Evan Longoria (3B, SF) - Week 22 Waiver Wire Pickups

Antonio Losada analyzes San Francisco Giants third baseman Evan Longoria as a waiver wire pickup or add target for Week 22 of the 2019 fantasy baseball season.

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues

OWNED IN: 16% of Leagues

ANALYSIS: After building his Hall of Fame case for 10 years in Tampa Bay, Evan Longoria moved to the west coast to play for San Francisco in 2018. His production last year was awful considering what he had done not long ago. Flip the calendar to 2019 and things look much brighter for the third baseman. Longoria has already hit as many home runs as last year (16), almost the same RBI (51 to 54 in 2018), and raised every slash line stat to .254/.321/.476. His .776 OPS this season is his best since 2016.

One knock on Longoria's counting stats this season was the injury he suffered mid-July that cut his playing time. It kept him out until August 4. Since that day, Longoria has been trusted again by the Giants hitting between the third and fifth spot in the heart of the lineup. In 15 games and 63 PA since returning, Longoria has 19 hits (.317 AVG), three of those good for home runs. He's gone on a nine-game hitting streak during the past two weeks.

Looking at Statcast, Longoria is having his best season in  Barrel% (8.1) since 2016. Although his GB/FB ratio is at a high 1.14, his HR/FB counters it at a good 17%. When Longoria puts the ball in the air, there is a high chance it goes the distance (his Hard Hit% is a career-best 44.6 in 2019).

We're only three weeks past the day Longoria came back from his injury, but he has looked very solid so far. He will be the third-base starter during the rest of the season and will probably exceed his last season stats. I'd snatch Longoria for the playoff push in 12-team leagues before he gets more attention as he gets more playing time.