RADIO
With roughly a quarter of the season in the books, you may be running out of patience with your current fantasy squad. That's okay! While huge, season-altering transactions may not yet be merited, that doesn't necessarily mean that sitting on your hands is advisable either.
Perhaps you just need to find a little help on the waiver wire. The good news is that you've come to the right place, as this column is designed to help you find exactly that.
As a reminder, our focus here 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 7 of the 2019 fantasy baseball season.
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Pickups for Shallow Leagues
Derek Dietrich (1B/2B/OF, CIN) — 38% Owned
After hitting 60 home runs in his first 2,132 MLB plate appearances, Dietrich already has 10 bombs in just 100 trips to the plate this season. Sustainable? Likely not, but there may still be something here. The 29-year-old has made some clear changes to his approach, in terms of both batted balls (way more flies) and plate discipline (best BB% and K% of his career). With the Reds struggling to generate runs as a team and Scooter Gennett still a ways off from returning, Dietrich should continue to see regular playing time in the heart of the order.
Jay Bruce (1B/OF, SEA) — 26% Owned
We covered Bruce in last week's installment, and he'll likely be a fixture here for as long as he continues to hit balls out of the yard. He certainly doesn't offer much else, as his .188/.255/.516 line demonstrates. Still, 12 homers and 44 R+BI in 36 games are solid contributions in the counting stats, if you can stomach the batting average.
Pickups for Deeper Leagues
Mitch Moreland (1B, BOS) — 24% Owned
Moreland may not be a long-term solution, but he's good for a couple of hot stretches every year where he's absolutely worth owning in most leagues. The veteran happens to be on one of those heaters right now, with five home runs in his last nine games. That gives him 12 on the season, already within shouting distance of last season's 15 and halfway to setting a new career high. The 30.9 HR/FB% won't persist, but with regular time in the middle of the Boston lineup, he could easily continue to provide above-average run production even when the power dries up a bit.
C.J. Cron (1B, MIN) — 22% Owned
Even after going 0-for-5 on Sunday, Cron still has 10 hits (including three homers) in his last four contests. The barrage has pulled his season line up to .250/.307/.500 with nine home runs, putting him on pace to basically match last season's modest breakout. The 29-year-old has also managed to cut down on the whiffs thus far, running a sub-20% strikeout rate after back-to-back seasons above 25%. The Twins have been among the best hitting teams in baseball, and Cron regularly hits in the heart of the order.
Howie Kendrick (2B/3B/OF, WSH) — 18% Owned
As usual, Kendrick is hitting for a high average. But the ageless veteran is also hitting for more power than we've ever seen before, with six homers in just 99 plate appearances and a shiny .917 OPS thus far. Kendrick has been a bright spot in a trying season for the Nationals, filling in admirably as the infield has been beset by a bevy of injuries. If he continues to hit like this, it'll be tough to take his bat out of the lineup even as his teammates convalesce.
Tommy La Stella (2B/3B, LAA) — 17% Owned
Speaking of unexpected power, how about La Stella? The textbook definition of a light-hitting utility player through his first thousand or so MLB plate appearances, the 30-year-old has discovered a surprising amount of thunder in his bat this season. He's already nearly doubled his career home run total, with nine so far in just 117 plate appearances. La Stella has always been a guy who can make contact and take a walk, so he's worth consideration for as long as he can keep popping the occasional ball out of the park.
David Fletcher (2B/3B/OF, LAA) — 15% Owned
If you're more in the market for batting average or speed, Fletcher might be the Angels infielder for you. When he swings, he almost always makes contact (1.7% swinging strike rate), and that contact yields base hits a good portion of time as evidenced by his .296 average. Fletcher also has enough speed to dream on some stolen base upside, and he's been successful in all three of his attempts so far.
For Your Radar
Austin Riley (3B, ATL) — 6% Owned
There isn't an obvious place for the Braves to put Riley on the big-league roster with Josh Donaldson manning the hot corner. However, the 22-year-old is currently crushing Triple-A to the tune of a 1.077 OPS and 14 homers in just 35 games, and has seen time in the outfield recently. It may only be a matter of time until he's in the majors, so he's worth considering as a stash in some formats if you have the roster space.
More Waiver Wire Pickups and Streamers
Check out RotoBaller's entire fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups and sleepers list, updated daily!
