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Mike's 2025 fantasy baseball category boosters waiver wire hitters to add. He goes category by category and picks out hitters for HR, RBI, SB, AVG, and runs for Week 4.
Welcome back to our Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Hitters - Category Boosters column for Week 4 of the 2025 MLB season. This week, we will see some familiar names here: Byron Buxton, Rhys Hoskins, and Gavin Lux. We will also look at some other guys just recalled to the major leagues, like Chandler Simpson and Caleb Durbin.
What are you lacking after the season's first month? What categories do you need to attack before you fall too far behind? The bottom part of your roster should have already seen three or four replacements in many leagues. It's also getting to be time where we consider cutting our losses with those underachieving players we were so high on in March. Reality can set in quickly.
We will aim to give you the three options for each of the five offensive categories in a standard five-by-five league. Our rule: All hitters will be listed in order of their percentage of rostered players on Yahoo!, with a minimum of 50 percent. Let's look at some names that might be under the radar, but who can help you out now.
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Runs Scored (R) - Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Boosters
Byron Buxton- OF, Minnesota Twins (45% rostered)
Buxton is a player many people shy away from, but he can be useful when healthy. And that is always the issue with him. Yet when he can play consistently, he produces some power, runs scored, and sometimes even stolen bases. Buxton is healthy now and playing daily for Minnesota. He's flying under the radar, but if you need outfield help, take a look.
Austin Hays- OF, Cincinnati Reds (21% rostered)
Hays is getting ample playing time in Cincinnati right now because he is hitting the ball hard. At this moment, he is a great source of runs scored and also RBI. Runs are an often overlooked fantasy category. However, as seen below, Hays scored eight times over the last week. A modest bid, and he is yours in most leagues. He is valuable during this hot streak, and his playing time matches up.
Gabriel Arias- 2B/3B/SS, Cleveland Guardians (19% rostered)
Arias was undrafted in all but the deepest leagues this year, but has walked into an opportunity in Cleveland. Arias is hitting .271 with four home runs, 10 RBI, a steal, and 15 runs scored in 2025. If you're looking for a cheap source of runs, grab Arias while the production lasts, and he can help your squad.
Home Runs (HR) - Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Boosters
Carson Kelly- C, Chicago Cubs (48% rostered)
Kelly was an afterthought in most drafts but is raking for the Chicago Cubs thus far. In a season where he was supposed to be a backup, Kelly is hitting .375 with six home runs and 18 RBI, including a two-homer game last week. Remember that he is splitting time with Miguel Amaya right now, and that this playing time could change at any time. However, if you are looking for help at the catcher position, as many of us are, Kelly can help you in the short term. He is likely rostered in most two-catcher leagues.
Rhys Hoskins- 1B, Milwaukee Brewers (35% rostered)
Hoskins is a pure power play, and that is why he is on this list. Hoskins is also hitting at a .270 batting average, and has three home runs, two in the last week, as his playing time has increased again. All three of those homers have come in his last 10 games. Hoskins hit 26 home runs in 2024, so we know the power is there when he plays. He has some tough matchups coming against San Francisco and St. Louis, but the power could continue to help fantasy teams at this time.
Pavin Smith- 1B/OF, Arizona Diamondbacks (29% rostered)
Smith is playing and annihilating right-handed pitching. He seems to fly under the radar often, but is hitting .424 over the last two weeks with four home runs, including a 420-foot missile Tuesday night against Tampa Bay. Will he regress? Yes, no doubt, but Smith finished last year strongly, hitting .290 with six home runs in September. Can he continue this torrid beginning? The fact that he is rostered in so few leagues shows that many people are sleeping on him or don't believe in him. Grab him if you need power at the corner infield position.
Runs Batted In (RBI) - Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Boosters
Heston Kjerstad- OF, Baltimore Orioles (9% rostered)
Kjerstad looks to be coming into his own. If you look at the box below, you can see what he's done over the last week. He's got 10 RBI this month, with eight of those coming in just his last eight games. It seems like the Orioles are finally giving him an opportunity, and he is producing thus far. Kjerstad is batting sixth against right-handed pitchers, and there isn't anyone standing in his way to take at-bats from him. A modest bid could get you a starter's stats here.
Noelvi Marte- 3B, Cincinnati Reds (13% rostered)
If you read this article at all, you know I always like to speculate on one player each week. Marte is that guy this week. Yes, he did have five hits and seven RBI in a doubleheader last weekend. But he did follow that up with another home run on Tuesday night. What I like is that the Reds are giving him some runway at third base, and if he hits, he could stay in the lineup all year. Marte could be a post-hype sleeper paying dividends in many fantasy leagues for those brave enough to roster him.
Eric Wagaman- 1B/3B, Miami Marlins (6% rostered)
While many will focus on bigger-name players this week, let me introduce you to Wagaman, who you may not know is the starting third baseman for the Marlins right now. He has a hit in 11 straight games and has knocked in five runs since becoming the starter 12 days ago. Wagaman also has two homers and a steal over that span while hitting .394. A very small bid could get you a solid corner infield guy for your team.
Stolen Bases (SB) - Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Boosters
Tyler Fitzgerald- 2B/SS/OF, San Francisco Giants (47% rostered)
I think most people knew that Fitzgerald could not keep up his pace from the 2024 season, when he hit .280 with 15 home runs and 17 stolen bases out of the blue. Fitzgerald is hitting .318, which is a mirage given his xBA of .226 and paltry 85.3 average exit velocity. What he does do well, however, is run, with 96th percentile sprint speed. Fitzgerald already has five stolen bases this season and has chipped in with two home runs and 12 runs scored, too. Need steals and depth in the middle infield and the outfield? Give Fitzgerald a long look this weekend in your free-agent runs.
Chandler Simpson- OF, Tampa Bay Rays (30% rostered)
Simpson will be gobbled in most leagues this week because of his calling card: speed. But he can also help with batting average if he hits at the MLB level. There is no power upside here, but Simpson could be a category winner based on his speed alone. Simpson has two steals in 12 plate appearances, and if he gets on, he is a threat to run anytime. This will be your last chance to get him relatively cheap, especially if he hits.
Caleb Durbin- 2B/3B/SS, Milwaukee Brewers (9% rostered)
Durbin just got the call last week, and he's going to get a shot at playing time in Milwaukee. The rookie has a home run and a steal in 20 at-bats so far. Durbin should get an extended run at third base, with Joey Ortiz playing shortstop and Brice Turang at second base. Durbin could be a good source of steals for you, as he has stolen at least 30 bases in his first three minor league seasons. Milwaukee loves to run, and Durbin should get enough green lights to be worth acquiring if you need infield help and steals. In Yahoo!, he qualifies at every infield position except first base.
Batting Average (AVG) - Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Boosters
Jacob Wilson- SS, Athletics (40% rostered)
Look, Wilson can hit. I do not know how many home runs, RBI, or stolen bases he will have this season. But a .300 average seems easily within his reach. Below is his spray chart, and while it is mostly singles, you can see he focuses on driving the ball up the middle and the other way. Wilson is hitting .337, and Statcast shows that this is right on target (xBA is .335). Need batting average help, as many of us do? Check out Wilson.
Sal Frelick- OF, Milwaukee Brewers (29% rostered)
Full disclosure: I love Frelick and I hope he keeps this up. He's frequently been referred to, by me and others, as a better player in real life than he is for our fantasy baseball purposes. Yet, he's putting some of that conversation to rest so far in 2025. Below, you can see the evidence: he is squaring the ball up, he doesn't chase pitches, his strikeout rate is one of the best in the league, and he takes walks. Frelick is hitting .321 and has seven stolen bases so far. Wake up and grab him before someone else does in your league.
Gavin Lux- 2B/OF, Cincinnati Reds (23% rostered)
Lux has become a jack of all trades for the Reds, playing games at second base, third base, and the outfield this season. What is interesting is that despite playing all over the field, Lux is raking; he's hit .417 over the last two weeks with a homer, a steal, eight RBI, and nine runs scored. This is the kind of production many expected when he was in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization. Grab him now and get another Swiss Army knife for your team.
I hope this helps you out! Good luck and happy hunting, RotoBallers! You can always message me @mdrc0508 on X to complain about picks or make other suggestions!
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