Add or Ignore Waiver Target Zach McKinstry in Your Fantasy Baseball League?

It's time for another round of fantasy baseball waivers!

Here, we'll check out a few potential hitters to potentially pick up. We won't cover anyone we already discussed on Wednesday. Check back soon for the story on waiver wire pitchers.

Even more fantasy baseball waiver wire options can be found at FantasySP.

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Should You Add Zach McKinstry?

McKinstry is hot at the plate, so he's a waiver wire hitter on the rise.

Over 11 games and 42 plate appearances this season, McKinstry has a .371 average and .452 on-base percentage. He's got two triples and a home run among his 13 total knocks, along with six RBIs, a stolen base, six walks, seven runs scored and just five strikeouts.

He's got at least one hit in seven straight contests. McKinstry has his homer and a triple among 10 hits in that span. He also has drove in five, scored four times, stole a base, walked on three occasions and struck out just once.

He's been hitting toward the bottom of the Detroit lineup, and not playing against lefties, so he's limited a touch as a fantasy player. As is, he's a good waiver pickup in deeper leagues, but he should be avoided in standard leagues, and probably most leagues that are only slightly larger than standard setups.

Another reason why I like adding McKinstry in deeper leagues is because of his position versatility. He can slot in at several different spots, so when he's in the team's lineup, he can really be a versatile piece to a fantasy team.

Add and utilize McKinstry now, because his hot streak isn't likely to continue for too long. He's a career .224 hitter with a .291 OBP.

Should You Add Sal Frelick?

Frelick appeared in my story on the league's hottest hitters over the past seven days, but we'll go into a bit more detail on him here.

Across 12 games and 51 plate appearances so far, Frelick has 16 hits for a .356 average - he's walked four times and been hit by two pitches to drive his OBP up to .432. Frelick has a double and triple among his hits, along with four RBIs, three stolen bases, four walks, seven runs scored and just six strikeouts.

He's got at least one hit in six straight games, and 10 total knocks in that timeframe. Frelick has his two extra-base knocks in that span, along with three RBIs and stolen bases, a walk, six runs scored and no strikeouts.

Frelick isn't a power hitter, but he's hitting fifth every day for the Brewers. That gives him good fantasy potential, even if he's not popping home runs ever. 

These kinds of hitters can go overlooked in fantasy, but you know he isn't going to hurt your team with a bunch of negative points, and having him in the lineup every day is a nice bonus.

He's another deep-league option at this point, and probably won't ever be rostered in all fantasy leagues. If he keeps hitting over .300 and getting on base at an even higher clip though, he should continue to see his own percentage rise in those deeper leagues.

Frelick is a career .262 hitter with a .333 OBP, so regression is likely coming. He's also only 24 years old (almost 25), so you can also anticipate his numbers being a bit better in 2025 as he matures and gets better.

Should You Add Sean Murphy?

Murphy missed the start of the season with an injury, but has looked great in his two games since hitting the field.

He's got three hits in his first nine plate appearances - Murphy has homered once and singled twice. He also has four RBIs, a walk, two runs scored and two strikeouts in his short time back.

He hit eighth in a stacked Braves' lineup in his first game back, and then moved up to sixth in his second start. Young prospect Drake Baldwin is still on the active roster, and Atlanta isn't going to have him ride the bench every game, so expect Murphy to get a game off per series. If Murphy is hitting this well though, he could get starts at designated hitter when he's not behind the plate. 

Murphy is the most rostered waiver hitter we've talked about today, and that's because he's delivered in the past. He struggled with Atlanta in 2024, but was great for the team in 2023. If he can stick on the field, there's a chance he delivers closer to his 2023 self (.251 average, .365 OBP, 21 homers, 68 RBIs, 65 runs scored, 49 walks, 89 strikeouts across 108 games).

For right now though, I only like the idea of picking him up and playing him in deeper leagues. We haven't seen enough games to know how many starts per week Murphy is going to be getting, and until we know that, I wouldn't want to add him in standard leagues.

At a weak catcher position though, it might not take long for Murphy's own percentage to skyrocket, so keep close tabs on him over the next several days, and add him if he's starting most games, and continuing to deliver at the plate. At worst, he could be a backup fantasy catcher for you, but is maybe a hitter you can start most days, whether that be at catcher, DH or a utility spot.

Should You Add Carlos Narvaez?

Let's throw another catcher at you and talk about Boston's Carlos Narvaez. He's going to take on a larger role now that Connor Wong is out with a fractured finger.

Narvaez had already been posting decent numbers while mostly serving as the secondary catcher. In seven games and 27 plate appearances, Narvaez has a .261 average and .370 OBP. He's got three doubles among his six total hits, four RBIs, two runs scored, four walks and five strikeouts.

He's likely going to hit eighth or ninth most days, and Narvaez isn't likely to start every single game, so he's a bit capped as a fantasy asset. I still like the idea of adding him in some deeper fantasy leagues, at least until Wong is back on the field.

Narvaez should play enough to provide a little fantasy value, even if you just have him as a secondary option. He'll need to keep producing at the plate, of course.

Should You Add Geraldo Perdomo?

Perdomo has been a waiver wire target for a good portion of the young season.

In 13 games and 55 plate appearances, Perdomo has a .333 average and .389 OBP. He's got two doubles and homers among his 15 total knocks. Perdomo also has 13 RBIs, two stolen bases, seven runs scored, six walks and just two punchouts so far.

Hit hot play has been needed, as Arizona has been without Ketel Marte for several games. Perdomo's hot play is keeping top prospect Jordan Lawlar in the minor leagues for now, but I don't think I'd call Perdomo a flash in the pan.

Sure, I don't expect him to continue hitting this well all season, but Perdomo being a fantasy asset all season is something I could see. In 98 games last season, he hit .273 and got on at a .344 clip, but wasn't a huge fantasy asset because of just three homers and 37 RBIs. He added nine stolen bases and 61 runs scored, so he was honestly pretty overlooked as a fantasy hitter.

Now, I'm not calling Perdomo a must-add waiver pickup in all leagues, but I do think he should already be rostered in most deeper leagues. If he can keep producing, even at lower levels, Perdomo could become a standard league option.

He's definitely a hitter to keep tabs on, but I'm all for adding and utilizing him in deeper leagues right now.