RADIO
Hunting for values on the waiver wire is one of the most fun, and most challenging, parts of any fantasy season. This can be especially true at the infield corners, an area where the stars are readily scooped up and finding a low cost alternative can be often difficult.
Here at RotoBaller, we're always looking for ways to help our readers succeed in all aspects of the game. With that aim in mind, each week I'll be bringing you my recommendations for which waiver wire 1st and 3rd basemen should be on your radar as you peruse the waiver wire. Let's get started.
Editor’s Note: to read about even more waiver wire options for first base and third base, be sure to check out our famous waiver wire pickups list which is a running list that is updated daily.
Top First Base Waiver Wire Option
Adam Lind (1B, MIL)
ESPN: 34% owned; Yahoo: 47% owned
As long as Lind continues to hit, he'll remain a mainstay of this list. Of course, this is not to say that Lind is, or ever has been, a perfect player. His skills as a batter have been largely offset throughout his career by his utter inability to hit against left handed pitching. While this might matter in the long run, the Brewers aren't actually scheduled to face another left handed pitcher for over a week. Milwaukee is absolutely starved for some offensive production right now and through this point in the season Lind has arguably been their best bat.
This should all but ensure a healthy serving of at-bats for the first baseman going forward. As a career .293/.350/.510 hitter against right handed pitching, I expect Lind to make the most of those opportunities. Batting cleanup behind Jean Segura, Johnathan Lucroy, and Ryan Braun has helped Lind make the most of his talents so far this season. Going forward, Lind's RBI opportunities only stand to improve as Braun shakes off the rust of the offseason. That's about all you can ask for from a hitter who's still only owned in 34% of ESPN leagues.
Other 1B Notables
Brandon Belt (1B, SF)
ESPN: 39% owned; Yahoo: 64% owned
Unlike Lind, Belt isn't someone I'd recommend picking up if you desperately need production at 1st base right now. Rather he's the stash-and-see type. It's worth remembering that Belt was an attractive sleeper in a lot of circles before the season began for a reason. At the moment his value is near rock bottom, giving smart owners in deep leagues a chance to buy low on a talented player for the long term.
Belt showed us in 2014 that he was capable of hitting for power. He was slashing .264/.317/.504 with nine home runs before a broken thumb and a concussion derailed the remainder of his season. Along with the rest of the Giants' lineup, he's been garbage so far this season. A healthy dose of perspective might be in order though: the season's only two weeks old. Belt is being dropped in a lot of leagues right now, but not because there's anything different about his skillset or swing. He's being dropped because of 36 plate appearances worth of data. In deep leagues this could prove to be a mistake.
Top Third Base Waiver Wire Option
David Freese (3B, LAA)
ESPN: 5.7% owned; Yahoo: 13% owned
Freese is a player who's circumstances may matter more than his actual on-the-field skillset. Freese himself is something like a .255-.260 hitter with 12-15 home run pop. These are fairly pedestrian numbers for a 3rd baseman, certainly not enough to entice fantasy owners on their own. Plug those numbers into the heart of the Angels' lineup, however, and you have something very interesting. A 15 home run hitter batting behind Kole Calhoun, Mike Trout, Albert Pujols and Matt Joyce could prove to be a low-cost counting stat machine, exactly what players in deeper formats should be on the hunt for.
Other 3B Notables
Will Middlebrooks (3B, SD)
ESPN: 3.4% owned; Yahoo: 7% owned
Players in deeper leagues should strongly consider Will Middlebrooks as a short term stopgap at 3rd base. Middlebrooks himself is a very flawed hitter, but he'll be in about as good a position to succeed as possible in week three. Starting on Monday the Padres are beginning a four day road series at Coors Field. San Diego has already scored 14 runs through the first game of that series, two of which were driven in by Middlebrooks. As a middle of the order hitter in a strong Padres lineup, Middlebrooks could continue put up some very nice numbers during the course of this next week.
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