The fantasy baseball waiver wire tends to have peaks and valleys during the season, and in my opinion, we are in a valley right now. Aside from Cincinnati Reds phenom Chase Burns, who was quickly scooped up a few days ago in most leagues, there aren’t many players on waivers who have exciting long-term potential, especially within the pitching pool.

Games in early July count just as much as those in any other month, and this is a time where wise managers will find a way to grind out production from short-term solutions. Those who need help this weekend can refer to the players who were mentioned in Thursday's article, and the players below can contribute next week.

Although the hitter-friendly nature of Coors Field doesn’t deserve all of the credit, Freeman has been a much better hitter since leaving the Guardians for the Rockies. He has benefited from a .340 BABIP while also showing dramatic improvements in plate discipline (12:10 BB:K ratio). The improvements have resulted in Freeman getting a chance to hit out of the leadoff spot, and he gets to spend all of next week at home, making him a fine one-week addition in any league that uses categories.

Simpson returned from the Minors on Tuesday and immediately became the favorite to lead the Majors in steals from this point forward. After all, the speedster has needed just 145 plate appearances to rack up 19 swipes during his rookie year. And his .281 average shows that Simpson is more than a one-category contributor. He should also be useful in runs scored, which makes him a must-add player by steals-needy teams in all-category leagues.

An injury to Garrett Mitchell has thrust Collins into an everyday role, and he has handled the promotion well by hitting .314 with a 1.015 OPS in June. He has also shown outstanding plate discipline this month by logging a 13:16 BB:K ratio. Collins is no stranger to getting on base. He has a lifetime .380 OBP in the Minors and finished each of the past four Minor League seasons with more than 20 swipes in fewer than 120 games. Two of the Brewers' next three series are against the Rockies (30th in ERA) and Marlins (27th in ERA).

Yastrzemski finds his name in this article for a second consecutive week as he continues to enjoy a favorable stretch of upcoming matchups. The slugger with a lifetime .810 OPS against right-handers will hit out of the leadoff spot for the next seven games, with every contest coming against a righty starter. The Giants also play their next three series against the White Sox, D-backs and Athletics, all with below-average pitching staffs.

Smith was a buzzy prospect at the start of the season before being dropped in most leagues when he got off to a slow start. He picked things up in May (.307 average), albeit with poor counting stat production. In June, Smith has continued to hit for average while also chipping in a couple homers and a pair of steals. I’m not fully on board yet, but I see the potential in a 22-year-old who seems to be finding his way on a good team.

After a pair of ugly outings as the calendar flipped from May to June, Lopez has been among the hottest pitchers in baseball in recent weeks, logging a 0.39 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and 29:7 K:BB ratio in his past four starts. It’s not as though his outings have come against weak teams; his past two starts were against division leaders, Houston and Detroit. There is still some risk tied to a relatively unproven starter, but Lopez could strike out 15 batters in his upcoming two-start week with reasonable matchups (@ TB, vs. SF).

Wacha ranks 65th in fantasy production among players with SP eligibility, which makes him one of the most productive hurlers who remains available in the majority of leagues. The veteran is consistent, having allowed more than three runs just three times in 16 starts. Plus, he has never surrendered more than five runs and his swing-and-miss skills have trended up lately with 30 strikeouts in his past five starts. Wacha should be streamed in most leagues for his upcoming two-start week that includes a reasonable matchup with the Mariners and a start against a D-backs lineup that will be less explosive without injured star Corbin Carroll.

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I recommended Scherzer last week in hopes that he would return on Tuesday and serve as a two-start pitcher. Unfortunately, I was off by a day, and the 40-year-old started on Wednesday, when he struck out four while allowing three runs across five innings. The start was good enough to get Scherzer onto the radar for an upcoming two-start week, which will include home matchups against the Yankees and Angels. The veteran could have a hard time against New York, but he could also rack up plenty of whiffs against a Los Angeles lineup that leads the AL in that category.