Willie Calhoun (OF, TEX) - Week 22 Waiver Wire Pickups

Andrew Ericksen analyzes Texas Rangers outfielder Willie Calhoun as a waiver wire pickup or add target for Week 22 of the 2019 fantasy baseball season. Calhoun has been on a home run tear in August.

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ANALYSIS: The time may have finally come for the breakout of Texas Rangers outfielder Willie Calhoun, who was at one point one of the most exciting power-hitting prospects in the game. Calhoun has struggled to earn steady playing time for the Rangers since first being called up in 2017, in part because the Rangers have had a loaded outfield the past couple years, but also in part because Calhoun had struggled to carry his elite minor league power into the major leagues. Until now, that is.

In the month of August, Calhoun has been on an absolute tear. He's hitting .284 with eight home runs, 14 RBI and 13 runs in the month. He's had multi-hit games in seven of his last 11 games. On the season, he has a hard-hit rate of 42.3% and an exit velocity of 89.9, two strong clips for a power hitter. His strikeout rate on the year is only 17.9%, which is very encouraging.

Calhoun is a must-add in leagues of 12 teams or larger and in AL-only leagues. He should probably be owned in all league types for now, at least as long as he remains on this hot streak. It's certainly plausible that he could cool off in the coming weeks, but his upside is the kind of hitter that can carry your offense for a full week and you don't want to miss out on that potential while it's available to you.