1B and 3B Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 20

August 12, 2019

Kyle Bishop's fantasy baseball first base and third base waiver wire pickups for Week 20. Consider adding and streaming these free agent corner infield options.

Time marches on, and with it the end of the 2019 fantasy baseball season grows nearer.

With fantasy football kicking into high gear and many owners out of the running in baseball leagues, we can expect there to be fewer suitors for any waiver wire pickups moving forward. The owners who remain, of course, are generally of a higher skill level and will be motivated to squeeze blood from the stone just like you. The difference could be that you're reading this.

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 20 of the 2019 fantasy baseball season.

Pickups for Shallow Leagues

J.D. Davis (1B/3B/OF, NYM) — 45% Owned

The cat's out of the bag on Davis, whose ownership rate had languished in the single digits all season until last week. The 26-year-old has hit .307/.372/.521 with 14 homers in 312 plate appearances, and looks to have secured himself everyday at-bats for the remainder of the season. His emergence is a big reason why the Mets are suddenly in the thick of the wild-card race.

Renato Nunez (1B/3B, BAL) — 35% Owned

Nunez had finally seen his ownership rate climb above 50% after a barrage of dingers last month, but he hasn't gone deep since July 26. When he fouled a ball off his ankle on Saturday that kept him out of action the following day, that was apparently enough to inspire fantasy owners to cut bait en masse. Perhaps they shouldn't have. Nunez may be streaky like many sluggers, but he's still managed to blast 25 homers and tally 120 R+BI while hitting a not-terrible .241. He's also showed much better plate discipline since the end of May and logged a .955 OPS in July.

C.J. Cron (1B, MIN) — 33% Owned

Cron looked to be well on his way to another step forward in 2019, after a career-best showing the year prior. Unfortunately, injury has wiped out a big chunk of his second half so far, but he's back in action and has logged multiple hits in three of eight games since returning, including a home run in his first game back. Overall, the 29-year-old is hitting .263/.318/.483 with 19 homers and 97 R+BI in 91 contests.

Pickups for Deeper Leagues

Josh VanMeter (2B/3B/OF, CIN) — 20% Owned

A popular add earlier this month, VanMeter's ownership rate plummeted in the last couple of days after a string of games in which he didn't start. It's understandable, as Aristides Aquino's breakout has closed off one of VanMeter's avenues to playing time in right field. Still, he has flashed considerably more offensive upside than Jose Peraza, his main competition at second base, with an .845 OPS, four homers and four steals in just 117 plate appearances.

Evan Longoria (3B, SF) — 14% Owned

Before a bout of plantar fasciitis knocked him out of action for a few weeks, Longoria was one of the game's hottest hitters. He hasn't shown much rust from the unexpected break, with multiple hits in four of seven games since returning to action. Since the start of July, the veteran has hit .340/.386/.792 with seven homers in 16 games.

Starlin Castro (2B/3B, MIA) — 11% Owned

What is this, 2011? Castro is an unexpected but deserving entrant in this week's column. He has 13 hits in his last five games, including a pair of home runs. The veteran is slashing .338/.359/.554 since the calendar flipped to July, with six homers and 39 R+BI, and has been held hitless in just five games over that stretch.

For Your Radar

Sam Travis (1B/OF, BOS) — 1% Owned

Travis had a pair of brief cameos with the Sox in March and June, without making much of an impact. The third time has been the charm, however. The 25-year-old has gone deep three times in his last five games, which has helped him amass an impressive .286/.339/.607 line since getting called up on July 16. He's recently been slotted into the cleanup and fifth spots in the powerful Red Sox lineup.

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