Using Fantasy Baseball Projections to Identify Waiver Wire Options: Rece Hinds, Brenton Doyle, Colt Keith, Ben Rice, Luis Garcia Jr. and More

The fantasy baseball season is just about ready to get back into full swing, with regular season games starting again Friday.

With that in mind, yet no games to go off over the past few days, I decided to try something a little different for my weekend waiver story. I did a regular waiver wire story on Monday and then did a story on some more well-known players who have been dealing with injuries and provide a big boost in the latter half of the season.

Today, I’m going to use the FantasySP Weekly Projections to identify some possible waiver wire hitters who could provide your fantasy team a boost this weekend.

Explore the best in-season tool to manage lineup/start decisions including waiver pickups, projections, trade suggestions, trade value charts, rest of season rankings, power rankings, and tons more with Fantasy Assistant. Now, with revolutionary AI Expert help. Use our fantasy baseball trade analyzer and trade value charts to break down trade scenarios.

Highest-Projected Hitters

The highest projected hitter this weekend is Cincinnati Reds’ Rece Hinds. He’s currently rostered in 73% of fantasy leagues.

Hinds just has seven games of MLB experience under his belt, but they’ve been extremely impressive. He was part of the week’s first waiver wire story.

Hinds has 11 hits across 26 at-bats so far, including five home runs, three doubles and a triple. He also has 11 RBIs, seven runs scored, two stolen bases, one walk and seven strikeouts.

Hinds certainly won’t stay this hot forever, but until he cools off, he’s a good waiver wire option in all league types. In standard leagues, I wouldn’t absolutely drop someone just to add Hinds for a trial run, but if you have a roster spot to play with, Hinds is certainly an intriguing option.

Oakland Athletics’ Brent Rooker is also projected to have a big weekend. He’s rostered in 85% of leagues right now.

Rooker has been one of my top underappreciated fantasy hitters for most of the season. He strikes out a bunch, but has fantastic numbers, and I think he’s getting overlooked because he plays for Oakland.

In 83 games so far, Rooker has a .291 average and .369 on-base percentage. He’s got 21 home runs, 18 doubles, two triples, 62 RBIs, 44 runs scored, five stolen bases, 36 walks and 112 strikeouts on the season.

He’s a top-20 fantasy outfielder this season despite missing a handful of games, Rooker is a top-20 fantasy outfielder this season. He’s also hot at the plate right now, with seven hits (three homers) over his past three games.

I bet you’d have Rooker on your roster for a lot longer than three days if you give him a chance over the weekend. Overlook the strikeouts and realize what a great fantasy option Rooker is before someone else scoops him up.

Colorado Rockies’ Brenton Doyle is another fantasy outfield option. He’s rostered in 82% of leagues.

In 92 games this season, Doyle has a .276 average, 343 OBP, 16 doubles, 15 home runs, two triples, 42 RBIs, 55 runs scored, 20 stolen bases, 33 walks and 94 strikeouts.

In July, Doyle has a .422 average and .509 OBP, so by adding Doyle, you are getting one of the hottest hitters in the entire league. He’s another guy who could be a long-term fantasy option if you give him a chance this weekend.

Reds’ Jonathan India is a fantasy option at second base. He’s rostered in 78% of fantasy leagues.

In 89 games this season, India has a .275 average and .377 OBP. He has 21 doubles, eight homers and one triple among his 85 total hits, along with 38 RBIs, 48 runs scored, eight stolen bases, 46 walks and 72 strikeouts.

Over his past five games, India has six hits, including two doubles and homers, so you are also acquiring a hot hitter by adding India. 

Detroit Tigers’ Colt Keith has been on a tear at the plate recently, and is projected to keep things rolling this weekend. He’s rostered in 66% of leagues and is another option at 2B.

In his rookie season, Keith has a .253 average and .309 OBP. He’s got 10 doubles, nine homers and two triples among his 74 total hits. Keith also has 37 RBIs, 36 runs scored, five stolen bases, 22 walks and 61 strikeouts this season.

Dating back to June 18, Keith has a .318 average and .390 OBP. He’s got six homers among his 27 hits in that timeframe, and could be a player that sticks on your roster the rest of the season if he stays hot at the plate.

Washington Nationals’ Luis Garcia Jr. is projected to have a solid weekend at the plate. He’s currently rostered in 56% of leagues.

In 84 games this season, Garcia has a .281 average and .313 OBP. He has 17 doubles and 11 home runs among his 86 total hits, along with 45 RBIs, 34 runs scored, 12 stolen bases, 14 walks and 50 strikeouts.

In his past 10 games (nine starts), Garcia has 17 hits, including four home runs. He’s at least worth rostering to see if he can remain hot for a bit longer.

New York Yankees’ Ben Rice is another player who is projected for solid fantasy numbers this weekend. He’s owned in 73% of leagues.

In 28 games in his young MLB career, Rice has six homers among his 18 total hits. His .228 average and .315 OBP aren’t great, but he does have 19 RBIs and 10 runs scored, along with 11 walks and 21 strikeouts.

All of his homers have come since July 4, and he should remain in the lineup everyday, giving him the chance to continue his power stretch. He’s a first base option and could also have catcher eligibility in your league.

Texas Rangers’ Josh Smith is a player I covered in my underappreciated high-OBP hitter story. He’s projected to have a nice weekend at the plate and is rostered in 71% of leagues.

In 90 games this season, Smith has a .293 average and .392 OBP. He has 19 doubles, 10 homers, one triple, 40 RBIs, 45 runs scored, five stolen bases, 32 walks and 65 strikeouts for the season.

His last game before the All-Star break was a two-homer showing, and he homered once a couple games before that. If Smith adds a little more power to his game, his own percentage won’t stay this low for long.

Oakland’s Lawrence Butler was a player I covered in the first waiver wire story of the week. He’s projected to have a solid weekend and is owned in 26% of leagues.

His season numbers are nothing too special, but his .317 average and .349 OBP in July are. He’s homered seven times this month, so at least he’s a waiver wire guy to add in deeper leagues to see if he can remain hot.

Cincinnati’s Tyler Stephenson is a fantasy catcher to possibly add this weekend. He’s only owned in 28% of leagues.

In 79 games this season, Stephenson has a .245 average and .317 OBP. He has 16 doubles, 10 home runs and one triple among his 61 total hits, along with 34 RBIs, 37 runs scored, 23 walks and 48 strikeouts.

Since July 6 (eight games), Stephenson has been red hot, with 11 hits in 33 at-bats. He has four homers and doubles over that span, along with 10 RBIs and seven runs scored.

Stephenson is a top-10 fantasy catcher in points leagues right now, so he should not only be a deep league option, but a standard league one too (at least in the short term).