1B and 3B Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 26

One last week remains in the 2019 season. For as much as the fantasy baseball campaign is a marathon, it always seems to pass by so quickly, doesn't it?

Hopefully this column has been a boon to your pursuit of fantasy hardware. Once more unto the breach, without further ado...

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 26 of the 2019 fantasy baseball season.

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Pickups for Shallow Leagues

Starlin Castro (2B/3B, MIA) — 49% Owned

Castro continues to tear the cover off the ball in the second half, hitting over .300 and boasting a .906 OPS since the break. Over the past 30 days, he's been even better, ranking in the top 10 players overall in the Yahoo universe. Nearly half of his 21 home runs have come during that stretch, and he's piled up runs (24) and RBI (22) as well. It's been a stunning reversal of fortune for a player who barely looked MLB-caliber in the first three months of the season.

Scott Kingery (2B/3B/SS/OF, PHI) — 43% Owned

Kingery hasn't been able to maintain the torrid offensive pace he set for himself prior to the All-Star break, but the versatile 25-year-old has managed to remain a viable fantasy asset anyway. Despite a poor .224 batting average during the past month of action, he's kept his value afloat by contributing in all four counting stats, with five homers, three stolen bases, and 32 R+BI.

Jurickson Profar (1B/2B/3B/SS/OF, OAK) — 38% Owned

Profar hasn't quite succeeded in producing a worthy sequel to last year's breakout performance, but a 60-point drop in BABIP is the primary culprit. His plate discipline and batted ball profiles are eerily similar to what he put forth in 2018, and he'll wind up within shouting distance of his counting stats as well. A strong finishing kick has helped there, as the 26-year-old has popped five homers, scored 19 runs, and knocked in 15 in the last month.

Pickups for Deeper Leagues

Jon Berti (2B/3B/SS/OF, MIA) — 19% Owned

Berti was a regular presence on this list down the stretch, so it's appropriate that he appears one final time. The 29-year-old came out of nowhere to become a bright spot in another dismal Marlins season, scoring 47 runs and swiping 12 bags in just 253 plate appearances. Seven of those steals have come in the last 30 days.

Brandon Lowe (1B/2B/OF, TB) — 18% Owned

Lowe wasn't expected to return before the season ended after suffering a shin injury in July and then straining his quad during a rehab game in the minors. However, he progressed more quickly than expected and found himself in the lineup on Sunday, going 1-for-3 with a single, walk, and a run. Rust and rest could be issues, but Lowe played well enough prior to getting hurt to be in the Rookie of the Year conversation, so he's worth a gamble.

Joey Wendle (2B/3B/SS/OF, TB) — 7% Owned

It's been a difficult season for Wendle, who has suffered a litany of injuries resulting in several lengthy stints on the injured list. He's healthy now and finishing strong, though, hitting .297, scoring 13 runs, and stealing four bases in 18 September contests.

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