July 17, 2017

Pierre Camus recommends first basemen (1B) and third basemen (3B) who are valuable waiver wire targets or adds for Week 16 of the 2017 fantasy baseball season.

The second half will bring about many changes, as it always does. Now is the time to focus on speculative adds for players who may see increased roles or move to a better situation. It's too soon to know for sure what will happen in the trade market, so if you need a short-term boost or pickup for weekly H2H leagues, here are some stream-worthy veterans mentioned as well.

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 16 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 16 Corner Infield (CI) Waiver Wire Targets

Maikel Franco (3B, PHI) 45% owned

He definitely kicked off the second half in style, going 4-for-5 with two RBI on Friday. His average has gradually gone up and could do so more, considering his lowly .223 BABIP. Franco still has the lowest strikeout rate of his young career and hasn't been doing anything particularly wrong, so a second-half surge still is in the cards. There have been some rumors that he's on the trading block, but then again that could be said of nearly half the players in MLB right now. Franco definitely possesses more upside than most of the other corner infielders that you're likely to find on the waiver wire.

Chase Headley (3B, NYY) 11% owned

It's been a while since Headley did anything of note, but he's starting to warm up at the right time. Headley has four straight games with two hits, dating back before the break. No, there's no power to go along with it, but we know he at least has the ability to get double-digit HR the rest of the way if he's feeling it. That said, it should be noted that 2012 is the last time Headley finished a season with 15 homers or over .260. He's a streaming candidate, but nothing more realistically.

Matt Chapman (3B, OAK) 1% owned

This is digging deep, but that's what we're here to do. Since the second half kicked off, Chapman is 5-for-9 with two home runs, two RBI, and five runs. He was in a funk prior to the break after recovering from a knee infection, but the rest seems to have done him plenty of good. If you're in an AL-only league or a 14+ team league with plenty of roster space, he's worth a speculative add. There will be plenty of playing time for all the youngsters in Oakland come August, as they are bound to be selling off pieces left and right.

Jose Reyes (3B/SS, NYM) 16% owned

Difficult as it is to recommend Reyes, it's also hard to ignore his recent production. In the last two weeks, Reyes is batting .371 with three homers, five RBI and seven runs scored. Of course, he's also a candidate to be traded, Amed Rosario is ready to be brought up any day now, and he's likely to come crashing down again just as he did earlier this year. Make him a weekly add and then be prepared to cut bait next week.

Hold For Now

Josh Bell (1B, PIT)

If I could put him back on this list again (I guess technically I could, but that might seem lazy) I would. Bell walked off for the first time in his big league career on Friday and is up to 17 HR, 49 RBI. The average is still lower than you'd like, but he's a better hitter than he's shown in that sense so far. The Pirates are surging and Starling Marte is on the way back, so the RBI opportunities should keep increasing.

Yuli Gurriel (1B, HOU)

Don't drop any Astros players right now. Just don't. He has picked up four hits and a pair of runs in three games since the break, so he seems a fair bet to keep on hitting.

Cut Bait

Luke Voit (1B, STL)

After starting on a near-daily basis the previous two weeks, Voit has been out of the lineup in two of the past three since the All-Star break. Matt Carpenter is seeing time at first base again, with Kolten Wong getting another chance to claim the second base job. Voit can be ignored everywhere, even NL-only leagues.

Ji-Man Choi (1B, NYY)

Of course it was too good to be true. Choi's back-to-back jacks before the break will stand alone as his best contribution of this season, it seems. He rode the bench in each of the first two after the break and didn't do anything special in Sunday's double-header. The Yanks are almost certain to swing a deal for a first baseman, so don't count on Choi being part of the action on a regular basis.

Tommy Joseph (1B, PHI)

Technically it was two weeks ago that Joseph was suggested again, but if you've been holding him then here's fair warning to look elsewhere. With the trade deadline looming, Joseph could be a casualty. Rhys Hoskins is knocking on the door for a call-up and he would immediately take Joseph's job, seeing as how they are practically the same player. Joseph may be dealt to a contender looking for bench depth, which would kill his fantasy value. Only if he gets moved to the Yankees to fill their void at first base would Joseph somehow come out better in a deal.

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