5 Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Hitters to Add Friday: Ortiz, Torkelson and More

Let's wrap up the work week with one more fantasy baseball waiver wire article on hitters.

Here are the stories we did on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Also be sure to check out Friday's starting pitcher streaming article.

Fantasy baseball waiver wire options can be found all season on FantasySP! The Fantasy Sports Assistant now can answer questions you have after doing team breakdowns or waiver wire analysis!

Abimelec Ortiz - Washington Nationals

Ortiz has risen 4.21% so far today, and he's now owned in 10.23% of fantasy baseball leagues overall.

Ortiz has been in the big leagues for just 11 games, getting 31 plate appearances so far. He's been stellar, tallying 10 hits and a walk for a .333 average and .355 on-base percentage. Ortiz has four home runs and a double among the hits, plus eight RBIs, five runs scored and six strikeouts.

He has mostly played first base for Washington. He has an appearance as the team's designated hitter as well, and has pinch hit four times. He should earn more playing time if he keeps delivering at the plate.

Ortiz is just a deep-league fantasy asset at the moment, but he's rising quickly and should be added in more and more leagues, especially if he keeps delivering. He could eventually work into standard leagues, but he'd need to be playing every day and delivering daily for that to come true.

Tyler Stephenson - Cincinnati Reds

Stephenson is up 2.33% so far today, and that brings his overall mark to 19.07%.

He homered and drove in three runs across two hits and a walk on Thursday. Stephenson has four hits over his past three starts, and five RBIs, three runs scored, the walk and three strikeouts in that span.

Stephenson has logged 330 plate appearances over 92 games this season. He has a .252 average and .336 OBP, plus 38 RBIs, 30 runs scored, 36 walks and 84 strikeouts. Stephenson has 16 doubles and 11 home runs among his 73 total knocks.

The primary catcher of course is going to get some days off, so he's not playing every single day - that holds his fantasy value back a bit. It's more Stephenson's lackluster numbers over the full season behind him being available in so many leagues. If you need catching in a deeper league, Stephenson is worth considering, even if it's just for a short time.

Caleb Durbin - Boston Red Sox

Durbin is rostered in 73.02% of fantasy leagues now. He was at 57.6% back on August 5.

Durbin has five hits over his past two contests. He homered among the hits, plus has six RBIs and two runs scored.

He's up to a .253 average and .322 OBP over 114 games and 431 plate appearances for the season. Durbin has 22 doubles, 12 home runs and a triple among his 97 total hits, plus 60 RBIs, 57 runs scored, 14 stolen bases, 31 walks and 60 strikeouts.

Durbin is the Red Sox' primary third baseman this season, but could be eligible elsewhere from last year. He's produced much better at the plate of late, so he's been worth more fantasy ownership/utilization. He's a good deep-league asset at this point, and is worth trying in more standard leagues too.

Daylen Lile - Washington Nationals

Lile sits at 75.93% owned at the moment. He was at 65.52% at the start of August.

Lile has two two-hit games in a row, and three of those outings over his past four contests. He has singles for all the hits, but five RBIs and a run scored over that span.

The outfielder now has a .249 average and .298 OBP over 121 games and 500 plate appearances this season. Lile has 23 doubles, 15 home runs and five triples, plus 65 RBIs, 61 runs scored, 12 stolen bases, 28 walks and 94 strikeouts.

Lile has been an up-and-down fantasy performer this season, so he's been an add and drop candidate on and off too. Right now, he's trending up, so he's worth ownership/utilization in all deeper leagues, and now some standard leagues. Make the move if you need some short-term outfield help.

Spencer Torkelson - Detroit Tigers

Torkelson is rostered in 55.35% of leagues right now. He's slightly going up after sitting near 55% since August 5.

He's been on a roll since July 26, collecting 24 hits and nine walks over 16 games and 72 plate appearances. Torkelson has three doubles and a homer among the hits in that stretch, plus 13 RBIs, nine runs scored and 12 strikeouts.

Torkelson is now hitting .232 and getting on base at a .322 mark over 120 games and 476 plate appearances overall. He has 21 doubles and 20 homers among his 96 total hits, plus 63 RBIs, 52 runs scored and walks and 145 strikeouts.

He strikes out too much, but he's controlled those better of late, and is simply producing more at the plate. The first baseman is worth ownership/utilization in most deeper leagues at this point, and now he's starting to sneak back into standard leagues. Make the move if you need 1B or infield help, or just a hot hitter for a little while.