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Antonio Losada profiles New York Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner 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 leagues
ANALYSIS: Brett Gardner came back from the injury list on August 2. Since then, he has patrolled New York's center field each and every day while hitting mostly down in the second half of the order (around the fifth or sixth spots). His numbers in August are a sight to behold: Gardner is slashing .326/.415/.630 and has 15 hits, six doubles, a triple and two home runs to go with nine RBI and one stolen base in that span.
For a veteran 35-year-old Gardner, this season has been somewhat unexpected and a throwback to his better days. He has improved his average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage compared to last season. His 112 wRC+ is the best he has had since 2014. Gardner has already reached 2.8 WAR compared to last year full-season 2.5. Looking at his Statcast profile, we know that he's elevating the ball more than at any other point in his career (13.1 launch angle in 2019, 8.4 in 2018), and getting barrels on 4.1% of his hits (his best mark since 2015). His numbers diminish against lefties (61 wRC+; 128 wRC+ against righties) but that has been a constant during all of his career, so it should not be something to worry much about.
Gardner is one of the hottest outfielders in the majors right now (his OPS in August ranks 15th-best among all outfielders) and is taking advantage of the Yankee's injury problems. Aaron Hicks has no timetable for his return. Giancarlo Stanton's is a couple of weeks away. Jacoby Ellsbury could be done for the year. If there is a situation in which you should pick Gardner up (no matter the league format), it is this one.
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