Kevin Kiermaier (OF, TB) - Week 22 Waiver Wire Pickups

Sean Scampton profiles outfielder Kevin Kiermaier as a waiver wire pickup and add in Week 22 of the 2018 MLB season for his strong start to the season.

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues

OWNED IN: 17% of leagues

ANALYSIS: Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Kevin Kiermaier has a .193/.256/.307 line over 277 plate appearances and just four homers with a .114 ISO and a 25.6% strikeout rate, but he has looked better of late. Over the last week, the 28-year-old has hit .333/.360/.458 with a run and three extra-base hits over 24 at-bats.

A week of work is a pretty thin rationale for sacrificing a roster spot, but Kiermaier has gone from zero to hero before. Last season, he was a sub-replacement level hitter for most of the season before turning it on to the tune of .299/.350/.467 with five homers and five steals between the last week of August and the month of September, coincidentally lining up with the fantasy playoffs quite nicely. That is exactly the sort of profile in your fourth or fifth outfielder that can swing a matchup.

Kiermaier's slate this week looks imposing at first glance, but he will be going up a against a depleted Cleveland starting staff and an Atlanta rotation that has been pitching a little above their heads this season. It is not the kind of run that should dissuade owners from putting in their hottest bats, and Kiermaier’s bat, for the moment at least, indeed qualifies as hot.