1B and 3B Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 18

July 29, 2019

Kyle Bishop's fantasy baseball first base and third base waiver wire pickups for Week 18. Consider adding and streaming these free agent corner infield options.

Another week has come and gone, and suddenly August is within view. Is it me, or has this season simply flown by?

With the dog days looming, you can expect the waiver wire to be less of a bloodbath soon. Also-rans will lose interest as they turn their attention to fantasy football or enjoying what remains of the summer. For now, help may still be a bit scarce but you can still find it. And you're here, so you're already ahead of the game.

As a reminder, our focus is on players who are below 50% owned in Yahoo leagues, and standard 5x5 scoring. Your mileage may vary, in terms of availability or league settings. Using that cutoff point for ownership rate, however, these are your corner infield waiver wire targets and adds for Week 18 of the 2019 fantasy baseball season.

Pickups for Shallow Leagues

Renato Nunez (1B/3B, BAL) — 49% Owned

Nunez is one of the most popular adds in fantasy baseball in recent days. While I made a strong case for him last week, it's probably more to do with the fact that he's hit .333/.416/.667 in July, with seven home runs and 33 R+BI in 21 games. The 25-year-old has been a bright spot in another lousy season for the Orioles, with 25 homers and good run production out of the cleanup spot.

Miguel Sano (1B/3B, MIN) — 37% Owned

Sano left Sunday's game with a hand injury, but not before going 3-for-4 with a homer and three RBI. The offensive outburst brought his overall line to a tidy .248/.335/.579. The 26-year-old has bounced back nicely from a lost 2018 season, and looks to be on his way to arguably the best year of his career. Obviously, we'll want to monitor the hand issue, particularly given Sano's lengthy track record of injuries, but if he's okay he absolutely deserves to be owned in more leagues.

Ryan McMahon (1B/2B/3B, COL) — 28% Owned

McMahon has been swinging a hot bat since the All-Star break, launching four homers and logging multiple hits in six of his 16 games. The 24-year-old had an uninspiring first half, but has his season line up to .267/.343/.438 after reaching base successfully in all four of his trips to the plate on Sunday. His run production has been good, and if he can start lifting the ball a bit more to take advantage of Coors, there's potential for a sneaky-good stretch run.

Pickups for Deeper Leagues

Gio Urshela (3B/SS, NYY) — 17% Owned

Urshela is having the most unlikely great year this side of Danny Santana. Unlike Santana, however, you can still add Urshela in a ton of leagues. The 27-year-old is hitting .310/.355/.517 with 11 homers and 23 doubles in 86 games, and the Yankees' high-powered lineup has allowed him to put up solid counting stats despite hitting toward the bottom of it.

Jake Lamb (1B/3B, ARI) — 15% Owned

Lamb has missed most of the season due to an injury suffered in the season's first week, but he has quietly slashed .247/.396/.468 with respectable run production despite hitting just three home runs in 27 games. He's probably more appealing in an OBP league right now, but the plate discipline is good to see, and it's fair to expect more HR moving forward as Lamb continues to get his timing back after nearly three months out of action.

Nathaniel Lowe (1B, TB) — 13% Owned

Lowe collected three hits on Sunday, bringing his season line to .301/.371/.527. Though that's over just 105 plate appearances, it seems clear that the 23-year-old can be an above-average MLB hitter. The issue is whether or not he plays enough to be worth rostering in most fantasy leagues. Should Lowe continue to hit like this, though, it's a solid bet that Tampa will find regular at-bats for him.

For Your Radar

Yairo Munoz (2B/3B/SS/OF, STL) — 2% Owned

Munoz has seen more consistent playing time lately thanks to a number of injuries in St. Louis, and he's taking advantage of it. While the 24-year-old utility man lacks a standout tool, he does a little bit of everything and has stolen five bases in his last 21 games. For as long as he's getting into games regularly, Munoz is worthy of consideration in deep and NL-only formats.

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