May 15, 2017

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 7 of the 2017 fantasy baseball season.

Small sample sizes have now become reasonably big enough for us to make some informed decisions. It's unlikely you'll find any potential 30-HR bats still available on the waiver wire at this point, but streaming the right players each week can be extremely helpful even if you aren't in a head-to-head league.

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 Week 7 waiver wire targets for first base and third base 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 7 Corner Infield (CI) Waiver Wire Targets

Brandon Drury (2B/3B/OF, ARI) 47% owned - Utility-man wunderkind Brandon Drury has been on fire lately, collecting nine hits in his last 21 at-bats. Drury didn't even benefit from a three-game slate at Coors Field, doing all his damage once arriving back home. Drury hits far better at Chase Field, so he should be played accordingly. Last season, Drury started out hot in April and May, hitting .288 with eight home runs and 18 RBI before hitting an extended slump the next three months. In September, he caught fire again, hitting .357 to close out his first full season. The lesson here is take advantage of Drury while he's on a hot streak and prioritize him in home games. He can play all around the field, so getting him into your lineup shouldn't be hard.

Tommy Joseph (1B, PHI) 19% owned - A popular preseason sleeper, Joseph himself was asleep throughout April, hitting .179 with just one long ball. He's turning it around in a big way in May, slashing .419/.526/.871 with three HR and eight RBI in nine starts. Joseph has legit 30-homer potential, which he flashed last season by launching 21 in barely over half a season's worth of playing time (315 AB). His ground ball rate has gone way up, which led to most of his early season struggles, but he's bound to cut it down from 46.5% GB% closer to last year's 37% mark. He could wind up being a great long-term solution at the corner infield position, but you'll need to act now before your leaguemates start to catch on.

T.J. Rivera (1B/2B/3B, NYM) 5% owned - Rivera has consistently made contact since being inserted into the Mets' starting lineup. This shouldn't be a surprise, as he hit well over .300 in practically every stop in the minors. After going 2-for-5 with a triple and an RBI on Sunday, he's hitting .306 over 87 plate appearances this season and has a strong 6:10 BB:K ratio. What he doesn't offer is power or speed, with just one in the HR and SB catgories. He's never even reached double-digit steals and has done so once with a high of 11 home runs in Triple-A last year. If you're looking to improve your averages without the need for power, Rivera will help you in deeper leagues, especially ones that count OBP or K as a category for hitters. In reality, he's better off at the second base spot in most fantasy leagues.

Logan Morrison (1B, TB) 18% owned - Morrison was recommended here as an add in Week 2 and as a hold thereafter. If you've kept LoMo this whole time, you've been rewarded with 10 HR, 24 RBI and 19 runs. Morrison jacked another homer on Saturday, giving him three last week alone. He's hit as many as 23 homers in a season, so 25 is certainly a reasonable expectation. His .244 average is right in line with a .245 career mark, so tab him for power in deeper leagues.

Graduated

Yonder Alonso (1B, OAK) 64% owned - How's that for a jump in ownership? If you wanted Alonso, you probably needed to grab him when I recommended him last week when he was at 20% ownership. He homered again on Saturday and is hitting .302 with 12 HR, 29 RBI on the season.

Hold For Now

Danny Valencia (1B/3B, SEA) 17% owned - He's kept it going, hitting .364 with a 1.031 OPS in the last week. First base could be Valencia's to keep the rest of the way if he hits the way he is capable of. He is a career .270 hitter with 20-HR potential if he can get a full season's worth at AB.

Josh Bell (1B, PIT) 30% owned - Bell has kept his momentum going, with another home run on Sunday, giving him two in the last three days. If you're in a keeper league, Bell shouldn't be sitting on the waiver wire.

Cut Bait

Yunel Escobar (3B, LAA) 16% owned - Just as he was heating up, Escobar had to undergo an MRI on his hamstring. He may avoid the disabled list, but that's the kind of injury that can slow a player down. Luis Valbuena is back to share at-bats, so Escobar isn't nearly as appealing any more.

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