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Seattle Mariners shortstop J.P. Crawford is a fantasy baseball waiver wire pickup and add in Week 14 of the MLB season. I break down why he can help and continue to help your team.
BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues
ROSTERED IN: 28% of leagues
ANALYSIS: Crawford's 12-game hitting streak came to an end on Sunday, but he still got on base. That means Crawford has been on base at least once in every game since June 10. He has raised his average 31 points in the month of June alone, while raising his OBP 28 points and SLG a whopping 69 points.
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Crawford was the prize of the Jean Segura deal with Philadelphia after the 2018 season. What Seattle saw in Crawford then is the same thing they do now. Crawford has yet to steal bases like he did in the minors, but his .269 career average in the minor leagues suggests that his current .281 mark is not a fluke.
There is reason to believe that Crawford could even flirt with .300. He is hitting .347 in the month of June and after struggling against left-handed pitchers for the first few years of his career, Crawford is hitting .346 against them this year. His average against righties is a touch under his career mark, so expect that to rise a little bit too.
The main reason why I expect Crawford to retain the average aside from him learning how to hit lefties is that he has controlled his strikeout rate. His strikeout rate in his first three major league seasons was 25%. He has lowered it to 17.3% over 2020 and 2021. His walk rate is also creeping upwards towards his career mark, which is nice for those of us in points leagues and leagues that count OBP.
At the very least, Crawford should be able to help your average and runs scored while he's running hot. He hit 15 homers between AA and AAA in 2017, so there's a chance he could get to that mark this year. If he can do that while retaining his .280 average, there's value in that in most leagues.
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