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Antonio Losada profiles Arizona Diamondbacks shortstop Nick Ahmed as a potential waiver wire pickup or add target for fantasy baseball leagues in Week 21 of the 2019 MLB campaign.
BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues
OWNED IN: 24% of Yahoo! leagues
ANALYSIS: While Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte has suddenly become a household name in Arizona, shortstop Nick Ahmed is flying almost completely under the radar. Despite that, Ahmed is having a career year. He is slashing .274/.333/.460 (all career-best marks), has hit 15 home runs (finished last year with 16), stolen seven bases and driven 66 runs in already. As of today, he's got the ninth-highest WAR at the SS position.
If his season counting stats and numbers sound good, though, wait to read what he's achieved just this month. Since the start of August, Ahmed has been a top-20 hitter in AVG, OBP, SLG, wOBA, and wRC+. He has 10 extra-base hits, five homers, and even a stolen base while hitting seventh in the lineup, which also boosts his RBI. Looking at Statcast, Ahmed looks to be exactly where he should. His actual stats pretty much align with the value of his expected ones, so no regression seems to be on the horizon for him. He's also barrelling the ball more than ever with a 7.4 Barrel% (more than two points over his 5.1% of last season).
Ahmed probably doesn't merit a spot in every league roster, but he's worth snagging in 12+ team leagues wherever he is available.
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