July 7, 2016

Alex Brock analyzes the top MLB outfield (OF) waiver wire pickups and adds for Week 14 of the fantasy baseball season. These sleepers will bring runs and RBI to your squad in 2016.

To be victorious in fantasy baseball, you need players who produce numbers. The players who produce numbers on their own are generally not going to be found on the waiver wire. However, there are always some guys who know how to get on base dwelling around the wire. Getting on base, in itself, is not an especially game-changing tool for fantasy purposes. It only becomes useful when guys who get on base are, for lack of a better word, given more value by the teammates around them. This all boils down to one principle: Guys on good teams who can get on base become fantasy relevant due to increased run and RBI production.

But what about the guys who produce one their own, but can't get any love from their lackluster teammates? For example, there is a man on this list who leads the league in batting average over the past month among players with 60 at bats or more. While he was first in June with a .451 BA, he ranked 193rd in the league with just eight RBI. Sure, he may not have received quite as many at bats as the others; yet, his individual production makes him worthwhile on his own. Today, we'll take a look at a few guys from each of these two opposing categories, as well as one prospect who may be making a name for himself in the near future.

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Week 14 Outfield Targets

Lonnie Chisenhall, Cleveland Indians

Owned in 25.9% of Fleaflicker Leagues

Lonnie is on fire. The man who sent a bat to the Hall of Fame last year after a nine RBI performance had another nice day in the Indians 19-inning victory over the Blue Jays. Chisenhall went 5-for-8, closing out a five-game stretch in which the young slugger went 14-for-25 with three home runs and seven RBI. Although not the most consistent option on the waiver wire, Chisenhall does tend to get hot for healthy chunks of the season. The power may wax and wane, but the average has stayed pretty strong all season. He's now sporting a .298/.351/.466 line on the year with five dingers and four steals. He may not be worth owning all year long, but now is the time to bite. Ride out the power surge, enjoy the consistency and cycle in the next guy once the well runs dry. The way the Indians are rolling right now, he may hold value for quite some time in the Tribe's loaded lineup.

Angel Pagan, San Francisco Giants

Owned in 32.3% of Fleaflicker Leagues

Angel Pagan is, quite simply, a solid baseball player. In his five years with San Francisco, he is slashing an adequate .283/.323/.397 line with double digit steals every year and consistent play in the outfield. The main problem has always been staying healthy, as the Puerto Rican speedster has missed considerable time in two of his past four seasons. Hopefully his perennial injury is behind him this year, as he has already spend some time on the DL with a hamstring issue. He's certainly swinging a healthy bat at the moment, evidenced by his .333/.362/.537 line over the past two weeks of play. In that same span of time, Pagan has homered twice, stolen base twice and driven in a whopping 15 RBI. That's pretty impressive, considering he almost exclusively bats in the top two spots of the lineup. Expect the run and RBI totals to keep coming as Pagan continues to enjoy the benefits of consistent hitting in an efficient offense.

Peter Bourjos, Philadelphia Phillies

Owned in 5.8% of Fleaflicker Leagues

Who has the highest batting average of any qualified MLB hitter over the past 30 days? That's right, it's Phillies outfielder Peter Bourjos. The 29 year-old closed out the past month of play with an out-of-this-world .451/.494/.690 line with ten extra base hits and 16 runs scored in that span. Unfortunately for Bourjos, he plays in the league's second-worst (sorry Atlanta) offense and somehow managed just 8 RBI on the month. Most of the damage has come during his current 13-game hitting streak, during which the outfielder's numbers are even more absurd than the ones above. To be clear, this is far from the norm for Bourjos, whose .246 career BA is much more representative of his real value. Still, there's no arguing with the current results. Pick this guy up before your leaguemates start to notice him.

Aaron Judge, New York Yankees

Owned in 3.7% of Fleaflicker Leagues

A few weeks ago, I declared the Diamondbacks' Peter O'Brien the most coveted outfield prospect in the league. Well, he received his call up and it didn't quite go as planned. O'Brien recorded just seven hits in 56 at bats. Although four of those hits went over the wall, fence or fish tank, he will spend some more time righting the ship in Triple-A. Next in line is Aaron Judge. The 24 year-old brings some consistency, along with power, to his game, which could make him a more suitable candidate to remain in the Majors after being awarded a promotion. His 16 long balls in 2016 show that the kid has some serious power. His .270/.361/.484 line shows that his plate discipline may be prepared to face Big League pitching. The real question is how he will find his way to the next level. Most experts expect the Yankees to be sellers at the trade deadline and all three of their starters in the outfield are eligible candidates. Carlos Beltran is the most likely to be dealt, as his power resurgence this year could be very useful to playoff-bound clubs. If someone is dealt in the coming weeks, your first reaction should be to scurry to the waiver wire and find Judge.

More Options: Rajai Davis (59%), Mike Napoli (59%), Cameron Maybin (46%), Curtis Granderson (55%), Max Kepler (8%), Coco Crisp (7%), Robbie Grossman (3%), Seth Smith (8%), Brock Holt (35%), Brandon Nimmo (6%)

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