Hot Bat Alert: Will Benson Emerges as Top Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Target

At the start of a new fantasy baseball week, let's check out some waiver wire hitting options. More waiver wire options were covered in the weekly projections article.

Check back soon for a writeup on waiver wire pitchers.

Check out the top fantasy baseball waiver wire options everyday on FantasySP. 

Should You Add Will Benson?

Benson is the top waiver wire pickup of the day so far, and that can be said for probably every waiver wire hitter list out there. He's up 12.11% among leagues synced here at FantasySP, and is up to 21.04% overall now.

Benson got red hot at the plate over the past several games, so it makes sense to see him on the rise. He had six hits across 12 at-bats between Friday-Sunday. He had four homers, seven RBIs, four runs scored, and three strikeouts along the way.

He's played in nine games and gotten 33 plate appearances since being called back up to the big leagues. He has five homers and two doubles among his 11 total knocks, along with 11 RBIs, six runs scored, a stolen base, three walks and nine strikeouts.

This is Benson's fourth season in the big leagues, and he's played in 273 total games so far. He has a career .229 average with a .315 on-base percentage. 

Across 108 games in 2023, Benson has a .275 average and .365 OBP. He had 15 doubles, 11 homers and eight triples among his 79 total hits, along with 31 RBIs, 19 stolen bases, 51 runs scored, 40 walks and 103 strikeouts.

Benson played in 128 games and got 388 plate appearances last season. He finished with a .187 average and .274 OBP. He also had 19 doubles, 14 homers and two triples among his 64 total hits, along with 43 RBIs, 16 stolen bases, 41 runs scored, 40 walks and 154 punchouts.

His hot streak to the season isn't sustainable, even for the best hitters in the game. Looking at Benson's career numbers, he's likely to cool off and finish between his numbers posted in 2023 and 2024.

He does enough at the plate and on the basepaths to roster in some deeper fantasy leagues. I'm not sure if he'll ever get to the standard league streaming level, unless that happens now. I think he'll top out as a deep-league option most often though.

Should You Add Jackson Holliday?

Holliday is up 4.25% today and sits at 71% rostered now.

Holliday was trending down at the end of last week, but collected seven hits between Friday-Sunday to get right back on the rise going into the new week. He had two homers and two doubles among the hits, along with five RBIs, two runs scored and no walks or strikeouts.

He's up to a .275 average and .338 OBP across 40 games and 151 plate appearances this season. Holliday has six homers, four doubles and a triple among his 38 total hits. He also has 17 RBIs, two stolen bases, 15 runs scored, four walks and 10 strikeouts.

Holliday continues to play every game, and has 36 games played at second base and five at shortstop, so there's a possibility he's eligible at both spots, which would add to his fantasy value a bit. He bats leadoff against right-handed pitchers, which is a good fantasy spot to be in - he was seventh in the lineup against the last lefty the team faced.

The Orioles have a ton of talent in their lineup, but the group has struggled most of the season. Individual players can still be good fantasy assets when they are hot at the plate, and Holliday is in a groove right now.

I think he's a better deep-league option at this point, but someone to stream when he's hot at the plate. There's a chance the youngster's hot stretch becomes the norm for the highly-regarded player, and that's why his own percentage should increase when he's heating up at the dish.

I'd definitely consider adding Holliday in standard fantasy setups, especially if you need some help in the middle infield spots, or simply need another fantasy infielder.

Should You Add Jordan Beck?

Beck is rostered in 30.45% of leagues after a 3.4% increase today.

He had a three-hit game over the weekend, and four hits over games between Friday-Sunday. Beck had two homers and a triple in Saturday's game before a double on Sunday. He had three RBIs, a walk, four runs scored and two strikeouts over those two contests.

He's played in 36 games and gotten 135 plate appearances for the season now. Beck has a .264 average and .333 OBP, along with 16 RBIs, 24 runs scored, five stolen bases, 12 walks and 38 strikeouts. He has eight homers, five doubles and four triples among his 32 total knocks.

There's some solid numbers in there, and I'm a bit surprised he isn't owned in more deeper fantasy leagues. He's at a stacked fantasy outfielder position, but he's definitely doing enough to help fantasy teams out some. At the very least, he's a good depth option.

Beck has batted between first-third in the Colorado lineup over the past five games - he's led off in three straight contests (all right-handed pitchers). That's a favorable fantasy spot for a hitter, even if they are in a bad lineup overall. The Rockies aren't good (both at the plate and overall), but Beck can still be a fantasy asset.

I'd add and hold him in a few more deeper leagues unless his numbers really fall off. Beck is worth streaming in most deep leagues for the time being as well.

Should You Add Drake Baldwin?

Baldwin was on the rise last week, but he continues to surge this week, so we'll discuss him again. He's up 6.4% and sitting at 20.54% overall now.

He had three hits, including a homer, over games between Friday-Sunday. Baldwin drove in three runs, scored twice, didn't walk and struck out once.

He's up to a .357 average and .400 OBP across 29 games and 90 plate appearances for the season. Baldwin has four doubles and five homers among his 30 total hits, along with 15 RBIs, 10 runs scored, six walks and 14 strikeouts.

Baldwin has been red hot at the plate of late, and has batted second or fifth across his past three starts. He's splitting the catcher spot with Sean Murphy, but more strong hitting might force the team to find other ways to get him in the lineup.

Being limited a bit with his playing time, Baldwin is a better deep-league option right now. He's a decent backup catcher in those leagues, and there's a chance adding and stashing him now pays off big in the long run.

He'd need more regular playing time to get standard league consideration, but he's worth tracking at the very least.

Should You Add Miguel Vargas?

Vargas is rostered in 15% of fantasy leagues right now. He was under 5% owned as of May 16.

He had six hits between Friday-Sunday, and they all came in games on Friday and Sunday. Vargas had three homers, five RBIs, three runs scored, a double, no walks and one strikeout in that short span.

Vargas has batted between first-third over the past five games for the White Sox. The lineup, and team, are not good, but again, that doesn't mean a fantasy hitter from that team can't be a good fantasy asset.

He's mostly played third base this season, but also has some first base appearances. Vargas played in the outfield and at second base in the past too, so it's worth seeing exactly where he's eligible to play for fantasy.

Vargas has a .245 average and .328 OBP across 44 games and 180 plate appearances. He has six homers and 10 doubles among his 39 total hits. Vargas also has 21 RBIs, a stolen base, 20 runs scored, 17 walks and 31 strikeouts.

There's enough positive numbers in that statline to make Vargas a decent deep-league fantasy asset. Him playing every day and batting in a favorable spot in the lineup is also good for his fantasy outlook.

He can be added and utilized in some deeper leagues while he's hot at the plate, and many of the fantasy owners that pick Vargas up might end up rostering him for longer than his hot stretch at the plate.