Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Alejandro Kirk Among Top Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Hitters to Start Week

It's time to discuss some fantasy baseball waiver wire options as a new week gets rolling.

We already went over some waiver wire options based on weekly projections. Be sure to check out the daily streaming article, and check back soon for a waiver wire story on pitchers.

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

Should You Add Christian Encarnacion-Strand?

Encarnacion-Strand is a guy I wrote about in a waiver wire article on Sunday, but we'll discuss him again here. He's up a whopping 11.65% today, bringing his overall mark to 29.86%.

He was on the injured list from April 17-May 5, but has erupted in his first three games off the IL. Encarnacion-Strand has seven hits over those games, including three home runs and a double. He also has six RBIs, three runs scored, a walk and two strikeouts over that span.

Encarnacion-Strand has homered once in every game since returning. That won't continue, but that doesn't mean he couldn't continue to be a good daily fantasy asset.

He showed some promise in 2023 across 63 games and 241 plate appearances. Encarnacion-Strand had a .270 average and .328 OBP, while popping 13 homers and seven doubles among his 60 total knocks. He also had 37 RBIs, two stolen bases, 29 runs scored, 14 walks and 69 strikeouts that season.

Encarnacion-Strand only played in 29 games in 2024. He had a .190 average and .220 OBP, with six doubles and two homers among his 22 total hits. Encarnacion-Strand also had 16 RBIs, no stolen bases, 13 runs scored, four walks and 35 strikeouts.

He was sitting at a .158 average and .183 OBP when he got off the injured list a couple days ago, so he was off most people's fantasy radars. Encarnacion-Strand's hot stretch at the plate has him up to a .229 average and .257 OBP now. He has five homers and three doubles among his 16 total hits this season, while also having 11 RBIs, no stolen bases, seven runs scored, two walks and 15 strikeouts.

Encarnacion-Strand has hit in the heart of the Reds' lineup since returning from his injury. The Reds are not a good offense overall, but any hitter can be a good fantasy asset from that spot in a lineup.

He's definitely worth adding in deeper redraft leagues, and I wouldn't even mind streaming Encarnacion-Strand in some standard leagues with how hot he's been at the plate. I'm in the mindset of taking advantage of things while you can.

Encarnacion-Strand is going to cool off at some point, but it's possible he remains a daily fantasy asset in a lot of leagues. That's another reason why I wouldn't mind adding and utilizing Encarnacion-Strand in a lot of redraft leagues right now.

Should You Add Kyle Teel?

Teel was promoted to the big leagues just a couple days ago. He's looked solid in his first three MLB games, and is up another 2.64% today - he's rostered in 20.85% of leagues overall.

Teel has gotten 10 plate appearances across his three starts. He's collected three hits (all singles), while also walking twice. Teel has no RBIs or stolen bases, while scoring once and striking out twice. He was caught stealing as well.

Teel has hit sixth and caught for two of his starts, then was the designated hitter and batted fifth in the other contest. All the starts came against right-handed pitchers. 

Edgar Quero, another top-end catching prospect of Chicago, has only started once in that stretch. That will be something to watch all season, as the White Sox look to get both guys in the lineup as often as possible. 

Looking at Teel specifically again though, he's off to a solid start in his first taste of the big leagues. He looks like he's going to be starting most days, and he's getting on base plenty early on.

That gives him enough fantasy value to roster in a lot of deeper redraft leagues. If his production continues, I'd expect his own percentage to keep growing, as it's hard to find a decent fantasy catcher who plays daily.

Teel would likely need to flash some power, or sustain the numbers from his first three games over a couple-week stretch in order to get fantasy attention in standard leagues.

Should You Add Alejandro Kirk?

Kirk has been added in 2.4% of fantasy leagues, bringing his overall mark to 28.73%.

He's played in 52 games and gotten 203 plate appearances for the season. Kirk has a .303 average and .350 OBP, along with having 27 RBIs, 13 runs scored, 14 walks and 21 strikeouts. He has six doubles and three home runs among his 56 total knocks.

Kirk is on a four-game hitting streak, collecting six knocks over that span. He has 12 knocks over his past eight appearances and 17 hits dating back 14 contests.

With a higher average, it's no surprise that Kirk is a fairly consistent producer at the plate. If he had a little more pop in his bat, his own percentage would probably be much, much higher.

As is though, Kirk is a very good deep-league option in redraft leagues. He's started four of the team's past five games, getting three starts at catcher and one at designated hitter. 

Kirk has 50 appearances at catcher and two at DH this season. His starts as a DH could rise in an effort to keep his hot bat in the lineup, so that's something to monitor going forward.

The Blue Jays have played 65 games this season, so appearing in 52 of them is a pretty solid mark for a catcher. Again, I think the big thing holding Kirk back is a lack of power.

His high average and OBP and limited strikeouts offset any lack of power though, so I'm a fan of adding Kirk in all deeper redraft leagues. Kirk is the No. 10 fantasy catcher in points leagues right now, so that means he could be utilized in standard leagues too.

Should You Add Abraham Toro?

Toro is owned in just 5% of fantasy leagues. He was barely rostered in any leagues at the end of May, so he's on the rise a bit.

Toro is on a nine-game hitting streak. He's collected 16 hits in that span, including four doubles and a home run. Toro has six RBIs and runs scored, two walks and four strikeouts over that span.

He's played in 24 games and gotten 85 plate appearances on the season. Toro has a .341 average and .353 OBP, so you can see why the Red Sox have gotten him in the starting lineup more of late. Across his 28 total hits, Toro has seven doubles and four home runs, while also having 10 RBIs, 12 runs scored, two walks and 11 strikeouts.

Something working in Toro's favor is his defensive versatility. He's played first and third base this season, but also might have second base eligibility from last year.

He's started at first or third base in five straight games for Boston. He's hit fifth or sixth each day. That's not the best lineup, or spot, to be in, but Toro has made it work of late.

It seems pretty unlikely that he'd ever become a standard league redraft option in fantasy, but while he's going well at the plate, Toro could be added and utilized in deeper leagues.

He's not a must-add player, but he also deserves to be owned and started in more deeper leagues for the time being. Take advantage of things while Toro is hot at the plate.