Carter Kieboom (SS, WAS) - Week 6 Waiver Wire Pickups

May 5, 2019

Brady Grove profiles highly-touted Washington Nationals shortstop Carter Kieboom as a potential waiver wire acquisition of value for fantasy baseball leagues in Week 6 of the 2019 MLB campaign.

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ANALYSIS: With an injury still barring the return of Trea Turner, the opportunity opened up for the Nationals to call up highly-touted prospect Carter Kieboom at shortstop. While the results have been mixed, they (along with his minor league track record) warrant just as much excitement as the hype would warrant. Kieboom definitely earned his top-25 prospect status, producing 32 HR, 14 SB, and a .286/.373/.471 slash in a fast-tracked 913 minor league AB. While his ability to swipe bags has been a little inconsistent, he has nonetheless produced five seasons with speed figures north of four to support his routinely high BABIP.

While he has been slow to get his major league footing according to his .111/.200/.333 slash over the first 27 AB, his power-game has taken center stage. He has already smacked two home runs (each traveling at an average exit velocity of 94.5 MPH) behind 46.7% hard contact and 0.0% soft contact, culminating in a .222 ISO. The sole reason for his currently poor statistical showing is his learning-curve induced 40% strikeout rate. Not to mention the fact that despite such fantastic batted-ball contact splits, Kieboom's BABIP stands at just 0.077. Though Trea Turner's return is looming, Carter Kieboom has already produced enough fireworks for Washington to earn the majority share of work of Wilmer Difo, and could easily land a consistent spot in the future with guys like Brian Dozier still scuffling. With a well-rounded bat and cozy power/speed combination, he is a prospect truly worth getting excited for.