Are Tyler Fitzgerald and Griffin Conine Underrated Fantasy Baseball Waiver Options?

As we near the end of another week of fantasy baseball, let's go over some more waiver wire options.

We'll look at hitters in this story - check back soon for a pitcher writeup.

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Should You Add Gabriel Arias?

Arias is rostered in roughly 12.5% of fantasy baseball leagues at the time of publication, so a number of you can add him if you wanted.

The infielder has a .288 average and .356 on-base percentage across 16 games and 59 plate appearances so far this season. Arias has four home runs and one double among his 15 total hits. He also has eight RBIs, five walks, eight runs scored and 18 strikeouts.

Arias is in his fourth MLB season, although he has just 207 total games played. He's a career .219 hitter with a .282 OBP, so he's kind of come out of nowhere in the early going.

He's bound to regress in his average and OBP as the season rolls along, but it's hard to deny his fantasy production right now. Arias is a fine deep-league option, and is a touch more valuable than you think because he could slot in at several positions.

He's not a must-add player, but while he's in a groove at the plate, Arias can be started in more deeper leagues. His own percentage needs to increase a little bit, and then I'd start him until he cools off, and then drop him after an extended stretch of poor hitting.

He's a bit overlooked in fantasy right now though, but can definitely be an asset for the time being. Take advantage of things before it's too late.

Should You Add Dylan Crews?

Crews has been a part of drop candidate stories all season, so to see him as a potential waiver wire add means he must be heating up at the plate.

In 15 games and 56 plate appearances, Crews has an ugly .132 average and .179 OBP. He has singles for all seven of his hits. Crews also has four stolen bases, three walks, seven runs scored and 18 strikeouts to his name.

He has a hit in back-to-back games though, along with two runs scored, a walk and a stolen base in those games. Crews has not struck out in either game.

It's a very small sample size in a season that's full of negatives for the young outfielder. Crews is a highly-regarded prospect though, and a small stretch of poor play shouldn't have you writing him off for the entire season.

I've said in past stories that Crews should have been held onto in deeper redraft leagues. He's heating up now and is rostered in 63% of leagues overall. He remains someone to keep rostered in deeper leagues, and now he's back in the mix for fantasy starts given his showings in the past two games.

I'm not quite sold on Crews being a standard league threat just yet. His two solid showings came against the Pirates, who are a weak team overall. Crews has favorable matchups against the Rockies in Colorado over the weekend, so I get if you want to take a gamble on Crews, even if it's only for the weekend.

I'd only add him in standard leagues if I had a roster spot to play with. I'd keep a very close eye on Crews though, as more positive showings in his next couple games could shoot his own percentage way up again, and you don't want to miss out on him. 

Should You Add Mike Yastrzemski?

Yastrzemski has been really good in the early portion of the season. He's rostered in 28% of fantasy leagues.

In 16 games and across 63 plate appearances, Yastrzemski has a .314 average and .444 OBP. He's got five doubles and three home runs among his 16 total hits. Yas also has 11 RBIs, two stolen bases, 12 walks, nine runs scored and 15 strikeouts in the early going.

He's only starting against right-handed starting pitchers, but he's been in the leadoff spot in those games. Plus, his overall numbers speak for themselves. 

I'm a bit surprised to see his own percentage where it is. Yastrzemski has been good at the plate all season, not just over the past few games. I get that he's only playing against righties and is going to regress at some point, but he really deserves to be in more fantasy starting lineups right now.

Again, he's not a must-add waiver hitter, but he could be added and started in a bunch more deep leagues at this point. I wouldn't wait around - add Yastrzemski now and enjoy his success at the plate while you can.

Should You Add Griffin Conine?

Conine is owned in just 4% of fantasy leagues, so almost every single one of you reading this could scoop him up.

In his second stint in the big leagues, Conine has delivered a .302 average and .373 OBP across 17 games and 59 plate appearances. He had a .268 average and .326 OBP across 30 games and 89 plate appearances in 2024.

The 27-year-old outfielder has five doubles and one home run among his 16 total knocks this season. Conine has five RBIs, six walks, nine runs scored and 14 strikeouts as well.

He's flying under the radar because he simply hasn't logged a ton of big league experience. Conine has been a good hitter while in the big leagues though, and is looking even better this year.

Another thing working against Conine is the team he's on. The Marlins aren't good, and a lot of fantasy owners look down on fantasy players on bad teams. These guys can still be decent assets though, and Conine is one right now.

I wouldn't mind giving Conine a roster spot of mine in a deeper fantasy setup. There's obviously a ton of fantasy options in the outfield, but Conine is playing well enough to at least consider in deeper setups.

Add and roster him until he cools off. I think Conine could be an asset for longer than you anticipate, and at the very worst, he could be a solid bench option for a little while.

Should You Add Tyler Fitzgerald?

Lastly, let's talk about Fitzgerald, who is rostered in 34% of fantasy leagues.

He's got a .314 average and .352 OBP across 15 games and 56 plate appearances this season. Fitzgerald has four doubles, a triple and a home run among his 16 total knocks. He also has racked up five RBIs, four stolen bases, three walks, nine runs scored and 12 strikeouts.

It's not like Fitzgerald came out of nowhere either. He posted a .280 average and .334 OBP across 96 games last season. 

He has a pair of three-hit games over the past three contests, and has four extra-base hits, four RBIs and five runs scored in that span. Fitzgerald is part of the reason why the Giants are surprising a lot of folks in the early going.

He's only played second base this season, but might have some position versatility from the 2024 season. Fitzgerald is another underrated fantasy asset right now, at least in my eyes.

He could be added and started in more deeper leagues right now. Fitzgerald is probably going to remain a decent fantasy asset all season because he can provide stats in several areas. He's one to add and hold in deeper leagues, and if he keeps providing extra-base hits and run production, he could become a standard league asset, so definitely keep tabs on him.