Jarrod Saltalamacchia (C, DET) - Waiver Wire Pickup

BALLER MOVE: 14+ Team Leagues and NL-Only That Require Two Catchers

OWNED IN: 28% of Flea Flicker Leagues

ANALYSIS: By opening 2016 by clubbing six home runs and driving in 15 runs, Tigers' catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia has earned Flea Flicker's eighth-best fantasy catcher ranking so far. Though he is only hitting .231, that is easy to overlook when "Salty" is at the top of the catcher leaderboard in home runs and RBI. Hence why his ownership rate has surged up to its current 28% after he started out the year undrafted more often than not.

But if there is one thing the 10-year veteran has a large track record of it is large outbursts of counting stats followed by larger bursts of nothing. Well, I guess the sounds of making outs--the whooshes, the mitt smacks, the umpire vocal cues--are something, but nothing fantasy owners can make any use of. As enticing as his numbers look, keep in mind that almost of that came over his first nine games when he hit .313 with five home runs and 14 RBI. Since then, Saltalamacchia has been a ghost, hitting .063 with one home run and one RBI in six games, striking out in half of his at-bats.

Whether Saltalamacchia can turn it around or not and produce another hot streak in the near future is about to become irrelevant with the Tigers' original starting catcher James McCann looking to start a minor league rehab assignment soon. He certainly will stick on the roster over his backup, the hitless in 2016 Bobby Wilson, which will afford him the chance of additional at-bats thanks his strong play during McCann's injury. Those additional at-bats won't be enough to justify his use in most leagues, but as a backup catcher with occasional pop, his potential does have some value in deeper two-catcher leagues.