits while they last.

William Contreras, C, Atlanta Braves, 23.6% Owned

To be sure, one of the biggest truths of fantasy baseball is that there just aren’t many good catchers out there. When one comes along, managers need to jump through whatever hoops are necessary to come away with him. Such is the case with William Contreras. He has 230 Major League at-bats, but Contreras has never turned heads like he is doing at the moment. Over the past seven games, he has hits in six of them. Contreras has a homer, three doubles and four runs scored in that time.

All of his stats right now are the best he has ever put up in his brief career. Take your pick: HR%, SO%, BB% or hard-hit percentage are all tops. The best stat of all, though, is that out of the last nine Braves games, Contreras has appeared in eight of them. That means that a manager can plug him into their lineups and not worry about the catching position most nights. That is indeed rare in this day and age of fantasy baseball. Anyone out there that is having issues at the catcher position, and who isn’t, needs to act immediately and add Contreras. He is certainly a very high recommended pick up on this fantasy baseball top waivers Memorial Day edition.

Josh Rojas, 2B/3B/SS/OF, Arizona Diamondbacks, 32% Owned

As is well known, hitting against the Dodgers pitching staff won’t do much for anyone’s statistics. Even so, Josh Rojas comes out of a four-game series against Los Angeles with hits in three of the games, including a three-hit performance Friday. He also drove in three runs, which was the second time in a four-game span in which he had that many RBIs. Lest we forget, Rojas also had hit three homers in a single game in the recent past as well.

Of course, the biggest reason to recommend Rojas is that he can play almost any position on a baseball diamond. He missed three games recently, but then appeared in four immediately after. Injuries should not be a problem for him moving forward. His 20.8 SO% and 12.5 BB% are the best of his career. Of course, any player that not only survived, but thrived against the Dodgers’ pitching staff most get attention. Get to the wire and add Rojas today if there are any issues on the roster at the many positions he can play.

Top Pitcher Pick Up Recommendations

Aaron Ashby, SP, Milwaukee Brewers, 17.8% Owned

Any manager seeing this fantasy baseball top waivers Memorial Day edition before the 12:05 CST start of the Cubs and Brewers series need to act immediately. As we are all aware, Freddy Peralta is on the injured list. However, managers need not worry much as Aaron Ashby can take his place on the roster. In his last start against the hard-hitting Padres, Ashby pitched 5.2 scoreless innings against them. Ashby hasn’t allowed an earned run in his last three appearances. His ERA for the season is 2.91 with a 1.35 WHIP.

However, Ashby was roughed up by Atlanta to the tune of six runs in four innings May 5. Take that performance away and Ashby’s stats really stand out. He has 39 strikeouts in 34 innings pitched. For sure, he needs to cut down on the 20 free passes he has given up. His 3.46 FIP and 6.9 hits per nine are excellent. Best of all, Ashby goes up against the Chicago Cubs. They are middle of the road in baseball against lefties and haven’t been playing well at all this season. Ashby is set up for a two-start week. Managers looking for a pitching edge can get a jump start on the week by adding Ashby.

Dylan Bundy, SP, Minnesota Twins, 29.7% Owned

Another pitcher to add Monday is Dylan Bundy. His 4.54 ERA and 1.28 WHIP won’t sway anyone, that’s for sure. However, his opponent for the holiday matchup, the Detroit Tigers, will. Detroit comes into the game with the worst offense in baseball versus righties (.583 OPS). Their .209 average and 22 homers against are second worst.

Best of all, Bundy faced them in his last start, going 5.2 innings and allowing just one earned on five hits. Additionally, Bundy struck out six Tiger hitters and walking just one. It was his best start in the month of May. He lines up to produce similar results against them this time out as well. If given the chance, don’t hesitate and add Bundy today.

Jordan Lyles, SP, Baltimore Orioles, 5.3% Owned

After what Jordan Lyles has gone through his last few times out, Thursday might feel like a cake walk. Lyle has faced the Yankees twice and Red Sox once his last three trips to the mound. The numbers certainly weren’t dazzling against the Red Sox, but they were a completely different story against New York. Lyles pitched 13.2 innings against them, allowing five runs on ten hits. Additionally, he struck out 16 and walked just three. Most important, he scored 18 and 23 fantasy points against them.

His numbers on the season aren’t dazzling, to be sure. Lyles has a 3-4 record with a 4.26 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. Most of that damage, though, can be traced to two poor starts he had. In every other start in May, Lyles has at least 18 fantasy points. He is reliable to take the mound when scheduled as his ten starts lead the league. May was a very nice month for Lyles and June could be even better. His challenge Thursday will be the Seattle Mariners. They are middle of the road against right-handed starters. Lyle is certainly available on the wire. Here’s predicting he comes away with a quality start Thursday.

Other Pitching Recommendation:

Nick Pivetta is right around 50 percent owned in ESPN leagues. He most likely isn’t available, but fantasy managers need to check anyway. That is especially true after his last five starts have produced 21, 26, 38, 19 and 20 fantasy points. If he isn’t already scooped up, Pivetta is the top pitching addition to be found in the free world at this moment.

The Last Word

Thank you for joining me for this fantasy baseball top waivers Memorial Day edition! As always, I welcome any and all suggestions, comments and input from my readers. Have players to add to the list? Let’s discuss! Follow me on twitter @kevin62wilsea. Please feel free to share this article. Be sure to turn to Belly Up Sports and Belly Up Fantasy Sports & Picks for the MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL happenings and all the latest sports news! 

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