May 20, 2016

Kyle Bishop's first base (1B) and third base (3B) fantasy baseball waiver wire adds. Pickups and corner infield sleepers for Week 7 of the 2016 MLB season.

We’ve reached what is popularly referred to as the quarter pole of the MLB season. Except that the term “quarter pole” originates in horse racing, where it’s placed at the last quarter mile of the track, regardless of length. So we’re really just a quarter of the way through the season.

All pedantry aside, while many of the early season’s breakouts have been snatched up from the waiver wire, there’s still value to be had out there. To wit:

Editor’s Note: To read about even more waiver wire options, be sure to check out our famous waiver wire pickups list which is a running list that is updated daily. Prefer using your phone? Our free waiver wire app is available for download in the Apple & Android Stores.

Week 7 Corner Infield Waiver Wire Targets

Byung Ho Park, 1B, Minnesota Twins (49 percent owned)

Frankly, it is amazing that Park remains so widely available. He’s hitting .286/.364/.662 over the last month, with eight homers and 28 R+RBI. This has to be the last week he falls below the ownership threshold for this column. Of course, that’s what I assumed the last couple of weeks. SERIOUSLY WHAT ARE YOU DOING GO ADD THIS GUY TO YOUR ROSTER.

Danny Valencia, 3B, Oakland Athletics (29 percent)

Valencia’s ownership rate tripled in the 24 hours following his three-homer game against the Rays…which came two days after he went deep twice. He’s missed a significant chunk of the season so far with hamstring issues, but appears anxious to make up for lost time. The weekend assault raised his OPS 250 points. He’s now sitting at .342/.377/.589 and figures to be a fixture in the middle of the Athletics’ lineup moving forward. He also carries outfield eligibility.

Mike Napoli, 1B, Cleveland Indians (29 percent)

Napoli’s been on a tear the last two weeks, hitting three homers and tallying 20 R+RBI. His OPS over that span: .940. If only someone had recommended that you pick him up a few weeks ago. He’s mostly batting cleanup for the Tribe, which helps explain how he’s sixth among all first basemen with 43 R+RBI.

Justin Bour, 1B, Miami Marlins (21 percent)

After somewhat of a slow start, Bour has hit three homers in his last eight games. He has a .900 OPS and more walks than strikeouts so far this month. The Marlins are benching Bour against lefties, so he’ll require a little more management than your “set it and forget it” types. Still, including last season he’s got 29 homers and 91 RBI in just over 500 at-bats, with a batting average that won’t kill you.

Steve Pearce, 1B, Tampa Bay Rays (5 percent)

Pearce came out of nowhere to hit .293/.373/.556 with 21 homers in just 338 at-bats with the Orioles in 2014 before taking a big step back last season. Most fantasy owners probably forgot about him at that point, but he’s acquitting himself well early in his Tampa tenure. Pearce has five homers on the season (four in his last nine games) and an .856 OPS. With Logan Forsythe landing on the disabled list last week and Logan Morrison continuing to be terrible, Pearce should be good to go on playing time for the foreseeable future.

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