Thursday's Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pitching Targets: Lance McCullers Jr. and Jacob Lopez Near the Top

Thursday is here, which means it's time for the fourth round of fantasy baseball waiver wire stories.

We'll check out pitching options first, and not cover anyone who appeared in waiver stories on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday.

Check out the top fantasy baseball waiver wire options everyday on FantasySP. 

Should You Add Lance McCullers Jr.?

McCullers is up 4.4% today, bringing his overall mark to 15.1%.

He started on Wednesday against the Athletics and pitched six innings. McCullers allowed three runs on five hits and one walk, but struck out 12 batters to really turn heads.

McCullers has made five starts so far this season. He's 0-1 with a 5.89 earned run average over 18 1/3 innings. McCullers has surrendered 14 runs (12 earned) on 20 hits and 11 walks, while striking out 26 batters.

He's really been good outside of a May 10 start against the Reds (of all teams). McCullers allowed seven runs on three hits and three walks in that contest, and got just one out.

McCullers hasn't allowed more than three runs in any of his other four starts. Wednesday was the first time he went over 4 1/3 innings though.

He has 20 of his strikeouts over his past two starts, so McCullers appears to be finding himself again. McCullers has been over 80 pitches in four of the starts, and has at least 83 pitches in three straight outings, so he's capable of working deep into games, if he's able to get outs earlier in counts.

Wednesday's start was a step in the right direction for McCullers. He's been a fantasy asset for all leagues in the past, and maybe he's on his way back to that level of play now.

McCullers has upcoming probable starts against the Pirates and Guardians, so he's got good streaming value for both of those contests. I'd say he could be streamed in just about every deeper league for each of those starts right now. 

He might even get a few standard league streaming starts, depending on who else is a streaming option on those days.

Keep a very close eye on McCullers, because his own percentage is getting ready to explode I think. Don't wait too long to add him if you are interested in doing so.

Should You Add Jacob Lopez?

Lopez was added in 4.3% of leagues and is up to 4.83% overall now.

He has appeared in five games for the Athletics this season, making two starts and three relief appearances. Lopez is 0-2 overall (both of his starts), but has a 2.57 ERA over 14 innings.

Lopez's first start lasted just 2 2/3 innings against the Rangers. He allowed three runs on six hits and four walks, while striking out four batters. Lopez needed 84 pitches in that outing.

Lopez tossed 91 pitches in his last start against the Phillies. He took the loss after allowing a run on three hits and one walk, but struck out eight over seven strong innings.

He will be a streaming option on Thursday against the Blue Jays. Toronto is a somewhat favorable fantasy matchup for an opposing pitcher.

After what Lopez did against a good Phillies' lineup last time though, he's definitely going to get some streaming attention this time through the rotation. I'd only be comfortable starting Lopez in deeper leagues, but think he could be streamed in most deeper leagues today.

His next start after that could come against the Twins. That's a bit tougher matchup for Lopez, but at the same time, if he can shut down the Phillies, he could also post good numbers against the weaker-hitting Twins. I'd say Lopez is a deep-league streaming option in that start as well, as long as today's start going OK. 

Should You Add Emerson Hancock?

Hancock is up 2.59% today and sits at 7.81% overall.

He has made eight starts this season, and Seattle is 6-2 in those games. Hancock is 2-2 with a 5.95 ERA though.

Over 39 1/3 innings, Hancock has allowed 26 runs on 53 hits and 12 walks, while striking out 28 batters.

Things aren't quite as bad as they seem though. Hancock allowed 13 runs between two starts, and hasn't given up over three runs in any of his other six outings - you'll never guess what games the Mariners lost…

Anyways, the seven-run outing came on May 12, but he's bounced back by allowing just four runs over 10 2/3 innings in his past two starts. Hancock only has six strikeouts over those starts though, so he's a bit limited as a fantasy option.

He's starting Thursday against the Nationals. Washington is a good enough matchup to try Hancock in, but probably only deeper leagues. I'd have to think there's better streaming options available to you today, so do some digging if you are seriously considering Hancock.

His next start might be against the Orioles, which is a favorable matchup right now. Hancock could be started in some deeper leagues again for that start. Hancock hasn't pitched against Baltimore this season, and he also hasn't faced Washington.

Should You Add Jake Irvin?

Irvin was added in 2.76% of leagues today, bringing his overall mark to 43.23%.

He's made 11 starts this season, with Washington going 6-5 in those games. Irvin is 4-1 with a 3.42 ERA so far, and is coming off his best start of the season.

Irvin tossed eight scoreless innings against the Giants on May 24. He allowed just three hits and two walks, while striking out seven batters.

He's allowed six runs in one start, and four runs in two others. Across the other eight starts, Irvin has surrendered three runs just once, while allowing one or no runs in three outings.

Irvin has worked at least five innings in every start in 2025. He has gone at least six innings in eight starts. Walks are a bit of an issue, with at least one in all but one start and two or more in six outings.

Irvin's strikeout numbers are all over the place. He has five games with three or less strikeouts, while having five games with six or more punchouts.

He's kind of inconsistent with his fantasy results, but a good ERA and a good inning total each start has made Irvin a good fantasy asset. He's a bit overlooked and undervalued in my eyes.

Irvin is expected to start against the Diamondbacks on Friday. He started against them on April 4, allowing four runs on seven hits and a walk over five innings, while striking out three.

I'd only really want to start Irvin in deeper leagues for that outing, even though he's capable of shutting down a good lineup. A matchup with the Cubs maybe after that is even worse.

I get wanting to utilize Irvin after his last start, but his next two probable starts are not ideal. He's a deep-league option for me, and I'd look elsewhere in standard leagues for a streaming option if I could.

Should You Add Shane Baz?

Baz is another streaming option on Thursday. He's rostered in 56% of leagues at the time of publication.

He's made 10 starts so far this season, with the Rays going 6-4 in those games. Baz is 4-3 with a 4.94 ERA over 54 2/3 innings. He's allowed 30 runs on 54 hits and 22 walks, while striking out 52 batters.

He's been up and down this month on the mound. Baz allowed seven runs against the Royals in 5 2/3 innings, then was shelled for six runs over 3 1/3 innings against the Phillies. Baz bounced back a bit by surrendering just three runs over 4 2/3 innings against the Blue Jays. He allowed five runs over six innings against the Marlins, then gave up just one run in 5 2/3 innings against the Blue Jays in his last start.

Baz will start Thursday against the Astros. He has not faced them this season, but it's not a very good matchup for him.

Baz was much better in April, so there's hope he gets back to that level of pitching at some point. Maybe his last start was the beginning of another hot streak, but given his overall marks in May, I'm not super excited to start Baz on Thursday.

He can start in deeper redraft leagues, but I think there's better options out there in standard leagues. A start against Texas in his next probable start is one where he could be deployed in more standard leagues, as long as he looks somewhat good today.

I just need to see more consistent results from Baz before I can confidently trust him in these tougher matchups.