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Pierre Camus recommends first basemen (1B) and third basemen (3B) who are valuable waiver wire targets or adds for Week 20 of the 2017 fantasy baseball season.
The roster changes continue and fantasy values will keep fluctuating. Now is the time to focus on speculative adds for players who may see increased roles or move to a better situation.
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 20 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 20 Corner Infield (CI) Waiver Wire Targets
C.J. Cron (1B, LAA) 15% owned
Cron never seems to be able to put it together on a consistent basis, but he's had hot streaks like this before that tease us. He's cracked three homers and driven in seven runs over the past week, going 11-for-27. He's been moved up to the cleanup spot in hopes that he'll keep it going. It may be a bit much to ask for Cron to continue this pace, but he makes for a viable streamer this week. Be warned that the Halos are off Monday and Thursday, though.
Yangervis Solarte (2B/3B, SD) 17% owned
He won't overwhelm in the power categories, but Solarte has enough pop to put at the corner infield if you don't need a second baseman. He's now batting cleanup on the regular, supplanting the struggling Wil Myers, so RBI opportunities will be there. Solarte is batting .364 in the past week and has been steady, if not spectacular, since coming off the disabled list. If you want to go for the San Diego 1-2 punch, add Cory Spangenberg and mix and match.
Matt Chapman (3B, OAK) 7% owned
His numbers look pretty disappointing, but consider his second half performance only: .266, seven HR, 16 RBI in 94 at-bats. Even better, he's hitting .314 in August and has doubled his walk rate. Chapman has flexed 30+ HR power throughout the minors and is carrying it over to Oakland. He compares favorably to Ryon Healy, who was not quite the prospect Chapman is. While Healy is 55% owned in Yahoo leagues, Chapman is available nearly everywhere.
Hold For Now
Dominic Smith (1B, NYM) 11% owned
It finally happened. Lucas Duda is out of town and Smith got called up on Friday. He hasn't done much in his first three games, going 2-for-10 with no counting stats, but give him a chance.
Howie Kendrick (1B/2B/3B/OF, WAS) 20% owned
He's approaching cut status quickly, but if you need a utility guy Kendrick could still play an important role on your fantasy team. Bryce Harper's injury weakens the Nats lineup for the short-term - and although Kendrick was cold, hitting .231 with no runs scored last week, he hit a grand slam last night.
Cut Bait
Jeimer Candelario (3B, DET) 1% owned
So much for that call-up. Apparently the Tigers had no interest in seeing what Candelario could do for them and just wanted to fill a roster spot for a day. He may get a chance in September, especially if Nicholas Castellanos takes to right field, where he's currently practicing.
More Waiver Wire Pickups and Adds
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