George Springer and Zach McKinstry Among Thursday's Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Options

With the Fourth of July being on Friday, this will serve as the last fantasy baseball waiver wire story of the week.

We will cover pitchers and hitters in this one article today, but not include anyone who appeared in waiver stories from Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday. Also be sure to check out the daily streaming article for Thursday.

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

Should You Add George Springer?

Springer is up to 86.14% after a 3.11% increase.

He's opened July by posting five hits over two games. Springer has two homers among the hits, along with having seven RBIs (in one game), four runs scored, two walks, a stolen base and two strikeouts.

Springer has played in 80 games so far this season. He has a .274 average and .371 on-base percentage. He's a career .263 hitter with a .349 OBP, and in his age 35 season, it's more likely he regresses a bit than keeps posting these kinds of numbers.

Springer has 72 total hits on the season, including 15 doubles, 13 home runs and one triple. He has 47 RBIs, 46 runs scored, 41 walks, 10 stolen bases and 64 strikeouts.

He's started five straight games for the Blue Jays, and moved up the order after more hot hitting. Springer batted fifth in the first game of that stretch, then moved into the cleanup spot. He's now batted second in three straight contests. All of those spots are favorable ones for his fantasy outlook, but I like him most in the No. 2 spot, where he can drive in a few runs, but more importantly get more plate appearances.

You can see by his own percentage that Springer is a standard league option only today - if he's available in a deeper setup, stop reading this and add him now.

Springer being an outfielder hurts his fantasy stock a bit, but he's right there with the top options in the outfield of late, so it makes sense to add him in standard leagues. Again though, there's probably some regression coming over time, which will likely hold him back from ever getting to 100% rostered.

He's a top-20 fantasy outfielder in points leagues for the season, so that says he should be added and started in standard leagues. I'd be all for adding Springer if I needed some short-term help in the outfield, or simply if I needed another utility hitter.

Should You Add Joey Ortiz?

Ortiz is up 1.78% and is rostered in 13.86% of leagues overall.

Ortiz got off to an awful start this season, but has been one of the better hitters in the league for a bit now. He popped a grand slam during game one of the team's doubleheader on Wednesday, then added another RBI in the nightcap.

Over his past five games, he has two homers, seven RBIs, three runs scored, two walks and no strikeouts. Four of his six homers on the season have come in the past seven contests.

Ortiz hit .176 in March, .195 in April and .160 in May. He was a much better .277 in June, with most of that damage coming since June 15.

Overall in 84 games played this season, Ortiz has a .208 average and .268 OBP. He has 56 total knocks, including eight doubles and six home runs. Ortiz has added 26 RBIs, 34 runs scored, 19 walks, nine stolen bases and 36 strikeouts.

He plays shortstop every day for the Brewers, and should have third base eligibility from last season. Ortiz usually bats ninth, but was eighth for both games of the doubleheader. Neither spot is great for a fantasy hitter, but Ortiz has made it work of late.

Ortiz wasn't likely to struggle as much as he did early in the season over the course of a full season. He's not likely to remain as hot as he was in June either, but even if he splits the difference going forward, he's a decent deep-league asset.

I don't think he'd ever get to standard league ownership levels, but he's at least worth streaming and utilizing in deeper leagues, especially for the time being.

Should You Add Zach McKinstry?

McKinstry is owned in 54.52% of leagues after a 1.65% increase.

He also played in a doubleheader on Wednesday. McKinstry went hitless in the second game, but posted four hits, including a double, in game one.

McKinstry has 11 hits over the past six games, including three multi-hit efforts and two hitless games. He has a homer, two doubles and a triple over that span, along with four RBIs, five runs scored, no walks, two stolen bases and three strikeouts.

McKinstry plays all over the field, so it's worth checking into what positions he's eligible at, because he's likely eligible at a position of need for you. He's started four straight games, hitting between sixth-ninth in the lineup. None of those spots are super favorable for him, but again, he's made it work.

McKinstry is a good deep-league asset, and he can be useful in standard leagues for short spurts. I think he deserves to be rostered in all non-standard leagues because of that position versatility. I personally think there are better options out there in standard leagues though, and would only add him if I needed a short-term pickup.

Should You Add Dietrich Enns?

Enns is up 3.61% and sits at 6.63% overall.

He will start for the Tigers against the Nationals this evening. Enns will be making his second appearance of the season.

His first outing was great. He shut out the Athletics over five innings, allowing one hit and two walks, while striking out four batters. Enns needed just 77 pitches to work as long as he did.

The matchup on Thursday is pretty favorable, and after a good season debut, Enns is a popular add for the day. He looks like just a deep-league asset, but depending on who else is available in your league on a weaker streaming day, Enns might actually be one of the better options overall.

I'd prefer to only have him start in deeper leagues, because I think his fantasy ceiling is limited a bit. He's got an OK fantasy floor, but it's possible he's pulled way before 100 pitches again, and if he doesn't post another shutout, then his fantasy score is going to be just so-so.

Should You Add David Festa?

Festa is up 1.78% and owned in 10.54% of leagues now.

He will make a start this afternoon against the Marlins, which is a favorable matchup on paper. Festa will be making his eighth appearance of the season, and first against Miami.

Festa is 2-2 with a 5.40 earned run average over his MLB appearances this season. He's covered 36 2/3 innings, allowing 25 runs (22 earned) on 37 hits and 15 walks, while striking out 38 batters.

Festa has gone over five innings in just two of his outings this season. He allowed eight runs two separate times, which is disguising a pretty solid season otherwise. 

In five June outings, Festa started by allowing eight runs against the Athletics. He bounced back by giving up just two runs over six innings against the Rangers, then allowed four runs (two earned) over 3 2/3 innings against the Reds.

Festa then allowed eight runs over 4 2/3 innings against the Brewers. His last start was his best of the season. Festa blanked the Tigers over 5 2/3 innings - he allowed two hits, while striking out six and walking none. He was pulled after just 75 pitches.

The matchup is really good for him on Thursday, and coming off a favorable outing, fantasy owners have higher hopes for Festa today. I think he's a sleeper streaming option for the day, and really could justify starting him in any league type.

I prefer to only start him in deeper leagues, but there's enough upside here to maybe take a gamble on him in a standard setup. There's some risk involved, but I don't see a blowup start coming.