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Detroit Tigers outfielder Robbie Grossman is a fantasy baseball waiver wire pickup and add in Week 18 of the 2021 MLB season. I break down why he can help and continue to help your team.
BALLER MOVE: Add in leagues of 12+ teams
ROSTERED IN: 42% of leagues
ANALYSIS: Grossman is one of those guys that's always an afterthought, even in the deepest of leagues, when it comes to fantasy baseball. He's a career .249 hitter and had only had double-digit homers once in eight major league seasons.......prior to this year, that is. So what's changed?
Grossman, like many other hitters, has eschewed batting average in the name of more power. He's hitting just .226 on the season, but already has a career-high 15 home runs. Is his newfound power sustainable? Why should we add a dude hitting .226 to our precious fantasy rosters? Aside from the fact that batting average is damn near impossible to chase, his .226 average doesn't tell the whole story.
Grossman's new approach has produced a career-high 20.1 degree launch angle and a 23.2% strikeout rate that is his highest since 2016. However, the 15.6% walk rate is a career best and once of the best in baseball (he's in the 98th percentile). In leagues that count OBP, that's huge. It could also explain why Grossman already has a career high in steals as well with 12. If you are hurting in power or steals, Grossman is one of the few that can help with both.
If you've followed Grossman at all in his career, then you know that he is prone to wicked slumps. He hit just .212 in the entire month of April and .184 in June. However, Grossman is hitting .250 in 18 July games with five homers and ten RBI already this month. He's even padded his steal total with three swipes. He has scored 12 runs in just 18 games as well.
If you look closely at how the Tigers have done as a team, Grossman's success has seemed to be right in line with the rest of the team. The Tigers' offense is rolling right now. A big reason is Akil Baddoo settling nicely into the leadoff role and Grossman and his newfound power settling into the middle of the order. A guy who already has double digits in homers and steals is a nice commodity in 5x5 leagues, especially when you don't have to pay anything to get him.
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