Ben Rice or Jung Hoo Lee: Which Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Hitter Should You Target?

It's time for the final fantasy baseball waiver wire stories of the week.

We'll look at some hitters in this story and then lay out some pitchers in another article. Always be sure to check out the FantasySP waiver wire page for more options.

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.

Should You Add Mike Yastrzemski?

San Francisco's Yastrzemski has been in a groove at the plate of late, so it's no surprise to see his own percentage rising.

He's got a hit in five straight contests, and has two doubles and two home runs among his six total knocks in that span. The outfielder has six RBIs, five walks and strikeouts and three runs scored in that span as well.

For the season, Yastrzemski has a .344 average and .462 on-base percentage across 32 at-bats and 39 plate appearances. He has two doubles and two home runs among 11 total knocks, along with six RBIs, two stolen bases, seven walks, five runs scored and 10 strikeouts.

He's a career .240 hitter with a .324 OBP, so regression in those stats is definitely coming. His recent hot streak is enough to get him some waiver wire attention in deeper leagues though.

Deeper leagues are the only ones who should be considering adding Yas as this point. He's been hitting sixth in the lineup, and not starting against left-handed pitchers, so that also limits his fantasy ceiling a bit.

Yastrzemski could be worth a short-term add in deeper leagues, but it's likely his bat will cool off soon, and then he'll probably be dropped in a number of leagues. He'll likely have a couple hot stretches this season, so in really deep leagues, Yas could be rostered all season and treated as a depth piece who can start in a pinch, or when he's going well at the dish.

Should You Add Tyler Soderstrom?

Soderstrom is rostered in about 90% of leagues synced with FantasySP, so not many of you have the Athletics' first baseman available to you. For the few fantasy owners who could pick him up, let's discuss whether you should make the move or not.

In 13 games and 54 plate appearances so far, Soderstrom has a .354 average and .426 OBP. He's got six home runs and two doubles among his 17 total hits, along with 10 RBIs, six walks, 10 runs scored and also 10 strikeouts.

He's got seven multi-hit games already, and more games with an RBI than without any. Soderstrom has been hitting between third-fifth in the lineup, but has been third over his past three contests.

Soderstrom is a career .224 hitter with a .301 OBP, so he's kind of come out of nowhere in the early going. He is just 23 years old, so there's a chance he's settled in for his third MLB season and is going to be a usable fantasy asset all season.

His numbers are going to regress over time, but I also wouldn't be surprised to see him fare way better than a season ago (.233 average, .315 OBP). Soderstrom should always be rostered in deeper setups, and should remain close to being owned in standard leagues too.

Right now, I think he needs to be rostered in all league types. He's been one of the top fantasy hitters in the early going, and you need to take advantage of things while he's still going well at the plate. Add him if he's still available in your league and roster/start him until he cools off big time.

Should You Add Ben Rice?

Rice has been another pleasant surprise early in the regular season.

Over 11 games and 43 plate appearances, Rice has a .306 average and .419 OBP. He's got three home runs, two doubles and a triple among his 11 total knocks. Rice also has racked up four RBIs, two stolen bases, nine runs scored, seven walks and 11 strikeouts.

Rice homered in his last game played, and has a hit in six straight ballgames. He has been hitting first or second when he's been in the lineup, and recently made a start against a left-handed starting pitcher, but that also came with Cody Bellinger out of the lineup. More often than not, I'd expect Rice to only start against right-handed pitchers.

Still, Rice has been tearing it up at the plate, so it's hard to deny his fantasy totals. Regression is likely coming at some point, as Rice only hit .171 and got on base at a .264 clip across 50 games last season. He's also in just his second MLB stint, and last year's struggles might have helped him out.

He's definitely a player to consider adding in deeper leagues right now, even if he's only starting against righties. I'd wait to add him in standard leagues, only doing so if he stays hot and is starting against lefties too.

I think Rice is going to top out as a deep-league fantasy asset this season, and unless I just needed a streaming option for a few games, would try to avoid him in standard leagues.

Should You Add Jung Hoo Lee?

Lee has gotten off to a great start his season. It's really the first look we're getting at him, after he was limited to just 37 games in 2024.

Lee has a .333 average and .375 OBP across 11 games and 48 plate appearances. He has seven doubles and a triple among his 15 total knocks. Lee also has four RBIs, three stolen bases, 11 runs scored, three walks and seven strikeouts so far.

I don't expect Lee to perform this well all season, but having him be a .300 or so hitter isn't out of the question either. Health is a bit of a concern after last season, but for now, you can't deny his fantasy value.

Lee has been hitting third for a surprisingly good Giants' team in the early going. He's eligible to play center field, and of course could be thrown into the utility spot in fantasy too.

He started the season around 50% rostered and is now up to 78%. Lee needs to be rostered, and probably kept all season, in deeper leagues. I also think he'd be a fine standard league addition right now, and could stick in your starting lineup for a while.

There's a chance he remains a daily fantasy starter all season, but at worst, could be an additional bench outfielder/utility hitter. With how he's started the season and not really having a history to go on, I'd take the gamble of adding him.

He's not a must-add player, but if I had a roster spot to play with, I'd give Lee a chance. I think he's got a better chance at remaining a fantasy asset all season than anyone we've discussed in this article so far.

Should You Add Jonah Heim?

Heim has started his season well, and is starting to get some deep-league love as a result.

In nine games and 29 plate appearances so far, Heim has nine hits, including three home runs. He also has seven RBIs, two stolen bases, four runs scored, no walks and five strikeouts. Heim sits with a .310 average and OBP.

He's a catcher, and he's not going to start everyday with Kyle Higashioka also on the team. But Heim has started four games in a row, getting two starts as the team's designated hitter, so I wouldn't view him as a platoon player, or regular catcher (who gets a couple days off per week).

Heim is also a .230 hitter with a .285 OBP for his career, so regression is coming. Still, he's going well at the plate now to have fantasy value, and is at a weak catcher position, so picking him up is a good idea in my mind.

He's only an option in deeper leagues, but until he cools off, adding Heim is definitely an option for some of you, especially if you need catcher help.

He could start until his bat cools off, and maybe remain a keeper in deeper leagues all season if he gets regular starts.