Hanser Alberto (2B/3B, BAL) - Week 22 Waiver Wire Pickups

Antonio Losada profiles Baltimore Orioles middle infielder Hanser Alberto as a waiver wire pickup or add target for Week 22 of the 2019 fantasy baseball season.

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues

OWNED IN: 9% of leagues

ANALYSIS: Under-the-radar players often make it to the waiver wire. Looking at his first three seasons as an MLB player, all three with negative WAR production, it was normal that Hanser Alberto was left off of most fantasy rosters. This year, in his first season in Baltimore and given ample playing time, he's looked totally different. Alberto is in the running for the AL batting title with a ridiculous .313 AVG. He is the only .300+ AVG hitter with less than 10 home runs (he has nine) and lacks power, yes, but even with that Alberto already has 29 extra-base hits and has stolen four bases.

Since the calendar turned to August, Alberto has played 20 games in which he's logged 24 hits and three of his nine HR. Alberto mostly takes one of two spots in the lineup, either leading-off or hitting sixth at the bottom of the heart. Although he has historically struggled against right-handed pitchers (48 wRC+ vs 106 wRC+ against lefties), Alberto has improved against both this season (64 and 153 wRC+). Overall, Hanser Alberto is a 1.6 WAR player in 2019 with a 102 wRC+ so far.

Looking into Statcast numbers, we could expect a little regression from Hanser Alberto during the late part of the season. His expected stats are lower than those he's actually putting up. Nonetheless, Alberto should be a must-add player for the playoff push in 14-team and deeper/AL-only leagues. He brings a lot of upside and will keep fighting to win the batting title, so expect more production from him.