RADIO
Antonio Losada profiles Baltimore Orioles outfielder Anthony Santander as a potential waiver wire pickup or add target for fantasy baseball leagues in Week 21 of the 2019 MLB campaign.
BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues
OWNED IN: 29% of Yahoo! leagues
ANALYSIS: Young Baltimore outfielder Anthony Santander keeps progressing as a Major League player. In his rookie season of 2017, he saw only 31 plate appearances. In 2018, he logged 108 PA in 33 games. This season, he has already played 60 games and gone to the plate 259 times. The Orioles are increasing his playing time, and he's improving at everything he does.
This year, Santander is slashing .297/.337/.506, all of them career-high marks. He has hit 11 home runs along with 35 RBI. On top of that, his plate discipline has improved to his best numbers ever. He's walking 5.8% of the time and striking out on a low 17.8% rate.
One of the most valuable parts of Santander's switch-hitting profile is his 27 extra-base hits. While he is not a power hitter per se (he has a Hard Hit% in just the 30th percentile) he has hit 15 doubles and a triple already, along with the aforementioned 11 HR. A little regression may be on its way as he's hitting over his expected stats, although not by much.
Santander has been entrenched at the third batting slot in the order for almost a month now and looks like a lock to hold that position for the rest of the season. He can play in any outfield position from left to right and has also seen time as a designated hitter, so he's definitely going to keep his playing time up. His last seven days (30 AB) have been quite productive (nine hits, two doubles, two home runs) and he should be a no-brainer addition for the rest of the season in any league.
Check out RotoBaller's entire fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups and sleepers list, updated daily!
