Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups: Jared Jones, Will Benson, Michael Conforto, Taylor Ward

Each week, I will highlight a few players to target in your weekly free agent acquisition budget (FAAB) process, but know there are many others available and, more importantly, others who may be better fits for your teams. If you have any questions, please ask me on Twitter.

Note: We use Yahoo for player percentages and recommend players rostered in no more than 60% of leagues.

Fantasy Baseball FAAB & Waiver Wire Targets: Week 3

Hitters

Taylor Ward (OF – LAA)

Rostered: 57%
Suggested Bid: 18%

It’s been a great start to the season for Taylor Ward after a disastrous ending to 2023. Ward was hit in the face by an Alek Manoah fastball, and he was never the same. He seems confident again this season, hitting .320 with a five-game hitting streak and three home runs over the first six games. Ward will bring solid five-category contributions this season if he can stay healthy, so add him now while you still can.

Michael Conforto (OF – SF)

Rostered: 55%
Suggested Bid: 16%

Michael Conforto is off to a hot start to the season, hitting safely in six of seven games for a .370 batting average. He is flexing his muscle with two doubles and three home runs, a .407 ISO and a 1.192 OPS. Conforto has been locked in with a 22.2% barrel rate and a 50% hard-hit rate. When healthy, Conforto is a fantasy asset. Unfortunately, he will likely find an injured list (IL) trip or two but he is healthy for now. Conforto is doing well for the time being as he’s producing and is one of the few Giants outfielders not in a platoon.

Will Benson (OF – CIN)

Rostered: 32%
Suggested Bid: 16%

Will Benson is off to a scorching start to the season, hitting safely in four of six games with four doubles and a home run. Benson has even thrown in a stolen base. He is making solid contact with a 16.7% barrel rate and 75% hard-hit rate, which is bonkers. Benson has a couple of negatives — striking out 44% of the time and has a .455 batting average on balls in play (BABIP). Both could hinder Benson at some point, but for now, we roll. He was very fantasy-relevant when he had playing time last year, and right now, he plays every day with TJ Friedl on the IL.

Pitchers

Jared Jones (SP – PIT)

Rostered: 52%
Suggested Bid: 28%

Jared Jones was good at the start of his big league career. He threw 5.2 innings in Miami, allowing three earned runs but striking out 10. Jones had an outstanding spring in which he did not allow a run and struck out the farm, so expectations are high early in the season. Jones has a tougher matchup on Friday night versus the Orioles. The result of that start could increase or decrease the FAAB price come Sunday. Regardless, Jones should be an arm on the roster going forward.