Mitch Moreland (1B, BOS) - Week 8 Waiver Wire Pickups

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OWNED IN: 32% of leagues

ANALYSIS: Boston Red Sox first baseman Mitch Moreland has been absolutely mashing the ball when given the opportunity in 2018. He is a classic platoon hitter who has the honor of hitting in the heart of the most potent offense in the MLB. On the season, Moreland is posting career-best statistics across the board along with elite advanced hitting metrics. His slash line sits at .319/.398/.606 with six home runs, 21 RBIs, and an insane .287 ISO and 1.004 OPS. He also has an impressive 12% walk rate and a solid 18.5% strikeout rate, which is close to his career-low. Most impressively, Moreland ranks in the top 25 hitters in the MLB with a 52% Hard Hit % (19th) and a 92.9 MPH Average Exit Velocity (24th). He's also barreling the ball at an impressive rate of 8.3 Barrels/PA (61st). His numbers may come down a bit as his .348 BABIP is high and his sample size is a bit smaller than most hitters, but his numbers make it clear that he deserves more at-bats and he seems to be getting them recently.

Throughout his career, Moreland been the epitome of consistency when it comes to home run production.  He has notched at least 22 longballs in four of the last five seasons (he only had 184 ABs in an injury-shortened 2014) and more than 15 homers in all of his non-injury-shortened seasons.  2018 projections have him finishing with a .255-.265 AVG, 55-70 RBI, and 16-20 HR.  Pluck him off the wire and reap the fantasy rewards.