June 19, 2017

Pierre Camus recommends first basemen (1B) and third basemen (3B) who are valuable waiver wire targets or adds for Week 12 of the 2017 fantasy baseball season.

This week brings about two new names and two retreads from previous weeks. Not because we're being lazy, mind you. Some people just won't take sage advice when they see it! Ironically, both repeat customers are named Matt. I briefly considered putting Matt Chapman on the list so it could resemble a Monty Python skit, but we'll hold off until he actually warrants adding.

The corner infield positions traditionally offer power with the potential for high averages, so you may want to target players that can offer an advantage in those categories to bolster your team. In this piece, I'll identify waiver wire targets for first base and third base in week 12 who should be able to contribute in multiple categories, either as replacements or bench depth. These players are owned in 50% or less of Yahoo! leagues.

We'll also look at the names mentioned in last week’s post, noting which players have graduated off of the waiver wire (ownership higher than 50%), which are still recommended pickups, and which we are dropping off the list entirely.

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Week 12 Corner Infield (CI) Waiver Wire Targets

Eduardo Escobar (3B/SS, MIN) 8% owned

Escobar doesn't just have a hit streak in his last six starts, he's collected 16 hits in his last 29 at-bats, including three home runs and nine RBI. While he surely won't keep up this pace, it never hurts to see how long a hot bat will last when it's freely available on the waiver wire. Escobar is batting .296 on the season in regular playing time, so he should be owned in AL-only leagues already.

Yangervis Solarte (2B/3B, SD) 23% owned

Solarte was a solid mixed-league option for about one week until he went through an extended power outage. He homered just once in all of May with nine RBI despite starting on a regular basis with Wil Myers in front of him. Solarte has turned it on in June, having already surpassed his season-to-date power totals halfway through the month. With Saturday's two-homer game, he's got six HR and 14 RBI in the last 14 games. He only bats .217 with no jacks against lefties, so he should be played accordingly in leagues with daily lineup changes.

Matt Adams (1B/OF, ATL) 38% owned

If you thought it wouldn't last, think again. Adams is still doing his best to fill Freddie Freeman's shoes by slugging at a career-best pace. Adams has a .654 SLG%, nine HR and 25 RBI over 104 AB since joining the Braves. He's at an all-time high hard contact percentage of 42% and his plate discipline has remained fairly consistent with his career numbers. His 27.3% HR/FB will come down, but not to the extent that he will lose mixed league value. Stop denying and start adding if you haven't already.

Matt Davidson (3B, CHW) 12% owned

Davidson erased doubts that may have crept up during his recent slump by snapping out of it in a big way. He went deep five times in the last week, amazingly all in different games as he still is without a multi-homer game. The fact that he's only 12% owned is almost unfathomable considering he is tied with Bryce Harper and Giancarlo Stanton for home runs, tied for 12th in the majors. He'll still strike out a ton (creeping close to 40% K-rate) and his average won't wow anybody, but if there's a 30-homer bat sitting on the waiver wire somewhere, this might be it.

Hold For Now

Nicholas Castellanos (3B, DET) 36% owned - This past week, Castellanos put together a big four-RBI game with a double and a triple and not much else. His average is still an unsavory .230 on the year, but at least he's knocking in runs. If you're in a deep mixed league, you could do worse.

Howie Kendrick (1B/2B/3B/OF, PHI) 14% owned - Cesar Hernandez will be out a while and Kendrick is going to be an every day player. He's continuing to surprise with speed, stealing three bases in the last week while hitting .306. There's literally no way you can't find a spot for him in your lineup, unless you're in a really shallow league. If that's the case, you probably aren't looking at guys like this for your team anyway.

Cory Spangenberg (2B/3B/OF, SD) 1% owned - Spangenberg hasn't disappointed since assuming an everyday role. He smacked three home runs while hitting .296 this past week. He'll continue to hold down third base for San Diego, but could serve at multiple positions in your fantasy lineup.

Cut Bait

Tyler Moore (1B, MIA) 1% owned - Justin Bour returned and even slugged a home run in his first game back. Moore can be dumped even in NL-only leagues, but don't hesitate to add if Bour goes down again.

More Waiver Wire Pickups and Adds

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