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Nicklaus Gaut profiles San Diego second baseman Luis Urias as a waiver wire pickup or add target for Week 17 of the 2019 fantasy baseball season as the Padres prospect was recently promoted and can contribute in multiple categories.
BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues
OWNED IN: 13% of leagues
ANALYSIS: After an 11-game cup of coffee in the spring, San Diego top-prospect Luis Urias has been called back up to the big club and becomes at least a speculative add in most leagues. In that brief stint in April Urias only slashed .083/.281/.125 with two runs scored; and in 53 plate-appearances as a September call-up last year, Urias performance wasn't much better at .208/.264/.354. But as he was just 20-years old and has an elite hit tool, it's hard to judge Urias in such a small sample.
In his 73 games in Triple-A this year, Urias has shown off that hit tool, slashing .315/.398/.600 with 19 home runs, 62 runs scored, and 50 RBI. Throw in seven stolen bases and a .410 wOBA, and it's fair to say that Urias has nothing left to prove in the minors.
The rookie joins a San Diego club that has lost six of their seven games since coming back from the All-Star break and has stagnated offensively, with their wRC+ and wOBA both being bottom-five in the league since July first. And with a 25.9% K-rate that's bottom-three since that time, the Padres could use Urias as he's struck out at only an 18.3% rate in the minors this year, with a 10.6% walk-rate as well. If given a regular role at second base, Urias could be a boon for fantasy owners looking for help at a thin position.
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