With most drafts completed, active fantasy managers are already keeping tabs on the waiver wire prior to Thursday’s Opening Day. While standard leagues contain a rich pool of available talent, those playing in deeper formats must turn over every stone to uncover free-agent value.

Activity will intensify once everyone can access numbers that actually count. Before then, the average team already has at least one guy to tuck away on the disabled list, clearing up an extra spot to grab someone before they attract attention with a quick start.

Welcome to the first weekly installment of hitters to add in deep leagues. This isn’t a space where Delino DeShields and Kyle Schwarber will get touted as sleepers. Only hitters owned in less than 10 percent of Yahoo Sports leagues are eligible for consideration. This eliminated most top prospect stashes but left plenty of intriguing names on the table. The following five hitters won’t win a league, but they could all garner mainstream recognition during the season.

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Cameron Maybin (OF – MIA)
I just advocated for Cameron Maybin as a late-round selection, but apparently few drafters agreed. He garners attention here as well because of a microscopic 7 percent Yahoo ownership rate. Five other players who stole at least 20 bases last year would qualify for this column. Jarrod Dyson and Rajai Davis are pure one-category contributors who will each scrap for limited playing time. Keon Broxton and Ben Revere were demoted, and Jacoby Ellsbury will likely begin 2018 on the DL.

Maybin, on the other hand, is listed ahead of a tumbleweed as Miami’s starting left fielder. Skeptics seem too afraid of an abysmal second half rather than appreciating a stellar first half, over which he swiped 25 bags in 71 games with a 13.3 walk percentage. He’ll be owned in all leagues by May if that guy shows up in April.

Kolten Wong (2B – STL)
For someone hitting .231, Kolten Wong is having an incredible spring.

While he recorded just nine hits, the second baseman has also drawn seven walks in 55 plate appearances. When he gets on base, he’s running wild. The 27-year-old has already stolen seven bases in nine tries. It’s now a matter of playing and getting a green light for Wong, who has successfully swiped 15 of 17 steal attempts over the last two years.

“Whenever I get my time to steal, where ever I am in the lineup, I’m going to go,” Wong said in an AP report, via USA Today. “I’m not going to be afraid or anything – just be aggressive and play the game.”

He hit .285 with a .376 on-base percentage last season but was limited to just 411 appearances because of injuries and a crowded Cardinals lineup. Although he’s currently slated to open 2018 as St. Louis’s starting second baseman, someone will be out of luck with him, Matt Carpenter, Jose Martinez, and Jedd Gyorko fighting for three infield spots. If healthy, a keen batting eye should keep Wong in the lineup and lead to 15-20 steals if allowed to run at the bottom of the lineup.

Colin Moran (3B – PIT)
Dynasty gamers who drafted Colin Moran as a prospect in 2014 will especially consider him a bust. Drafted sixth overall in 2013 as a “safe” selection, the third baseman has batted .206 with one home run in his major league career.

That’s only in 37 plate appearances, and he’s 25.  He redeemed a sluggish 2016 by hitting .308/.373/.543 with a career-high 18 homers in 79 Triple-A games last year, but the Astros nonetheless had no vacancies. That’s no longer an issue, as they dealt him to the Pirates, who are expected to give him the bulk of starts over David Freese. Since his opportunity has arrived in 2018 rather than 2016, he went undrafted in all but the deepest of mixed leagues.

Most onlookers aren’t envisioning much upside from someone with 48 home runs in 454 career minor league games. Perhaps more attention should be given to last year’s power surge, as he altered his swing to join the Fly Ball Revolution. He also slashed his strikeout rate to 16.3 percent, so watch out for a possible post-hype breakout.

Howie Kendrick (2B/OF – WAS)
After weeks of delaying the inevitable, Daniel Murphy admitted that he won’t be ready for Opening Day. Offseason microfracture surgery will send the star to the disabled list, creating a vacancy at second base for the Nationals. They have two quality alternatives in Howie Kendrick and Wilmer Difo, either of whom would make a solid deep-league placeholder who can contribute across the board.

Kendrick seems like the better bet to absorb most of Murphy’s playing time. The 34-year-old proved capable of making a dent when on the field by batting .315/.368/.475 with nine homers and 12 steals in 334 plate appearances last year. Aside from 2016’s .255 average, which is not supported by significant batted-ball changes, the career .291 hitter batted .285 or higher in all but one other season of his 12-year career.

Currently projected to bat sixth by Roster Resource, Kendrick could receive ample RBI opportunities in April. His versatility also boosts his chances of staying on the field as a fallback plan to Anthony Rendon, Adam Eaton, or Bryce Harper. He’s not exciting, but he offers sturdy deep-league depth for someone needing to replace Murphy or another injured hitter to start the season.

Logan Forsythe (2B/3B – LAD)
Logan Forsythe slugged .444 in 2015 and 2016 with 37 combined home runs before slugging .327 with six long balls last season. He also batted .224 with a career-worst 24.8 strikeout percentage. Those are good reasons why he’s rostered in just 6 percent of Yahoo leagues but don’t write off a rebound.

Even during a catastrophic year at the plate, he salvaged a 1.7 fWAR for the Dodgers due to a 15.7 walk percentage and solid defense. He was likely to play before, but Justin Turner’s broken wrist cements his everyday role, likely at third with Austin Barnes, Enrique Hernandez, and Chase Utley sharing reps at second. A 79.8 contact percentage and .246 xBA give him a strong chance of at least returning near his career .250 line. Pairing that with 15 homers would still make him a boring middle infielder, so don’t get carried away in standard mixed leagues. Yet he should at least return to deep-league relevancy.

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