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Pierre Camus recommends first basemen (1B) and third basemen (3B) who can be valuable waiver wire targets or adds to help fantasy owners for Week 2 of the 2017 fantasy baseball season.
One week down, 25 more to go. It's still a bit premature to react to slow starts or big games, but you may have roster space that needs filling or end-of-roster players that don't need to be kept.
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 some players who should be able to contribute in multiple categories, either as replacements or bench depth.
Note: I will be selecting players who are available in less than 50% of Yahoo! leagues and therefore should be available to the majority of mixed-league fantasy owners.
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Week 2 Corner Infield (CI) Waiver Wire Targets
Mark Reynolds (1B/3B, COL) - 42% owned
Big asterisk next to this add, because he's only a temporary streamer until Ian Desmond returns. Reynolds has truly changed his game, going from an all-or-nothing slugger to a... dare I say, contact hitter? His 74.9% Contact% in 2016 was by far a career high in his first season with Colorado and it is at 73.9% after one week in 2017.
Reynolds also has dropped his strikeout rate from a high of 35.4% in 2010 down to 25.4% last season. His .361 BABIP last season is definitely unsustainable for a batter who averages .301 on his career, but it might not dip quite as much with his new approach. Buy in the short term but don't expect him to fill your CI needs on a permanent basis. For the time being, stream away.
Yangervis Solarte (2B/3B, SD) - 37% owned
Solarte's arrow has been pointing up since last season and he is off to a solid start in 2017. Solarte has driven in seven runs in the first six games with one home run. Hitting either fourth or fifth most games, Solarte is benefiting from the hot start by Manuel Margot and hitting just behind Wil Myers most nights.
Solarte doesn't necessarily have a 30-HR ceiling, but he can provide power numbers above league average while providing a solid slash line. His batting average has climbed in each Major League season, from .260 as a rookie to .270 to .286 last year. Solarte could actually be more useful as a 2B/MI if you are in a deeper mixed league, but still profiles as a solid corner infielder with a high floor.
Ryan Zimmerman (1B, WAS) - 12% owned
The concerns about Zimmerman's steady decline remain, but his fast start shouldn't be ignored. Z-Man was hitting .300 with a pair of homers in the first week before stepping in and hitting a pinch-hit, three-run homer in the ninth inning against Jeanmar Gomez in his day off.
His spot in the Nationals' potent lineup, hitting behind Bryce Harper and Daniel Murphy, is about as good as it can get for RBI potential. Adam Lind has done a nice job pinch-hitting and could see occasional time against right-handers like he did on Sunday, but Zimmerman should start at least four or five times a week if he remains healthy. That's still a big IF with Zimmerman, but so far so good.
Logan Morrison (1B, TB) - 8% owned
His Opening Day success against Masahiro Tanaka could very easily have been overlooked as a fluky performance. Now that he has five RBI in seven games and is playing first base regularly for a Rays team that seems to be overachieving on offense, he could be of interest in deeper leagues.
His 0-for-4 game against Toronto dropped his average to .333, but he is yet to take a walk, leaving his OBP the same. Morrison has always had talent, but has never even approached 500 at-bats over seven Major League seasons. He is not much more than a flier in 14+ team leagues, but one that could be a decent pickup for depth purposes.
Howie Kendrick (1B/2B/3B/OF, PHI) - 22% owned
As you can clearly see, Kendrick can help you simply by the fact he qualifies at pretty much every position other than SS and C. Kendrick has gotten off to a great start in his new home in Philly. He hit his third double, a Kendrick specialty, and drove in his fifth run against Stephen Strasburg.
His early slash line reads .429/.478/.667 after 21 at-bats. While he's certainly bound for regression, remember that he is a career .290 hitter who can get you 10 HR and anywhere between 50-70 RBI. He is a better candidate in points leagues than rotisserie, but he is also the ideal utility player for deeper leagues because he can slot almost anywhere.
