RADIO
The Corner Store is open! It is week 12 and the options are quite limited. We've gotten to the part of the season where reality has set in. Replacement corner infielders who once were performing well beyond their skills have come back down to earth. With a basic junkyard of options on the waiver wire, it is vital that you know what you are looking for and have realistic expectations when making a selection.
Make an assessment of your roster. Find out if you actually need more power, as is usually expected from the corner infield spot. If not, that would open up more alternatives, which could lead to power, batting average, or just riding the hot hand. It all depends on what type of gambler you are. If you are a risk-taker, then you might lean towards that home run hitter with a mediocre batting average. If you like to play it safe, then you might be more comfortable getting a hitter with a higher average and the potential for other counting stats. In the end, the choice is yours. Be confident in what you do.
Key points - the primary focus of this list is on players who are owned in less than 50% of leagues. Below are some names that might be available as well as players that have recently graduated from the parameters. Check your leagues for availability. I've included the recent performance below as well, so you can compare and make a better selection.
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Week 12 Corner Infield (CI) Waiver Wire Targets
Ryon Healy (1B/3B, SEA) - 42% owned
Last 7 days: five runs, four HR, five RBI, .360 AVG
The roller coaster of production is riding at a high point for Healy in recent weeks. Unfortunately, his opponents this week are the Yankees and Red Sox. In total, he will face-off against right-handers five out of six matchups this week. Healy is better facing right-handed pitchers, with a .262 batting average against them. While his .485 SLG is inviting, Healy’s .289 OBP might deter individuals in on-base leagues from acquiring him. However, his .231 ISO and particularly his 13 homers in 208 plate appearances is primarily why you want to own him. If you are a gambler and think his hot streak will outweigh the matchups coming up, then Healy is the obvious choice for power.
Safe Bet
Yuli Gurriel (1B, HOU) - 36% owned
Last 7 days: five runs, one HR, six RBI, .455 AVG
Of all the players on this list, Gurriel is the safest bet of them all. He is a sure thing, nearly as guarantee-able as death and taxes. What is the guarantee? The options are: a .300 AVG, little power, or all of the above. Gurriel’s .302 average will not only support but likely help to increase your team’s batting average. That’s it. Done. You wanted safe, you get a simple risk-free, likely risk-reduced, option. It is unfortunate that he only has a .104 ISO and a .405 SLG. We should be satisfied with a player that hits .300 and only has a 10.7% strikeout rate.
The additional benefit that Gurriel provides is the atmosphere in which he hits. He routinely hits fourth or fifth in a lineup that is capable of scoring many runs on a nightly basis. This week, he has favorable matchups against the Rays and Royals. While I am not generally a fan of players who fit the mold of a single-category specialist, Gurriel will not hurt your lineup. He would have opportunities to get RBI and could balance some of the ratios if you have big-power/low-average guys on your roster.
Risky Business
Daniel Descalso (1B/2B/3B/OF, ARI) - 26% owned
Last 7 days: six runs, one HR, eight RBI, .500 AVG
It is shocking that we are talking about Descalso as a pick-up option. Somehow the Diamondbacks have enough confidence to allow him to hit in the middle of the lineup. He is rewarding that good faith with production we have never seen from him before. Descalso has a slash line of .280/.374/.542 in 203 plate appearances. He’s also carrying an abnormally high flyball rate (48%) and hard hit rate (44%).
If the production alone wasn’t enough to convince you to take a chance on Descalso, remember he has eligibility to play at nearly every position on the field. If you need more persuasion, Descalso is hitting .292 against right-handed pitchers, which is what he will see this entire week. This might help him get the better end of a platoon situation (yes, there is no denying it). Games on the road against the Angels and the Pirates should not sway anyone from obtaining him. Now, with all of that mesmerizing goodness, there are a couple of things that might keep us grounded. All of the games this week are on the road, where Descalso is hitting .231. That, combined with a utility role, should force you to have a backup plan in case Descalso is not in the lineup. But, if he is in the lineup, make sure you have a share of his services.
Buyer Beware
Matt Duffy (2B/3B, TB) - 10% owned
Last 7 days: six runs, two HR, three RBI, one SB, .281 AVG
The Rays are finally getting ambitious and bringing up their young prospects to actually let them play. Matt Duffy has been batting leadoff ahead of this young talent. 2015 was the last time Duffy had any amount of offensive success. Since then, he has spent most of the time on the disabled list with various injuries like a heel surgery and subsequent lower leg injuries, which caused him to miss the entire 2017 season. This year he seems to be finding his stroke. Duffy has a .312 batting average, albeit with a .376 BABIP, and his hitting the ball harder (32.4%) than he has his entire career. Unfortunately, a 52.6% ground ball rate will not lead to success. Generally, you want to strike while the iron is hot. However, read on to find out why I am not too quick to recommend Duffy this week.
Unless you have absolutely no other options and have zero confidence in any other choices, I would recommend staying away from this fellow. The matchups alone should cause you to seek higher, and drier, ground. First, the Rays will have to take on the three best pitchers in Houston: Gerrit Cole, Justin Verlander, and Charlie Morton. Then they will attempt to maximize home games against the Yankees, who have a decent pitching staff themselves. Look for other options.
Jake Bauers (1B,TB) - 7% owned
Last 7 days: six runs, four HR, seven RBI, one SB, .400 AVG
Bauers is one of those aforementioned youngsters that was recently brought up and is having success. Bauers, like Duffy, has been performing quite well recently. After starting his career off 0-for-8, he has since figured things out and has gone 10-for-41. It is a terribly short amount of time to measure for reasonable expectations, but Bauers has a hard-hit rate of 52% and a line drive rate of 39%. He has a very good walk rate (12.2%), which is consistent with his minor league performance. Bauers will be able to take advantage of that by hitting second in the order. Like most rookies, he does have areas he needs improve in the near-term, particularly with a 13.3% swinging strike rate. Regardless of the league, keep in mind this is a very small sample size.
In case you skipped Matt Duffy’s write-up, assuming it was boring, go back up and read the last paragraph for Duffy so you can be aware of the challenges ahead in this coming week for Bauers.
Other Notable Corner Infielders
Josh Harrison (2B/3B/OF, PIT) - 39% owned
Last 7 days: five runs, two HR, five RBI, one SB, .333 AVG
Harrison continues to be one of the most underrated players in the game. Again last week, he continued to demonstrate both power and speed, yet his ownership level remains lower than deserved. Speed is in short supply across the game. In one player, you can obtain not only speed but a little power as well as a very good average. Resolve this issue and get Harrison on your roster if he is unowned in your league.
