C.J. Cron (1B, MIN) - Week 20 Waiver Wire Pickups

Antonio Losada profiles Twins 1B C.J. Cron as a waiver wire pickup and add in Week 20 of the 2019 MLB season. He could bring value down the stretch for fantasy baseball leagues.

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues

OWNED IN: 35% of leagues

ANALYSIS: After injuring his thumb in late July and returning a few days ago to the lineup, C.J. Cron keeps putting on one of his best seasons. To be fair, he has steadily been on the rise since he entered the league. He has amassed more playing time on a yearly basis, he's shown more and more power (from 16 HR in 2017 to 30 last year and currently 19 and counting), improved his slash line (currently at .263/.320/.491) and hugely raised his BB/K rate from .255 last year to .324 this season.

Cron has batted in the middle-to-last positions in the Twins' lineup. Considering the hitting prowess of Minnesota's hitters, he has been able to rack up numbers nonetheless. Oh, and if you had missed it, he's been heating up lately. Since the start of July, he has bumped up his wOBA more than 40 percentage points. In August, he's posting a slash line of .313/.313/.500 to go with a wRC+ of 110 and a wOBA of .341.

Although he may be hard to find on the waiver wire in many leagues, Cron is still flying under the radar and been overlooked at a high percentage. ESPN currently ranks him as the 15th-best 1B in all of the league. If the projections hold, Cron could still hit 10 HR, 25 R, 25 RBI, and in the best of cases even steal a base (!) while sustaining a .270+ AVG. If you can pick him for free you should do it as soon as you can.