RADIO
Maybe you’re looking to shake things up after a slow start or dealing with a spate of injuries. Whatever the reason for your need, RotoBaller has you covered on the top waiver wire targets.
Every Monday until the end of the season, we'll look at the best middle infielders available in at least 50 percent of Yahoo leagues. These are based on standard 5x5 scoring; adjust accordingly for your specific setup.
Let’s get to it.
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Week 3 Middle Infield (MI) Waiver Wire Targets
Starlin Castro, 2B, Miami Marlins (49 percent owned)
Castro has yet to hit a home run this year, but he’s hitting .295 with respectable run production thus far. He’s also showing surprising patience in the early going, walking in 10 percent of his plate appearances with an O-Swing% nearly 10 percentage points below his career average. Castro has hit third in every game so far this season, which should allow him to put up decent counting stats even given the quality (or lack thereof) of the Marlins’ lineup.
Jed Lowrie, 2B, Oakland Athletics (46 percent)
Lowrie made an appearance in this space last week, and even though his ownership rate has quintupled in the interim, he still comes in just under the cutoff point. Lowrie had two hits on Sunday, including a home run. That puts him at six multi-hit efforts in his last 10, and four homers in his last eight contests. He’s slashing .348/.403/.576 with 22 R+RBI through 16 games and likely won’t remain available in over half of leagues for much longer.
Marcus Semien, SS, Oakland Athletics (39 percent)
The other half of Oakland’s middle infield duo hasn’t performed quite as well in the early going. While he’s not filling up the box score just yet, Semien has failed to reach base only once in the A’s first 16 games. Given his spot atop their batting order, he should score plenty of runs if he can continue that trend. The 27-year-old hit 27 homers and stole 10 bases in 2016, then produced 10 HR/12 SB in about half a season’s worth of plate appearances last year.
Aledmys Diaz, SS, Toronto Blue Jays (6 percent)
Diaz was the 2016 model of Cardinals Devil Magic, but the production he flashed that year was in short supply last season. He floundered for a couple months before earning a demotion to the minor leagues, and St. Louis quietly flipped him to Toronto in the offseason. He’s been playing every day for the Jays because in a hugely shocking development, Troy Tulowitzki is hurt. While he hasn’t been perfect – peep the 16.4 SwStr% and .256 OBP – Diaz has already tallied four homers and a stolen base in just 12 games.
J.P. Crawford, 3B/SS, Philadelphia Phillies (5 percent)
Crawford’s rookie season did not get off to the kind of start he and the Phillies were hoping for. The slick-fielding shortstop reached base just twice in his first 25 plate appearances (one single, one walk) while striking out eight times. He has five hits in the four games since, however, including two home runs and two doubles. He’s also walked twice during that span, Crawford won’t be a fantasy stud in 2018, and maybe not ever, but he’s got some value in deep and NL-only formats.
