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Mike Kurland's fantasy baseball first base and third base waiver wire pickups for Week 9 of the 2020 MLB season. Consider adding and streaming these free agent corner infield options at 1B or 3B.
This is the second-to-last waiver wire article of the 2020 fantasy baseball season. As fast as it has come, it has quickly gone and although it has been a wild and crazy ride, there is still about two weeks left and you can still make an impact in your standings. Let's dive in and see what players are left on the waiver wire that can help you make the run.
Before we dive in, we need to keep a few things in mind:
- We focus on players rostered in 5x5 Roto formats in Yahoo! leagues.
- Player eligibility will also be determined by the Yahoo! player pool.
- We aim at players rostered in 40% of leagues or less. This allows us to provide names to help leagues of all sizes.
- They will be in order of rostered percentage from highest to lowest.
There has been and will continue to be a ton of turnover. Be quick on the trigger and get your adds in before the next person. Staying a step ahead is key and the goal here is to keep you a step ahead. Now, let's get to those players to add for Week 9.
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First Base Waiver Wire Options
Tommy La Stella (1B/2B/3B, OAK) - 37% Rostered
La Stella is doing La Stella things. Batting atop of the Athletics lineup, he has found his groove of late. He is hitting for good batting average and the counting stats are starting to come with them. With leading off will also come more plate appearances, which are gold right now. The upside is limited with La Stella, but you know what you are getting and he is someone I call a roster stabilizer. These have value depending on the team you have so you can plug him into your lineup and move on. No second guessing it here. There is a little bit of an extra boost to value with the multi-positional flexibility.
Jesus Aguilar (1B, MIA) - 16% Rostered
Aguilar has had his ups and downs this season a bit (who hasn't?) but it appears he is back on track of late. Over the last two weeks, he is batting .326 with two home runs and 12 runs and seven RBI. There is a little power, batting average and counting stats on a team that is fighting to make the playoffs. Aguilar has really bounced back in this short season and it shows in the underlying numbers as well. He also sported a mechanical change coming into the season as well as a change in approach. It has really benefited him and this could be a sign of things to come entering 2021. Before we get ahead of ourselves, let's focus on 2020 and Aguilar can really help you down this final stretch run.
Jared Walsh (1B, LAA) - 10% Rostered
A top 15 player in rotisserie formats over the last two weeks, Walsh demands your attention. He is playing every day and recently moved up to the top of the Angels lineup. He has come alive in terms of power with four home runs over the last week. The power breakout came in a big way in 2019 when he posted a total of 37 home runs between Triple-A and the short MLB stint. He brings a pull heavy approach (46.5%) and it comes with a good barrel rate (14%) and hard hit rate (41.9%). Put that all together and the power can remain. The data is limited on Walsh due to the amount of at-bats but take a shot on him if you need power upside
Third Base Waiver Wire Options
Alec Bohm (3B, PHI) - 29% Rostered
I don't know what to do anymore. I have put him on here every single week of late and yet he remains under 40% rostered. Heck, I don't think he has broken the 30% mark and that should be rectified. The power is real and supported by the underlying metrics. His bat has always been what was thought would carry over to the MLB level and it has. Bohm has been broken down deeper in previous articles so if you want a more in-depth breakdown, feel free to check those out but this is just a reminder to add him in places he is available. In rotisserie formats, he has ranked 88th over the last month, 25th over the last two weeks and 18th the last week. There is a trend here. There is a solid, high four-category floor as he is managing to rank this high without stealing a single base.
Maikel Franco (3B, KC) - 19% Rostered
Franco is far from flashy or exciting but he is hitting well and could be a sneaky boost to RBI down the stretch.He has been batting 3rd or 4th of late and has been flourishing in the new lineup spot. Over the last two weeks, he has put up 13 RBI and has batted .368 in the process. The power is not much but it is not a complete zero either. He decreased his launch angle to a career-low 8.2 degrees but in the process, the barrel% (7.1%) and sweet spot% (35.7%) are both career-highs. He has sacrificed fly balls and some power potential for line drives and batting average and it is paying off for him. The batting average on the season is .284 and that comes with an expected batting average of .290. The new approach could be lending itself to this change and it might be who he is moving forward.
Ty France (2B/ 3B, SEA) - 16% Rostered
He has been mentioned in the dart throws section a time or two, but as he becomes rostered on more teams, he makes his way up to the focal point of the article. This is still a deeper league play, but with needing to make up a few games down the stretch, this should lead to extra at-bats and these at-bats come with big power upside. Just last year between Triple-A and his MLB stint, he put up 34 home runs. That power is not a fluke and will play. France ranks as the 92nd player over the last week in rotisserie leagues and has two home runs while batting .375 in the process. He does so while playing every day so when the doubleheaders come, he should play most, if not all, the games.
Deeper-League Dart Throws
These are a few players to go after in your deeper leagues or if you're in a pinch in general. These players will be rostered in less than 10% of leagues.
Ke'Bryan Hayes (3B, PIT) - 8% Rostered
This is all about the high floor. He offers some power and speed without dragging your batting average down. This goes back to roster stabilization. He will bring a little of everything without flashing a lot of anything.
Garrett Cooper (1B/OF, MIA) - 6% Rostered
Another Miami Marlin on the list. Cooper has quietly got rolling over the last week. With a home run, eight runs and batting .290, you could do way worse. Multi-position eligibility helps his value down this stretch run with injuries piling up and pair that with playing every day and you have yourself a deep league asset.
Nate Lowe (1B, TB) - 3% Rostered
Very few names on the waiver wire offer the upside Nate Lowe offers so if you need a lotto ticket, this is your guy. He is finally playing every day and we know the power can play. He does have two home runs over the last week (albeit in the same game). Regardless, this is an upside play and if you're in a position to win, he could be worth the stash to see what we have here.
Jose Marmolejos (1B/OF, SEA) - 2% Rostered
This is a true dart throw. The Mariners have been finding diamonds in the rough and this could be another. Or it could be just a hot streak. Regardless, he has recently found himself in the 4-spot and 5-spot and that could lead to solid RBI potential as well.
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