Travis Shaw (1B/2B/3B, MIL) - Week 11 Waiver Wire Pickups

June 12, 2019

Andrew Ericksen analyzes Milwaukee Brewers 1B/2B/3B Travis Shaw as a waiver wire pickup or add target for Week 11 of the 2019 fantasy baseball season. Shaw's power potential makes him an enticing add.

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues

OWNED IN: 35% of Leagues

ANALYSIS: It’s been a nightmare of a season so far for Milwaukee Brewers slugger Travis Shaw, who is hitting .170 on the year with just four home runs and an abysmal OPS of .568. Shaw is coming off a solid season where he hit 32 home runs with a .241 batting average and an .825 OPS, so calling his 2019 season a disappointment so far would be something of an understatement. His strikeout rate, which has always been a sore point for him, has ballooned up from 18.4% in 2018 to a whopping 31.8% in 2019. His barrel rate drop from 10.3% in 2018 to 6.5% this year is similarly concerning.

Now that we’ve gotten some of the scary numbers out of the way, let’s look at the positives. Shaw’s hit 30+ home runs in two straight years and at age 29, there shouldn’t be any non-injury reason to think he’d be approaching a descent in his power numbers. Upon Shaw’s return to the Brewers following a stint on the injured list for a wrist injury a week ago, the Brewers promptly sent down top prospect Keston Hiura and Shaw regained his starting third base role. That’s a sign that the Brewers both have faith in Shaw and that they aren’t ready to move on from him despite the fact that Hiura was outperforming him by a considerable margin in the majors this year.

Because of Shaw’s production the past two years and the fact that he’s getting another opportunity right now to cement his place in a potent Brewers lineup, he should be added in all NL-only leagues and 12+ team leagues where he is available. For more shallow leagues, be ready to pounce on him if we see signs of 2018 and 2017 Shaw coming to light. He’s still likely going to be sitting against lefties more often than not, but his elite production off right-handed pitchers the past two years proves he can make up for that.