Top Waiver Wire Hitters For Batting Average - Fantasy Baseball Outlook

Dan's fantasy baseball advice on which top players to add for help with batting average for the fantasy baseball stretch run.

September is here, which means there is less than a month left in the fantasy baseball season. With such little time remaining for managers to adjust rosters, each add from the waiver wire has to be thought out and serve a specific purpose. 

Managers looking to get a leg up in the batting average category need to strike while the iron is hot. Playing the waiting game to see if a hot streak is for real will turn into a missed opportunity quickly. You will either be leaving that batter’s production on the wire, or worse, seeing that batter get scooped by a more willing manager. 

Batting average is a fickle statistic so it is best to remember there are no bonus points for loyalty. Ride a batter’s streak until it is done, then find the next one. To get you started here are five of the hottest hitters still not rostered in half of Yahoo fantasy baseball leagues. 

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Fantasy Baseball Hitters To Add For Batting Average

J.P. Crawford - SS, Seattle Mariners (45% rostered)

Over the last two weeks, J.P. Crawford has been on a tear, hitting .390 going back to August 25 and has 33 multi-hit games so far in 2023. Mariners teammate Julio Rodriguez got most of the attention during the team’s torrid August but Crawford is still available, for now. Crawford heads to Tampa next where he will tee off against Zack Littell (10.2 H/9) and Taj Bradley (allowed nine hits to the Mariners on July 2),  and then head home for a series against the Angels, against whom he is hitting .350 this year. 

Mitch Garver - C, Texas Rangers (41% rostered)

Fantasy managers looking for a solution at the cactcher position should give Mitch Garver a chance. The 32-year-old veteran has been seeing regular playing time even after Jonah Heim returned from the injured list and he is making the most of it, hitting a career-best .283 thus far in 2023. Garver had seven hits in a three-game stretch earlier this week and since August 1 is hitting .317. A promising matchup against the A’s is on deck, followed by series against Toronto and Cleveland on the road next week.

Christian Encarnacion-Strand - 1B, Cincinnati Reds (32% rostered)

Christian Encarnacion-Strand was hitting .331 at Triple-A Louisville before he was called up to Cincinnati in July but couldn't find the same success in the majors. After seeing his batting average fall to .230, he ended August with a 4-for-4 effort against the Giants and logged a hit in five of his seven games since then, giving him a .400 batting average in that span. The rookie first baseman gets the Cardinals in one last series at Great American Ball Park before embarking on a road trip where he will face off against Tigers and Mets. 

Maikel Garcia - 3B/SS, Kansas City Royals (26% rostered)

Maikel Garcia is putting together a solid rookie campaign, batting .283 and stealing 20 bases so far. In the last week, he has gone 9-for-25 and logged multi-hit games in three of the last six in which he started. Garcia enjoyed an 18-game hit steak that came to an end on August 18 and will try to keep it going when the Royals travel to Toronto, followed by a trip to Chicago to face the struggling White Sox.

Mark Canha - 1B/OF, Milwaukee Brewers (17% rostered)

After hitting just .245 for the New York Mets, Mark Canha was dealt to Milwaukee on July 31. After collecting just three hits in his first week as a Brewer, Canha has recorded at least one hit in 20 of the 23 games he has started since August 7 and has a .341 batting average since that date. Currently, he owns a six-game hitting streak and six of his last 12 games have been multi-hit efforts. Canha will face the Yankees this weekend, and next week will go up against the Marlins and the Nationals.

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