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Welcome back to the Outfield Waiver Wire, where we look at the best outfielders available in at least 50 percent of Yahoo leagues. Consider this column your recommendations for Week 5 outfield waiver wire pickups.
It’s still early. Don't get carried away with making any major changes to your roster at this stage of the game. Tinkering on the edges, though? That's perfectly fine, and that's what this column is designed to help you do.
Let's get down to business.
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Week 5 Outfield (OF) Waiver Wire Targets
Ender Inciarte, OF, Atlanta Braves (46% owned)
Inciarte’s season line stands at a still-uninspiring .230/.267/.400, but you can expect the career .288 hitter’s average to rise soon enough. He’s currently running a BABIP 75 points below his career average. In the meantime, he’s contributing elsewhere. Inciarte’s four home runs are already more than he had all last season, and he’s swiped five bases and scored eight runs in his last five games. He shouldn’t be free to add in the majority of leagues right now.
Kevin Pillar, OF, Toronto Blue Jays (34%)
The Blue Jays haven’t had much go right on the hitting side of things in the season’s first month, but Pillar has things working at the plate now. Even after going hitless on Sunday, he’s slashing .301/.339/.505 with four homers and two steals (albeit in five attempts). Pillar was 39-for-49 on stolen base attempts the prior two seasons, so he’s likely to get his success rate up as the year progresses. He’ll get his chances if he keeps hitting like he has at the top of the order.
Scott Schebler, OF, Cincinnati Reds (24%)
Schebler’s running red-hot right now, hitting .478 with five homers, 11 RBI, and six runs over the last week. That surge has his season line up to .244/.319/.598. The 26-year-old is doing a much better job of elevating the ball than he did last season as a rookie. That he’s succeeded thus far despite carrying a BABIP around the Mendoza line and has hit six of his eight home runs away from Great American bode well for his production moving forward.
Domingo Santana, OF, Milwaukee Brewers (23%)
Santana may be hitting just .197, but he also hit three homers over the weekend, giving him five on the year to go with three stolen bases. It’s also encouraging to see him making more contact; he’s got his strikeout rate in the low-20s and his swinging strike rate is in single digits for the first time ever. Nothing in his profile supports the .191 BABIP he’s sitting on right now. Owners should buy with confidence.
Shin-Soo Choo, OF, Texas Rangers (12%)
Like Santana, Choo enjoyed a productive weekend as he homered twice. The veteran is hitting a solid .274/.391/.438 so far, flashing his usual excellent plate discipline. He’s also posting the best contact and swinging strike rates of his career, although obviously there’s a lot of season left. The issue, of course, isn’t so much Choo’s talent as his ability to stay on the field. For now, he’s healthy and swinging the bat well at the top of the Rangers order. Not bad for a guy you can get for free in almost nine out of ten leagues.
